That Monday all my kids and in laws flew out of Houston to Connecticut so I was really down about them all missing the birth. On top of that, I was feeling very large and uncomfortable. So that same night some girls from my Monday Night Girls Bible study came over to my house to pray for me. They left my house at 10 pm and at 1 am that morning I woke up to feeling damp. I was pretty sure my waters had broken so I waited a bit to see if I had any contrations to go along with it. I had a couple of mild ones but decided to text my midwife to let her know about my waters. Due to me having exessive fluid, she was concerned about having a prolapsed cord when my waters broke. She came over at about 4 am to check the baby's heart rate and test to see if it was really amniotic fluid I was leaking. It was indeed amniotic fluid but baby sounded great so she left and told me to call her if contractions picked up at all. I went back to bed and didn't have anymore contractions to speak of.
That morning I was having some contractions about 8-12 minutes apart, nothing too intense but Chris stayed home from work. We had a really relaxed morning and even grabbed lunch at Chili's. By now contractions weren't very regular at all and I was worried labor was stalling out. I only had one the whole time we were at lunch!
We decided to go for a walk after lunch to see if we could get contractions to pick up and get closer together. I really didn't want to have an August 3rd baby - doesn't August 2nd sound so much better?? - silly I know, but it mattered to this very overly pregnant lady! It was SO hot on the walk so we weren't out long. We decided it would be wise to get as much rest as possible so we took a nap around 2:00pm. When I woke up, contractions started to be 8-10 minutes apart again and occasionally fairly uncomfortable.
We continued with our laid back day and around 8:00 pm when it was finally cool enough to be outside, I put my legs in the pool for a change of scenery, meditated on some positive affirmations and read a little from my Bible. Chris went to the grocery store for some more nectarines and turkey (both of which would unfortunately make a reappearance later on) for me to fuel up on during labor. Around this time, both my doula and midwife separately texted and said they were going to head my way. I agreed, though remember thinking I really hoped labor would pick up so we weren't just twiddling our thumbs, staring at each other.
At 8:45pm I was suddenly getting some intense contractions and decided to go inside. Thankfully Chris was back from the store. A few minutes later my midwife and doula arrived; both a welcomed sight (to Chris in particular who welcomed the help). My midwife checked me and I was between 5-6 centimeters. I had already been at about 4cm for a couple weeks prior. Contractions were still pretty strong and I rocked my hips as Chris used counter pressure and I enjoyed the music on the playlist I had made. My doula continued to use essential oils to help with my nausea and pain management, though the nausea I was feeling turned into me getting sick. I was pretty certain I was in transition or close to it now.
I decided to get into the tub we had in our room. During contractions Chris would pray in my ear. The tub felt good for awhile and then I couldn't seem to get comfortable in it anymore. I didn't like how when I squatted the water wouldn't quite cover my lower back, where I was having the most pain. I decided to move into the shower and Chris used the shower nozzle to spray really hot water on my lower back. I only lasted for about 15 minutes in there, I was getting hot and this is where contractions really started to intensify.
At this point, I had abandoned calmly letting Chris and the doula know "Another contraction is about to start" and just started saying "Help me!"; their cue to apply a ton of counter pressure to my hips or lower back.
I asked the midwife to check me again even though only a couple hours had gone by. I was only at 7 cm. This was the first time I was a bit discouraged. I thought I should be further along for how intense my contractions had been for the last couple of hours. She told me one of my bag of waters was actually still intact and was bulging. She asked if I wanted her to break it but warned me it would create a LOT of pressure. I eagerly agreed and almost immediately felt not only pressure but the urge to push. I got on my hands and knees on the floor and started to push though I didn't have much strength to hold myself up.
At about 11:30pm, Sherry asked me if I wanted to go back in the tub or onto the bed. I really didn't care, nor was I really in a state to make any decisions. They suggested I move to the bed and I ended up on my side there, with Chris holding up one of my legs. I pushed as I felt the urge, and rested in between contractions, which had spread out to about 8 minutes apart again. Oh that resting time in between was wonderful and pushing against contractions felt like a relief! I was in such a relaxed trance. Everyone just quietly and patiently waited as I listened to my body and let it do its work.
I pushed about four times when my body told me to and the head emerged. I didn't know it then, but the cord was wrapped tighly round the neck so Sherry calmly told me she needed me to give another push. She helped get the baby out by slipping one of the shoulders out and then I was able to push the rest of the baby out. Sherry was then able to get the cord off from around the neck.
Willow Holland was born at 11:57pm on August 2nd, weighing 8 lbs even. She was placed on my stomach where we just cried and marveled over the miracle that had just occured. Fifteen minutes after she was born, the cord was clamped and Chris cut it. I brought her up onto my chest now that she could reach past my stomach.
Check out a little slideshow of her birth here:
