Josiah's Birth
On Monday, June 28th I walked about a mile on the treadmill at the clubhouse and took a nice leisurely swim in the pool. I got home right before Brian (my husband) was leaving for work. I started feeling something different going on with the baby, which I was pretty sure were contractions. As Brian walked out the door I told him, “I don’t want to get your hopes up, but I think I might be having contractions.” He was excited and told me to keep him updated and call if I needed him to come home.
I decided to take a trip to Publix to get the ingredients to make lasagna in case the birth team needed to eat or if my labor was very long. I ran into a coworker at Publix, who asked how I was feeling. I told him I was pretty sure I was in labor and so hopefully would have my baby sometime tonight. I remember his perplexed expression….what in the world was this woman doing at the grocery store????
I wasn’t really in pain, but I could feel the contractions come and go. I timed them for a few hours and they were about 5 minutes apart, but not painful at all.
I let my midwife and doula know things were happening and they asked me to just keep them updated if anything changed.
I put together the lasagna, watched some TV, and wrote down every time a new contraction started. I called Brian a few times and realized he had been convinced by his coworkers that I was not really in labor…I mean all the ladies on TV have their water break and then start screaming immediately, right?
I knew I was in early labor, and that I had a while to go, but it was labor none the less.
I called my mom and she got things together to head over this way. The plan was to have her stay close by in a hotel and come immediately if I needed help or right when the baby was born.
Things stayed pretty calm until a little while after Brian came home from work. He got home about 9:30pm and my contractions started to intensify around 10:30. My doula started making her way towards my house and my midwife made plans to come in a few hours to check my progress and see if I needed her to stay.
I think my doula got to my house around 11:30/12:00. I labored on a birth ball , while watching TV in my guest room with Brian and her. I remember it got really difficult to remain sitting each time a contraction would come. I would sit and rest and then stand and lean during the actual contraction.
My midwife got there and checked to see how far along I was. I was about 3 centimeters. The contractions were stronger and definitely uncomfortable, but not overwhelming. She asked if I wanted her to stay or come back when I was further a long (since I had the support of Brian and a doula). I told her she could go home and rest and we would call when things were progressing more.
I remember laboring throughout the house, leaning on my countertop, couch, or kitchen table as I walked around. My house was dimly lit and quiet. Noises like talking or TV started to distract me from working through the contractions and actually seemed to make it hurt worse. I remember asking Brian and my doula not to talk around me. This helped a lot. I labored in the shower for a good long while. I made sure not to use up the hot water too quickly and savored every second.
My contractions were definitely intensifying during the shower. I asked my doula to have Brian call the midwife to head over. This was all getting very, very real.
While I was in the shower, I think Brian was filling up the birth tub in our bedroom. I didn’t know if I wanted to just labor in or actually deliver in the tub, but I had heard that it made a HUGE difference in the pain level, so I wanted to try it.
When my midwife arrived, she checked me again and I was 5 centimeters. She said it was okay for me to get into the tub soon after that….and wow….it was amazing. The warmth….the weightlessness….it all made laboring so much easier. I could move into any position that felt right (I think I mostly squatted). I remember getting out to go to the bathroom once…and feeling the difference in pain outside of the water as opposed to inside of the water, I realized I would not be getting out again!
I labored for a while, focusing on breathing and low moans, which supposedly help open up your body. The contractions were very, very intense. It was hard work, and remember resting my head on the side of the tub, almost sleeping, during the rest periods. There was one time right before transition where I looked over at my doula and said “This is really, really hard…” She smiled and said “I know…”
For the most part Brian, my midwife and my doula supported me, silently…watching, waiting, and encouraging me with their presence and a few words. They occasionally made suggestions as to something that might help or a better position to be in. My midwife checked my occasionally to see my progress and also checked my blood pressure and the baby’s heartbeat. All was well.
I remember about 2-3 times where I could not breathe/moan through the contractions and I let out a louder almost involuntary shriek.
Around 3:30 I started to feel the urge to push. I let my midwife know and she said to do whatever felt right. They suggested a different position for pushing, where I leaned back into Brian’s arms (poor guy!) as he leaned forward over the edge of the tub. I was still squatting, but some of the pressure was now off of me.
I pushed for about 2 hours. My midwife had a flashlight and looked into the water. She announced that she could see the head starting to show. Within 30 seconds of this statement I felt another contraction and the head shot out, followed by the body a few seconds later. That part all happened so fast. My midwife barely had time to put on her gloves. Josiah was born in the birth pool and lifted immediately to my chest. I had such a feeling of relief…he was here! It was 5:35am on Tuesday, June 29th.
