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| Eva Violet at just a few minutes old! |
My little miracle baby decided she wanted to arrive five days before her due date then at the last minute thought that she should take her good old time making her way down that birth canal. So some 72 hours after my contractions started, little missy was born. Not in the way I had (fully) hoped but she was born healthy and happy and that is all that counts!
So here is the birth story: My contractions started on Wednesday, January 2 at midnight and continued throughout the night at 15 minute intervals. We waited until the morning to check-in with my midwife and doula. I was prepared for a home birth and had everything set! My midwife and doula arrived at my house Wednesday evening and I was dialating and my contractions were closer together and much stronger.
I labored all over my house...in the kitchen, in my living room hunched over furniture. On a birthing ball, on the toilet and in a kiddie pool in my living room. We really thought we were getting close and by around 2 am on Thursday we thought she was coming out soon. I got into the pool and I guess it was just too soothing bc the contractions slowed and not much happened. About 90 minutes later I was out of the pool and still in labor but no baby yet. She was making mommy work!
At some point in the early morning hours I got back into the pool but still nothing was moving forward. Things seemed to be stuck. All was fine with both our vitals so we continued to try other things. I laid in bed for a while and got a little rest. Then I was back up swaying from side to side in my kitchen...saying "down and out" over and over again. I was using my hypnosis that learned from Hypnobabies throughout all of it. I was in the "off" position or "center" and really working on pointing the anesthesia where it needed to go! I was all about the "peace" cue and that got me through a lot of it.
I was also listening to the Hypnobabies recordings...fear-clearing, deepening, birthing affirmations and pushing the baby out. But this particular baby did not want to come out just yet. But I didn't want to give up on my hope for a home birth. So I got a second, third and fourth wind and pushed through. I was determined to make this work.
The rest of the day on Thursday just sucked but I did whatever I had to to get this baby down and out! But she had other plans and it did not involve a home birth. So by Thursday night, after my water had been broken for more than 12 hours and I was actually regressing (went from 8 centimeters back to 5-6) we had to make the decision to transfer to the hospital. I was dehydrated and hadn't slept in two days and after two days of labor without pain meds, you could say I was beat.
I was still having strong contractions about every 2-5 minutes so off to the hospital we went!! I was lucky to be going to the hospital with the lowest C-section rate on Long Island. I met another midwife there and she was awesome! They got me into a room right away and then an epidural and then I was in La-La land. I needed to sleep and rest and that is what I did for the next 24 hours. Yes, that's right. I still had to wait another 24 hours for this little petunia to be born!
So while resting all day Friday I dilated and was all ready to push by Friday night. Two hours of pushing and little miss cone-head was born at 9:47 p.m. She is just perfect and still is!!
There is a part of me that is disappointed that my home birth didn't happen and that i ended up at the hospital doing the things I didn't want to do. But it's a small part that gets smaller everyday and is trumped by the fact that I am lucky enough to have this beautiful, precious baby girl in my life.
