Full Circle Midwifery

Family Love! 34 weeks pregnant.

I can’t believe I get to write another birth story already!!!  Time flies…feeling very, very blessed!

We were approaching our due date which was mentally hard knowing I went a week early with our first little one.  You always here that second babies come sooner so even though I tried not to believe that, it was still something in the back of my mind.  As my due date came closer I started getting very antsy.  I wasn’t too uncomfortable physically yet but I was definitely getting the “I’m ready” feeling.  4 days before my due date I woke up in the middle of the night with consistent mild contractions but once the morning came they went away and didn’t return.  I never have had “false” or “practice” labor before so this was discouraging.  I decided to be excited that my body was preparing for the birth and I just needed to be patient a little longer.  The day before our due date I had a normal prenatal appointment.  Everything seemed great and they reminded me that baby knows when the best time is to come.  My blood pressure was a little elevated, nothing to be of concern but I looked back at my records and I went into labor with Sawyer the night of my prenatal appointment and my blood pressure was a little elevated then as well (no idea if this was a coincidence or not!).  I left my prenatal feeling really good and mentally in a good place.  I absolutely love my midwives, they are always so encouraging, patient, confident and reassuring.  I was able to take a deep breath and drive home feeling like I could be patient for another 1 or 2 weeks if I had to!
That night I drank some kombucha before bed and told Jay I think I drank too much because my stomach felt funny.  I woke up that night at 1am to go to the bathroom (I had been having to pee 1-3 times a night for weeks!) and came back to bed.  Once I laid down I felt my first contraction.  Very mild but it was definitely a contraction.  That lasted for the rest of the night every 10-15 minutes.  I didn’t wake up Jay because they were so mild and I knew he had to work the next day.  At 5am I decided to take a shower because I knew if they went away with a warm shower it wasn’t the real thing.  I ended up having 2 or 3 back to back contractions in the shower. Still very doable but I definitely knew this was labor.  I got out and woke up Jay  just to let him know what was going on.  I sent my Mom a text to ask her to work from home that day (she was going to take care of Sawyer while I was in labor).  We laid around in bed until about 6 or 6:30 and then Sawyer got up for the day. I decided to cuddle with him while Jay got breakfast ready for us.  The contractions were getting a little closer together but the same intensity.  I decided to get up and start packing up Sawyer’s stuff just in case. As I was walking around they were coming every 5-8 minutes a part and getting a little more intense but definitely doable.  I decided around 8:15am I would text some friends and family to let them know labor was starting and to pray for our sweet baby’s entrance into the world.  Jay was going to go to work since he works so close to home, but all of a sudden I had to lay down during the next contraction.  Sawyer was crawling all over Momma thinking it was time to play and it broke my heart that I couldn’t!  Jay knew at this point he probably shouldn’t go to work so he made some phone calls and I called my Mom to come get Sawyer.  She came right away and by the time she got there I was laying down in bed for my contractions trying to get some rest in between.  I told my Mom, “I can’t believe I’m going through this again.” and she said, “remember this when you want 3 or 4 kids!” You have to know my Mom in order to think this is funny, she is a realist for sure!  As they were leaving I got extremely emotional thinking the next time I’d see Sawyer he won’t be my only baby anymore. I started crying and yelled for them to bring him back into the room so I could give him one more kiss and get one more picture of just us.

Mommy and Sawyer – I get emotional writing this!

