Birth Story

Whew! It has been a while since I have been able to update...turns out that being a momma is hard work and VERY time consuming! I thought I would let you all in on my birth story with Ellie as lots of people have been asking.

On 9am, on Saturday the 16th of May, I started having little contractions. They were pretty consistent- about 5-7 minutes apart, and they were lasting hours. I was actually in a wedding that day and didn't really know if it was the "real deal" or not, so I just went ahead and went on with my day as though nothing was happening. They weren't really that painful...early labor stuff, so the contractions were really managable. By about 3pm my contractions were consistently 5 minutes apart and getting a little stronger. I read in a book called "Birthing From Within" that this lady had cleaned- I mean DEEP cleaned her whole entire home, painted a rocking chair, and did all this other stuff during labor, and when the midwife came, she was 9 cm dilated! I was SO determined to have the same heart as this lady... I knew that I wasn't dying- Just having a baby. So, I just decided to go along with my day. I survived through the ceremony at 5pm while having contractions consistently throughout.

Once we got to the reception, that's when I started really feeling them. They started to get a lot closer and stronger! I didn't want to go home because I knew that if I did, I wasn't gonna be able to leave, so we stayed there. I danced and ate in between contractions! It was actually a lot of fun- I was so glad that I stayed and kept myself distracted. Once things started getting a little tougher- around 9pm- we went home. I had to start breathing through my contractions a little more and doing some of the coping techniques that we learned. My midwife suggested that I drink a little wine and take a bath just to make sure that I wasn't in false labor. I did that and the contractions kept coming, so my midwife came and checked me. By that time I was about 5cm dilated! It was so awesome. I felt like I didn't even have to work that hard to get to that point. I had really been using all the things that I planned- the distractions during early labor, using my breathing, and the pain coping techniques.

It seems like immediately after that, things started to progress really fast. My contractions were REALLY strong. My midwife checked me at about 12:00am and I was about 8cm dilated. And this is when it got TOUGH!!! I stayed at 8cm for pretty much the rest of the time. My contractions were so strong- the most pain I had ever been in in my entire life- and it felt like I had no time in between them to rest. I kept telling Adam and my doula that I just wanted it to be over! They were so supportive and just told me that I was doing a great job and filled me up with encouraging words...it was great. I couldn't handle anyone touching me AT ALL, so those words of affirmation were so needed.

It wasn't until 6am that I could FINALLY start pushing! My water actually never broke, but I was fully dilated. I started pushing, and ready for the gross part??!?! I actually pushed out my bag of water! It was fully intact...so CRAZY! My midwife had to break it because it didn't break on it's own............Ellie was born at 6:37am. She was absolutely perfect.

Everyone asked me if I gave birth in the water since I had the tub, but I didn't. Her heart rate was going down and I actually just had to go into a position that helped my pelvis give her some room. That ended up being a sort of lunge. I never thought that is how I would get her out!

Our home-birth was everything that we imagined it would be. My labor was WAY harder than I thought, but I did it! And you know how people say " The only thing that people get from doing it naturally is a gold star saying they did it".......well, I am VERY happy and satisfied with MY gold star! It was totally liberating and amazing to know that I felt EVERYTHING, and that I was the one who was able to manage my pain and birth my baby with my own strength.

So, there you have it! As of right now, I'm TOTALLY sruggling with breastfeeding...BIG TIME! I would LOVE your prayers to have as we call it- SUCK-cess!!! :)