The Bird and The Bean: The Birth of Eden Amelia

Alright, it's February 27th at 10:17pm and I am sitting down to write my birth story...let's see how long this takes!

*DISCLAIMER: I want to record all the details of my labor and delivery without feeling like I have to leave out yucky details so if you don't want to hear about that kind of stuff, don't continue reading!

**Also, this is really long so if you don't have several minutes, you might want to wait and read this later!

It pretty much all started Friday night (technically Saturday morning) around 1 am when Jeff & I were getting ready to head to bed. I went pee for what I was hoping was the last time before sleeping for a few hours and when I wiped, it was pink-tinged. I literally gasped and since Jeff was standing right there, I showed it to him. His response was something like, "But it's not time!" I laughed and asked him if he wasn't ready from a work standpoint (I knew he still had some things he needed to get squared away to be able to take paternity leave at work) or a life standpoint. His response: "Both." I laughed and told him that ready or not, this girl was coming sometime in the next couple of days! I tried not to be too excited since I still wasn't having contractions and I knew I should sleep as much as possible if I was going to be going into labor sometime soon. A few hours later that morning, I woke up with some cramping (?contractions or just abdominal cramping?) and started having a lot of diarrhea. I got up every half hour or so to go to the bathroom for a total of 5 or 6 times. I also had some fairly regular contractions but they were still 15-20 minutes apart and I was able to sleep between them. I got up around 11am and waited to see what would happen. I did call my Mom at this point and let her know what was going on because she was out of town having a girl's weekend and had to have plenty of notice if she was going to leave and come to my birth. After I got up, the contractions pretty much all but stopped. I had a few (about 1 an hour or so) for the next few hours but they weren't very painful and just felt like mild menstrual cramps. I was supposed to go to a baby shower for one of my co-workers in Charlottesville but I decided that driving that far away by myself (in the opposite direction of my birth center) when I wasn't sure what my contractions would do was not the best idea. So, I hung out at my house and tried to get things done that I wanted all prepared for my labor and birth. My Mom arrived that evening around 6pm and we went to dinner with Jeff's family as previously planned. My contractions really picked up while I was out and started to get slightly more uncomfortable. After dinner, I continued to work on a few things to get ready (baked oatmeal cookies, worked on my focal board). I can't remember exactly what time I headed to bed but it was sometime around midnight, give or take.

I think I was able to sleep without too many contractions for a few hours. I started timing my contractions with an app on my phone around 3:30am. They were very sporadic, anywhere from 7-11 minutes apart and lasting anywhere from 20 seconds to 40 seconds. They got progressively longer and closer together as the hours passed. I got in the bathtub at one point (5am?) and they slowed down for a little while and it helped relieve some of the discomfort but I couldn't stay in there very long because it was too cold (and my tub is too small to stay submerged). I was starting to get concerned at this time that I wouldn't know when to head to the birth center. I knew I wanted to go sooner rather than later so I could get in the tub as soon as possible. My contractions were really starting to get rather uncomfortable and I was having a hard time coping without support. I was trying to let Jeff and my Mom sleep as much as possible cuz I knew they would have a long day, too! I had a horrible and super long contraction around 6:30am, though, and Jeff woke up from my cries of pain. I told him he needed to get up and get ready because I wanted to head to the birth center soon. My Mom also woke up around this time. I called my doula and midwife to let them know how I was doing (I had texted both of them the night before to let them know I was having early labor signs). Both of them had concerns about me getting in the tub too early as it could stall my labor but they gave me the option of going to the birth center whenever I wanted. I just couldn't imagine riding in the car for an hour and a half even then so I knew that when my contractions were closer together and more intense, I might not be able to handle it.

