So around 03:00 I woke Joseph up and we got everything ready to go. By this time my contractions were closer to every 2.5-3 mins apart, and I was having to stop and concentrate and breathe through them. Overall, I felt like the pain was tolerable and was doing well with coping. We loaded up the car and had our neighbors take Hudson's baby monitor to listen out for him until he woke up (Our apartments at the guest house were adjoining so they were only separated by a door, so it worked perfectly to not have to wake Hudson up).
We were on our way to the hospital at 03:30 and it only took about 15 mins to get there, although having to sit in the car through the contractions was very uncomfortable. To try and deal with the surges better, I turned on my labor playlist on my iPhone and just concentrated on the music. It helped a lot!
We arrived at the hospital and headed straight to my labor room (my midwife had texted me what room to go to). She was there finishing setting up everything she needed for my labor and delivery. I got hooked up to the monitor so she could get a tracing on Grayson and see how he was tolerating my labor. He looked great so she went ahead and did a cervical exam to check my dilation. I was 7 cm with a bulging bag of waters. Great! I thought. I figured I wouldn't have too much longer to go.
About that time, the back up midwife and my doula arrived. My midwife told me that I could go ahead and get into the labor tub if I would like. So that is exactly what I did. The tub was nice and warm and the bathroom was dimly lit with candles burning around the tub. It was so peaceful. Joseph turned on our bluetooth speaker so I could hear my music and I just labored away in the tub.
This laboring in the tub went on for about four hours. I was really surprised when my midwife checked me after a couple of hours in the tub and said I had only progressed to 8 cm. I couldn't believe that I still wasn't ready to deliver my baby yet. I was as comfortable as one can be during labor while laboring in the tub. The warm water really helped me to relax. Between that and squeezing Joseph's hand with every contraction, I was doing great!
Around 8am, my midwife and doula encouraged me to get out of the tub and try walking to see if I could get baby moved down some more and to finish dilating. They were both fairly certain that my labor had stalled and that I was entirely too "comfortable" in the tub. Although I didn't really want to, and I was sure that my labor had not stalled, I followed their advice and got out. I never did make it farther than my room when it came to walking. Out of the water the surges felt so much stronger and the back labor that I had been tolerating the entire time all of the sudden seemed very unbearable. So with the help of Joseph my doula and midwives, I worked through my surges for an hour and a half out of the tub. I swayed, squatted and laid on my side with a heating pad applied to my back. All I have to say is, "Praise the Lord" for the blessed "double hip squeeze." It was about the only thing that really helped with my back labor at that point.
So 9:30am and still no urge to push--my midwife had me lay down on the bed to get another tracing on baby and to do another exam. Well much to my dismay, I was still 8 cm with a bulging bag of waters. She told me that my bag of waters was extremely tough and asked if she could rupture them. I was a little reluctant because when my water broke with Hudson's induction, that is when I lost my marbles and demanded my epidural... and I knew an epidural was not an option this time (I also knew that I didn't want one). Still with my reservations, I gave her the go ahead because I was tired by this point and figured it could only help.
So she broke my water and the first contraction after it was broke immediately brought back the memories of the same pain with Hudson's birth. But I got those thoughts out of my mind and got back into breathing through my surges. My midwife encouraged me to go and sit on the toilet backwards to help drain the excess amniotic fluid. So upon her request, I went and sat. Within a couple of contractions of sitting bent over the toilet, I knew that my little boy was on his way out.
Because of my background as a Labor and Delivery nurse, I knew the grunt a woman makes when she is about to deliver. It was like an out-of-body experience. I could hear myself making these involuntary noises and just knew that soon I would meet my baby. My midwife offered me to get back in the tub to have a water birth, but I knew there was no way on this green earth that I was going to make it back into that tub. So when it was time, I just stood up in silence and Grayson began to crown. I honestly don't know how many pushes it took, because I don't really remember pushing. I honestly think my body just took over and did what it needed to do without me thinking about it. Luckily everyone was semi-ready, and within a few contractions my midwife managed to catch Grayson, although she did not have enough time to put on her gloves.
After he delivered, she handed him up to me through my legs and I sat back down on the toilet and got to love on my sweet little boy. After a few minutes, everyone helped my off the toilet and into the warm tub so I could snuggle with Grayson and deliver the placenta there.
When I think back on Grayson's birth, I could not be more proud of myself. I am also so thankful that the Lord gave me the strength to preserve and have a non-medicated and minimally assisted birth. Grayson was perfect and weighed 8lb 4oz and was 19 5/8 inches long. I feel like I was spoiled with his birth, and I pray that if we have more children someday, that my next birth experience could be just as good if not better.
I am so blessed for Joseph's love and support through the whole process as well as my midwives and doula who all worked really hard to encourage me and provide great labor support!
