The Birth Story

I had been feeling crummy all day on Friday. Sitting at work, feeling crampy and sore. I emailed Kara and asked her how labor felt, she called me right back and confirmed that she had felt crappy the whole day before she went into labor with Claire. That night, I had Nick stop at the liquor store and buy a bottle of red wine. (The midwives had told me to have a glass of wine and lay down if I started having contractions. That way, if it was a false start, they would subside.) I knew something was coming.

Saturday was cold and kept threatening to drizzle. I layed around and napped most of the day. We had a crab feast to go to at 2pm at my next-door neighbors' house. I had to drag myself to get dressed and squeezed into a pair of jeans and threw on a black hoody. I actually had a really good time once we were next door. I had never picked my own crabs, but quickly caught on and ate 4 of them! I had yummy orange lemonade and corn on the cob, too. The ladies at my table kept joking and warning me to be careful - that crabs and Old Bay would induce labor! Around 4pm the skies finally opened leaked thier cold drizzle down onto our little feast. We hung out inside for a little while longer (while I ate two peices of cheesecake) and then headed home. The cold and wet was getting to me, so Nick and I started a fire in the fireplace and snuggled up to watch a movie. I can't remember which movie it was now... I decided to go to bed, since I was still feeling icky.

I was all snuggled in, reading my breastfeeding book, when the crampy-icky feeling started to be more of a poopy-gassy feeling. :(  I got up and went to the bathroom, while sitting there doubled over, I hoped labor wouldn't feel like diarrhea pain. Yuck. After all that, I felt much better and got snuggled back into bed. A few minutes passed, and I didn't feel so good again... I went back to the bathroom. This time I had a little bit of bloody show (eww). I went back and forth between bed and the bathroom a few more times with the pain coming and going. Nick is still thinking I just have gas and that the crabs aren't sitting well... (The midwives had said you don't need to call for just bloody show, that can happen without actually going into labor) I say to Nick, "It might be time for that glass of wine." I down the wine, I'm laying on my left side, and the pain is NOT getting any better or less frequent.The next thing I know, U2 is playing on SNL, and I'm writhing on the bed. I'm like, "Hmm... Maybe we should start timing these?" (I saw a rerun of that SNL the other day and just then realized I must have been REALLY uncomfortable, because I didn't make fun of their clothes or Bono's dancing at all!)

At this point, I can't lay down anymore because it's too uncomfortable during the contractions. I call Meghan, my dear friend who's also a doula. She is talking to me and reads me Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaimen. It was beautiful. (She also gifted it to my little Josie, and it's one of our favorite bedtime books.) I call my mom. I walk around and sway my hips and lean on my dresser. They're 4-6 minutes apart. I call the midwife. David is on call - the ONLY male midwife at Special Beginnings, our birthing center. Crap, I think. I wanted anyone but him. I want a woman. My JHU Birth Companion/doula hasn't called me yet - I'm in labor 11 days before the due date. David calls me back, but he's already attending a birth at the hospital. Joanne is the second back up - HOORAY. I LOVE Joanne and we click well. Joanne calls me and tells me to get a shower and call her back when my contractions get to the "next level" (whatever that means, I think). Nick has finally kicked into gear and is packing the rest of the birth bag and trying to get the carseat in the car - in the pouring rain - at 2 in the morning. (We're procrastinators - shut up)

I'm in the shower, having a couple more contractions, and more bloody show. I head back to the bedroom to get dressed, but instead I find myself on my knees, leaning on the bed with wet hair and in a bathrobe. My mom's on the phone and I accidentally hit Nick in the face with the phone as I sling it away from me and ask for the trashcan in case I throw up. Nick and my mom are both like, you should call the midwife back. Oh! When you can't talk or stand through contractions - that's the "next level." Nice.

Somehow the cats end up fed and I am in the car with a bucket to puke in (just in case), a pillow, a cooler full of food, a carseat in place, a bag full of toiletries, fresh clothes, and baby clothes. My husband rocks. It's 2:30am on a Saturday night (drunk hour) in the pouring rain, and we have no gas in the car. Having contractions in the car while your husband pumps gas - fun times. Actually, having contractions in the car at all pretty much sucked. Especially when they're a minute apart and the car ride is an hour long. It should have only been about 40 minutes, but we had always gone to the birth center straight from work, and Nick missed the exit. Whoops. I think I handled it pretty well all things considered (I didn't yell or curse or anything!)

