My Birth Story

**Warning, this is long and drawn out with a ridiculous amount of details, but I wanted to write as much as I could remember for me.)**

I think things really started the weekend before.  On Saturday, November 17th my mom and I ran errands.  We went to Southlake Town Center to make a return at Lily Pulitzer, buy a couple things at Williams Sonoma and stock up on cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory (3 pieces of Crazy Craig's Carrot Cake Cheesecake, 3 pieces of Pumpkin Pecan - plus a piece of raspberry truffle for The Architect).  After that we headed home, picked up The Architect and went to Tom Thumb to stock up on groceries.  It was SO fun to be out and about and get lots of attention from people on how cute I looked pregnant, how I was one huge basketball, and all the gasps when asked when I was due..."um, tomorrow!"  hehe  One guy stocking shelves at Tom Thumb literally gasped and said "damn!!" when I turned around and he saw me from the front.  It was so cute.  :)  By the end of the day I was POOPED.  I had started to get achy and sore in my pelvic region before that, and I was definitely at the height of soreness that day.  While walking around the mall, I was having sharp, stabbing pains up inside me and a couple of them took my breath away and I had to stop walking and bend over.  I knew that was my cervix doing stuff, and I tried to tell my mom, but not get her too excited, because I knew it might not mean anything and I could still go another 10 days.

Sunday, November 18th (my due date), I felt awful.  I was tired and grumpy and uncomfortable and getting miserable.  I felt like I way over-did things on Saturday and was regretting it.  We ran a couple errands and I was Miss Grumpy pants the whole time.  We went to Kohls so that I could try to find some comfortable lounge pants/pajama pants and I found one pair that was like $10 and was a XXL and super soft so I got them.  (I refused to pay the $50+ for maternity ones.)  After a trip in Walmart I was super pissy and ready to go home.  That night I told The Architect and my mom that I was finally ready for pregnancy to be over.  I was really getting uncomfortable and just tired.   So The Architect and I started power walking that night.  We booked it for 30 minutes around the neighborhood.  While walking, it hurt and was so uncomfortable, but I pushed through it and forced myself to keep going.  At times, I was feeling what I thought were definite contractions, but then I would change my mind and concluded that it was probably just gas. 

Monday, November 19th I woke up refreshed and feeling great.  I went to work all day, and all day, although tired for a bit, I felt great.  So I concluded I would make it all week at work since I was back to feeling good.  That night we went power walking again.  And again, I had the same feelings of contractions/possible gas. 

Tuesday, November 20th I again went to work, but this day a bit more tired even though I felt like I got some decent sleep.  It was fun talking to people at work and now when asked about my due date telling them "oh, this past Sunday."  Since Thursday was Thanksgiving, I had my 40 week prenatal appointment this day.  At this appointment, my midwife asked me if I was at peace with things.  I said, "you  mean if she comes today?" and she said, "no, if you still have a while to go."  I said, "absolutely.  She can stay and hang out as long as she wants, but my only fear is going to/past 42 weeks and then having to go the hospital route and be induced."  She settled my fears by explaining their protocol for trying to get a baby before 42 weeks.  She said that she could strip my membranes that day, but it was still early (on average, first time moms left alone go 10 days past their due dates) and it usually works when one is close to labor starting naturally.  So she said next Tuesday, at 41 weeks and 2 days she would strip my membranes.  If I don't go into labor within 24 hours, then Wednesday they would send me for an ultrasound to check baby's activity/stress test, fluid levels and health of the placenta.  If everything looked ok, then on Thursday I would take labor start herbs (I had been on labor prep herbs since 36 weeks) and castor oil.  If there was still no baby, then since my 42 weeks fell on a Sunday, on Monday I would go for another ultrasound and if everything looked ok, then do one more round of labor start herbs and castor oil.  Then if STILL no baby in the next 24 hours, then as a last resort, I could have them break my water to see if that starts things (as there are lots of prostoglandins in amniotic fluid).  She said that would be up to me if I wanted them to do that - but at that point I had to go to a hospital for induction anyway and the first thing they will do when I get to the hospital is break my water.  She said they almost ALWAYS get a baby by 42 weeks.  They might have one mom a year who they cant get baby to come...and they've already had that mom this year.  :)  They checked my progress and I was about the same.  A fingertip dilated, about the same effacement (60%) but softer and something about my cervix more tilted forward.  They checked baby's position and she was back to optimal position of head down and facing sideways (rather then sunny side up).  They still couldn't figure out what something was down lower on my right side.  The head midwife said she had been feeling babies for a LONG time, and she had NO idea what that was.  So they brought the sono machine in to triple check and make sure was indeed head down.  And she was.  (We later know what they were feeling was an elbow.)  The one thing I remember seeing on the sono screen was her spine.  Overall, everything looked and sounded great.

