Your
due date (April 28th) came and went, as I expected (your brother was
two weeks late). I planned to have you at the Women’s Birth and Wellness
Center, which is a midwife practice, one of only two in our state. The Birth
Center is low intervention, so I don’t have the option of any pain medications
unless I want to be transferred to the hospital. I was a little nervous because
my first delivery (with your brother Kai) was long and difficult, and I ended
up with an epidural so I could rest before pushing him out. Many seasoned moms
told me the second one would be easier, so I trusted I could do it. I really
wanted a simple, no-intervention birth, because I felt it was best for you.
On
May 9th, I was only dilated to 2 cm, so the midwife did a membrane
sweep. It was really painful, but would hopefully get things going.
Contractions didn’t start, though. On May 10th, I went in at 10 am
for a second membrane sweep (Sarah did this one). I was 4 cm dilated. It was
excruciatingly painful, but I started having contractions around 11 am. They
were between 3-5 minutes apart and went on all day. I describe them as mild, so
I just went about my business. I didn’t think you would come by that night.
I
had been frantic getting things ready at work, in prep for maternity leave. At
2 pm, I did a webinar for my new students. I sat outside on the deck at our
house and actually had my contraction timer going and took a pause every few
minutes for one to pass. My students probably had no idea, and I really didn’t
take the contractions seriously either. I still thought it would be another day
or so, and I was dreading the thought of induction, so I blew them off. After
the webinar, I had a conference call for work that lasted until around 4 pm. After
I got off the call, I told your Dad that I had been having contractions
regularly, and he said, “You might want to call the Birth Center.” I called and
talked to Emily. She said to get in the tub and see if they eased up. And, to
call back in an hour either way. I got in the tub and they didn’t ease up. I
called back at 6 pm and she said to come on in and get checked. She was calm
and she made me feel better and not panic. 
We
asked our neighbor Karen to come over and watch your big brother Kai. Everything
was calm, and we said goodbye to Kai, made a few phone calls, and left for the
birth center. It was only seven miles away. Once we got there, we got set up in
the blue room. Sarah checked me and I was still only a “loose four, tight
five”. I was surprised I had hardly dilated any more since that morning’s
sweep. She said for us to go get dinner and come back around 8:30 or 9 pm. She
did say that she thought I would turn the corner quickly. I was still in doubt,
and reality just didn’t set in. I really thought it would be a few more days.
So, Johnny and I went to the Mellow Mushroom on Franklin Street. We sat outside
and the contractions actually started getting stronger. I told the waitress to
bring our pizza in a to-go box. Within five minutes, I started having really
strong contractions. I could barely breathe through them. Johnny gave me the
keys and said he would wait for the food and I started walking to the car. I
couldn’t even make it to the car. I hung on for dear life to the dumpster
behind the building, about 30 feet from the car. Johnny got our food and found
me back there. I told him I couldn’t walk to the car, so he pulled up and I
crawled in. I couldn’t sit down. I was on my knees facing backward in the
passenger seat, hugging the headrest and moaning loud through each contraction.
I called the birth center and said “get the tub ready, I’m on my way”.
Johnny
raced to the birth center with the flashers on. Thankfully it was only a mile
or two away. We got there and I felt paralyzed with each contraction. I had to
have help getting out of the car, but I walked into the birth center. I felt
like I had to go to the bathroom and sat down on the toilet. Sarah checked me
right there and said I was at seven centimeters. All of a sudden, I had an
overwhelming feeling of distress come over me because I remember that it took
hours to get from seven to ten last time. Each contraction was excruciating,
and I didn’t think I would be able to make it for “hours”. Johnny, Sarah, and
Lorraine helped me get in the tub. I couldn’t even make myself lie down because
the contractions were so intense. Sarah used the Doppler and said your
heartbeat dropped and she wanted me to get on all fours on the bed. Johnny
helped me out of the tub and I did like she said. Within a minute, I felt an
enormous urge to push and said “I have to push”. I didn’t know what was going
to happen since I was only at seven centimeters a few minutes before, but my
body just took over and started pushing. I let out a primal yell and to my
disbelief, Sarah said “the head is out”. After another push or two, you were
actually here. Sarah was great. She was so calm and knew just what to do. 
I
was just so overcome with emotion. All I could do was fall on the bed and lie
there. I saw you lying there beside me and they were wiping you off. You looked
so still and weren’t crying (just like your brother). And, I asked “is he
alive?”. It’s funny because I asked the same thing with your brother. Shortly
after, we cuddled and you started nursing like a champ! You came out so perfect
and I was amazed. Your head wasn’t even mis-shapen. I guess because you were
only in the birth canal for a few minutes. You were born at 8:47pm, only 11
minutes after we arrived at the birth center. You were truly an amazing
delivery. I could not have asked for any better. Oh, and we still got to eat
our pizza just a bit after you were born!
Thanks so much to your dad (Johnny Wells www.johnnywellsphotography.com)
for taking some amazing photos to document your arrival.
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