Joanne met us at the birth center. I got out of the car by myself (No, I don't need any help walking, thankyouverymuch.) I don't think I said hi or anything. I just followed her to our room, stripping along the way. I had NO modesty. When she check me, I was at 0 station and 5 cm dialated. It was 3:30am. I labored on the birth ball for a little while, I knelt on the floor for a little while. Things were starting to feel a little blurry and unbearable. Then I was able to get into the tub. Oh, sweet merciful warm water. I had a couple easier contractions and fell asleep! Nick called his mom. I woke up with a powerful (the most painful one) contraction and finally needed that bucket. Nick poured warm water over my back. A few contractions later, I told Joanne I felt the urge to push. She checked me again and was surprised to find that I was ready to go. She told me to push whenever I felt like I needed to. She called the nurse (Kimber) to come in and started getting everything set up.

Things started getting really busy right around this time. I had read that a lot of women feel relief when they push. This part can even induce orgasms in some women. Yeah. Not so much for me. The pushing was the worst part for me. I felt like I was going to tear in half. I remember Kimber urging me on and telling me that it was normal to feel that way and how great I was doing. Her eyes where beautiful and bright, and a great focus point. Nick was telling me just a few more pushes and my daughter would be in my arms. Joanne was monitoring Josie's heart rate and making sure everything was going okay for her. I was leaning on her fleshy cool arm while she monitored during contractions. She put something in the water to help my skin stretch and help with the hemmorroids (they were already bad :-( ). I took another supplement under my tongue to help relax me. They put a mirror in the water if I wanted to see her crowning. I took one peak and then couldn't look the rest of the time. I kept my eyes closed and just focused on getting that freaking head out. It was such a relief once her head was out - Oh my God. Then I felt the need to continue pushing her out. They made me wait and checked her neck for the cord. Her heartrate had dropped once, but came back. She seemed stuck. Joanne was telling me to push slow and steady. All I could think about was that she was stuck. I became very alert and asked where she needed me. Did I need to be further back, on all fours? Direct me. I leaned back and pushed. I probably should've gone slower, but I couldn't wait. The seconds were ticking by like mollases, but too many where ticking by. Like mother, like daughter, her fist was up by her shoulder. (I was born like The Thinker, and actually caught my elbow inside my mother's pelvic bone.) That fist punched through and gave my perenium a "small laceration" which needed quite a bit of stitching. The rest of her body quickly slithered out like a slippery fish. Nick's eyes were misty and Josie's eyes were wide open as Joanne brought her to the surface at 6:28am on Sunday morning.

She was placed on my chest, with her body still under the warm water and a blanket over top of us. She screamed the second her face hit the cold air and was a healthy shade of pink. Something didn't feel right. I could feel her cord tight against me. I told Joanne that it was tight, and she said just not to pull her any higher. That didn't satisfy me. I lifted the blanket to see what was going on and saw that the cord was wrapped around her left ankle. I quickly alerted Joanne and she was able to unwrap it in an instant. We could tell it had been that way for a while because it had grown in a weird kinked shape. That was why her heartrate had dropped once. I wonder if that's why she came a little earlier. Nick cut the cord.

(I know I already posted this pic, but it obviously fits with this post)

I got out of the tub and into the bed for the 3rd stage of labor. Joanne rubbed my belly and the placenta came right out. Sweet relief. It was over and I was emptied. Jocelyn Pearl was on my chest the entire time I got stitched up. Josie had her first merconium movement all over me. Joanne and Kimber cleaned us both up and Nick, Josie and I all ate some breakfast and took a nap. I got up and took a shower. Josie got her weight and length measured. I got my discharge instructions, took a picture or two and off we went.

We pulled up outside our house at 3pm on Sunday. It was finally warm and sunny and all of the neighbors were outside to greet Miss Jocelyn and welcome her home.