I left that appointment feeling good about things, and figuring I still had several days to go.  The Architect stopped by the vitamin store and bought some more 5-W (labor prep herbs) as I had just enough to finish that day.  That afternoon at work, I started feeling braxton hicks contractions lower in my abdomen.  Until then, they were always up high toward the middle to top of my uterus.  These were a similar sensation, but different.  They were close to a menstrual cramp but they didn't hurt at all, and they were down low where menstrual cramps are.  After work I had a chiropractic appointment (which I had upped my appointments to twice a week for the last couple of weeks) and she was so shocked that I was there and hadn't already gone into labor.  So she did my regular adjustment and afterwards told me to remove my shoes and she was going to do some pressure points on me.  As soon as she started, she changed her mind and went with the needles - acupuncture.  :)  She only did a brief and minor treatment as it was the very end of the day and she didn't have time to do the whole traditional acupuncture to get labor started.  So she put needles in the outside of my pinky toes by the nail and on the inside of my leg about three fingers up from the ankle.  (We learned about both of these pressure points in our childbirth classes.)  She let me lie there with them in for about five minutes and then I headed out.  She said she wasn't going to charge and I joked that if I go into labor, she can prorate it into my next appointment. 

I got home around 7 and my mom started dinner.  Since it was late, we didn't power walk that night.  Instead we went upstairs to watch TV after dinner (hamburger steaks, green beans and macaroni and cheese) and watched the Butler vs North Carolina basketball game. (Butler won, which should have been my sign of good things to come! Especially considering i was wearing a Butler T-shirt that night and had my whole pregnancy!)   My mom and The Architect sat on the couch and I sat on the birth ball.  I was explaining to them that new braxton hicks type sensation I was having down low and how CONSTANT they were.  I was getting so regular that I started telling them every time I was having one.  They both got all hyper and said I was in labor.  I said "no I'm not!  Because they don't hurt AT ALL, so this isn't labor."  (Looking back, I was totally in denial and it was definitely pre-labor.)  After telling them over and over when I was having one, my mom wanted me to time them.  I said no, because its not labor.  She insisted and got a note pad and a pen so I started timing them.  Every 4-6 minutes I would lean forward and write the time down.  And every time they would see my lean forward and write the time down they would comment on how consistent they were and how I was in labor.  We went to bed that night around 10 and I was exhausted - but had no clue what was in store in the next few hours.

Wednesday, November 21, I woke up at 3am.  I was having what felt like menstrual cramps.  I knew that this was it and things were starting, but I also knew that early labor can last 24-48 hours so I tried to relax.  I got out of bed and rummaged around in the dark for the camera to charge the battery.  (What's funny is that labor started so fast I never got to tell mom about the camera so it never got used.)  I went back to bed, but the cramps were too uncomfortable to lie there through, so I got up.  I went into the downstairs living room area and laid on the bean bag in front of the fireplace with my prayer book and prayed.  I was feeling anxious and nervous.  After a while (at 3:30am) I heard The Architect get up.  He came out and I told him what was going on.  I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom and did - another sign of labor, but I didn't think anything about it because it wasn't diarrhea.  They seemed really close together but not intense enough to contact the doula or midwives.  (I timed them from 3:13 until 4:11 and 3-5 mins apart.)  We laid in bed dinking around on our phones for a bit and then I had to get up again because they were so uncomfortable.  I got the paper work out that my doula gave me and went over when to call her.  It said to change activities when labor starts so we did.  We took Sheep out for a walk around the block around 4:30am.  It was chilly out and the cool air felt nice.  It was a very SLOW walk around the block and I kept having to stop during surges.  Some of them I bent over, some of them I leaned on The Architect and some of them I leaned on mail boxes.  About half way around I was just ready to get home.  When we got back home, we took a shower.  That didn't slow things down either.  They kept on coming and coming and still all very close together.  And slowly ramping up in intensity.  When I got out of the shower and was drying off, I noticed blood on the towel, so I knew then, I was 100% in labor. 