We arrived at the hospital and headed straight to my labor room (my midwife had texted me what room to go to). She was there finishing setting up everything she needed for my labor and delivery. I got hooked up to the monitor so she could get a tracing on Grayson and see how he was tolerating my labor. He looked great so she went ahead and did a cervical exam to check my dilation. I was 7 cm with a bulging bag of waters. Great! I thought. I figured I wouldn't have too much longer to go.
About that time, the back up midwife and my doula arrived. My midwife told me that I could go ahead and get into the labor tub if I would like. So that is exactly what I did. The tub was nice and warm and the bathroom was dimly lit with candles burning around the tub. It was so peaceful. Joseph turned on our bluetooth speaker so I could hear my music and I just labored away in the tub.
This laboring in the tub went on for about four hours. I was really surprised when my midwife checked me after a couple of hours in the tub and said I had only progressed to 8 cm. I couldn't believe that I still wasn't ready to deliver my baby yet. I was as comfortable as one can be during labor while laboring in the tub. The warm water really helped me to relax. Between that and squeezing Joseph's hand with every contraction, I was doing great!
Around 8am, my midwife and doula encouraged me to get out of the tub and try walking to see if I could get baby moved down some more and to finish dilating. They were both fairly certain that my labor had stalled and that I was entirely too "comfortable" in the tub. Although I didn't really want to, and I was sure that my labor had not stalled, I followed their advice and got out. I never did make it farther than my room when it came to walking. Out of the water the surges felt so much stronger and the back labor that I had been tolerating the entire time all of the sudden seemed very unbearable. So with the help of Joseph my doula and midwives, I worked through my surges for an hour and a half out of the tub. I swayed, squatted and laid on my side with a heating pad applied to my back. All I have to say is, "Praise the Lord" for the blessed "double hip squeeze." It was about the only thing that really helped with my back labor at that point.
So 9:30am and still no urge to push--my midwife had me lay down on the bed to get another tracing on baby and to do another exam. Well much to my dismay, I was still 8 cm with a bulging bag of waters. She told me that my bag of waters was extremely tough and asked if she could rupture them. I was a little reluctant because when my water broke with Hudson's induction, that is when I lost my marbles and demanded my epidural... and I knew an epidural was not an option this time (I also knew that I didn't want one). Still with my reservations, I gave her the go ahead because I was tired by this point and figured it could only help.
So she broke my water and the first contraction after it was broke immediately brought back the memories of the same pain with Hudson's birth. But I got those thoughts out of my mind and got back into breathing through my surges. My midwife encouraged me to go and sit on the toilet backwards to help drain the excess amniotic fluid. So upon her request, I went and sat. Within a couple of contractions of sitting bent over the toilet, I knew that my little boy was on his way out.
Because of my background as a Labor and Delivery nurse, I knew the grunt a woman makes when she is about to deliver. It was like an out-of-body experience. I could hear myself making these involuntary noises and just knew that soon I would meet my baby. My midwife offered me to get back in the tub to have a water birth, but I knew there was no way on this green earth that I was going to make it back into that tub. So when it was time, I just stood up in silence and Grayson began to crown. I honestly don't know how many pushes it took, because I don't really remember pushing. I honestly think my body just took over and did what it needed to do without me thinking about it. Luckily everyone was semi-ready, and within a few contractions my midwife managed to catch Grayson, although she did not have enough time to put on her gloves.
After he delivered, she handed him up to me through my legs and I sat back down on the toilet and got to love on my sweet little boy. After a few minutes, everyone helped my off the toilet and into the warm tub so I could snuggle with Grayson and deliver the placenta there.
When I think back on Grayson's birth, I could not be more proud of myself. I am also so thankful that the Lord gave me the strength to preserve and have a non-medicated and minimally assisted birth. Grayson was perfect and weighed 8lb 4oz and was 19 5/8 inches long. I feel like I was spoiled with his birth, and I pray that if we have more children someday, that my next birth experience could be just as good if not better.
I am so blessed for Joseph's love and support through the whole process as well as my midwives and doula who all worked really hard to encourage me and provide great labor support!
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| Here's the team working hard to help me keep going. I'm being fanned, having counter pressure applied and being encouraged by my doula. |
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Joseph's first views of Grayson after he was born  |
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| Joseph cutting the cord. We did what is called a Lotus birth where the cord is not cut until after the placenta is delivered. It was unplanned and suggested by our doula. We didn't care at that point! |
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| Our big boy! (The weight is in kilograms) |
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| Daddy and his little boy. |
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| So happy to be holding our sweet little boy! |
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| H. checking out little brother while Grayson and mommy were doing skin to skin |
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| H. meeting Grayson for the first time! |
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