Right Wing Mom

It was a little weird to have slept till almost 8am. We let the kids stay up later than usual the previous night and they and Marc will all still fast asleep. I woke with a sensation that I had to go to the bathroom pretty bad and it kind of hurt.

I got up and did a quick potty visit then grabbed the laptop and headed back to bed to lay down for a little bit more. I was slightly reclined on my back with the laptop on my belly when I got another deep pain low in my abdomen. The pain made me sit up and change positions. A sudden realization hit me…. WAS THAT A CONTRACTION? Hmmm? Maybe not. So, I lay back down again and waited to see what happened. A few minutes later it happened again! I grabbed my phone and brought up my contraction timer app (They have an App for that!) and started timing. I had two more contractions, about 6 minutes apart and about 45 seconds to 1 minute long, and got excited!

I got out of bed and walked around for a few minutes to see what would happen and much to my delight - I had another contraction! Woo-Hoo! This is it!

I walked over to Marc’s side of the bed and gently nudged him awake. “Honey, I think I’m in labor” “Really?” he replied with a drowsy smile? Then I realized I was leaking a little blood onto our new carpet (Oh No!) “Umm, yeah and I just bled on the floor. You’re going to have to clean that up, I’m going to the bathroom” (Sorry for being bossy Baby!)

I got out of the bathroom and made sure Marc was awake and aware of what was going on, it sometimes takes him a few minutes to wake up, but he was wide awake this time! We talked for a few and I told him what had been going on. I then called Cathy, our midwife. It was so great to be able to tell her “This is it!” I told her what was going on and she said she would gather her things and be right over. I then called my sister-in-law, Haley. Haley lives about 1 1/2 hrs away and really wanted to be here for the birth. She missed Emma’s by a few minutes and didn’t want the same thing to happen this time. Sadly… she didn’t answer the phone! OH NO! I then called my good friend, Romanda. Marc and I had invited her and her 3 daughters to be with us for the birth. She was super excited and promised to be right over.

Marc started filling up the birth pool while I was working on getting the bed prepped. Once the pool was filling, Marc came out to help with the bed. About this time Emma woke up. I went in to get her and took a minute to snuggle with her as my baby one last time. Marc gave Haley another call, thankfully she answered! He told her what was going on and to come on down! I then yelled up to Kaitie and Mandy to wake up and come down stairs.

All of this happened in just a few minutes… and then there was a lull. OK, Now what? I guess it was time to get to work having a baby.

Mandy walked in a few minutes later all sleepy eyed and said “Good Morning. Did you need me?” I simply pointed to my belly. Her eyes got super wide and she said “Really” “Yep!” She then asked what she could do to help and I just asked her and Kaitie to take care of Emma and make sure she had some juice and breakfast.

I then sat down in my glider and grabbed the laptop. I jumped on Facebook to let all my buddies who were anxiously waiting for some labor news know that I was “finally” in labor. While on the computer I had a good contraction that surprised me a bit. When I was in labor with Emma, I found solace in that glider. It was very soothing and helped me relax. Not so much this time. The contraction I had made me NOT want to be sitting there. I wanted to get up, but it was to painful to move just then. I worked though the contraction and realized I was progressing quite quickly and was probably a little further along than I originally thought.

Just then I realized Amanda, the apprentice midwife had arrived. She asked how I was and watched as I had another contraction. I went in to brush my teeth and Romanda and Cathy showed up right around the same time.

Its about this time that the order of things gets a little fuzzy for me. I remember Cathy checking me to make sure I was far enough along to get in the pool, as it can actually slow labor down if you aren’t dilated enough and we didn’t want that! I REALLY did not want to lay down to be checked. I just knew how bad it would hurt laying on my back having a contraction! Why is that the standard in hospitals? Get up women! Labor is so much more manageable when you aren’t in a prone position! (ok, off the soapbox now - sorry) As Cathy finished checking me, I was 5-6cm, I started having a big contraction. Thankfully Marc pulled me up and helped me get through it.

Tub Time!

Getting into the pool was great! The water felt perfect and it was nice and deep. I was able to relax a little and was joking around with Romanda, Cathy and Amanda. Marc was in and out of the bathroom, getting the kids situated in the living room. I heard Jake was awake and all the kids, mine and Romanda’s were playing.

Very soon though, labor got harder and I found it more more difficult to joke and relax in between contractions. Marc was supporting me by holding me up a little and rubbing my neck. He was gently whispering to me, cheering me on and giving me words of encouragement.