When I got out of the shower, I sat on the birth ball, leaning on a pillow on the bed.

At 5:30 I had The Architect wake my mom up.  I called the doula on her cell phone (non-emergency line) and left a message with an update around 6am.  I then called the midwife as well.  The midwife told me to eat and to rest.  The Architect ran to Tom Thumb really quick for creamer (for coffee for him and my mom) and gatorade (for me).  While he was gone my mom said the sweetest prayer out loud and I remember tearing up in thanks for everything that was happening.  She also commented on how comfortable I looked and I said, "its not!!!" and she said "oh" sounding surprised.  I clarified and said "yes, it is very comfortable, but right now nothing is comfortable!" and we both kind of chuckled a little.  The Architect got back and I called the doula again at 7am, this time on her home phone (the emergency line).  I left a message and she called me right back.  I was having a contraction when she called and she could tell by the length that things were getting intense.  She said she just woke up and that she would get ready and head over right away.  I started timing contractions on an app on my phone and it was really annoying and I was getting upset and frustrated.  If I forgot to time one, it messed the calculations up, so I would have to delete them all and start over.  Also, if it was longer than a minute between uses, I would have to re-log in to my phone messing the timing up, and at one point my phone froze up.  SO frustrating.   I had The Architect reset my phone and take the auto-lock off.  I then made a strong effort to consistently time the surges as they were coming.  By the time the doula arrived, around 8am, my contractions had been 3 minutes apart and a minute long for over an hour.  This meant - ACTIVE LABOR.  And I definitely felt like it was active labor.  I was having to really concentrate to get through them and I wasn't getting much of a break between them (from the get-go!).  They were also definitely ramping up in intensity.  The doula saw me and my contraction history and said we needed to call the midwife.  Considering the time of day and where she knew two of the three midwives lived, I think she was concerned about how quickly things were progressing.  The Architect called my midwife (she's the one that doesn't live very far, thank goodness) and she got ready and came over.  The doula then suggested I try the bathtub.  So her and The Architect ran me a hot bath and it was wonderful.  I labored in there for a while, but then I felt too hot, so I wanted to get out.  Between the pain and the heat of the water, I started feeling nauseated.  My doula rubbed some peppermint oil on my chest to help with the nausea, which was wonderful!  They helped me out of the tub and into a bathrobe (which I wore for the rest of labor - more like a blanket than a robe which meant I was essentially naked from this point on...one thing I was not anticipating, but in the moment I could have cared less.)  When I got back to the bed I felt sick and dry heaved into the trash can.  They tried to get me to eat some toast and I might have gotten two bites down, and that was about all I could manage.  I was drinking pretty well though between contractions.

My primary midwife arrived a little after 9am (from what I could tell from looking back on a text she sent).  When she got here, I remember feeling a sigh of relief.  She got set up and first thing she did was listen to baby's heartbeat.  After that she wanted to check my dilation. 

Side note:  I looooooooove my midwife.  I wanted her as my primary from the minute I met her at our very first appointment at 12 weeks.  She is so calming and gentle and reminds me so much of my husband in the way she speaks and composes herself.  Also - she was 34 weeks pregnant herself at my labor and delivery!  She's an amazing woman!

Before she checked me, she walked me through what was about to happen.  I LOVED this.  She said I needed to get on the bed and lie on my back.  Every time I change positions will bring on a contraction, so to take my time and stop and wait through a contraction when needed.  She then said that once I get on my back a contraction will start and to breathe through it.  She'll then proceed with checking my, which will start another contraction and she'll wait through that one.  Then she'll determine my dilation and stay there through another contraction.  I had read on MANY birth stories how AWFUL getting checked is.  How it is absolutely the worst part of labor.  And holy cow, it was - because of the way it brings contractions on, and in a position that is less than ideal for coping with them.  My sweet, loving and gentle midwife was as perfect as it gets for checking dilation and it hurt like hell, so I can only imagine how it must be when the situation isn't like it was with her.

