Full Circle Midwifery

A week and a half before our baby was due I was having night time cramping and one night even had a little bleeding.  A week before our baby was born I had 2 hour contractions but it ended up being false labor.  This was super discouraging but I knew I was still early and needed to enjoy our baby growing peacefully in my belly a little bit longer.

On the 4th of July I had some loose stool and cramping.  Nothing came of it so we decided to go on with our day.  We went over to our parents’ house and had a wonderful day.  I was super tired and just didn’t feel “right,” but nothing was happening.  We went home and put the kids to bed and enjoyed another night together watching the show, “Parenthood.”  July 5th came and we wanted to go to Church.  We ended up going to the 2nd service because we couldn’t get out of the house fast enough.  I told Jay I didn’t feel like I could get ready for the day but I did anyway.  I was so tired!  We had a great Church service and our Pastor’s wife, Brenda, came up to me and rubbed my belly.  She said, “Come on out baby!”  Little did she know our little one listened to her:)

We went home and went on with our day.  I was having a lot more frequent and more noticeable braxton hicks but nothing to make me think labor was coming.  I was extremely tired and decided to take a nap.  I woke up at 4:45pm and came downstairs to cook dinner.  My first real contraction came around 5pm.  I continued to cook and another one, then another one came.  I thought maybe I should time them to see if this could be something.  They were consistently 4-7 minutes apart.  I told Jay I’m not sure if this was real or another false labor.  We ate dinner as a family and at 6pm I decided I should at least let the midwives know what was happening just in case.  They were at another birth and told me to keep in touch with them.  At around 6:15pm I had a contraction that was a bit stronger and Jay and I decided to call his parents to come get the kids because tonight could be the night!:)  They came at 7:15pm and I took one last picture with them and then helped load the kids in the van.  I gave them a lot of kisses. 🙂 They’d have a new sibling when they returned!

We kept in constant contact with our midwives while I took a bath, got an adjustment and relaxed.  Jay got me some tea and started setting up our birth tub.  I then got dressed and tried to mentally prepare for our baby’s journey into the world!

Around 7:45pm we decided to have Jen (our birth photographer but also a student midwife with our midwifery team.  She is wonderful!) head our way so she could get some early labor pictures as well as monitor my progress.  She arrived around 8:15pm – 8:30pm.  I was downstairs at the time.  I REALLY liked leaning over the counter or couch while swaying my hips.  I also loved leaning on the birthing ball. These positions were new to me and felt the most comfortable.  With Sawyer I labored everywhere but was so exhausted I ended up on the bed.  With Sophia I never got off the bed, I felt the most comfortable just laying through contractions.  It felt nice to move around this time.  Around 8:40pm my contractions were every 3-4 minutes and I started to lose my mucous plug.

I was able to breathe through contractions and handle them on my own until about 9pm.  I really needed Jay to rub my back at this point while I started to moan more through my contractions.  They were getting very strong and were 2-3 minutes apart.  I started feeling a little shaky and deep down I knew transition was near (I didn’t want to be checked because I didn’t want to be disappointed!  I wanted to trust that my body was working the way it is supposed to.)  During the last contraction downstairs, I needed to lay down on the floor so we decided it was time to head upstairs.  Jen and Jay had to really help me up the stairs!  I should have gone earlier 🙂

At 9:15pm I was laying on my left side on the bed.  I was really needing to moan and have Jay massage my back during contractions now.  I could feel the baby moving down so that was encouraging but I had to REALLY focus hard on not losing control.

I watched a birth video where someone was using a comb to hold in their hand during a contraction so I tried that.  It was actually really nice to have something to distract me and focus on.  I chose to have pillows between my legs this time so I could keep my pelvis open but not have to strain my legs.  It was a lot more comfortable and recommend it!  No leg or hip cramps this time, yay!

I mentioned to Jay that I was worried the baby was posterior since I was feeling so much pressure in my back.  He said, “well honey you delivered a posterior baby before you can do it again!”  I appreciated the encouragement but I wasn’t looking forward to it!  As the contractions got stronger I remembered a friend of mine, Lindsay, saying with her 3rd child she “blew raspberries” with her mouth during a contraction.  I decided to give that a try and was surprised with how much it helped me!  Jay was trying his hardest not to laugh at the random noises coming out of me lol!

