The Princess is Here!

On Thursday, February 11, my water broke at 2:15 pm. At first I wasn’t convinced that was what had happened, but after a call to my doula and my best friend, they convinced me it was baby time! Funny enough, my doula had just called an hour earlier to tell me she thought my labor was going to go fast and I should call her with even the slightest of labor pains. I spoke to my midwife who wanted me to come into the office at 5 pm. At her office we decided that Bart & I would go home, eat, rest, and try to get contractions going until returning to the hospital at 10 pm.

We checked into the hospital and got into a room immediately. Finally I was beginning to get some decent contractions, and the nurses determined that I was dilated to 2cm. My doula arrived around 11 pm, just in time to help me conquer some strong contractions that were coming on. Immediately my pain diminished as she helped me work WITH the contractions instead of against the pain. Even Bart could visibly see how she was able to comfort me. As labor progressed I began to have extremely painful back labor. Bart and my doula used hot and cold compresses to counter-act the pain, but it really helped when I got into the tub to labor. After about 20 minutes, they had me get out of the tub to evaluate my progress so they could update my midwife. I was already at 6 cm! I returned to the tub for just a few contractions and suddenly began to feel lots of PRESSURE- I knew what that meant! I hated laboring anywhere but the tub but they do not allow water births at my hospital, unfortunately.

Immediately out of the tub I was at 8 cm, and a short time later I heard them say, “She’s complete!” I was progressing so fast that my midwife hardly had time to make it. I was feeling lots of pressure to push but had to hold back because she had not arrived yet. I later found out from Bart that the head nurse told him that she was perfectly capable of catching the baby if the midwife did not arrive in time. Luckily, she did arrive, and I pushed for about an hour. I used lots of different positions, but they put up the birthing bar on the bed and I really enjoyed using that to help me push. I knew I was close to delivering, but I really wasn’t sure HOW close. I was extremely surprised when all of a sudden my midwife said, “Here’s your baby!” and suddenly she was on my chest crying. It was such an amazing moment! Hayden was born at 4:17 am on Friday, February 12th weighing 7lbs, 1 oz, and 20 inches long.

I really feel as if ANYONE can have a natural birth if you simply set your mind to it. For me, the alternatives and the cascade of interventions were scarier than the idea of facing pain. I believe that women today don’t have the faith that they should in the strength of their own bodies. Women are literally born to give birth, and millions of women throughout history have given birth without modern interventions. The pain is only temporary, but your baby is forever. I’m not lying when I say that just a few short hours later I had forgotten the pain. If you have hopes of a natural birth, I recommend researching it as much as possible, and TUNING OUT THE NEGATIVE stories that other women will try to tell you. (I got lots of people who said “Good luck with THAT!”) After you accomplish it you can later tell them your amazing story. Also, try not to tell yourself that you will just TRY to do it naturally. If you give yourself an alternative, you will take advantage of it. Tell yourself that there is no other way to do it- and YOU WILL!