Sunday morning, I woke up both very happy and very frustrated to still be pregnant. I have never gotten to 38 weeks before, and that had been my goal....but I was done. I was ready for baby to come, said so in multiple ways lol , and even commented to a couple of people that the next day would be great, the date would be 8/9/10. I spent the day laying around, not feeling too hot and having sporadic contractions like I'd been having for weeks. I talked to multiple friends on the phone and was probably pretty whiny lol . I was actually on the phone with my friend Becky...I was laying in bed and got up to go pee. After I peed, I stood up and started pulling my pants back up and felt a gush. I sat back down quickly thinking I had just peed more and before I had time to wonder I realized that it wasn't pee. I started laughing and told Becky I had to go, my water had just broken! I sat on the toilet for a couple of minutes with fluid POURING out of me, wondering how much there could possibly be in there! I called to Alan who came into the bedroom wondering why I was sitting on the toilet trying to get him to come into the bathroom lol . I told him my water had broken, and he asked if that was a bad thing. I said no, it just means we are going to have a baby! I made him get me some dry underwear and a package of pads before I would get off the toilet. I called my midwife and my mom and let them know that I was ruptured, but no contractions yet. I convinced my mom that she didn't need to come over quite yet and sent her to the store with a list of things that I didn't have for labor and right after. I told my midwife I would call her when I started having regular contractions. About 15 minutes later I started having some VERY strong contractions. I spent the next 2-3 hours progressing faster than I expected to. The contractions were about 5-7 minutes apart and quite intense, and I had to change my pad 5 different times because it kept filling up with fluid lol . Then things get interesting.....we were in the process of trying to bid on a house that was up for auction and we were coming up to the deadline. We had to bid before midnight! So.....my father in law , who is our realtor, and his girlfriend came over... lol . They were here about 45 minutes when my parents showed up. At this point I was having to really concentrate through my contractions and really wasn't in the mood for a party. We completed the bid on the house about 6:30 and about 30 minutes later I said time to go lol . Everybody left but my mom, and my midwife Salli came about the same time. My boys went with their Opa and things got much calmer at that point. Salli asked lots of questions about the day and told me she wanted me to eat something, so I had a turkey sandwich and some grapes. At that point I was coping with my contractions really well, on my own. I was sitting on the couch or at my computer and vocalizing through each one and then going back to what I was doing. I didn't want any help or to be touched, and things were going good! I asked Alan to go ahead and get the tub blown up, we knew it was much bigger than my hot water heater, so I wanted to fill it with straight hot water and let that sit while the water heated back up. I wasn't ready to get in it yet, but I wanted it ready when I was. At this point I was focusing inward through all my contractions and wasn't talking as much. I wanted to know if I was progressing, but I was afraid to be checked and find out I was only 4-5cm or something, since I was 3 before labor began. About 30 minutes later, I was ready for the water. I finished filling up the tub to the right depth and temp and asked my midwife to check me before I got in. It actually fit right in the middle of my bathroom, so I could be somewhat secluded in my room, which was what I was hoping for. Salli checked me, and I was 6-7cm, but my cervix was still kind of far back. She actually tried to pull it forward which had me totally in tears, and was one of THE most painful things I had ever felt, but she thought that if we could get it to move forward, I would dilate much faster, since the baby was right there and just couldn't get pressure in quite the right place. After that I was DEFINITELY ready to get in the tub. The assisting midwife (Heather) came about that time and I was definitely in transition. The tub felt warm and wonderful and I was able to relax alot more in between contractions. The contractions were getting pretty rough at that point and I was working really hard to get through them. About 20 minutes(?) after getting in the tub I started feeling different and asked my mom to get Salli and Alan to come in the bathroom and asked her to put our 21 month old Claire, to bed. I wanted Alan holding me, and he got a chair and put it behind me on the floor and was able to sit and lean over the tub and support me. Salli and Heather were periodically checking the baby's heart rate and my pulse and decided the water was probably too hot and wanted to cool it down. I argues, because I wanted it hotter lol . Unfortunately, nobody listened to me and they started cooling the water down. Baby's heart rate kept rising and the midwives decided I needed to get out of the water. My answer for everything at this point was "ok just a minute" or "ok, after the next one"... I was so focused that I couldn't make myself change things. Finally Alan got up and started lifting me out of the tub....which was no easy task. I got vertical, onto my knees, and had to stop to have a contraction. I did not like that position and felt ALOT of pressure with that one. I managed to get my feet under