And Then There Were Two; A Birth Story

My contractions started about 6am and were 11 minutes apart. It wasn't anything different then I'd been experiencing the last 2 weeks, so I went back to sleep. They continued to come 11 minutes apart all through the morning – not intense, but noticeable. We went for a walk to the park, and they started coming anywhere from 3 to 11 minutes apart, still very mild. I kept expecting them to stop and didn't dare hope that I was really going to have a baby today!

Around 2pm they started to become more regular at 7 minutes apart, and I had to concentrate through them. They also started to radiate into my back, and that's when I knew there wasn't going to be any stopping; I was transitioning into active labor! I called my mom and my birth attendant, Jenica, and told them it was time to come. I was restless and didn't want to sit or lay down, so I kept walking through them, pacing up and down our little hallway, trying to breathe and relax through them. Tim was timing them and was good about massaging my back when I had to lean over the bed or couch during the peaks.

My mom, dad, and sister arrived at my house around 3pm, and Jenica showed up shortly after. Jackson was still running around the house and yard playing baseball, completely unaware of the goings-on. My family stayed and chatted for a while, and I would walk around during contractions and focus while they discussed various subjects. Standing and rocking back and forth seemed to help keep me focused and relaxed the most. The contractions were getting more and more intense, but I wasn't ready to go to the hospital. We went way too early with Jackson, and I was determined to stay at home as long as possible this time.

My family left around 4pm with Jackson, and by then I was unable to walk through the contractions. I was on my hands and knees, kneeling over a birth ball and really concentrating on relaxing. Tim was working on loading up the car with all my bags. Jenica and my mom were guiding my breathing, watching for tense areas on my body, reminding me to relax those areas (mostly my shoulders and feet), and telling me what a great job I was doing. I started sweating and feeling a little sick to my stomach during the contractions. We decided to call my midwife at 4:30pm when they were 5 minutes apart. She said to go ahead and come into the hospital sometime within the next hour or two. That sounded good to me!

Just minutes after hanging up with my midwife, my contractions went from 5 minutes apart, to 1 minute or less apart. They were extremely intense and I did not want to move, even in-between them. Jenica insisted that we needed to get to the hospital ASAP, and I agreed; only they were having a hard time getting me up off the floor. Every time a contraction would start to release, I would try to stand up, only to have to go back down just as another one was starting. It took them a good 10 minutes to get me up and walking to the car.

I was in the driveway, leaning over the hood of the car, when my water broke. There was so much pressure immediately afterwards, and sitting in the car was the last thing I wanted to do. Tim got me in the car and was trying to lean my seat backwards, and I was telling him not to worry about it, and to get in the *$#@ car and get me to the hospital because I needed to push!

The ride to the hospital was hard! Every little bump intensified the contractions 100 times. My mom was in the back seat holding my cell phone to my ear, while Jenica, who had taken her own car, talked me through the ride. Of course, we hit every single red light on the way. There was no putting on the flashers and driving through without killing someone because we were on North Temple and pedestrians were everywhere! Jenica did some visualization and really worked on getting me to breathe deep, and kept telling me to breathe my baby down, not to push down, because I REALLY needed to push at that point.

We arrived at the hospital, and Tim ran in and got a wheelchair. He wheeled me into Labor and Delivery while my mom parked the car. We sat at the front desk for what seemed like forever while the nurses asked Tim silly questions about my social security number and birth date – neither of which he could remember. I kept telling the nurses that I HAD to push, but they weren't taking me seriously. Jenica was still there guiding my breathing. She had brought along Jackson's newborn picture and showed it to me and said, "There's your little squishy face." Immediately, an overwhelming sense of calm came over me, and I knew I could do this. Finally, they rolled me into the triage room and had me put on a gown and get on the bed so a nurse could check my progress. She checked, said "You're dilated to a 10 and the baby is coming!" and left the room in a hurry to get help.

My mom walked in about the time the nurse checked me, came over to see, and said "Oh honey, I can see her head!" as about 10 people rushed into the room, including more nurses, a medical student, people from NICU since there was meconium in the waters, and a random OB doctor that just happened to be there. The doctor asked, "Does she want an epidural?" as she snapped on her gloves, obviously not realizing that the reason she had been rushed into the triage room of L&D because the baby was crowning, and that's why they needed her?!?!?! Then she asked me "Can I check you to see if you're fully dilated?" and I told her "NO!" Just then, my midwife, who had been jogging through the hallways of the hospital to get there, rushed in, snapped on her gloves and told me I could go ahead and push. So I did. 3 times. And there was Naomi. All 8 pounds 4 ounces and 22 inches of her! It was 5:25PM, 10 minutes after our arrival at the hospital.

I did have a little hemorrhaging, which they were on top of immediately, and said was normal for women whose babies come that fast, but nothing serious enough to have to have a blood transfusion. I was able to nurse within a few minutes, and she was so alert and latched on beautifully. I felt absolutely fantastic, and we were all laughing and partially in shock that it had happened so fast. It was a euphoric, beautiful, exhilarating, spiritual experience that I will definitely do again.

I'm grateful to Tim for remaining calm and obeying all the traffic laws while driving to the hospital – despite my contradicting pleas to "Hurry up and drive slower!" I'm thankful to Jenica for her reminding me of my "little squishy face" and keeping me relaxed and breathing so that Naomi wasn't born in my driveway. I'm thankful that my mom was able to find a parking space so quickly so that she was able to see her granddaughter born. I'm glad I was prepared for natural childbirth and was able to remain calm and focused throughout the labor (all 3 ½ hours of it) which may have otherwise been a scary experience. I'm grateful to Naomi for deciding to come so quickly (but not TOO quick) and for being such a perfect baby.

22 inches!

Grandma and Mia