At my prenatal visit at 39 weeks, I cried to poor Mariah.
The NC heat had started to pick up, I was tired, and my feet had finally
swollen. Emotions were high, and I was ready to be done. This last visit was in
stark contrast to the rest of my pregnancy. Aside from some first trimester concerns,
my pregnancy had been smooth sailing. I wouldn’t say I loved being pregnant,
but my life didn’t change that much. I socialized, I worked out, I travelled
(including getting stuck in NYC during a blizzard), my sleep was good, and I
generally felt great. I was one of those pregnant women others hate - I’m
making up for this smugness now with a very active and vocal 6 week old!
Around 38 weeks my husband, Dan, and I started all the old
wives' tales to get things moving. However, the day before my labor started, I had
a feeling our little girl was on her way. I woke up energized, went to a workout
class, had brunch and drinks with friends, cleaned the house, ran some errands
and ordered takeout.
As with most pregnant women, my nightly bathroom visits had
become very regular. I had gotten very skilled at crawling out of bed and
peeing in the dark without really waking myself or my husband. Yet for some
reason at 5 AM on Sunday May 1st, 2 days before my due date, I
turned on the bathroom light. And lo and behold, I had some “bloody show.” Like
a kid a Christmas I couldn’t sleep (despite what Wanda, our birthing class
instructor, had advised us to do), but I let my husband sleep and went
downstairs to work. I submitted a research paper that morning, only for it to be
returned twice due to formatting issues.
Note to self: do not submit a paper in early labor/with a newborn!
Around 10 AM, I decided to wake Dan up. I’d been having very
weak contractions and thought it was time to go grocery shopping! Around 11:30,
on the way to Harris Teeter, we called the birthing center. Rani was on call. At
first I thought we hadn’t met her before, but when we arrived at the center early
the next morning, we realized we’d bonded over my tiny belly button which never
popped, only got smaller and smaller! Rani advised us to stay put and relax. I’ll
admit at the time I felt a little disappointed, as I was sure this was
happening. So we walked round the grocery store while I had a few small
contractions and tried to carry on as if it were a normal Sunday.
Then, as Rani predicted, everything seemed to stop. I was so
disheartened. I wanted to meet our
little one that day, which happened to be my Mum’s birthday. We took ourselves
out for a walk and the contractions, while there, weren’t consistent. I came
home and baked a cake, watched some TV, and finally packed my birthing bag! At
4:30, Dan decided he was off to yoga – it seems he needed some Shavasana! We
still debate to this day whether he left me in labor, or as he says, the very
early stages of early labor!
When he got back, my contractions had picked up again but
were still 8-9 minutes apart and not very long.
We ate dinner, and I treated myself to a glass of wine and went for a
walk round the neighborhood. This is when things REALLY got going. I couldn’t
make it as far as we wanted, and we headed back. It was now around 8 PM, and we
watched TV while I squatted and swayed and bounced on a yoga ball - which is
now the best way to soothe Harper! I threw up my dinner. I had a bath. I walked
around. Around 11:30 PM, my contractions were lasting 45 seconds every 5
minutes, so we called the birth center again. Rani told us to hang tight and
wait until they were a minute long every 4 minutes. Dan was great, encouraging
me to sleep between the contractions – which I did, as I can really sleep
anywhere, anytime! Around 12:30 AM Dan called again. My contractions were longer, closer together,
and I threw up again. It was time to get going.
On the way in the car, I was extremely focused. Dan
commented that the 15-501 had never been so quiet, and we got the birthing
center in no time. Rani examined me, and I was already 8 cm dilated. I was so
proud of what we had achieved at home and credit Dan for this fully - I would
have gone in at 11 AM if I could!
There wasn’t really much left to do other than work through
until I needed to push. I tried the tub, but by this point I wasn’t relaxed. We
got into a rhythm with swaying on all fours, but as I’d been awake since 5 AM I
was so tired. I begged for nitrous (disclaimer – in the UK, where we are from,
most people have “gas and air” during labor. Also note to all ladies – your
partner will give in to anything you ask for when you are in labor!) I’m not
sure the nitrous helped as I was so far gone at this stage, but maybe it
relaxed me a bit and allowed me to catch some much needed sleep between
contractions and early pushes.
At some point Rani asked to manually break my waters, and
after that I started pushing. I pushed for a couple of hours; it was honestly
the hardest thing I have ever put my body through. At times I cried and really
felt I couldn’t do it. I was exhausted, and while I felt pretty prepared after
our birthing classes, nothing could have prepared me for pushing. Toward the
end, Rani, Missy and Dan held my legs so Harper couldn’t recede. And finally at
4 AM, our daughter arrived - though Dan announced at first she was a boy!
People have asked me since if our birth met our
expectations. We honestly had no expectations. We wanted our little one to
arrive safely and were okay with all possibilities. But we can say it was an
amazing experience. The staff at the birth center were fantastic throughout,
and our birthing team was incredible. Our birthing plan stated “no happy
places, no cheerleading. Firm encouragement” – Rani and Missy really did well
in adhering to this and even checked afterwards that they hadn’t been too
“cheerleadery!”
Now Harper is 5 weeks old. She loves being bounced on the
yoga ball, sung Allison Krauss songs, going for long walks, and curling up on
Daddy’s chest. She has a determined personality and people always comment how
strong she is. We can’t thank the birth center staff enough for bringing her
into the world with us. And Rani – my belly button has returned to its normal
size!
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