Okay people, here it is, the birth story. Written in my own words, my own voice, with no regard for sound or style. This is how I would tell you the story if you asked me in person :)
Layla's Birth Story
The morning of
September 23rd, 2012 I woke up and felt a contraction
while lying in bed. I didn't think anything of the contraction
because I had been having them in the mornings before getting out of
bed, but nothing ever came from them. I was happy that I felt
something, since I hadn't felt anything since my midwife appointment
several days earlier. I got out of bed and began getting myself and
Danny ready for church and running errands after Mass. I felt a few
more contractions, which surprised me because I hadn't felt a
legitimate contraction other than in bed during the whole pregnancy.
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| Layla two days old |
We went to church
and then to run errands. While we were shopping I felt a few more
contractions. These contractions actually hurt a little, I kept
wanting to describe them to my husband as “more than
uncomfortable,” but I didn't want to get my hopes up that I was
going into labor. I was four days past my due date and was trying to
come to terms with the fact that we had scheduled an induction for
the upcoming Friday. I had four days to go into labor on my own or I
would be going down the long induction road that I had so hoped to
avoid.
The contractions
continued throughout the day, painful, but not killer, and they were
not coming in any kind of pattern. We finished our errands and went
home. I cleaned up the house and did some laundry, then Stephen spent
time raking the yard while I swept the decks and watered flowers. My
sister decided to come over for dinner, before she came I called her
and told her “just in case” to bring some clothes to sleep in,
that I was having contractions, “I didn't think it was labor,”
but didn't want her to drive all the way to our house and end up
staying over without anything she needed, in the off chance we had a
baby tonight. By four o'clock my sister had been over for an hour or
so, we were playing with Danny, and I was definitely having painful
contractions in a regular pattern. As I was making dinner I started
tracking the action on my husbands iphone. The contractions were
coming about 8 minutes apart and lasting 30-45 seconds. It wasn't
time to call the midwife, but I was definitely in labor. I didn't
think I would be having a baby that night, but probably early the
next morning.
The contractions
kept coming, through dinner and getting Danny bathed they got more
intense and lasted longer. While I was bathing Danny I had some
really painful contractions, I actually had to stop what I was doing
until they were over. Again, I was finally convinced I was in labor,
but I didn't think it was going to happen soon because I felt totally
fine during the breaks, and the breaks were lasting more than five
minutes. I decided to put Danny to bed myself, thinking it might be
the last time I put him to bed without a baby distracting me, I took
special care and time getting him down that night.
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| Layla one week old. |
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When Danny was out
for the night I decided I should time the contractions again. I found
they were coming every five minutes, but lasting 60 seconds each.
This meant it was time to call the midwife, if it kept up for an
hour. Before I could get to an hour I began to feel a little bit of
pressure (I kept thinking I needed to go to the bathroom, but I
didn't). I also realized that I was having shorter contractions in
between each that came every five minutes. By this time it was past
nine o'clock, I decided to call the midwife and see what she thought.
When the midwife on call, Shaina, called me back we talked about what
was going on. She said, very much to my surprise, that I could head
to the birth center if I wanted to. She said not to rush, but that it
sounded like I was heading into active labor. I couldn't believe she
wanted me to come in, I was talking to her on the phone and was
perfectly calm and feeling fine, I was only in pain during
contractions, but I had a nice break between each. I told my husband
(who didn't even know I had called Shaina), that it was time to head
to the center. We didn't have to rush, so we checked my bags and put
some laundry away before we left. I also gave my sister a thousand
instructions and tips on how to deal with Danny in the morning when
he realized we weren't there.
By the time we got
to the birth center it was about 10:45 pm, Shaina met us at the door
and led us into the birth center. It was so weird to see the midwife
office and birth center at night, with no one there. Shaina checked
me and found that I was 8 cm dilated! I was so shocked, I kept
thinking it was going to be a long drawn out labor, but I was already
so far along. I felt so happy that I had done so much earlier in the
day, I was sure that I helped myself out big time by keeping busy all
day. Shaina said that she could break my water if I wanted, but
warned that it would make contractions come much stronger and closer.
I decided against that, thinking that it would just make labor harder
and might not speed it up. I changed into my cute red nursing night
gown and headed to the family area of the birth center. There was no
one else there, and the family area was the only place that had a TV,
my husband figured that since I was still feeling good we might as
well watch the Ravens game.