At this point, I was 3cm dilated. 

Here was my favorite position - sitting on the birth ball, leaning on a pillow on the bed.

My midwife is behind me rubbing my back and talking me through breathing through contractions.

My doula is in front of me on the bed massaging my scalp.

Throughout labor, she continually listened to baby's heartbeat, and she always sounded great!  Even as she was in the birth canal, The Architect said she commented on how perfect baby sounded!

Still on the ball, leaning on the bed.

The Architect behind me with a hot rice sock on my sacrum.

My doula still massaging my head.

I labored ALL over the downstairs of our house.  One of my favorite moments was laying on my side on our bed, with The Architect, my mom and our doula all rubbing me.  One set of hands was rubbing my scalp, one was rubbing my back and arms, and one was rubbing my legs and thighs.  I wasn't sure how I would handle being in labor because usually when I'm in pain I don't want to be touched.  But labor was different, and the sensation of touch was WONDERFUL.

A couple of hours later, my midwife checked me again and I was up to 5cm.  She said my bag of waters was really putting a lot of pressure on my cervix and with the next few contractions, to bear down with some pressure and try to get that bag to break.  So I did.  With no luck.

I tried laboring on the toilet, trying to get that bag to break.  Still no luck.

I also labored sitting backwards on the toilet with a pillow on the tank, and still no luck.  I thought I would enjoy this position, but I didn't at all.  The seat was too hard and the void beneath my bottom made the pressure hard to bear.

I got back in the tub.  This time the water had cooled down enough that I didn't find the relief I found before.  Especially because I couldn't get comfortable this time.  I wanted to lean forward and submerge my belly and just couldn't find a way to get comfortable.

Notice my sweet little Sheep by my side!

Getting out of the tub started another contraction.  For most of labor, I felt like in between contractions, the pain never completely went away, so I couldn't get to that place of complete relaxation.  When I did, I SAVORED in it.  At one time my mom thought I had fallen asleep - um, no way.  That was called my special place!  hehe

After the tub the second time, I went back to the ball leaning on the bed. 

Side note about my doula:  She was WONDERFUL.  She was such a great initiator of great ideas for comfort measures.  Between the tub, the peppermint oil, keeping the rice sock hot and on my abdomen or back, frozen water bottle on my back, cold wash cloth on my forehead, and making sure I was drinking between EVERY contraction.  She was awesome.  She also took notes through the whole thing, took some pictures, wrote a small birth story and just having one more set of hands was PRICELESS!

My midwife told me I should get up and walk around, and to go outside and get some fresh air.  I did NOT want to get up, but my doula reminded me that moving around, especially walking was good for baby's position and can help her move if she needs to.  It also might help break the bag of waters.  So I did.  I walked into the living room and then headed for the back yard.  I got to the edge of the back patio and just couldn't go any farther.

So I just stood there and soaked in the fresh air and the GORGEOUS day that it was.  When a contraction came on, I just leaned on The Architect and he helped me through them.  After a few contractions and lots of deep breaths of the fresh crisp air, I was done and ready to go back to my comfort zone of my bed.

When I got inside I tried walking in circles around the downstairs living area.  I knew I needed to walk, so this was my attempt at trying to achieve that.

When a contraction would come on, I would lean on The Architect and do the "slow dance" with him, rocking back and forth.

I love this picture.

I went back into the bedroom and continued to labor in there, trying to get my bag of waters to break.  She checked me again and I was 7 cm.  Still no luck getting my water to break.

The next time she checked me, a little bit later, I was 8 cm and while the midwife was checking me, my bag of waters FINALLY broke!  I don't think she broke it - but I think she encouraged it to break.  :)  It felt like the loudest pop and surge of water, and boy did it ever bring on a different intensity of pain, along with the relief of the pressure.  Of course then, I immediately felt a different pressure - the pressure of the baby. (The Architect later told me that the midwife told him during all of this, that a strong bag is a sign of good nutrition during pregnancy.)