After they left Jay started cleaning up around the house, got the birthing supplies ready and began setting up the birthing tub.  He realized we were missing a part to the hose (we probably shouldn’t have waited until labor started to check if the tub had everything haha!) so he was going to go to Ace Hardware down the street.  Once he left the contractions started getting closer and harder to deal with.  I could feel the baby in my butt so I knew he/she was coming down quickly.  I called Jay and said to get home asap and then I called one of our midwives, Dorothy, to let her know she could start making her way here.  I was still in denial.  I called her earlier and she said it sounded like she should come but I didn’t want her to waste her time being here all day so I said she could wait a little bit longer. So glad they decided to come!   Before the midwives got here I started to panic and cry to Jay saying, “I am scared I can’t do this again, please help get the fear out of me!  I need to tell myself I can do this!”  I can’t say this enough, Jay is by far the best husband in this entire world.  He never left my side, he encouraged me, believed in me, and helped me through each contraction as if he was having one too.  I could not do it without him.
Our first midwife, Barb, arrived at 9:27am. I was so relieved!  I asked her to check me because I knew my water hadn’t broken yet so risk of infection was low.  She said you sound like your body is progressing fine are you sure you want me to check?  I said yes, I needed to know.  She checked and I was 8cm already and the head was very low!  This gave me a boost of confidence that my body was doing a wonderful job and I just had to keep going! Barb and Jay helped me breath through the next contractions and then Dorothy, our delivering midwife, showed up at 10:05am.  She was a little over 39 weeks pregnant and I just kept telling her how bad I felt that she had labor to go through haha!  (she ended up having a beautiful baby girl at home a week and 1 day later!)
I had her check me at 10:15a and I was 9+ with a lip.  I continued to labor on the bed going back and forth from side lying and hands and knees.  I felt so comfortable on the bed.  When I labored with Sawyer I was all over the place (toilet, couch, floor, ball, shower, birthing tub, bed, etc).  I started feeling pushy around 10:22am and was complete at 10:46.  I started pushing and this was so hard for me.  I really do not like pushing like a lot of other women do.  Sawyer had his hand up by is head so he made me push for 4 hours, and little Sophia was coming down slower than expected because she was posterior! (we didn’t know she was posterior until she was born.  I didn’t even have any back labor, yay!)  My water was still intact and at 11:38am I thought I was pushing the head out when really it was my bag of water!  Jay said it looked like a water balloon with vernix swimming inside of it. I was quite frustrated that it wasn’t the head.  The bag of water broke at 11:39am and it was such a relieving feeling.  I’m glad they left the water intact though.  It was giving me a ton of pressure but they kept reminding me how much safer and easier it was for the baby.  I was starting to have to blow during contractions around noon.  It is so hard not to push, especially when you just want to see your baby!  My midwives took such good care of us though and made sure it was a slow process with lots of water oil and compresses.  Baby was full crown at 12:04pm and born at 12:05pm!!!  She was put right on my belly:)

We still didn’t know if she was a boy or girl yet!  Just enjoying the moment of it all!

Hi sweet girl!

I LOVE this picture of her holding Daddy’s hand already!

After about 5-7 minutes the midwives asked if we were going to check if we had a boy or girl!

Daddy checking if we have a boy or girl.  Jay’s eyes welled up with tears and he said, “Honey we have a girl!”  Such a beautiful moment it is to find out what has been in your belly for 9 months!  We both thought we were having a boy so it was a huge surprise for us!  I cried happy tears and said “I even have a pink shirt on for you!”

Daddy cutting Sophia’s cord.

After the cord was cut I began nursing at 12:25pm and she latched on right away!  She has been a wonderful nurser!  Praise God!  My Mom says it’s because she is a girl, we know how to figure things out:)
Daddy held Sophie for a little bit while I showered and got cleaned up.  They then did the newborn exam.

7lbs 2oz and 19.5 inches long:)  Just perfect!

Checking our little sweetpea over.

Daddy got Sophia dressed and checked her spine.  He said she was in good shape and didn’t need an an adjustment, even after being posterior!

Laying oh so still!

“Hi Dada!  Thanks for taking care of me!”

We cuddled some more and Jay had lunch with the midwives while I made some phone calls to family and friends.  It was so nice having a day birth.  We felt like we had a little more energy and it was nice to be able to enjoy the rest of the day with each other in our own home.  Our midwives were amazing once again.  We cannot thank them enough for being with us during one of the best days of our lives.  Their wisdom, patience, and love for birth is such a gift to our family.  After cleaning up our house, throwing in a load of laundry, and making sure we were settled in, they left at 2:30pm.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for EVERYTHING you do for our family.  From the prenatals, phone calls, e-mails, etc…you are always there.  Looking forward to knowing if God has more kids planned for us, if so, we’ll be calling:)

Our family came over to visit in the afternoon.  My parents brought Sawyer to meet his new baby sister.  It was such a surreal moment to see my two babies together. I kept thanking God over and over in my head for such wonderful children.  If they only knew how much joy and love they put in our hearts by just being them.

Our family!

Sawyer isn’t sure about his sister yet.  He has always been a thinker and observer so I know it is going to take some time to accept the change.  His heart is very sensitive and seeing sissy cry bothers him and I know the change is a little overwhelming.  He won’t touch, hold or kiss little Sophie. (“no hug” “no kiss”).  I can’t wait for the day they start to bond and have a relationship that no one else has.

Sophia Jane, little girls are so very special, and we can’t believe God gave us one of His daughters!  We promise to love you, guide you, and protect you along your life journey.  We pray for your heart and your life plans already. Your big brother, Sawyer, is an amazing little boy and I know he will take such good care of you!  He is sweet, sensitive, and oh so loving!  We have been waiting for you to get here so we can start making memories as a family of 4!  Thank you for coming into the world so quickly and arriving right on time!  You don’t get that from your momma!:)  We love you so much!  Welcome to the world sweetheart!