At that time my contractions were 10 minutes apart lasting about 60 seconds. It was very textbook. Josh fixed a large breakfast that morning. (I was very thankful of this later in the day because my appetite vanished by lunch.) Throughout the day, I took the time to relax. I read Spiritual Midwifery AGAIN, to give me encouragement and hope. And best of all, I took a loooooooonnnngg hot bath and relaxed, shaved my legs and then blow dried my hair out straight put makeup on. You would think I had a date to go to. LOL. Around lunch Josh reheated the Lasagna and fixed a salad. Salad was all I could stand. The Lasagna made me gag. But also by lunch time the intensity of the contractions has increased so I figured that was why I couldn't eat. I called Nicole our midwife and she said it sounded like labor but told us to just relax around the house. So, I sat around the living room napped when I could, and rolled around on the exercise ball. I called and text everyone who was on my list to call to tell them I thought Kendall was going to arrive soon.
Once they got stronger the times got closer 8 minutes apart and finally 5 minutes apart. Time was flying by! Josh didn't work that day he was too excited and was just waiting on the word "go" he was also getting things lined up for his business. At 5pm it took a turn, I was forced to focus more on the contractions. Although, it wasn't painful it was just a stronger intensity. I still wasn't feeling pain but I called Nicole again we decided to wait a little longer until I couldn't watch TV anymore and couldn't hold a conversation. At 6:30pm we started loading the car. And although I could still hold a conversation but we left our house at 7:30pm. Josh would squeeze my leg or my hand on the drive down there when he knew I was having a contraction. I turned on the heated seats and that helped a lot. I sang, and we laughed and talked about our hopes for the birth.
We arrived at Davis Regional at 8:30 and my parents pulled in as we were walking into the doors. I filled out all the paperwork and by 9pm we had met Amanda our nurse and she was taking us to our birthing suite. We were the ONLY couple birthing on the floor! I was ecstatic I knew I could be loud if I needed to be. LOL. I gave Amanda our birth plan. (Amanda actually went to SCC with one of my best friends from highschool-Small world!) Dr Roque came in to check on my dilation and welcome me! I was already 6cm and 100% effaced. Whhhooooo Hooooooo! Amanda hooked me up to the fetal monitor for 30 minutes to check on Kendall and did my vitals and such and I was set free to do as I wished!
Amanda was wonderful! She was always checking in on me and my family and my water was always full. :) We got a birth ball as soon as Nicole came in. I circled and rocked (Making lots of fart noises with the ball and the flooring. That was distracting.) My family had made the trip down to Statesville and they were in the room during this time. As I would come into a contraction I would hold up my hand to make everyone be quiet so I could focus on the contraction. But I did my birth ball rotation for about 2 hours before I said I wanted the Jacuzzi. Amanda filled the tub for me. I peed before I got in the tub and Josh announced to everyone I had gotten the bloody show! Yippee! We were so excited.
I got into the tub and Josh sat on the outside of the tub surround. It was such a small bathroom and it was so humid in there. LOL, we both had drops of sweat running from our heads. But it was wonderful. It made life easier. Contractions were almost non-existent in the Jacuzzi. It was relaxing along with the rumbling feeling from the jets and the sounds. Josh rubbed my legs and back and would pour water over my back too. I never felt so loved before! Nicole would come and check on us pretty often. We would refill water and tell her we were ok. When the contractions changed I asked her to check my cervix again she said 6cm. I got so discouraged. But, I believed in my body I knew it was doing the work it should be doing so I let the fear go. Josh started making me laugh and was holding my hand and smooching on me.
I began vomiting probably 30 minutes or so after Nicole checked me. At first, Josh was worried about me me and then I laughed. He was somewhat confused, I told him "Ina May Gaskin's book mentioned vomiting and it's a good thing it means I am progressing quickly. Ina May also says we should make light of it." So, we laughed over it. We laughed over the fact we could name out the breakfast and lunch I had eaten that day from my vomit. We had a lot of fun and he was so great!!! During this time, I did "investigate" myself I felt the bag of waters bulging and I got so excited. We stayed in the teeny tiny bathroom for 2.5 hours. When I felt Kendall's head drop I almost jumped out of the water. I told Josh something had happened. I think this is when my water broke. It felt like a softball hitting my cervix. I could no longer get comfortable. Josh insisted it was time to change positions. He suggested walking. As I stood outside the Jacuzzi I had a contraction. We swayed back and forth like we were slow dancing it was really romantic aside from the itty bitty bathroom. Without the water contractions sucked! But it was an amazing feeling to have my husband there doing his best to help take my discomfort away. I had a hard time getting to the bed for my cervix to be checked again. But I slowly made it.