I knew I was close, but I still felt so far away.  Now the contractions were the most intense, the longest and double peaking.  And so many of them felt like they were not completely going away, giving me a break before the next one would begin.  The Architect continuously moaned with me, helping to bring my tones lower, which keeps everything relaxed so it can progress more optimally.  I felt like my tones WERE low, but apparently they weren't and he did an amazing job at getting them lower and everyone said they noticed a huge difference when they would go lower.

I can't imagine doing ANY of this anywhere else.  From the very beginning, before anyone arrived at our house, I remember thinking, "I'm so glad I don't have to go anywhere else to do this!" and I continuously thought that throughout the whole labor.  I also wanted The Architect 6 inches from my face at all times.  I NEEDED him right by my side.  Something about his presence made me feel safe.  This is my favorite picture of the whole event:

After my water broke, the baby descended farther down into the birth canal, but there was one problem.  I had a full bladder.  The midwife told me I needed to pee before going any farther.  The problem was I had ZERO urge to pee.  I tried to pee laying there on the bed, onto the chux pads.  No luck.  I tried on the toilet.  No luck.  I tried in the bathtub.  No luck.  I tried in the shower, turning the water both hot and cold.  Still no luck.  I went back to the toilet and while sitting there the midwife gently approached me and said, "we don't usually do this, but we will need to cath you."  I've never heard such beautiful words.  I was actually thinking to myself in the midst of all of that that I wish they could just catheterize me.  I've had one once before and it really isn't bad at all and doesn't hurt.  So I was SO thankful they did, because I just could NOT pee.  I was almost convinced that even though I was drinking between every contractions, my mouth was so parched from breathing and vocalizing through it, that I felt dehydrated.  Apparently I wasn't bc they got quite a bit out.

Now I could proceed.

At 9 cm, the midwife had me get on my knees on the bed and lean onto the birth ball.  This was another one of my favorite positions - actually, this was my most favorite position of all.  It was so comfortable!

Right about now, the second midwife arrived.  It was perfect timing, because she is so bubbly and energetic and at the end, when I was utterly exhausted but still had a ways to go, the energy she brought to the room was amazing.  She was exactly what I needed at that exact moment!  At this point, I was at my lowest, not because I felt like I couldn't do it because of the pain, but I was exhausted and worried I wouldn't have enough energy to finish.  Luckily I had a WONDERFUL doula who not only kept my hydrated, but brought honey and periodically throughout labor would give me a spoonful for energy.  Since eating was so challenging because of the pain induced nausea, this was wonderful!

As intense as things got, I never felt like I couldn't do it, but I started to get afraid that I would run out of energy to be able to finish.  I got SO tired and exhausted.  The environment and people I was surrounded by were wonderful for this because of their encouragement.  I totally understood why people get epidurals when I was in the moment.  Another thing that helped me during contractions was a picture that was up every week in our birth classes.  She had this poster showing a graph-like description of what contractions were like during each stage of labor.  I kept mentally going back to this graph so that when I was in transition and contractions were double peaking, I knew what it meant, where I was in labor, and that it was normal thanks to our classes.  I also kept reminding myself of the women in the videos that we watched (and friends I know who birthed naturally) - I remembered their labors and it all seemed similar to what I was going through, and if they could do it, so could I.  It was a reassuring reminder tucked in the back of my mind when things got intense.

At this point, the midwife checked me again, and I was fully dilated, but there was a lip of my cervix that was swollen and caught on the baby's head, so I couldn't full on push until they got that lip over her head. So I started giving small pushes during contractions while the midwife would hold that part of my cervix back.

Side note on my mom:  She. Was. A. Rockstar!  I swear her second calling in life is to be a doula.  Even my doula told her that she should be a doula!  She was the perfect addition to the whole day.  She was SO encouraging, in just the right amount of hands on, yet hands off.  She let Mark be my #1, but she was still there when I needed her.  And she is so sweet, and gentle and soothing.  She prayed for so long for me to have a 12 hour labor and for everything to go perfectly - and I truly believe that God listened, her prayers were answered and that is the reason everything DID go so perfectly.  From day one, she kept telling me she is staying "fruitful" about it all and that she imagines how it is going to go, and how excited she was.  She is one of the main reasons that I didn't want a water birth.  I wanted her to be able to SEE her granddaughter being born.  (In a water birth you cant see anything under the water.)  Now that it is all over, I am SO glad that I gave birth on land.  Not only was she able to watch, which I know she loved and will always remember it, but she took pictures!  I am SO SO thankful for her taking pictures and I savor them all.  It is so special to me that my mom was a piece of this amazing journey in my life.  

