I have debated whether or not I wanted to share my girls’ birth stories on the blog. They are so precious to me and feel holy, in a way. I guess I have been a little nervous to put something I treasure so much in a place for everyone to see. But then I thought of how much I love reading birth stories (I could honestly lay in bed all day just reading them), what an amazing experience it is, and how amazing it is that no two births are the same. I love that! I am one of those women who kind-of-in-a-weird-way looks forward to giving birth. Pretty sure my spirit animal is a doula 😉 With this said, I thought I’d add my two stories to the pool of births documented out there. Here is Elle’s. (Sensitive readers, heads up.)

 

I always knew I wanted to have a natural unmedicated delivery. It was the way my mom had done it, and seemed like the only way to go. My mind was set on it. I pretended there was no such thing as an epidural. For the last 4 weeks leading up to my due date I would sit on my pilates ball for 10 minutes everyday, visualizing every stage of labor and it all going well. I was hoping it would feel as if I had already been through labor and delivery many times, and that it would possibly not freak me out.

I had my last check up 6 days before my due date and things were looking good, until Elle’s heart decided to slow down a little (the lowest heartbeat they wanted to see in their babies was 120, Elle was at 119). Nothing to worry about really, but they sent me to the women’s center for monitoring. An hour passed. Elle’s heart rate seemed fine.

The following morning as Kimball and I were sleeping in, we got a call from the hospital saying they wanted to see me that day. They had discovered a dip in Elle’s heart rate and wanted me in for an ultrasound checking my fluid levels. At this point we felt like Elle would do so much better outside the womb. All these doctors appointments with negative news were making us nervous. So at 3 o’clock that day we went in for the visit. Leading up to the appointment I had a feeling she was going to come that day. So I cleaned the house, got everything ready with our hospital bags in the car and with snacks/food for Kimball. I knew something was going to happen.

The nurse did the ultrasound and my fluid levels were at 6.4. She told us that normally if a woman’s fluid levels are under 6 the doctor might choose to induce. But since I was at a 6.4 she was pretty sure we would just get sent home. So off she went to give my doctor a call and wait for instructions. Meanwhile, Kimball and I were just waiting for someone to come back and tell us we could go home. Finally the nurse came back. She smiled and said, “looks like we are having a baby today, your doctor wants to induce you right now. You guys are staying here”. WHAAAT!!! Wait, what is happening?! Is it happening now? We are having a baby NOW??? Those were some phrases that were running through my mind, along with a growing feeling of pressure over my chest. Even though we felt pretty prepared and I was ready for her to come that day, it was still so unreal and pretty scary. How about another week of pregnancy? I didn’t sound so bad when the option was starting this labor deal. Kimball then remembered that he had to go home and get his phone charger (!!!!!!!). And I, being in a very shaky state of mind, almost started crying telling him this was NOT the time for him to leave me alone! And looking back, he could probably have chosen a better time to tell me he was leaving. But after some reassuring words that it would not take him long, and that they would not even have started me on the Pitocin yet, I was fine with him leaving and realized I may have over reacted. But what did I know. There was a baby coming, right?!

A couple of phone calls later all family members all over the world were anxiously waiting. Kimball’s parents got in their car and were on their way to us in Tucson.

Before starting me on the Pitocin they wanted to soften up my cervix, so I was given a pill that would do the trick. Well, the first one didn’t so after 3 hours they gave me another one. Around this time, Kimball’s parents had gotten to the hospital and we were all just hanging out in our room, watching basketball I believe. After the second pill was given to me it only took about an hour or so before I started feeling some stronger contractions. Labor had started on its own!!! My body kicked it into gear. The in-laws left us to fight this beast and the contractions got more and more intense by the minute. I was sitting up on the side of the bed, leaning on Kimball who sat there next to me, encouraging me every step of the way. As the contractions got more intense, I got more and more focused on my breathing, making low calm noises, and totally entering into my own little world. Time passed. How much, I didn’t know, but it was really starting to get hard. Contractions were close. They checked me every now and then and there was progress, however slower than I was hoping. By now contractions came every 30 seconds lasting for a minute, and I could feel myself loosing it a little. The panic kept creeping closer and I started to fear the next contraction. I wasn’t sure I could stand the pain. In fact, I was pretty sure I couldn’t.

I asked the nurse how much longer she thought it would take and after checking me and seeing that I was only at a 5, she said probably another 4 or 5 hours. My heart sank. I felt so ready to give up and could not imagine how I would survive more intense pain than I was feeling at the moment. Let alone 4 or 5 hours of it intensifying! I told Kimball that I wanted an epidural. I just couldn’t take it any longer. I also told him I would do it natural the next time. Just not now. The nurse was informed and she left the room to get some paper work for us. That’s when it happened.

All of a sudden I feel as if my whole body was cramping up. I knew we had switched phases. I had one pushing contraction where my body took over and I had no choice but to follow. Mid contraction I called out “Get her!!!!!”. And this is where it felt like panic broke loose for a few moments. Kimball pushed the little red button then ran after the nurse. She ran back and checked me again. “She’s at a 10!” More nurses rushes to the room while I’m following the lead of my body. There was no denying what was going on and there was no stopping it either. I believe I gave one big push before my water broke. I held one small push back, giving my body time to stretch. Gave another big one while telling everyone how I was feeling, making sure they knew baby is coming. It was a bit of a chaotic experience and the whole time I remember feeling like Bella in Twilight, when she had just been bit by the vampire… Lets just say I was not the quite mother calmly delivering her babe. I remember asking if they could see the baby and the response I got was “absolutely, baby’s head is out”. That was so rewarding and I asked if I could push baby out. One more push and there she was. “I’m not pregnant anymore!” was the first phrase I let out. It was such a crazy feeling to have your baby just leave your body in such a quick moment, that I couldn’t stop it from escaping my mouth. The feeling was surreal and so immediate. I remember seeing Elle for the first time thinking she was perfect and so beautiful. She did surprise us all with all that hair, and dark too! 7 lb 8 oz and the little double chin was to die for.

All in all, it was an absolutely amazing experience. I felt like a superhero and still think it is so amazing what our bodies can do. Labor and delivery took about 2 and a half hours. I went from being 5 cm dilated to having the baby out in 20 minutes (Crazy!). It took about 3 big pushes, no doctor and a little bit of chaos and there she was–our princess.

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