I knew when I lost my mucus plug that Monday morning that I was in trouble, but trouble came on slow and ended with an expected BANG!
I went to the bathroom that morning and found a large, green mass of slime staring back at me. I stared back at it, mesmerized for a few minutes. This was my second child, but I had never seen my mucus plug before. I googled it to be sure. Yep, sure enough, that was it. David just happened to be off that day and was going to work on the home we recently moved into. The home was, and still is undergoing renovations, which is a whole other story all together. I said "let's switch gears" and work to get the room ready for the new baby and get my daughters room straightened out as well. I had Braxton hicks contractions all day on Monday, but never any pain. We worked solidly throughout the day waiting for my water to break like you would see in the movies. Nada. So we wrapped up the day, took or showers, and went to bed.
The next morning David went work, my daughter went to pre-k, and I decided to run some last minute errands. Now people will tell you that you will go into labor within 24 hours of losing your mucus plug. Yet, here I was, more than a day later and nothing. As Tuesday morning progressed, I began to, finally, have contractions. They were 20-30 minutes apart, but felt real and were pretty consistent. I was determined to finish my errands and grab lunch before heading home. When I arrived home at noon, I texted David to let him know what was going on. I tried to rest but the contractions kept waking me. I just didn't feel right. Not like myself. At 4pm David and my daughter arrived home. I told him "I think today is the day" and we need to set up the birthing pool. Both of them were tired and took a nap anticipating the long night. When David got up around 6, I told him to start calling family and get the birthing pool up and running. I texted Salli to let her know my contractions were 8-10 minutes apart. I was told to rest, but within a half hour the contractions were 5 minutes apart. By just after 7pm the contractions were 2 minutes apart and taking my breath away. I texted Salli again and she said she was on the way! When Salli arrived she found me standing up, clutching the couch and David struggling in the back room with the pool! While Salli helped get the pool up, my daughter was running back and forth between me and them. I called family between contractions and told them to come to the house. Once the pool was up, I got in. The water felt great, but after sometime in the pool, my contractions slowed. Salli suggested I get out and go to bedroom to bounce on the birthing ball. Salli and her assistants were amazing! Throughout the whole process, they never left my side. They held a heating pad to my back and applied pressure to my hips to lessen the pain. They were a TREMENDOUS help! Finally around midnight the pain intensity peaked and I felt like I couldn't do it anymore! I begged Salli for pain medicine, but to no avail. Salli checked me. My cervix was posterior and she had to pull it forward to allow it to dilate. Within 3 contractions, I was dilated to 9cm. I got back in the pool and wanted to push, not because I felt the urge to, but because I was ready for labor to be over and I knew I'd complete while pushing. I pushed and there was so much pressure I thought I'd permanently injured my rear end! My water finally broke. My child crowned. I pushed once more and she was out! David was going to try and catch our child, but he wasn't in the right position. So one of the assistants pulled her out of the water and placed her on my chest. We did not know the gender of our child before her birth. The funny part was, I was so happy she was out, I forgot to look. It took me a few minutes to remember "oh yeah", what's the sex? GIRL! My daughter would have a sister, a life long friend and companion, just like I had growing up. My sister and daughter came in to the room to see the baby. My daughter was so happy it was a girl.
David cut the cord. We floated in the pool for an hour or so, bonding, breast feeding, and cuddling. She is perfect. Ten fingers, ten toes, and cute as can be. I fell in love with this tiny person immediately. She's my Mia Grace!
Home birth was a personal choice and it was the best choice I could have made! After having a hospital birth with my first child, I can truly appreciate how special, intimate, and comfortable a home birth truly is. Thank you, Salli!
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