my next, but I couldn't actually get upright. I got out of the tub and had another contraction. I was bent completely in half and Alan was holding me up, I couldn't stand anymore. After that was over I got onto the bed. It felt good to lay down for about a minute lol . Each contraction felt like I should be pushing at that point, but when I would start to push, I could feel him move down too quickly in the birth canal, and it hurt, so I wouldn't push. Salli told me to try rolling over onto my side....to which I replied "ok, in a minute" lol . Baby and I both responded quite well to cooling down. I started feeling like I couldn't handle NOT pushing anymore and kind of let me body start pushing without any real effort from me. After 2 contractions like that I asked what time it was, I was wondering if he was going to be born before or after midnight. Alan told me it was 11:15 and I decided midnight was too far away, I didn't care about the date. Another 2-3 contractions without pushing had me hurting enough that I was done. The next contraction I decided I was ready to push and started to bear down. After that contraction, Salli said that baby was crowning and asked Alan if he wanted to see, he had been laying with me up by my head and bent down to see. He told me baby had alot of hair. The next contraction hit and I was ready. I pushed hard and felt baby's head come out. Salli told me to wait while she checked for the cord, but by the time she said it, I was pushing again and baby came out. I was about to look at reach for him and he started crying so fast that it startled me. I stopped reaching and then realized he was still coming out! lol , Salli told me to catch my baby, and I reach down and delivered him. I pulled him up onto my stomach and cried and cried. I felt so much better instantly, and here he was! I had actually done it! I couldn't believe it. They covered him up with a towel and he stopped crying within about a minute and just laid there looking around. He was so calm and content in the quiet dark room. A few minutes later, Salli said I was bleeding too much. Heather started massaging my belly and Salli asked if I felt like I could push the placenta out. I tried a little, but had no urge, so we waited. After a couple of minutes they massaged and checked it again, but still not ready. Heather came and gave me some herbs and I got an injection of pitocin. I was so enthralled with the baby that I didn't even pay any attention. I started shaking from adrenaline and I was getting cold. They covered us both with a blanket and got me some juice. The midwives checked the cord and it was no longer pulsing, so they asked if I was ready to clamp it. I said yes, and Alan cut the cord. Salli said she wanted to see if the placenta was loose and I said fine, so she tugged lightly on the cord and we were both startled by a POP sensation. She let go immediately, and asked if I could try to push again, but I didn't feel anything still. She told me she wanted to feel inside to see if the placenta was right there or still up higher. I reluctantly agreed, since that didn't sound very appealing at the moment lol . Luckily, it was nice and low and ready, so I pushed it out. The midwives looked it over very carefully, making sure it was completely intact, and it was, but the cord had torn partway out when she tugged on it earlier. Alan actually stood over them and the 3 of them carefully looked it over and examined it lol . My mom took that moment to come get a good look at the baby! He was very happy and content and calm, and just laid there on my chest the whole time. Alan came and laid back down with us and I realized he needed a name! Alan suggested Ethan, which I really liked, but I wanted something that fit with the other kiddos names. I went through the list I had in my head and realized Ethan worked great as a middle name with one of them. Alan liked it, and I asked him if it should be a C or a K. He said C, and Cade Ethan got his name! as soon as she had a name, my mom started making phone calls lol . I asked Alan to post on my facebook for me, and nursed Cade for the first time. He latched on pretty easily and nursed well. My bleeding had slowed significantly after delivering the placenta, and I was ready to get up and clean off. I got up and to the toilet, Salli and Heather helped me get cleaned up and got my clothes I had together for me. Before I put bottoms on, Salli had me lay back down so she could check me for tearing. She was happy to report that other than one small skin tear on the outside, everything looked intact and I needed no stitching. I got dressed and laid down for a coupe of minutes. We then weighed measured Cade and he had his more thorough examination and then he got diapered and dressed. My mom reminded my midwives that they hadn't eaten and fixed them leftover eggplant parmesan that I had eaten in an attempt to start my labor. I came out of my room about 10 minutes later and got on facebook lol . They made me eat, so I had a slice of pizza and was told to go to bed. Within an hour of that, around 3am, everybody left and Alan, Cade and I went to bed. I am so thankful for the way this birth went. It was so calm, comfortable and peaceful. Even when things didn't go perfectly, there was never any fear or panic. After Cade was born I felt like I could conquer the world. I wish I had chosen homebirth for all of my children and if we are blessed with more children, they will absolutely be born at home with Salli's loving care.
Please check out Ginni's website: Loving Beginning Birth Services
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