After my appointment on Wednesday (as well as before) I had been having a good bit of braxton hicks and with each one was wondering if it was going to start hurting and finally be go time....and each time the answer was no|!
We had gone out Saturday night, the 12th, to a high school friend's house (yes, we still hang out occasionally, even after 16 years) and it was crazy as there were 4 of us preggos there. It has been a while since I have been together with so many pregnant girls! Being out late and sleeping at someone else's house, we stayed at my dad's as he had kept the kids for the night, left my husband and I ready for some relaxation and an early bedtime Sunday night! I spend my Sunday afternoon running errands and trying to get some stuff done (without the kids) to prepare for our trip to Disney in February. The kids then had their church activities in the early evening in which the youngest and I ran more errands to get stuff for dinner. By the time we got home at 6:45 I was spent and starving! After engulfing dinner and an abbreviated bedtime routine we had the kids down at 7:45 and were ready to finally take it easy. I was going to the bathroom before taking my much desired shower for the day when I heard the undeniable "pop" and felt the small rush of water.
I know my husband was not expecting the words that came out of my mouth next "my water just broke". I am not sure anyone expects that to be the next words out of someone's mouth who just goes into the bathroom for a quick potty break:) But, I am very grateful that my water decided to break there verses on one of my 300 errands today or while driving in the car (which happened with my second) as that is just not fun to explain or clean up!
Since I hadn't showered all day I went ahead and took a shower and that is when I had my first contraction. It was not strong but a little more intense then what I had been feeling over the last couple of days. I was anxious to see how this labor would go as the other two times my water broke first I did not start my contractions for 3-6 hours! But, after my shower I made sure my cousin was on her way to come stay with the kids and then let the intended parents know that they would have a baby that night. While we were home my contractions never got so bad that I could not walk or talk through them but I was too scared to take my chances and wait for stronger contractions before heading to the birth center...especially since it is 30 mins from our house!
We left for the birth center a little after 8:30 and got there a little after 9. During the drive my contractions continued to get stronger each time. Once we arrived at the center the midwife started taking care of business taking my blood pressure and temperature. She checked me shortly after getting there and I was already 7 cm! I was sure I wanted to try to labor in the shower so we went ahead and turned it on to warm up so I could see if it gave me relief. Around 9:15 I got into the shower and sat on a shower seat (with an opening like a toilet seat) and within a contraction or 2 started feeling the urge to push...I could not believe how fast things were going! With the next contraction I pushed the baby pretty far down the birth canal and on the second contraction I pushed the baby out! She came out crying at 9:35:) My fear was always that the midwife would drop the baby in the shower but have no fear, she held on to her and kept her safe.
I could not believe that I was holding this baby in my arms! I did not know what I would feel for this little girl but was pleasantly surprised how at peace I was. I felt a bond to her but did not feel sad to have to give her up, from the beginning it was never my baby and never something I wanted.
I continued to sit in the shower and hold the baby. We were waiting for the placenta to detach. It took 10-15 mins for it to do so with the midwife checking every couple of minutes. Also while I was in the shower the other 2 people from the birth center who were supposed to be at the birth finally arrived at the birth center! The intended parents were not the only ones who missed the birth of this baby!! After the placenta was out I rinsed off then headed back to the room to get dressed then lay down and relax a little bit.
The intended parents finally showed up around 10:10 or so and were able to finally get to see this little bundle of joy! They had left the umbilical cord and placenta attached so the father could cut the cord. He did this then they immediately took the baby to the other birth room so the mother and her could have some skin to skin contact. My husband and I just lounged on the bed updating our friends and family that all went well and I was doing ok.
It is in my contract to pump for a week following delivery so I pumped at the birth center and only got .75 of an ounce. It is such a small amount when I have sometimes gotten over 5 ounces from one side alone!! I did visit with the intended parents and baby for a few minutes to give them the milk but mostly wanted to give this new family time alone.
I did feel a little neglected when the intended parents arrived, but had to keep reminding myself that this whole process was to give them a healthy baby and they have been waiting for her for over a year. I thought back to my time in the hospital right after each delivery and I know that we did not care much about anything else then the new baby. When I was able to put myself in their shoes I realized I would probably do the same thing!
We stayed at the birth center until around 12:45 then headed home to hopefully get a good night's sleep. We were tired to say the least!
Should have been 2 more weeks to go;)
Sorry for the lighting of the first two pictures, they were taken immediately after birth while I was still in the shower. The last picture is when I was "resting" and one of the midwifes was holding the baby until the parents got there.
Since I hadn't showered all day I went ahead and took a shower and that is when I had my first contraction. It was not strong but a little more intense then what I had been feeling over the last couple of days. I was anxious to see how this labor would go as the other two times my water broke first I did not start my contractions for 3-6 hours! But, after my shower I made sure my cousin was on her way to come stay with the kids and then let the intended parents know that they would have a baby that night. While we were home my contractions never got so bad that I could not walk or talk through them but I was too scared to take my chances and wait for stronger contractions before heading to the birth center...especially since it is 30 mins from our house!
We left for the birth center a little after 8:30 and got there a little after 9. During the drive my contractions continued to get stronger each time. Once we arrived at the center the midwife started taking care of business taking my blood pressure and temperature. She checked me shortly after getting there and I was already 7 cm! I was sure I wanted to try to labor in the shower so we went ahead and turned it on to warm up so I could see if it gave me relief. Around 9:15 I got into the shower and sat on a shower seat (with an opening like a toilet seat) and within a contraction or 2 started feeling the urge to push...I could not believe how fast things were going! With the next contraction I pushed the baby pretty far down the birth canal and on the second contraction I pushed the baby out! She came out crying at 9:35:) My fear was always that the midwife would drop the baby in the shower but have no fear, she held on to her and kept her safe.
I could not believe that I was holding this baby in my arms! I did not know what I would feel for this little girl but was pleasantly surprised how at peace I was. I felt a bond to her but did not feel sad to have to give her up, from the beginning it was never my baby and never something I wanted.
I continued to sit in the shower and hold the baby. We were waiting for the placenta to detach. It took 10-15 mins for it to do so with the midwife checking every couple of minutes. Also while I was in the shower the other 2 people from the birth center who were supposed to be at the birth finally arrived at the birth center! The intended parents were not the only ones who missed the birth of this baby!! After the placenta was out I rinsed off then headed back to the room to get dressed then lay down and relax a little bit.
The intended parents finally showed up around 10:10 or so and were able to finally get to see this little bundle of joy! They had left the umbilical cord and placenta attached so the father could cut the cord. He did this then they immediately took the baby to the other birth room so the mother and her could have some skin to skin contact. My husband and I just lounged on the bed updating our friends and family that all went well and I was doing ok.
It is in my contract to pump for a week following delivery so I pumped at the birth center and only got .75 of an ounce. It is such a small amount when I have sometimes gotten over 5 ounces from one side alone!! I did visit with the intended parents and baby for a few minutes to give them the milk but mostly wanted to give this new family time alone.
I did feel a little neglected when the intended parents arrived, but had to keep reminding myself that this whole process was to give them a healthy baby and they have been waiting for her for over a year. I thought back to my time in the hospital right after each delivery and I know that we did not care much about anything else then the new baby. When I was able to put myself in their shoes I realized I would probably do the same thing!
We stayed at the birth center until around 12:45 then headed home to hopefully get a good night's sleep. We were tired to say the least!
Should have been 2 more weeks to go;)
Sorry for the lighting of the first two pictures, they were taken immediately after birth while I was still in the shower. The last picture is when I was "resting" and one of the midwifes was holding the baby until the parents got there.
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