The Ball Jar Chronicles: January 2012

It was Tuesday morning and I was 39 weeks and 6 days pregnant. I had a birth center appointment at 9am. I knew I was ready for you to be born. Sami and Lilia were ready, the house was clean, the errands were run, and the fridge was stocked. I was uncomfortable and wanted you here before Thanksgiving. Once I was at the Birth Center, I asked Patty, the midwife, to check me and strip my membranes. I was between 2 and 3 cm dilated, so she went ahead and stripped my membranes. She said she was really good at it because she had long fingers. It was... painful. But, I knew the pain would be well worth it as long as I began labor.

I went back home and tried to relax. I felt pretty anxious for about an hour, but then got excited that this might be the day I got to meet you. I had some off and on cramping and some intense Braxton Hicks most of the morning.

Sami went to pick up Lilia at school and put her to bed for nap, so I could continue to sit on the birth ball and try to conserve some energy. I also did some last minute packing and house cleaning - just in case. Around 1pm, I began to have regular contractions every 15 minutes. They were fairly mild and I just needed to breathe through them. Not really painful, just tightening and some back pressure. Sami spent some time playing and doing crafts with Lilia – they tried to leave to take a walk in Saxapahaw, but Lilia refused to go. She was excited and wanted to be near Mama.

The contractions slowly got closer - maybe 8-10 minutes apart around 6pm and we decided to call Jessica to come on over - although I was still not sure if I was in labor or not. I also called Kate, the midwife on call, just to let her know what was going on. She told me to relax and take a Tylenol PM at 9pm if I was still in early labor. She also told me that it may not progress into full labor and may eventually peter out.

Jessica arrived at 7pm and helped give Lila a bath and put her to bed. Sami was able to hang out with me and also get himself a bit organized. After Lilia was asleep, the three of us walked around the circular driveway and just stopped during contractions to breath. We were having fun and just talked about our lives, labor, and babies. I felt exhausted and just wanted to go to sleep. We went inside and I took a Tylenol pm and laid on the couch. Jess did some reiki on me for about 30 minutes or so. She said she was having visions of stone walls and waving grasses and hedges. This made me feel very relaxed and slowed my contractions down to about 15-20 minutes apart. I was able to sleep in between them and when I had a contraction I just took deep breaths until they finished. They were not very painful at all and lasted about 30 seconds. I moved to the bedroom and laid alone with the lights out.

At 10pm, Jessica came in and did a little more reiki. Then, she headed upstairs to hang with Lala and Sami. I continued to breathe through the contractions and they felt like a gentle tightening with a little pressure. At 10:30, I suddenly opened my eyes with a very strong and painful contraction that I had to “moo” through. (moo= a loud, low-pitched groan/moan that I have to do to get through the intensity of the contraction. When I reach the “moo” state, I am in full-on, intense, active (extremely painful) labor) After it ended, I sat up and knew that my labor was in full force. It must have been a loud moo because Jess and Sami came downstairs to get me and take me upstairs so I would not wake up Lilia.

As soon as I went upstairs, I went to the bathroom because I felt some discharge. I had to wait and press against the wall and moo through another contraction before sitting on the toilet. Once I sat, I realized I had a ton of bloody show. Then I went into the TV/family room and got on all fours. I rocked and mooed through contractions and Jess applied counter pressure on my lower back. They lasted about 1-1.5 minutes. Then, I rested on a pile of pillows in between contractions. The contractions were about 2 minutes apart and in between them, I felt very lucid, calm, and relaxed. I remember looking up at Lala on the couch. I will never forget the look on her face. She sat watching me with a hint of terror behind her eyes. I was so happy both Lala and Jess were there to be a part of my labor and see what it involved. During this time, Sami had made the executive decision to call Kate at the Birth Center. He quickly realized I was in active labor and we needed to head in. I briefly chatted with Kate and she said to come on in.

I told Sami to get everything ready and lay my shoes out right by the door so as soon as I stood up, I could just walk out to the car. I also told him to put a bowl in the car because I was a little nauseous. I knew the car ride would be very difficult and hard to manage. I stood up and decided to use the bathroom one more time. I had to stop and have a contraction before sitting down. Once I sat, I knew I only had a second to pee before the next contraction came. Lala stood at the door and jumped up and down and squealed, “You're gonna have a baby!!!!”. I then told her to shut the f@#$ up. And she did. (Looking back I find this hilarious, but at the time I did not) I went downstairs, had a contraction, walked outside, had a contraction and got in the car.

We left the house at 11:30pm. The car ride was less than fun. I had about 15 or so contractions in the car. I was gripping onto the oh-shit handle and the arm rest to get through them. We arrived at the Birth Center at 11:44pm (thanks to Sami's speeding). We went in and I laid down on my side on the bed in the peach room. Kate checked me and I was 8 cm dilated. She rubbed my leg lightly through a few contractions and that felt like a relief. Then they filled the tub. I continued to labor on the bed until the tub was full, then I got in. It was so nice to be in there. The weightlessness of the water took a little pressure off the pain. Sami sat next to me outside the tub and held my hand during contractions. The nurse was sitting in the rocking chair watching us and I heard her tell Kate that I would be delivering soon.

After only a few contractions in the tub, my body began involuntary pushing. This is an intense feeling involving TONS of pressure and shaking. Kate came in and told me to breathe through my mouth like blowing out a candle instead of pushing. I tried but could not. My body was pushing by itself. She came back in and checked me in the tub and I was 10cm dilated. Kate and the nurse got ready for pushing. I sat against the back of the tub with my feet on the other side in a squatting position. I began to push and it was a very intense and tons of pressure. I pushed 2 more times and it felt like I was taking the biggest poo of my life. On the fourth push, Kate said you were crowning and I reached down and felt your head. I was shocked on how fast you came barreling through my birth canal. Kate told me to wait so your head could stretch my perineum. I pushed out your head, and then gave one final push and reached down and pulled you up to my chest. I turned to Sami and said “Holy Shit!”. You were born at 12:42am.

You pinked up immediately and were perfectly clean. I remember thinking how beautiful you were and how amazing I felt. After about 15 minutes of admiring our little lady and letting the cord stop pulsing, Sami cut the cord and I handed you to him. Then I pushed out the placenta (huge!) and cleaned off in the bath. I joined Sami and you in the bed and proceeded to nurse. You latched on immediately. The next few hours were taken up with weighing and measuring and making a few calls – Sami called England, and Marmi and Papa, and sent text messages to others. We also ate some of the frozen meals we had brought along – we were both starving by this point.

We stayed the night and took cat naps here and there snuggling with our new addition. By the morning we were ready to leave – we stayed around until Rachel Van Bree came into work, so she could see the new arrival, then Jenni took a shower, we got dressed and headed home. We left for home around 9am – and arrived to a happy, excited household. Lilia was laughing and joking and so ready to meet her baby sister.

She held you on the couch, and our family was complete.