Part 3

If you haven't yet read the first two parts, make sure to start there!  :)  This post has more gory details, but childbirth isn't all clean and sterile- so be prepared!!

Alright, it's after midnight, though I haven't looked at or paid attention to the time for quite a while now.  I'm in the big, warm, relaxing birthing tub.  My doula and husband are both doing a great job letting me hang out and do whatever I feel like doing in the process of laboring.  But that's an interesting word: laboring.  I didn't really feel like I was working really really hard through the contractions.  In fact, I was mostly sitting back and letting my body do whatever came next in the normal, natural process of childbirth.

As far as pain goes, I never felt like it was enough to ask for any kind of medication, or pain relief.  The water did a great job relaxing my body and mind, and I knew that I had nothing to fear about the whole birth process.  I felt that I trusted the people on my "team" completely, I knew them well, and they knew what to do.  It was a wonderful feeling.  Tara had returned from helping the woman next door deliver her baby, and said she could tell I was getting close!  She had been checking the baby's heartbeat with a doppler (they work under water too!), and every time she checked she'd smile and say softly"Happy baby"  So reassuring, and I was never worried.

Around 12:15am my body started pushing the baby out.  That may seem like a surprising way to put it, but it is exactly what happened.  During a contraction all the sudden my stomach muscles started tightening in a different way, and it almost felt like I was coughing.  I had very little control over it at all! If you had told me to stop pushing, I probably couldn't have done it.  During one push my water broke, and Tara said it was clear.  The water broke with such force it felt like a balloon exploded (and I guess it kind of did!)  I could feel the baby's head descending, and feel myself opening even more that I knew was possible.  There was no one yelling in my ear to push, or forcing my body into an uncomfortable position.....however I was floating in the water was how the baby was going to come out- and that was okay.   Babies come out all sorts of ways!!   I do remember Heather at my side gently telling me to put my chin down, but I was in another place at that moment, so she tapped the bottom of my chin and then my chest and said "Put this here"- and it worked!

Tara shined a flashlight down so they could see the head start to emerge.  In between contractions she said, "Mary his head is coming out, do you want to reach down and feel it?"  and I said "Oh no!  I can feel it!!"  Hahahaha!  I was feeling the "ring of fire", and wanting him out (who doesn't?), so I asked her "Can you just pull him out?" and she laughed.  I don't remember exactly what she said, but I know she told me I was doing a great job getting him out myself.  I had some tearing with Maddox, and I had shared with them my fears of tearing again, so Tara did her best to help me ease him out, and I really think the water helped too!

Just 14 minutes after my SROM (spontaneous rupture of membranes), at 12:39 am Maverick entered the world under water, and went straight into my arms.  Tara caught him, and brought him up out of the water as I grabbed him.  She got quite wet in the process- but that's part of the job!!  He was so warm and wrinkly, and amazingly clean!  Tara remarked about how clean he was.  I held him for a while as he was wrapped in a towel and given a hat.  Heather took a few photos, which I'm keeping for memories, but not going to share.  The labor pains seemed to disappear, although I know that it wasn't completely over, I just don't remember pain anymore.  Once the cord was cut he went to be cleaned up (minimally) and then went straight to skin to skin time with Marshall while I got out of the tub and got cleaned up.  I had to deliver the placenta, and only needed one tiny stitch.  I started nursing right away, and it seemed like time was standing still.

I'm clean, now pick me up!!

At some point I remember the Peds nurse coming in to give us our bracelets, do the paperwork, etc.  She looked to be about 75 years old, and seemed forgetful.  We declined most of the common newborn treatments except the Vitamin K shot.  She took his footprints, did some other things, an said she'd be back later to weigh him. (she forgot and we had to call them to send her down again later)  Tara left to shower and said she be back to check on us, and we sent Heather home to get some sleep after having an incredible "Wow, we did it!!  Can you believe how perfect it was!?" conversation.  Then it seemed the whirlwind was over, the lights were out, and we were both lying in bed together just looking at our sweet baby before 2:00am  It. was. AWESOME.  I couldn't sleep because I couldn't stop thinking about how awesome it was.

My favorite photo:

Coming up....some pictures of the Birthday Boy, and thoughts and doulas and midwives.

Part 2

Heather was on her way and we were down in the lobby of TLF, having decided that laboring at home for a while (which had originally been the plan) wasn't going to happen.  We needed to get to Norfolk as my contractions were now moving towards 4 to 5 minutes apart, stronger, and I could no longer talk through them.  I was more than happy to just get to the birth center and be able to labor there, with the big shower, birthing tub, rocking chair, big Queen sized bed, etc.

