I've always loved talking about and reading about childbirth. Now that I have actually experienced childbirth and have a beautiful daughter as living proof, you can guarantee that most of my posts will have something to do with motherhood. <3


Claire Evangeline’s Birth Story:

Saturday, January 5th, 2013

I woke up with contractions 10-12 minutes apart, lasting around 20 seconds each. I figured it was because we had just spent the entire day prior closing on our house and moving in. I could tell that these contractions were different from the usual Braxton hicks that I had been having for the last two months. With these contractions I had to actually stop what I was doing and focus (and usually squat, because standing was too painful). I just tried to ignore the contractions until they got more consistent. Throughout the morning, I was busy unpacking and I didn’t even bother consistently timing my contractions, though they were roughly between 4-6 minutes apart (however, they were not painful enough, long enough, or consistent enough). By 2:30pm, Cody and our friends had just finished unloading a truckload of our furniture and were just sitting down to eat pizza and then I knew I was in labor. Contractions were four minutes apart, but they were only lasting 35 seconds, so I was confused because I felt like they should have been lasting longer than they were. I felt absolutely terrible that everyone had spent the morning helping us move, and that I couldn’t be a good host but I had to excuse myself to go to the bathroom and my bedroom to labor, because I couldn’t labor in front of everybody! Cody came to check on me and realized I was in labor, so he promptly kicked everyone out of our house (I still feel bad about that!). I took a bath to see if it would either help me progress or slow down the labor and it helped me progress! He started to finish gathering the final items for our hospital bags and was getting ready to go to the hospital while I ate pizza in between contractions, which were now two minutes apart, lasting a minute each. With each contraction, I yelled for Cody and he helped me through it, and then ran to get stuff ready in between...he got a major workout! ;) My mom, dad, and brother got to our house at 4:30pm with the very last piece of furniture that we had left to move, as Cody and I were attempting to make it out to the car in between contractions (note: I never even saw my dad or brother unloading the couch!). We drove to the car with my mom in the backseat, while my dad rushed up to drop off my brother at home. Cody and I got registered at the hospital at 5:12pm, and they checked me at triage and I was already six centimeters dilated! I weighed exactly 150 pounds (I started pregnancy at 132). They brought me to room five of labor and delivery and as soon as I got into my labor outfit (because I didn’t want to wear a hospital gown), I promptly threw up, Cody tried to catch the vomit, and it all splashed back into my face and all over my nice clean outfit. In Cody’s defense, he said it was because he didn’t want the nurses to see me throwing up because he thought they would force me to have an IV, which I didn’t want. Cody and I made our way to the bathroom that was in my labor room to clean up, and I labored on the toilet and floor (by this point it was around 6pm. When I came out of the bathroom, I got checked and I was 8.5 centimeters dilated! This whole time, my mom was trying to call my midwife who had given me her personal cell phone number to ensure that she would be attending the birth. I knew in my heart at this point that she would not be there, and apparently our nurse, Pam, pulled Cody aside and told him that our midwife, Karen, was out of town dropping her daughter off at college and also had the flu, so she would not be there. Cody didn’t tell me this though, because he didn’t want me to stress, which could have caused my labor to slow down. I continued to labor, which I generally did in a sitting-up position on the bed while leaning on Cody’s forehead while he massaged my lower back. I had originally wanted to try different labor positions, but my labor went so quickly, and I was in far too much pain to move around too much during active labor and transition, though I was able to change positions during my early labor at home. I did try my yoga ball for a few minutes, but I promptly got back into my seated position, as the back pain was too much. The doctor on call, Dr. Sharma (who was actually my favorite doctor from the practice) came in and checked me, and I was still 8.5 centimeters dilated. She offered to break my water but I politely told her I would rather her not do so and let it break on her own. This is what shocked me the most about labor…everyone said that I wouldn’t be able to make decisions or think rationally in the moment, but I was in complete control of my mind the entire time! I just couldn’t speak during contractions, but other that that, I was fully capable of making decisions. There was only one point where I thought I couldn't handle the pain, but the moment I thought this, I knew it was because I was in transition and was so close to being done! We all thought at this point that the baby would be born with the bag of waters intact, which I thought would be super cool! However, my water broke on its own fifteen minutes later at 9.5 centimeters. The contractions intensified by a million percent, as if they weren't painful enough. I could not get past 9.5 centimeters/cervical lip, so my mom, Cody, and our awesome nurse, Wynter, flipped me over on my hands and knees. The whole time I was in this position, I was saying in my head “Don’t poop, don’t poop, don’t poop!” and thankfully, I did not poop. ;) After three contractions (which were super painful, plus I had hated that position), they helped me flip back over, and I was 10 centimeters, so they called the doctor in. At first, I was struggling figuring out how to push and what it should feel like, but then I remembered everything we had learned in our Bradley birthing classes. Wynter brought the mirror over for me to watch. I stayed in a seated squatting position the entire pushing time, because it is what felt the most comfortable. Cody and my mom helped me to pull my legs up during each contraction to help open up my pelvis. I was able to get 3-4 good pushes during each contraction, and I only pushed for maybe ten minutes. Finally, when Claire wasn’t even crowning fully, she all of a sudden just flew right out with one big push at 7:56pm weighing eight pounds and one ounce! The original plan was for Cody to catch her, but there was no time! The feeling of the rest of her body sliding out of the birth canal was absolutely indescribable, and that first sight of her and feeling her on my chest was amazing. They left her on my chest for a few minutes, but she was refusing to cry or pink up, so Cody cut the cord (and apparently almost cut the doctor) and they took her over to the warmer, and then Cody held her. She was so alert when she was born, and I completely attribute that to having a drug-free natural birth. She was awake for the entire rest of the evening. Dr. Sharma said I had a fourth degree tear, but upon a closer look, it turned out to be a third degree tear. Getting stitched up was more painful than pushing her out, and it was made worse by the fact that I couldn’t hold Claire during it because of how much pain I was in. They gave me a shot of Pitocin in my leg (since I didn’t have an IV) to help the placenta come out, since I wasn’t breastfeeding right away like I had hoped (which stimulates contractions and helps the placenta to come out naturally). After they finished stitching me up, I was able to hold Claire for longer, and she did the breast crawl and started breastfeeding like a pro.

I had originally wanted to be in the hospital for as short a time period as possible, but because Claire was born in the evening and because I tore so badly, I had to stay until Monday. However, I actually enjoyed this because it gave me a chance to heal without my sweet puppies jumping all over me, and it gave me a chance to talk to the lactation consultant, who otherwise would not have been there on the weekend.

I was surprised by how quick my labor was! I didn't even labor for 5.5 hours, and Claire was born, which is HIGHLY unusual for a first time mom. During the final weeks of my pregnancy, my midwife was surprised at how low Claire was and my cervix was completely thinned out. My midwife had told me that "All you need is a few contractions!" but I seriously was in shock by how correct she was! When I went into labor, I was 1.5 centimeters dilated two days before when I had my membranes stripped. I also had acupuncture done four times in the two weeks leading up to Claire's birth, which could also have had an impact on how ready my body was for Claire's birth. Other than that, I bounced on my yoga ball for 2-3 hours a day for the final two weeks (I was SO ready to be done!) and I orally took evening primrose oil, but that was all I did to try to naturally induce labor. Claire's official due date was 1/1, though ultrasounds dated her at 1/10 and 12/26. Claire was born on 1/5.