Our 3 midwives showed up from the other birth between 9:30pm-9:40pm. (thankfully Jen told them to come since I couldn’t make a decision haha!)  My whole team was there! YAY!!! There is just such a sense of relief when you open your eyes from a contraction and see everyone there.  I love them so much!

They all encouraged me to get in the tub now.  I knew I was getting close to pushing but felt like my comfort zone was on my bed.  I didn’t know any different.  Jay was very encouraging and told me to try the tub and if I didn’t like it I could get out.  I could barely move and started to cry.  I always cry once it is towards the end so it was a good sign!  I was excited, scared, in pain and didn’t want to move!  Everyone helped me get in and I had a contraction right away and knew it was time to push.

I asked Dorothy to check me to make sure I didn’t have a lip or anything that would be harmful to push.  She said I was complete and the head was right there!  I also felt the head which gave me a little boost of energy to keep going!  Jay was rubbing my back and being the best husband in the whole wide world.  I was so scared to do a contraction without him, he never left my side.

I was starting to get hot and needed a cool wash cloth.  I was hoping I was close to being done but I have never pushed very well in the past so I was trying not to get my hopes up!  I pushed for 4 hours with Sawyer and almost 1.5 hours with Sophia.  I was pushing and the bag of water kept coming out so I asked them to break it since the head was right behind it.  I knew it wouldn’t be harmful to have my water broke at that point.

It was now 9:53pm.   I changed positions from my knees to side lying and then semi sit.  I couldn’t get comfortable since the head was right there!  At 10pm I felt the need to blow through the contraction because I felt the head coming out.  I felt the most in control then I ever have with my other births.

The baby was full crown at 10:01pm (and posterior! I had a feeling!) and born at 10:02pm!!!!  THE BEST FEELING EVER!  I only pushed for 14 minutes and the baby slid right out and was pulled onto my chest.  I couldn’t believe it!  I had a water birth for the first time!  It was over and he/she was here!

Jay and I looked to see if we had a boy or girl and it was a GIRL!!!!  This was my first time checking and it was such a cool experience!  We have another little sweet baby girl in our family!  Sawyer knew we were having a girl from the day we told him we were pregnant.  Jay and I were sure we were having a boy.  Such a wonderful surprise and blessing you are Summer Lee!

We then got out of the tub and onto the bed.  I delivered the placenta.  This time around it just slid out with one small cramp at 10:10pm.  Jay cut the cord at 10:14pm and I started breastfeeding at 10:23pm and she nursed for over 30 minutes.  I loved the bonding time!  We made phone calls and just soaked up every minute of our new baby girl!  I took a shower, Jay gave her an adjustment and she also had her newborn exam at 11:10pm.  The midwives left around midnight after cleaning everything up, visiting and making sure we were all ok.  We were able to cuddle and rest the rest of the night.  We couldn’t decide on a baby girl name so we took the night to talk about it and let God lead us to the perfect name for our girl.  We ended up deciding on Summer Lee 🙂

Oh my goodness, I can’t even write the end of this without getting teary eyed.  Summer, your birth was absolutely perfect and beautiful in every way.  You gave your Mommy and Daddy such an incredible gift that we will always cherish.  This birth was so powerful for me.   Every birth changes a little piece of me.  We aren’t sure what God has planned for our family but if Summer is our baby that completes our family then I am so thankful for the home birth experience we had.  Words can’t describe how amazing it was.

We can’t wait to watch you grow into a beautiful daughter of God, Summer!  We are so blessed to be your Mommy and Daddy!  Your brother and sister have been waiting for you to get here and now that you are, you have put so much joy into their hearts!  Sophia always wants to “carry” you and she says, “MINE!” whenever you are near.  Sawyer calls you his small friend and wants you to wake up all day long so he can play with you.  You are so loved!  Now that you are here…we are onto making memories of a family of 5!  Yay!