It felt so good to have him working with me through each contraction. Dr Roque and Nicole waited for me --- 9cm--- WOW! We couldn't believe it. I got on all fours on the bed for a handful of contractions. Looking back I wish I hadn't. I wish I had tried my leg up in a lunge or something else. Dr Roque checked me again. just shy of 10cm with a anterior lip. I remember thinking of Vicki my childbirth educator telling us how badly these sucked and how painful they were. But Dr Roque helped me push over it and I had made it to 10cm. Transition was so tough! I was pretty lucky that my body was working with me. My contractions weren't close together I got almost 5 minutes in between contractions during transition and pushing phases. Nicole told me I should breathe through my nose and out my mouth. We laughed after I told her I couldn't because my nostrils were too small. Nicole had this amazing ability to look into my eyes and it was as if she was taking the pain away for a bit. She could calm me down when no one else could. She was amazing as well. I did ask for drugs but at first I really just wanted the assurance from everyone that I COULD do this. I knew I was too far into transition to get drugs but it helped pleading for them because everyone in the room would rally behind me telling me how well I was doing. At the end of transition, I yelled "Pickles". Pickles had been Josh and I's code word that I REALLY needed drugs. At the end of transition I had so much doubt. I doubted that I could continue any longer especially if the contractions were like this very long. Of course, Pickles made everyone laugh again. I got the support I needed to make it through transition un-medicated. It was after this they asked me to change positions.
When Roque told me to start pushing our baby girl out Josh was in my right ear even more than he had been before telling me how strong I was. He confessed his love for me. He smooched me all over, he gave me encouragement, he was so incredibly awesome. I was laying on my left side with my legs at my head. We would relax in between contractions and laugh. Roque finally noticed my nostrils and said I had the smallest nostrils she had ever seen. The entire room seemed more like a celebration or a party than a hospital birth. For that I am grateful. Needless to say, we had a blast, it was hilarious in between contractions. Pushing stage felt sooooooo Good! I can't say I felt pain at all during this phase. I thought to myself- I can see where the ladies from Orgasmic Birth come from now. I really felt awesome! There was NO PAIN!!! The pushing stage is tough because you really don't know how HARD you really CAN push until you push your baby out. Roque asked if I wanted to feel her head coming out. I reached down and felt such a small part of her head maybe a fifty cent piece size. I yelled she is never coming out. They made it seem like she was crowning. Everyone laughed at my comment. Finally a few pushes later when Roque said "okay, here is your ring of fire" I didn't believe her! I didn't have any "fire" going on. It truly was just like Ina May Gaskin says- "It's an interesting sensation that helps get the baby out." (
Josh was so excited with each push he encouraged me to push even harder than before to bring our daughter into this world. His face was just priceless during this process. When I finally KNEW I could do this I pulled my feet as hard as I could. They were by my head I thought I was going to become the human pretzel. It was sound strange but it was a painless incredible feeling. I was making faces that weren't very pretty and grunting but I don't feel like they were a response to pain. I feel it was a response to help me push harder. Roque and my mom and dad had become my cheerleaders yelling a screaming that I could do this. Nicole was able to ground me very quickly between my contractions.
I was so lucky to have such a supporting husband by my side the entire time. His support meant the most! When I pushed the hardest push I could with my feet by my head her head finally emerged. Everyone screamed she is crowning. Everyone had excitement in their voices and huge smiles on their faces. And with all the happiness and joy filling the room I quickly bared down again and out shot her little body. I raised my tank top and they placed her on my belly and between my breasts. Her eyes were open immediately. I rubbed her back to get her to breathe better. She made her presence known but she didn't wail or scream. But she did clear her lungs out. It was the most amazing feeling in the world to have her little body resting on top of my body rather than inside of it. There her little body resting, breathing, and living on my body between my breasts. Her eyes staring back at me. My mind was flooded with emotion.
It truly was the best night of my life. Kendall Reese made her way into the world at 2:12am on December 13th she weighed 6lbs 7.5oz and she was 19 inches long. She breastfed within her first hour of life and she nursed for about 30 minutes. Nicole helped me get her latched on correctly. She has 5 fingers on each hand and 5 toes on each foot. She is absolutely perfect. She hair is so long and is turning blonde already. We were able to leave the hospital Wednesday morning and she weighed 6lbs 3oz. but at her first doctors visit she weighed 6lbs 12oz. Fourteen days after her birth she weighed 8lbs even. She changes everyday. I find a new baby roll on her everyday. :) It is truly the best gift being a mother. She is growing so quickly I can only imagine how quickly she will change in the coming weeks. My life is perfect with my little family.
