Baby was due May 7th. I started having some contractions that night. I thought he would be coming soon, I was wrong!

I had sporadic contractions throughout the next week. They were not painful, I just knew they were contractions, but they felt different than the Braxton Hicks I had.

The morning of May 13th, I felt kinda weird when my husband kissed me bye to go to work. I felt the bed and noticed it was significantly wet. I was pretty certain I had not peed since i was just up to use the bathroom an hour before, so I got up to go to the bathroom. My shorts were soaked, and I got out one of the amniotic swabs from our birth kit. I tested my shorts, and the swab immediately turned dark (signaling the presence of amniotic fluid!) I called my husband who I figured had already left to tell him. He came running back into our room with 1 shoe on (he was in the living room putting on shoes when i called). We had my mom come over to stay with me while my husband ran to the store for last minute birthing supplies.

I kept a list of contractions, but they still weren’t predictable or lasting very long. My midwife texted to check on me throughout the day. That evening she brought me a birthing ball to see if it would progress things. I was a little sad when I hadn’t had my baby by the end of the day. She assured me that was not uncommon and that some women, her included, could go 2-3 days between water breaking and giving birth.

When my contractions still had not progressed by the next morning, my husband and I decided that he should go in to work so he wasn’t wasting his time off with no baby. He refused to let me be alone, even though I felt 100% fine, so my mom came to stay with me again. I’m so thankful she moved to our town last year!

My midwife texted and said she and her assistant would be by in the evening to give me some essential oils and other homeopathic remedies to try to regulate my contractions. They left, we diffused oils, put them on, and took little tablets every 20 minutes. Within 30 minutes my contractions were becoming stronger, at 5 minute intervals, and lasting 30 seconds or longer. Things continued to progress and contractions got longer, time between got shorter. I texted the midwives at 8:30 pm, and they said they were on their way back. I got in the birthing pool a little after 11 pm. Husband got in with me too. (We were so naive thinking that I would be having baby that night.)

At about 1 am, husband and I decided to try to get some rest. It wasn’t very fruitful for me. I was so excited, and the contractions were strong! I don’t think I got any sleep at all. I laid in bed for a few hours though.

I got back up around 6 am and got back in the birthing pool. I tried staying hydrated but couldn’t keep anything down. I had morning sickness my whole pregnancy, so I figured I would wait a little bit and try again. A couple hours later my midwife’s assistant said that I needed to eat something, even if it was something small. My husband fed me a few walnuts, and I got sick about 3 minutes later!

I was so tired and tried to rest/nap between contractions. Around noon my midwife suggested that I get out of the pool and try to labor elsewhere to see if we could kick things back up.

We went to our room, and I laid on the bed. I know that standing and walking is supposed to help progression more, but I was so tired I just couldn’t do it. My midwife checked, and I was dilated to a 9! I was so thankful!!! She suggested laboring on my side and gave me techniques for gently pushing during contractions to help with dilation. I did that for 12 contractions, then husband and I got back in the birthing pool.

At an hour they told me I had been pushing 1 hour and that he was almost here! They said most first time moms push 3 hours! I don’t think I could have done that!

On my very next push I felt him start to come out, then it felt like he just flew out of me all on the same push!

I kept saying “oh my gosh, oh my gosh! He’s here!” The plan was for my husband to catch him, but because of our position he didn’t get to. The midwife’s assistant grabbed him from the water and handed him to me. I couldn’t believe that all the pain and everything I went through just disappeared when I looked into his sweet little face! He was so much tinier than I was expecting! He had huge blue eyes, and they were just staring at me. It was the best thing I have ever experienced!

My husband and I talked to him a while, then they told him to get out of the pool and go shower, then he’d hold baby while they got me out. That was the fastest shower my husband has ever taken! He came back and cut the umbilical cord while I nursed baby, then he did skin-to-skin with him.

(This is where things get a bit graphic, so those who are sensitive may want to stop reading.)

I was still trying to deliver the placenta, but it didn’t seem to want to come out. I was pushing like they told me, and I could feel blood coming out, then I felt the umbilical cord break off. I was not sure that that was okay. The midwives told me they were going to help me out of the pool. They asked if I was okay. I don’t like to be an inconvenience, so I usually say I’m fine even when I’m not, but I knew I needed to tell them. My legs wouldn’t let me stand up, my vision was tunneling, and I felt like I was losing my hearing. Everything was so muffled. Somehow I managed to stand in the pool (holding on to a midwife and the wall), and I could feel blood gushing out of me. I looked down and it was running all down my legs and had splashed up my hands and arms. The main midwife told me to sit back down, and she told her assistant to grab some things from their bag. I could see the panic on the assistant’s face while she was trying to remain calm. At this point I couldn’t hold my head up anymore, and I could barely hear anything. (I only remember most of the following events because my husband told me about it and it brought back my recollection of it.)

They stood me back up and gave me a shot in my leg to help with the bleeding, then put 2 pills in my rectum. I had to stay in the water for a few more minutes and tried to deliver the placenta again. They stood me up again, and I guess I started to pass out. They told my husband to put baby down and go get me some dry clothes. They stripped off my swimsuit and laid me on pads on the floor. My heart was racing, and I knew that I had to look absolutely awful at this point. My husband brought back the clothes and picked baby back up. They told him to sit down because they could tell he was super worried and starting look pale. Even in my delirious state, I knew I had to reassure him, even though I was unsure myself. I definitely did not feel okay, but I knew he needed me to be okay. Before getting pregnant I had told him about this book called “Two Kisses for Maddy.” It was about a dad who was raising his daughter alone because his wife died after delivery. It’s a great book, but it’s so heartbreaking too. I really hoped that was not running through his mind right now, but honestly it was in mine!

While I laid on the floor completely naked in what felt like a pool of my own blood, not knowing what was happening, I found the strength to turn my head and look at my husband and brand new baby and tell him I would be okay. He had tears rolling down his face, but he just kept nodding.

The midwife had to reach inside me and pull out the placenta. They sat me up and had me drink something. They tucked a bunch of pads between my legs and said they were taking me to my recliner. They got me up, and I started to pass out again. They kept telling me to look at my husband and keep my eyes open. I was trying really hard!

I don’t remember much after I got to the chair. They kept trying to feed me, but I didn’t feel like I could chew anything. My husband was feeding me spoonfuls of peanut butter and honey, and the midwife’s assistant had me drink a large Gatorade. I kept telling my husband I would be okay. After that I fell asleep (the first sleep I’d gotten in 2 days.) They let me sleep for almost 2 hours in the chair.

When I woke up, they said it was time to try to get me to the bathroom. As soon as I stood up, I passed out again. They sat me back down and did cold water on my face and I drank Gatorade. My hearing was still kind of muffled too. After a little while they got me up again. In my mind I was walking just fine, but they kept telling me to open my eyes. My husband said that I had started to pass out again, and he had to catch me. My midwife decided that the bathroom was not priority at this point, and they just put me in bed. I stayed there the rest of the night and slept except 1 trip to the bathroom, which required lots of help from my husband to get there.

Baby slept really well that night, just waking up every 3-4 hours to eat. My husband got up each time to hand me the baby because I was still feeling really weak.

Luckily everything got much easier over the next few days! After some sleep and nutrition I felt 1,000% better!

Thanks for reading my birth story!