Amanda had gotten a large pitcher and was pouring water onto my lower back during contractions. It felt so good!

Around (I’m guessing) 10-10:15 I started getting the urge to push. Surprisingly it wasn’t as strong an urge as it had been with Kaitie and Mandy or Emma’s birth. Here is also where I ran into a little problem. Not really a big issue by any means, but it made my pushing stage a lot longer than it needed to be. What was the problem? I had to go to the bathroom. Yep… I needed to have a bowel movement.

I was telling myself that this was normal. A lot of woman have bowel movements during labor… Let it go Alicia, let it go. But I was having a hard time with that.

After a short bit, I wasn’t making much progress with the pushing, so Cathy urged me to move to the bed. I think I was kind of relieved for the change. I didn’t realize it till after I moved, but I think the water was starting to bug me a bit.

At first, I was on the bed on all fours leaning over onto some pillows.

This just lasted a few minutes as Cathy gave me the birthing ball to lean on… Oh, I loved that so much better!

Sadly, I didn’t improve on the pushing front. I was still having the same problem as before.

After a few minutes, Marc mentioned to Cathy that I had problems pushing with Kaitie and Mandy because I had a full bladder and needed a catheter to empty. Cathy agreed and told me that she wanted me to move towards the toilet.

Once I was there, I don’t know if it was the position or the subconscious knowledge that I was where I needed to be… but I started having a very productive contraction and started pushing very seriously!

Then the realization hit! I could feel him crowning and I said “Oh, No! Not on the toilet!” But then another contraction hit and Cathy instructed me to stand up. I told her I couldn’t. She assured me, kind of firmly, that indeed I could. I stood up, braced myself and pushed that baby right out! Not on the toilet. (Praise God for that!)

I sat down and Cathy handed him to me. It was awesome! He cried, but just a little bit. I immediately noticed he had a little birthmark on his head, right on his soft spot. I also immediately noticed that he looked just like the rest of my children… in other words, just like Marc. I was not surprised.

I apologized to Marc for not being able to catch the baby. He chuckled a bit and said that it was OK.

It was about this time that Haley showed up. She missed the birth by about 3 minutes. Sorry again Haley!

Kaitie, Mandy, Jake and Emma came in to see our new baby. It was so great to see their reactions as they saw Luke for the very first time.

Amanda gave me a shot of pitocin to help lesson my bleeding (us redheads tend to dislike clotting for some reason) and I moved to my bed.

All the kids shuffled in and gathered around the bed to look at us and start doting on Luke. It was so great to have all those girls in the same room. Little Emma at 2 years old seeing her first newborn baby to Cathy who has seen well over 500! Fantastic!

After a few minutes, when the umbilical cord had stopped pulsating Cathy clamped the cord and Marc cut it. Then I delivered the placenta. Cathy and Amanda gave a little class to the kids, describing the placentas parts and what it does. Then all the kids, except for Emma, put on gloves and poked and prodded away at the placenta. It was quiet funny to see how into they were - those freaky little homeschooled kids.

Luke latched on right away. It actually surprised me a bit! He had such a powerful latch! Of course, he hasn’t come up for breath yet - or at least it seems that way!

Cathy ran a wonderful herbal bath for Luke and I while Amanda cleaned up and started the laundry and Marc made me something to eat. The bath was marvelous! Chamomile and lavender and lots of other fragrant and healing herbs. It was a little weird having Luke in the bath with me so soon. I’m sure you have all heard the advice to not get the umbilical wet, but this herbal bath actually helps dry out the cord. I loved being in the bath with Luke and watching him, mostly submerged, just floating peacefully. Every time he moved I could imagine him back in the womb kicking and poking me. It was beautiful.

Marc brought me one of his famous omelets and an English muffin with blackberry jelly.

After the bath, Luke and I settled into bed. Romanda and her kids had left, and mine were playing nicely in the living room. Things were quieting down. Cathy and Amanda finished up with us, checking vitals and making sure we were doing great. They passed on some instructions, packed up and were on there way. Marc climbed into bed with us and we enjoyed a very peaceful, relaxing moment. Reflecting in the events of the past few hours we marveled on how fast and perfect it went and that we had our new son with us. We also couldn’t get over how relaxed we felt. The whole homebirth experience was so perfect and relaxing. There were no nurses and other hospital staff coming and going, no bright lights, no limitations or restrictions. I was in MY bed, with MY baby and MY husband. MY kids could come and go as they please. I could eat or drink what I wanted when I wanted. Seriously… It was as close to perfect as I could imagine.