I sat on the birth
ball and got ready to watch football. It wasn't more than ten minutes
when I suddenly had the worst back pain of my life, compiled with a
killer contraction. I kind of started to freak out, my pain
essentially went from zero to HOLY CRAP in
a matter of seconds. I asked Shaina to fill the tub, thinking it
would feel less bad to have contractions in the water. As she went to
fill the tub I started feeling the worst contraction I could have
imagined with a ton of pressure. I asked Stephen to help me to the
bathroom where I sat down and felt a big pop. I obviously knew it was
my water breaking, but it wasn't really clicking with me since there
was no gush of water. I think her head must have been too low for the
water to gush out like it often does. I got into the tub, even before
it was finished filling up, because I just felt like I had to do
something. I thought the water would make a world of difference. It
didn't, but it did give me a tiny bit of relief. It was weird, I was
so set on doing something in that moment, something to find relief.
Now I know it was just time to have a baby, and nothing was going to
make it not hurt.
Like I said, I was
kind of freaking out at this point. I couldn't get in the zone that I
had thought I would so easily get into when it was time to push. I
wanted to get my mind to a place where I just breathed through the
pain and worked through it, but I couldn't! The pain was so bad that
I couldn't focus on my hypnobirthing breathing that I had practiced
for so many months. Shaina checked me while I was in the tub, to
“make sure I was at 10cm and ready to push), and she said “oh,
her head is right there.” At this point I was on my knees with my
head down, just trying to get into my zone. I remember telling Shaina
“I am a numbers girl, how many contractions is this going to take.”
She said I could get her out in 1, I said “ok, good, now that I
know it is almost over I know I can do this.” It is kind of a blur
everything that was said and done after this. I remember being really
annoyed at Stephen and Shaina, because they were laughing, not at me,
but at things I was saying. Stephen was probably teasing me, and I
snapped at him stop laughing at me. I asked for my water and Stephen
jumped up to go get it and I about had a cow because I didn't want
Stephen to leave. I remember telling Shaina that I liked her, but I
needed Stephen to not leave :). When Shaina came back I apologized to
her because I thought that I was about to start cursing like a
sailor. She laughed and said she has heard it all. I just didn't want
her to think that I usually talk like that. I was also annoyed
because Shaina told me I had to be on my back to push. This only
annoyed me because I had seen a video of a friends water birth, she
was so calm and relaxed—and on her knees that I had it in my head
that it would be more comfortable. But birthing in a tub instead of a
pool doesn't allow for that.
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| Layla two weeks old. |
It was time to
push, and all I can say is man, epidurals are amazing (I had one with
Danny and didn't feel a thing). I couldn't really focus on pushing
because the pain was so bad, but somehow I did pushed. **Side note,
at this point I just wanted to let my body push her out, but I was
pretty much being coached to push. I wish I had discussed with the
midwives at the practice that I might want to just let my body do the
work because I really didn't feel like I was pushing right, and I
know she would have come out on her own if I just let my body do its
job.** Stephen and Shaina kept trying to cheer me on, and to be
honest, it annoyed me so much. I knew what I needed to do to get the
baby out, I didn't need them to remind me. I wanted to tell them both
to shut up, but of course I didn't. One push and Layla was right
there, ready to come out. Two pushes and I asked Shaina if it was ok
if I screamed, she said yes, I screamed. At first I was embarrassed
to be screaming, and I never thought I would share with other people
that I did, but it really helped me to focus on pushing, for some
reason it was the release that I needed to actually push effectively.
Three pushes and her head was out (I didn't know this), I asked if I
could take a break and Stephen was like “Ella, her head is out, you
have to push.” Four pushes and Layla Beverly made her grand
entrance into the world at 11:22 pm, not even an hour after we
arrived at the birth center.
According to the
birth record I was checked at 11:10 and was 10cm, and began pushing
at 11:15, so that long paragraph you just read was only seven minutes
worth of real life.
Layla was
immediately put in my arms where she decided to poop on me. . .at
least she waited till she came out to do her business. It was so
surreal holding her the second she was born. She was all wet and
clean, and just kind of squirmed on my chest and let out a few little
cries. She was perfect <3. After a minute or two Stephen cut her
cord and took Layla so Shaina could help me get out of the tub and in
bed.
It was such a
surreal experience! Childbirth is an incredible and surreal
experience no matter how it occurs, but for me, having Layla without
medication, in a birth center, with just my husband and midwife there
was such an incredible experience. The whole thing was just so real
and natural. As incredible as it was, it was also no big deal. I had
a baby, people have been having babies for as long as the world has
existed, there wasn't any unnecessary hooplah. It was amazing.
The best part
about the birthing center was that we got to go home almost
immediately. We only stayed long enough for me to get myself together
and have Layla checked out. We live about 30 minutes from the birth
center and were home before 2am on Sept. 24th.
I am so happy that
I got to experience a natural birth like I so wanted. I doubted
myself throughout my whole pregnancy because I wasn't sure if I was
going to be able to do it, but I did and I am grateful.
Layla Beverly Bray
Rice
7 lbs 5 oz 21 ½
inches
September 23rd,
2012 11:22 pm
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| Lay Lay two weeks old. |