One of the Birthing Rooms at the Midwifery Center

Heather arrived, and we were off.  She followed behind us.  As we came up to the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, we could quickly see that what is normally a 2 lane tunnel was going down to one lane for some night-time repairs.  Wonderful.  Every contraction I had was pretty painful and I was grabbing on to the "oh shit" handle (you know, the one above the passenger window?) and pulling myself up off the seat because it made my back feel better.  As the cars were merging together into one lane, Heather was stuck to our bumper trying to stay with us, but there was this one guy who was acting like he was going to run her off the road rather than let her in.  I was looking in my side mirror thinking "Oh my lord, my doula is going to get into a road rage incident on our way to have a baby!"  Hahaha!  She got in, and all was well.  She probably would've gotten out of the car and beat the crap out of the guy if necessary, she doesn't mess around.  I also shot off a quick text message to my friends (the Real Housewives of Hampton Roads) letting them know we were sneaking off to the hospital....they were all thrilled!

What normally was a 20 minute drive to the hospital ended up taking us around 45 minutes, so it is a good thing we left when we did.  As we pulled into the hospital Marshall dropped me off at the door and then drove across the street to park the car.  Heather was also parking, and hurrying to catch me.  I tried the door and *IT WAS LOCKED*.  No joke.  I totally forgot that they said after 9pm (or maybe it was 10?) they would lock that entrance and you had to enter the hospital through the other entrance CLEAR ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BUILDING.  Not cool, DePaul, not cool.  So I turned around and yelled across the street to Marshall, who was getting our bag out of the car, and said "The door is locked!".  He thought I said "My water broke!" and came sprinting across the street with a towel in his hand!  I think men who have a wife in labor have a little hard time hearing because of their adrenaline level.  :)

Just then a car pulled up and a hospital worker got out and used their badge to open the door.  She could see that I was there to deliver a baby, and told us to come on in!  Thank you random stranger!  We made our way up to the floor where the Midwifery Center is, and went right into one of the birthing rooms, since we had already pre-registered at the hospital.  It was nice not to have to fill out forms and answer tons of questions right away.  We met our nurse Colleen, who was wonderful and did a great job helping me get changed and set up to do the initial 20 minute fetal monitoring period, after which I was free to labor how I chose with intermittent monitoring, as long as everything was fine.  Tara came in to check on me and see how I was progressing.  She let me know that she'd be with the woman in the next room who would be delivering soon, but that she'd soon be back.  The hardest part was just lying still on that bed, I wanted badly to get up and move around, it was SUPER uncomfortable.  I was lying on my left side, which was most comfortable to me, and when I would have a contraction I was pushing with my right foot downward on the bed, lifting up my pelvis a little bit.  I don't know why this felt better to do, I think it had to do with the position of the baby at the time.  The contractions were maybe 3 to 4 minutes apart, I can't really remember at this point- I wasn't timing them anymore, just focusing on breathing.  Heather was doing a great job keeping a cold washcloth on my head because I was sweating a ton (thank you hormones!) and so hot, and she also talked to me and helped keep my mind off of feeling chained down in the bed. The monitoring was FINALLY over and I got out of the bed as quickly as I could.  I'm not sure exactly when it was, but sometime around now is when Colleen asked me if Marshall was my husband, and I looked at her and said "You don't think I drag him around for fun!?"  Sorry Colleen!  I bet nurses get snippy b!tches giving birth all the time right??  I think if that's the worst thing I said during labor, then that's pretty good!

I have to say, that at no point during any of this was I scared, and I don't think Marshall was either.  We had taken a Birthworks Int'l class that helps couples prepare for natural childbirth, and it was fantastic.  So, we knew what was happening, what was coming next, what we could do, etc.  We were empowered and over all just excited!

They checked me and I was already 8cm dilated!  Woot!  I really felt great about that, like most of the hard work was already behind me!  The tub was already filled, and I knew I wanted to labor in the water, so I got in.  I left my sports bra on, but really, all modesty is out the window at this point in childbirth, you really don't care who sees your business, or what you look like.   As soon as I got into the water, I knew I probably wasn't getting out.  It. was. AWESOME.  The water just lifts up all your heavy pregnant weight, and takes the pressure off of your joints and back.  I was still feeling the contractions, but they were localized, and I wouldn't say they were severe.  I was shaking on and off, which is a sign that I was having some major hormonal stuff happening, but I never felt nauseous.  I leaned against the side, sometimes on my left, sometimes on my right.  I tried to get on my knees and lean forward, but that didn't feel good, so I just leaned against the side again.  At this point I started making this "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh" sound during the contractions- trying to keep my mouth open, taking deep breaths, and focusing on opening and relaxing.

...more coming...