I remember at this point leaning on the ball saying I felt really pushy.  Like there was a constant pressure down there that made me want to push, and with oomph.  The second midwife that arrived said that if I felt pushy, to follow my body.  So I gave in to a few pushes while laboring over the ball.

After a few of those, she had me get back on my back to better hold the lip of the cervix back, because it was being stubborn.  And after she got it held back completely, I stayed in this position to deliver the baby.  I was NOT expecting to push laying flat on my back, the WORST position possible to deliver in, but it worked!  I was able to progress really well pushing in this position.  My mom was on one side of me holding one leg, my doula was on the other side, holding the other leg, and The Architect was behind me holding my head and right by my face where I needed him the whole time.

The one part of labor that surprised me the most was how much pushing HURT.  It was a pleasant surprise that by pushing, it completely relieved the pain on the contraction, but wow, pushing BURNED.  I expected the ring of fire feeling to be when baby crowned, not at the beginning of pushing.  It hurt and burned so bad, that it was hard to push.  But I realized VERY quickly that the harder I pushed and just bared down on the pain, the faster it would be over.  (The second midwife that arrived told me after it was all over that I was awesome with my pushing and how quickly I realized this.)  In between pushes, the second midwife told me to hold the pressure so that baby would stay in that place and not slide back up.  So I did.  And I think I did a damn good job, because I HATED pushing and was so ready for baby to come out.

In our birth class, there was a huge poster of the baby in the womb every week.  It was blown up so big, that it looked like a LONG distance between the cervix and the opening of the vagina.  So I was SO surprised when the midwife pretty soon made a comment that she could see the head.  I thought it was going to be at least another hour of pushing.  I couldn't tell by how things felt where the baby was in relation to my body.  My mom and the doula were shocked by this news and started getting SUPER excited for me and encouraging me.  (Which they had been the whole time I was pushing and I couldn't tell if it was genuine that I was close, or that they were just really good encouragers.)  With their excitement, the midwife said "yeah, I can see the head.  [Insert The Architect's name here], if you come around, you can see it.  She has lots of hair!"  My mom yelled, "Hair!?!? What do you mean the baby has hair??  None of our babies have hair!!"  Then The Architect said, "she doesn't get it from me!" haha

About this time the midwife had me slow down and started doing warm olive oil massage between contractions/pushes to prevent tearing.  This wasn't horrible, but not really a pleasant experience either.  The Architect and my mom said it was hilarious, because she was so patient and gentle with the whole experience that she would also massage baby's head and rub the olive oil into her hair.  For weeks afterwards (and probably forever), they reenacted what she was doing with her hands.  It was cute.

Another push or two later and they were telling me I could see her head if I wanted and started scrounging around for a mirror.  At this point I was exhausted and pushing hurt SO bad that I just wanted to finish and get her out!  I said very frustratedly, "I don't want to see, I don't care, I don't need a mirror!"  So another push or two and they encouraged me to lean up and feel her crowning.  Again, I refused.  With both of these they wanted me to see/feel for an extra boost of energy from encouragement because I was so close, but I honestly didn't feel like I needed it.  The pain was encouragement enough.  The second midwife that arrived told me to just reach down and feel, so I did. Something about her sweet bubbly voice made me reach down and feel.  And I was absolutely AMAZED!  From what I was feeling, I thought she was just within eye sight of the opening of the vagina...nope, her head was halfway out!  And it was the most AMAZING thing to feel!!!  I will NEVER forget it.

(My mom took a picture of her crowning - with her head halfway out, and it is the most amazing picture.  I'm SO thankful she took it, and it is my most favorite picture of all of labor.  I'm not posting it bc I know not everyone is as excited about babies being birthed as I am.  hehe)

I told The Architect to go on around, because I wanted him to catch her when she came out.  So another good push or two and her head was out.  I knew at this point I needed to pause and wait, because they had to make sure the cord wasn't around her neck (it wasn't) and suction her nose and mouth. They were also trying to guess which way her body was positioned in relation to how her head was facing. To be right at the climax of everything, they were so calm and patient with everything going on. It kept such a great energy in the room.