Because he was born in water, he did not look like your typical messy/bloody newborn. He was washed clean immediately as he came into this world. I held him and Brian and I fawned over our new baby boy. What a miracle!
I decided to take a trip to Publix to get the ingredients to make lasagna in case the birth team needed to eat or if my labor was very long. I ran into a coworker at Publix, who asked how I was feeling. I told him I was pretty sure I was in labor and so hopefully would have my baby sometime tonight. I remember his perplexed expression….what in the world was this woman doing at the grocery store????
I wasn’t really in pain, but I could feel the contractions come and go. I timed them for a few hours and they were about 5 minutes apart, but not painful at all.
I let my midwife and doula know things were happening and they asked me to just keep them updated if anything changed.
I put together the lasagna, watched some TV, and wrote down every time a new contraction started. I called Brian a few times and realized he had been convinced by his coworkers that I was not really in labor…I mean all the ladies on TV have their water break and then start screaming immediately, right?
I knew I was in early labor, and that I had a while to go, but it was labor none the less.
I called my mom and she got things together to head over this way. The plan was to have her stay close by in a hotel and come immediately if I needed help or right when the baby was born.
Things stayed pretty calm until a little while after Brian came home from work. He got home about 9:30pm and my contractions started to intensify around 10:30. My doula started making her way towards my house and my midwife made plans to come in a few hours to check my progress and see if I needed her to stay.
I think my doula got to my house around 11:30/12:00. I labored on a birth ball , while watching TV in my guest room with Brian and her. I remember it got really difficult to remain sitting each time a contraction would come. I would sit and rest and then stand and lean during the actual contraction.
My midwife got there and checked to see how far along I was. I was about 3 centimeters. The contractions were stronger and definitely uncomfortable, but not overwhelming. She asked if I wanted her to stay or come back when I was further a long (since I had the support of Brian and a doula). I told her she could go home and rest and we would call when things were progressing more.
I remember laboring throughout the house, leaning on my countertop, couch, or kitchen table as I walked around. My house was dimly lit and quiet. Noises like talking or TV started to distract me from working through the contractions and actually seemed to make it hurt worse. I remember asking Brian and my doula not to talk around me. This helped a lot. I labored in the shower for a good long while. I made sure not to use up the hot water too quickly and savored every second.
My contractions were definitely intensifying during the shower. I asked my doula to have Brian call the midwife to head over. This was all getting very, very real.
While I was in the shower, I think Brian was filling up the birth tub in our bedroom. I didn’t know if I wanted to just labor in or actually deliver in the tub, but I had heard that it made a HUGE difference in the pain level, so I wanted to try it.
When my midwife arrived, she checked me again and I was 5 centimeters. She said it was okay for me to get into the tub soon after that….and wow….it was amazing. The warmth….the weightlessness….it all made laboring so much easier. I could move into any position that felt right (I think I mostly squatted). I remember getting out to go to the bathroom once…and feeling the difference in pain outside of the water as opposed to inside of the water, I realized I would not be getting out again!
I labored for a while, focusing on breathing and low moans, which supposedly help open up your body. The contractions were very, very intense. It was hard work, and remember resting my head on the side of the tub, almost sleeping, during the rest periods. There was one time right before transition where I looked over at my doula and said “This is really, really hard…” She smiled and said “I know…”
For the most part Brian, my midwife and my doula supported me, silently…watching, waiting, and encouraging me with their presence and a few words. They occasionally made suggestions as to something that might help or a better position to be in. My midwife checked my occasionally to see my progress and also checked my blood pressure and the baby’s heartbeat. All was well.
I remember about 2-3 times where I could not breathe/moan through the contractions and I let out a louder almost involuntary shriek.
Around 3:30 I started to feel the urge to push. I let my midwife know and she said to do whatever felt right. They suggested a different position for pushing, where I leaned back into Brian’s arms (poor guy!) as he leaned forward over the edge of the tub. I was still squatting, but some of the pressure was now off of me.
I pushed for about 2 hours. My midwife had a flashlight and looked into the water. She announced that she could see the head starting to show. Within 30 seconds of this statement I felt another contraction and the head shot out, followed by the body a few seconds later. That part all happened so fast. My midwife barely had time to put on her gloves. Josiah was born in the birth pool and lifted immediately to my chest. I had such a feeling of relief…he was here! It was 5:35am on Tuesday, June 29th.
Because he was born in water, he did not look like your typical messy/bloody newborn. He was washed clean immediately as he came into this world. I held him and Brian and I fawned over our new baby boy. What a miracle!