Soon after we arrived at the birthing center
Right after Dane was born
Just got home from the birthing center!
Dane's first bath!
I've had some people asking about my experience with natural labor and the birthing center. I'm really happy with our choice but it was definitely NOT easy. My labor started in the early morning on September 5th (I was 9 days past due by this time). I woke up around 2:30 a.m. and was having contractions about every 10 minutes that gradually over the next few hours increased in frequency to around 6 or 7 minutes between. My contractions were pretty mild at this point so I was thinking labor was going to be a breeze! Over the course of that day, they stayed around 10 minutes apart and pretty mild. I was getting frustrated that I wasn't really progressing. In the middle of the next night they began to strengthen. The hardest thing about labor for me was that it lasted over 40 hours with contractions at least every 10 minutes that entire time – so I never could sleep because they weren’t mild enough that I could nap through them. I was already feeling really exhausted by the morning of the 6th…they gradually got a little closer together and a little stronger all that morning and my water finally broke at 1:30 p.m..
We had been in contact with the birthing center this whole time, so when my water broke we called in and were pleased to find our favorite midwife - Lauren - on call. She said to wait it out at home a bit longer (they don't want you to come in until you're in "active" labor) until I was between 2 – 3 minutes between contractions. That didn’t take long and we ended up leaving our house at 2:30 to meet her at the birthing center at 3:00. Since it was a Saturday, we were the only ones there and it was nice and peaceful. The car ride was rough because we live almost half an hour away and my contractions were about 2 minutes apart and really painful at this point. When we got there, I immediately got in the birthing tub which felt great on my back. The midwife said we timed it perfectly since I was 100% effaced and 7.5 – 8 centimeters dilated upon our arrival. But, I was REALLY feeling exhausted already at this point and knowing the hardest part was still ahead was really freaking me out. I alternated between the tub and shower (the hot water also felt great on my back) for the next few hours. That whole period is a blur now, but I’m not going to lie – I was in a LOT of pain and it sucked pretty bad. I was trying to stay relaxed and breathe through the contractions but it was really hard once they got strong – I kept having to remind myself to breathe deeply because you do tend to start hyperventilating a bit when it hurts so bad. Honestly, what kept going through my head was – “I’m an IDIOT for choosing natural childbirth! What was I thinking???" I had to be able to move around during the contractions, so I spent a lot of time just standing in the tub and shower so I could kind of sway with the contractions – if I had to stay still, it seemed much worse.
My biggest fear at this point was that the pushing stage would last another few hours. I was SO tired and just physically didn’t think I could do it much longer. Don stayed very calm through the whole thing even when I started getting a little panicky. I admit had there been an iv handy full of drugs I probably would have grabbed it in a second during the last few hours because it just hurt so bad – my whole body was shaking. But having taken the Bradley method class and knowing that what I was feeling was a normal part of the transition phase really helped. Our midwife said we were about as easy as it gets for her because we knew what to do and didn’t need much guidance.
So, when I finally started pushing I was really determined to get the whole thing over with as soon as possible. I was soooo done with labor at that point after so long. Don says he wished he had been taping the whole thing now because I was making such crazy noises but you really do just have something else take over your body and you could care less if you sound like a dying animal (but again – I’m lucky it was a Saturday so no other patients had to hear!). I only pushed for about 20 minutes...Lauren actually had to tell me to slow down a couple times. Don was holding me under my arms at this point so I didn’t have to support my own weight and that really helped. Although he almost fell in the bathtub (which I knew deep down was funny but I wasn’t in a laughing mood at the time!). When Dane was finally there, it was like the BEST feeling in the world – one because you know your baby is okay and he's finally in your arms, two because you are DONE and you really did it! The last picture is right after they handed him to me – Lauren snapped some photos for us (as we’d asked her to in our birth plan) and I’m so grateful to have those now because she really caught some precious moments.
Phew! Well, I think that about summarizes Dane’s birth! We were SO incredibly happy with our experience at the birthing center. As much pain as I was in while there, it’s funny to me that I actually look back at the experience fondly…it was just such an amazing moment when Dane was born and they took such great care of us. Since it was unmedicated and we were doing so well after the birth, we even left a little early (you’re supposed to stay about 6 hours afterwards) so we were back in our own bed by 1:00 a.m!
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