I thought that they had given me the go ahead to push again when I asked, so I did, and she literally slid out, and it was so fast and I don't think everyone wasn't quite ready yet, so I think the second midwife (literally!) caught her and put her on my stomach.  (After the fact, I found out they wanted to be there to catch her and they were discussing protocols because she had quite a bit of meconium in the water and they needed to suction her asap.)  I felt bad for a while that The Architect didn't get to catch her, thinking I messed it up by pushing before they were ready, but apparently it was fine because they needed to do that.

This picture is literally her flying out of me, the midwife catching her and a lot more meconium filled fluid behind her coming out.  The picture is looking almost sideways so you don't see any of my lady parts.  That's my doula in pink in the background.

She had a really short cord, so that is as far as the baby would reach.  That is a cold wash cloth on my forehead - another great idea of the doula.

It was the weirdest and most surreal moment to see my baby, laying there on my stomach.  I remember looking into her eyes and saying, "Hi baby!" and she was wide eyed and staring back at me, not even crying yet.  Even in that moment, it was hard to believe this was MY baby.  For so long I tried to visualize what she was going to look like and I couldn't.  So to finally see her was the neatest experience.

They let her lay on me for several minutes to allow the cord to stop pulsating, so all that wonderful blood could go into the baby, before the cord was cut.  This was such a blur that I don't remember them suctioning her, or what all else they were doing.

In addition to her pooping in her waters, she pooped on the way out, and then again when she was laying on my stomach.  She was a pooping machine!

Here is The Architect cutting the cord:

Look at that beautiful white, flaccid cord - no more blood left, which means it ALL went into my sweet little baby!

Pretty soon after this, in fact it was almost immediately, I gave a couple more pushes and birthed the placenta.  I was surprised at how quickly after birth it came out.  I didn't see it right then as the midwife whisked it away to examine it and make sure it was 100% intact and all there.  (I did see it later because I had it encapsulated - that is another post coming!)  After that, they did the massage on my abdomen to help shrink the uterus.  I was prepared for how uncomfortable this was, and because I was prepared, it wasn't as bad as I expected.

I asked about my bleeding and they said it was fine, and no interventions needed.  (side note: midwives come prepared for bleeding.  They bring and administer as needed, pitocin shots, cytotec - I think suppositories, and pitocin IV's all to stop bleeding - everything they would do in a hospital.  And it's enough to stabilize a mom for a transfer if needed.  I asked about this at our 36 week appointment because so many people's reaction to telling them I was birthing at home was "I would have died if I hadn't been in a hospital because of my bleeding!")  After birth, I was surprised at how minimal my bleeding was.  It was about equivalent of the heavier day of your period, and it let up pretty quick.  It took about 4-6 weeks to completely go away, but was never that heavy - or as heavy as I thought it was going to be.

Another side note: One of the most amazing post-birth products were what our birth instructor called "peri pops".  I took a pack of huge, overnight pads with wings, opened them up, poured 1/3 cup water over them, then repeat with another, through the whole pack, stacking them on top of each other.  Then put them in a Ziploc bag and put them in the freezer.  When it came time, I took one out, put a witch hazel pad over it (to protect my bottom from the frozen pad), and put them in my depends.  OMG they felt ahhhhh-mazing!!!  And yes, I wore depends for a few days.  That was also recommended by our class instructor and SUCH a great idea during those first few days.  So much better and easier than panties with huge maxi pads and less messy with the peri pops in them.

Back to post birth:

During the time they were stitching me up, my doula fed me cheese and crackers and juice.  I was SO thirsty!  I downed a huge glass of apple juice and then a glass of cranberry juice.  Thank gosh we had straws on hand, because every time I drank (both now and during labor, I could drink from any position, especially laying down.

