Birth as we know it

As I mentioned, we had an awesome birth! Here's the abbreviated version. For those who won't get bored with the unabridged version, you can ask me for it later.

I was really looking forward to this birth--the more I learn about the birth process and the more I learn to trust my body, the more positive I feel about birth. I was hoping to start labor after a full night's sleep since my labors tend to be long, and I wanted to have enough energy to enjoy labor. I'd had several episodes of regular surges for around a week, but they always ended after a few hours. One September 24, my "due date" came and went and I was still pregnant (this also happened with my other two). Instead of feeling frustrated, I felt grateful that my babies are able to come when they're ready instead of when I think they should come or when my care provider deems it convenient. The next morning I woke up and labor started at 9 a.m. I wondered if it would stop after a few hours, like it had before, but the surges just kept coming. I packed the kids in the Baby Jogger and took them on a 2-mile walk. Then I let them play on the grounds of the Provo LDS temple--we had been going there regularly for a few weeks, and they've loved exploring and playing in a safe and beautiful place.

Squeak and Pip at the temple on Squirt's labor day

I took Squeak and Pip home and fed and played with them. I was SO BUSY with the kids that I really couldn't stop to time surges or think about things. I knew my body was working and that my baby was coming though, and that was satisfying. I sent D a text around 3 to let him know I was probably in labor, but told him not to come home since, ya know, I've never had a short labor. I put Pip and Squeak down for a late nap around 4 and D arrived a bit later. I decided to lie down and try to sleep but discovered that I couldn't so I got up. I wanted to get things moving a bit more with some visualization and a long walk, but then the kids woke up from their naps, and again, I was SO BUSY taking care of them, there was no chance for that.

The evening hours passed quickly with lots of activity with the kids. I invited a friend to spend the night just in case we had to make a middle-of-the-night trip to the hospital. Squeak and Pip were absolutely thrilled that Rebecca came over! After finally getting them settled down around 10, and then talking to Rebecca and her husband Paul for a few hours, it was midnight before I even realized it! And I hadn't yet packed my hospital bag. So then I did that. THEN D and I finally had a chance to work on visualization and hypnosis. That's when I really started to notice that I was in labor--the first 13 hours passed by without me hardly noticing because I was so busy with everything else. I finally focused on the labor when I got the chance.

Sweet Rebecca came over for a slumber party

This was a few hours before we headed to the hospital.
So nice of D to try to look bigger so I wouldn't feel so beeg!!

We got to the hospital at 1:30 a.m. Roberta (my midwife) checked me and I was dilated to a 5+ so they started the mandatory 20-minute read on my best friend, the fetal monitor. There were some issues with blood pressure and heart rate, so I ended up being on it longer than 20 minutes. At 2:30 I was freed from that confounded machine! Interestingly enough, every single blood pressure and fetal heart rate read after that was completely normal.

I could finally get in the tub. Before I did, I had Roberta check me. I was a 7. She also told me that Squirt was in a less-than-optimal position, not posterior, but kind of sideways. It's nice to have a midwife who notices this sort of thing, and it's nice that I knew that my positioning could influence baby's positioning. So I was in the tub, I was relaxing, my George Winston labor music was playing, and I was concentrating on my positioning and visualizing the baby's positioning. That's when D took me to the beach. The beach happens to be my special place that he takes me to during hypnosis sessions. It is there, with the waves and the rocks and the birds and the shells, that I truly relax and feel free. D took me to the beach when I was in labor with Squeak and with Pip too. Always the same beach, always the same peaceful feeling.

I was enjoying the description D was giving me--the birds, the waves, the sunshine, the hermit crabs... I felt awesome! After an hour, I asked Roberta to check Squirt's position. "Perfect position for birth." And my cervix? Roberta said, "You're about a 9.75. You're ready to have this baby." I couldn't believe it--D and I looked at each other in shock and I thought, "How fast, how easy!" I had gone through all of what people call "transition" without noticing a thing. No pain, no distress, just complete relaxation and trust because I surrendered my mind and body to the birth process. D changed the music to this Jon Schmidt piano/cello remake of Love Story which I love--I'd heard it played in my hot yoga class during the warrior sequence and it made me feel strong, empowered, and beautiful--perfect for birthing music! The "pushing phase" lasted all of three minutes, and as I mentioned before, Squirt emerged en caul. D caught our baby and announced, "It's a girl!" As he passed her to me, she grabbed the umbilical cord, like a monkey swinging on a vine. We were pretty amused! We talked to our sweet girl and welcomed her to the world. She was wide-eyed and happy to be here. She even raised one eyebrow as I was talking to her. She breastfed right away. We put off all the procedures for later so we could enjoy some time together. We are delighted with our new baby girl and thrilled about another wonderful birthing experience.

Squirt enjoys her first meal, minutes after birth

Nurse Kimmy and CNM Roberta

Daddy and daughter checking each other out

Checking out the crazy hair

Smiling Squirt on her birth day

My sweet sister brought my other two babies to visit me in the hospital