I had an amazing experience with delivering Ryden naturally, so I fully intended to deliver Taylor naturally as well using the hypnobirthing techniques I used with Ry. I didn't have as much time to devote to practicing this time around b/c of my busy work and school schedule, but I still used the visualizations and breathing routines that helped me most with Ryden, throughout my pregnancy with Taylor. I figured it hadn't been too long since the last birth and that with just a little freshening up I would do fine with Taylor. And my birth plan remained the same. I had it all laid out in my head even though I knew each birth could be very different. I expected some similarities. My plan: wait until contractions were close enough and strong enough to KNOW I was in active labor and then head to the hospital. Hopefully then, I'd be at a 4 and would progress similarly to the way I did with Ryden. After they put in the IV lock and got baseline readings on the monitor, I might pace the halls to keep things progressing and pass the time. When I neared the start of transition, I would relax in the jetted tub and then get out in time to deliver. Just like all the rest, I'd push her out in one big contraction and then get to hold my sweet baby!
So that was the plan.
This is what really happened:
My pregnancy went far beyond what I ever expected. In the past, my cervix has always been anterior early on and my babies' heads settle low early on. This puts pressure on my cervix causing me to dilate and efface early on and usually I am in labor 2-3 weeks early. But that wasn't happening and instead I was experiencing false and prodromal labor for weeks that was frustrating and uncomfortable. At my 38 week appointment, I found out that not only was my cervix still posterior, but that her head was so low in the canal that my cervix was actually flipped behind her head and not even close to being aligned with my pelvic opening. The baby's head was not putting any pressure on my cervix which was likely why I wasn't going into true labor. I had been at a 2 and 80% effaced for many weeks with little change, even though I was experiencing regular contractions that were fairly strong. The only thing that would bring my cervix forward and line it up properly was a true strong contraction. So, I had to count on something else to put me into labor. My due date was the 12th with an alternate dd of the 17th. By my doctor's appointment on Monday, I was exhausted from all the pre-labor and feeling discouraged about how much recovery time I was going to have before flying across the country for a family wedding at the end of June. I was 2 days away from my due date and only 5 more from the latest. Up until that point, I was avoiding induction as it generally makes natural labor harder to endure. But I had to consider all the other factors in my life at this point and finally conceded that I may need to be induced. I decided I would ask my midwife to strip my membranes at my appointment and give me 24 more hours to go into labor on my own. If that didn't happen, we set an induction for the next morning. I had come to terms with it and felt that was overall the best thing for baby, me and my family. We would try breaking my water first and use pitocin as a very last resort.
So I went in to my last appointment and to my surprise, the contractions I'd been experiencing over the past week were not in vain! They had brought my cervix forward almost completely and I was dilated to a 3! That made it super easy for her to sweep my membranes and I was on my way. I knew I had less than 24 hours before I'd be in labor no matter what. I went home and tried to stay busy. I cleaned my house, finished last minute preparations, spent time with the kids, even did some schoolwork and studied for a final. I felt crampy almost immediately after leaving the midwife's office. But I tried not to pay attention to the contractions. I was having too much anxiety about going into labor. When Doug got home at 5:15, I left to take a final for school. On the way, I noticed the irregular contractions I'd been experiencing all afternoon were getting a bit stronger, but I was trying not to get my hopes up. I took my final and aced it! I felt so good knowing I was done with that class and I could focus on my baby when she came. As I was answering my very last question, I had a very strong contraction. I looked up at the clock and noted it was almost 6:40. I finished my test and left. I had to run a couple errands on the way home and began noticing more strong contractions but refrained myself from timing them to avoid more anxiety. Pretty soon they were getting harder to ignore and I thought I'd better head home. On the drive home, they came on so strong I KNEW I was going into labor. I finally started timing. They were 5 minutes apart. I got home and Doug was getting the kids in bed. They were getting stronger and stronger but still 5 minutes apart. But they were consistent so after an hour, we decided to head out. With Ryden, I never had consistent contractions like this and they