I, amazingly, did not really tear!  I attribute this to the olive oil massage they did on me, and the control they helped me stay under.  I was fully expecting to tear - and I wouldn't have thought twice about it.  Our bodies are made to do that if necessary.  But, I did have two spots, one on either side of the urethra, that had tiny fissures that they put one stitch in to make sure they didn't get infected.  Then the put one stitch in my perineum because they said it stretched so thin it was oozing.  (At our 2-day follow, my midwife told me that she had never seen that.  Usually it either doesn't tear and goes back to normal, or it stretched so far that it finally gives and tears.)  So again, just one stitch to prevent infection and also to "keep me pretty".  hehe

They did the stitches pretty much immediately after birth because they said that your natural pain blockers  are at their highest at that point so not as much numbing agents are needed.  They discussed this at our 36 week appointment and gave me the option of doing it immediately or after a while.  I said "go ahead and get it over with!"

After all of that, they got me upright, and settled in with my baby.  They left the room to do post-birth paperwork and left us to bond with baby.  Here is an (unsuccessful - many more posts on this) attempt at nursing.

I might have just given birth, and I was utterly exhausted, but I felt like a million bucks!!

The midwives then came back in and did newborn stat stuff.

They weighed her:

8 pounds, 2 ounces.
(I wonder how much she would have weighed if she hadn't pooped so much coming out!?)

I LOVE that my mom caught the second midwife's expression!  My mom was SURE she was in the 7's.

Then they measured her length.

21.25 inches.

Another shocker with how long she was.

When they put her on her tummy, the midwife commented on how well she was holding her head up right after birth! :)

The midwives both noticed that her neck was tight on one side by the way she was holding her head, so the second midwife lifted her up by her feet and slowly and gently swung her side to side while holding her upside down by her feet.  I'm SO thankful she did this because it took ten days to finally get a chiropractor over here to adjust her.  (I wish we had a pic of this!)

Then they ran me an herbal bath.  It was a shallow bath with a ball of herbs in it that made the water look like tea.  I'm not sure what herbs are in it, but it is supposed to be healing to my bottom.  After a few minutes, they put the baby in the bath with me.  They said it is also healing to the baby's cord stump.  Also, that babies LOVE this, because it puts them back in the environment that they just came from.

And boy, did she!  I just put my hands under her head and neck to keep her head out of the water and she just floated so alert and peaceful.  It was the first time was saw her all stretched out and how bowlegged she was from being cramped in the womb.

(I can't turn this pic for some reason)

After the bath, while my midwife helped clean me up, The Architect got baby girl dressed with the help of our doula.  After her put her gown on, she said, "it might help to put the diaper on first."  haha

It was about then that Estella fell asleep for her four hour post birth nap.  She slept in her daddy's arms in the recliner.  I've never seen him overflowing with pride and happiness.

Before the midwives left, we all gathered together and prayed, thanking God for a happy and healthy birth, a happy and healthy baby, and the miracle of life.  The Architect said this prayer and he struggled to say it, as he was choking back tears the with every word.  He had everyone else in the room tearing up.  It was a precious moment I never want to forget.

As the midwives were cleaning up and heading out, my mom brought me a piece of quiche that a good friend of mine gave me frozen weeks earlier.  This quiche was PRICELESS for this day.  Both at helping to keep my 34 week pregnant midwife fed (which I knew from immediate experience the importance), along with everyone else, and also me!  I savored every bite!

I love this picture because it shows my belly!  It's amazing how big your belly stays right after birth, without a baby in there!  I literally still look full term pregnant!  And only days later it quickly went down.  Our bodies are AMAZING!!!!

Right after the midwives pulled out, and as the doula was leaving, our photographer arrived and took some pictures of the baby, and of us as a new family, right after birth.  I was supposed to be sleeping then, but I felt SO good and alert and wired that there was no way I was going to sleep!  haha  I'm SO glad she agreed and was able to stop by.

I am so thankful for my labor and birth, and how seamless and perfect it went!  After laboring and birthing this way, I can't imagine EVER giving birth in a hospital.  (Unless medically necessary!)  It was wonderful and comfortable to be in my own home, my own bed and bathroom, and surrounded by women I knew well and were comfortable with.  No fluorescent lights and no strangers coming and going.  It was the most peaceful, magical day.

That completed my labor and birth experience, and then started the caring for a newborn experience....which was WAY harder than labor and birth!  haha