Full Circle Midwifery

I was woken up just at 3:20am by contractions on Easter morning. I had been having contractions every evening for more than a week, but these were much stronger and did not let me go back to sleep. My husband, Aaron woke up as I started walking around and our three year old daughter, Enid, climbed into our bed. The contractions were close together and I paced around moaning. I was pondering making Easter breakfast and I realized this was the real deal. I had the urge to cook during my first labor as well.  Aaron asked if I was in labor and I told him I was. He says I didn’t answer him with words…

I chose to go downstairs and lay on the couch. It was comfortable to lay on my left side propped up by pillows. The contractions eased briefly and then I felt my water break at 4:10am and rolled off the couch onto a blanket. I called Aaron and told him. He proceeded to wake our oldest son, Chris, to take care of Enid. 

I was beginning to feel overwhelmed as I was just at 37 weeks and had thought I would have another week or so before giving birth. I had told the baby many times not to come before Easter.

I made my way back upstairs and Aaron started to put the cover on the bed and read over what to do if the baby comes quickly. I sat in the bathroom on a rug and my water gushed at every contraction. I decided to take a shower and was told not to have the baby in the shower by Aaron. Aaron texted Patrice about 5am. They eventually determined that all the midwives should come as things were going quickly as they had predicted from my first labor.

I demanded that Aaron bring me breakfast after the shower and I ate a bowl of cereal with juice sitting on the rug again. I really did not want to have the baby in the bathroom and thought about moving, but I couldn’t stand the thought. Patrice arrived at 5:45am and Barb and Dorothy were just behind her about 6am. Barb told me that my kids wanted me to have a Christmas baby next to go with Enid’s Fourth of July birth and my Easter baby. As I was incredibly uncomfortable I did not find this very funny. I even asked Aaron why I had agreed to do this again since it was so very bad. He told me it had been my idea. 

I got up and went to the bed. It felt so much worse. I tried moving every which way, it all was awful. I felt completely out of control of my body. I was just along for the ride. The blue pads on the bed stuck to me and I didn’t like that. By 6:20 I asked to have my dilation checked because I couldn’t stand the thought of doing this for any length of time. I really wanted to hear that I was at the end of the process. During Enid’s birth I had dilated to 9 without pain like this and had put off being checked. Patrice told me that I was at 8-9cm. I was so relieved and happy!

I felt like I needed to urinate, so in the tiny break between contractions I moved back to the bathroom (oh no!).  Everyone squeezed into the bathroom with me. I went to sit on the toilet and I felt my body push and the baby drop all the way. I said “Damn it!” Patrice moved to get ready to catch the baby. She asked Aaron if he wanted to, he replied he did not.  Three more pushes and Elora was born at 6:28am!

My other five kids came in to see the baby within a couple minutes. I moved back to the bed with the cord still attached to Elora. I pushed out the placenta on the bed. Elora was perfect and beautiful. Aaron and I started to think about all the fun we could still have today. By the newborn exam it became apparent that she was having trouble breathing. The midwives tried all their options to keep us out of the hospital, milk in a syringe, oxygen, Dorothy even had a CPAP.  After 10:30am and one oxygen tank down, Patrice drove Aaron, Elora, and I to Helen DeVos hospital. Patrice stayed with us until we were settled in the NICU. Elora stayed in the hospital for almost a week because of Respiratory Distress Syndrome, but now she is just fine.