never were this close together until the last 3 before he was born. I was starting to worry a bit. I worried if they stayed this close together and this strong for several hours, that I wouldn't be able to handle it. But I tried to stay calm and practiced my relaxations. I told myself, if I was at least past a 4, I could do this. Right as we approached the hospital, they started getting closer together... more like 3.5-4 minutes apart. We parked in front and made our way to L&D. We requested the room with the jetted tub. They could see my contractions were strong so they took us straight to our room and had me change. They hooked my belly up to the monitor for an initial baseline and prepped me for an IV lock and checked my cervix. I was a 5+! This was at about 9:15 pm. I was relieved to be past a 4 but was still worried about how many hours it may take to get to 10. They were now coming every 2 minutes and very intense. They called the midwife on-call immediately and she was in my room within 10 minutes of us getting settled. She could tell just by looking at my contractions on the monitor that it wouldn't be long. I wasn't as sure. But she checked me and confirmed I was already past an 8. That's when I finally COMPLETELY let go of my anxiety and fear and just relaxed. Up till that point, my faith had been wavering. I was silently praying to Heavenly Father to help me accomplish this desire that I had and to give me strength. Hearing that I was an 8 was fantastic! It suddenly occurred to me that this baby was going to come before midnight. That today was her birthday! Once I let go of my fears and completely relaxed, the contractions actually spaced back out. They were still very intense and completely efficient but I was able to rest between and zone out. I had music playing in the background, Doug was holding my hands almost the entire time by my side, and he and the nurse were fanning me between contractions because I was having major hot flashes the entire time. Every time I had a contraction, I would focus on my breathing and would squeeze Doug's hand in a pulsating motion. I laid on my side for the duration of labor and birthing. The next time the midwife checked me, I was almost a 10 but I still had a little lip of cervix left. After the next big contraction, I felt the pressure and knew she was coming. But she wasn't coming as fast as my midwife or I had expected, and my bag of waters hadn't broken yet. She noted that I was complete 10 and that my bag was bulging but still hadn't broken. So, she broke the waters and I felt immediate relief. On the next contraction I began pushing. This is where things got intense. Every other baby I have had had been delivered in one contraction. I push once, and they are out! With Ryden, I wasn't even really pushing... he just came with the powerful contraction. But this time, I felt the need to push and she still wasn't coming. I could feel that she was stuck and had a feeling something was wrong. I was overwhelmed with adrenaline and the midwife and nurse telling me to change positions to facilitate her descent. I was losing focus. Doug held me tight and kept encouraging me. He kept his focus on me and I was giving everything I had and she was NOT budging. I could feel immense pressure on my tailbone which I never have had before. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew something wasn't right. Finally, after several intense minutes, the nurse and midwife bent my knees up high and shifted my legs into a position where she finally moved. Then it was all over and she came right out. She had been posterior and had gotten stuck on my pelvic bone. Feeling her come out was the biggest relief and having Doug place her on my chest was heaven. We did it! She was born at 10:23pm, 6 lbs 7 oz, 20 inches long. It was the fastest labor I've ever had and one of the hardest things I've ever done to get her out at the end. But it was lovely.
Nothing went according to plan... I barely had time to undress, have the baby checked on the monitor and attempt an IV lock. By the time they had someone in to do my IV, I was ready to push and they just bagged it. I never got back off the bed, I never went in the jetted tub...I just labored quickly and she came! It was a completely different experience but just as rewarding! I had amazing nurses and the on-call midwife was fantastic (I labored too quickly for my midwife to get there on time). The burning sensation did take longer to wear off since she was in the canal much longer and a lot of friction was applied trying to get her out. But I still felt fantastic less than an hour later and was able to walk and go with her to be bathed. And I had absolutely no tearing! My active labor was under 3 hours and she was born an hour after we checked into the hospital! She is alert, happy and a wonderful eater and sleeper thus far. All of my wishes were met and once again I feel empowered and wonderful! I am looking forward to an equally great recovery and time with my sweet sweet baby!
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