So birth stories are kind of TMI by nature, so there you have your disclaimer. When I was pregnant with Chase, I had a good friend of mine tell me she was going to go natural with her baby, and I thought she was nuts. In that conversation, she said "Our bodies are made for this, it's supposed to be the most incredible experience and we just want to numb ourselves for it"... For some reason those words kept haunting me after I had Chase. I kept worrying there would one day be a chance I would regret never having experienced natural childbirth.
I kept pushing the thoughts of having a baby naturally aside until I was actually pregnant with Luke. As the months went on I kept on thinking about it. I never told anyone except for Jeremy that I was considering it. At first, Jeremy thought it was silly, but he told me he would be supportive. I told him if I didn't have his support then I didn't want to do it. I felt like with the births of Tyler and Chase, it was sort of weird how he just sat around... I just sat around.... and then we had a baby. They were both incredible experiences, but if I'm being honest they were sort of anti-climatic. I knew you could hire doulas and coaches to help you through it, but I really wanted it to be a special experience for Jeremy and I to get through together.
Well fast forward to a few months before Luke was born. I finally made the decision to for sure go natural. This kind of decision I don't think can be made on the delivery bed. I at least knew that much. I consulted with a lot of friends. I live in a neighborhood with some incredible support for natural childbirth. Like I said, I knew there were doulas that could help you, but I'm a private person and that felt uncomfortable to me. I wanted Jeremy to be my support. Cheesy, but true. I decided to read a book my friend Kristin recommended that supported the husband being the support. It was a lot about breathing (but not lamaze), and just relaxing during contractions. I was a little nervous I didn't get around to taking a class that suited my needs (partially because I couldn't find one, partially because they didn't work with my schedule). All I did was read the book, BUT I'll add, as I was reading it I realized a lot of the yoga I had done for 7 years was very in line with relaxing etc. For the weeks before delivery, I tried to mentally prepare myself as best I could, and I became excited and nervous. I didn't tell many people I was planning on it because I didn't want to admit if I didn't make it all the way through.
Ok, so let's get to it. In the weeks leading up to my delivery I was at a 1, 2, 3, 4... Killing me softly with thinking it would be any day. I was due on July 17th...(originally July 25th, but the Dr changed that) On Sunday July 8th, the day after we did the copper mine visit, I was sitting in church a little worried I may have peed my pants (TMI). Turns out my water had broken and was doing a small leak, kind of all day. That night we went to the neighborhood dessert potluck to welcome our friend Dawn back from being on Survivor. Jeremy ate about 15 different brands of desserts, but for some reason I just wasn't feeling it, so I didn't eat many. GOOD THING. That night, we put the kids to bed and I kept googling, "Did I pee or did my water break?" At about 10:30 the contractions started and by midnight we had Fuller come over to sleep over with the two big kids and we went to the hospital.
We drove to the hospital and I had a puke bucket in hand. I puke on contractions. It's awesome. We got to the parking lot and I told Jeremy I could walk in. So we parked and I started walking in... well all of a sudden I'm sitting in the parking lot puking in a #10 can. It was hilarious. I was actually laughing at that point. Well the hospital attendant came out with a wheelchair and wheeled me in. I got to Labor and Delivery, and they asked me what I was there for. Um.... let me think?!!?! Got checked in, was at a 5, and they got me to the delivery room. The whole time I was in for REAL labor and just wanted to lay down. They say to wait as long as possible to get to the hospital... I say get in there and get settled before it gets too bad.
So from 12:30 to about 2 am, I was having back to back contractions. I was so lucky to get a nurse that was supportive of natural childbirth and she showed Jeremy a few tricks. Jeremy was AWESOME. He took charge and was everything I needed him to be. I really had no idea how that would go down, but so glad it went well. He was great at trying to make me comfortable, and doing counter pressure on my back. He talked to the nurses and did all the paperwork stuff and was just great. At about 2 am, I thought I was probably about to wimp out. BUT I remembered in the books, it talked about the phases of labor, and it said if you get to that point, its JUST around the corner. I decided I would go to the bathroom and then decide if I could make it or not. Well I got back from the bathroom and the baby was READY to come, so the worst was over.
Without going into too many more details, the Doctor was late, and I basically had to "hold" Luke in until 2:27 when the Doctor got there and Luke was born 1 minute later. I swear I could have been in a coma and that baby was coming. It was actually a neat experience though to feel how much your body just kind of takes over with or without you.
The moment the doctor handed Luke over to me is one I will NEVER forget. I felt the biggest sense of accomplishment of my life. It was pure adrenaline and awesomeness. Even now, writing it 11 months later, it still feels amazing. I know that every woman bears children differently, and I hope this doesn't come across as "my way is cooler than yours"... but it was seriously the most amazing thing and I wouldn't trade that experience for ANYTHING. When the nurse told me that Luke was 8 pounds 3 ounces I thought she was joking. My other two were 6 and 7 pounds. I couldn't believe it. I just sat there and felt awesome.
The recovery after having him was the easiest yet, and I just felt good. I fell asleep a few hours after he was born to get a little rest, then spent the day there and left the next morning.
More on the boys meeting Luke and hospital stay in the next post, but there you have it. The birth story.
3 comments:
you go girl! so inspiring!!!
a beautiful story and a beautiful boy. congrats!
You are amazing! Good looking family you have there!
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