So, by the time all was decided and everything was packed, we left our house around 9am to drive to the birth center. Praise God my contractions slowed down considerably while we were in the car and I was able to cope with them very well. I had three heat pads on my back, belly and thighs and we listened to music that helped me (Meredith Andrews and Kari Jobe). I would actually sing through the contractions which helped me keep my jaw relaxed (which is supposed to have a direct correlation to your cervix). We arrived around 10:30am and my contractions picked back up immediately upon getting out of the car. When my midwife checked my cervix, I was almost 6cm dilated, yay! I was so worried that she would check me and I would only be at 2 or 3 cm which would have been very discouraging. My contractions were not super unbearable or closer together at this point so I just continued to move around as much as possible. I ate a snack and my doula suggested that we go for a walk. It was in the 60's and so very nice outside. We took a nice walk and I was able to do well with contractions throughout the entire thing. After a few more contractions back at the birth center, I went ahead and got in the tub. It helped a bunch. I remember at this point that it was around 12:30pm. Jeff and my Mom went and grabbed some lunch and my doula helped me through every contraction.

The Birth Center

Taking a walk (obviously not having a contraction here.)

Having a contraction.

Headed back to the birth center.

Last shot of the belly!

At this point, the story will probably get a lot less detailed (try not to let out too loud of a sigh of relief) because 1. This is getting to be a little ridiculously long, & 2. I can't remember all of them!

I remember that my doula had me change positions a lot and my labor did not slow from getting in the tub. After being in there for a little while, she wanted me to get out and try to rest for a bit. I knew this was unlikely to happen but I was willing to try. I got out and lied down in the bed. I was only there for 2 contractions or so before I needed to move around. I think this is when I threw up. I had been feeling some nausea with contractions and I figured it was inevitable that I would throw up as it doesn't take much for me to do that. I was excited that this might mean I was nearing transition.

Don't be fooled...we were not actually asleep.

I think I got back in the tub around this time. Jeff got in with me. It was so helpful to have him in the tub with me. Once again, the timeline gets a little hazy on me but I know that I got out of the tub to go to the bathroom around 3:30pm and my water broke while I was sitting on the toilet. We really thought things would get going at this point. I got back in the tub and worked through contractions by changing positions and with the encouragement of my wonderful birth team. At this point, I honestly don't know what time anything happened...I know that we were just waiting for me to have the urge to push and it took much longer than I wanted it to! I never really got a super strong urge to push but I think we documented that I started to push around 5:30pm. When she finally started crowning, I was mostly in a semi-upright position leaning back against Jeff holding my own legs. I was too weak to squat and I felt way too much pressure when I was in any other position. I have to be honest and admit that I really did not enjoy the pushing phase. I am thankful that my contractions were not super close together and I was able to rest a little between them.

My midwife, Karen.

My Mom feeding Jeff M&M's.

I was seriously so exhausted at this point!

So happy she's finally out!

When she finally crowned, we were shocked to find that she had hair! Jeff and I were both quite bald when we were born so we just assumed our baby would be, too! Other than the horrible heartburn I had while I was pregnant, we were completely amazed at all that hair! I honestly have no idea how many times I pushed but after what seemed like an eternity, she was finally born at 6:49pm. The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck once and she was a little limp and blue at first but with some stimulation, she came around pretty quickly. I honestly wasn't worried at all because my midwife and doula did not seem concerned and I trusted them completely. We immediately laid her on my chest and we got acquainted with one another. After about 6 or 7 minutes, we clamped the cord and Jeff cut it. I went ahead & handed her to Jeff so I could get out of the tub and try to deliver the placenta. It didn't come readily so I laid down in the bed and tried to nurse Eden. She did latch on for a brief period and we just bonded for about an hour. At this point, I handed her over to be weighed and assessed and I got up and delivered the placenta. I went to the bathroom and then my midwife assessed for tears. I required two stitches which she did at that time. For the next couple of hours, I just laid in bed and ate (supreme pizza from Pizza Hut), rested and bonded with Eden. We took lots of pictures and made sure our families heard the news. We were able to leave the birth center 4 hours after her birth and so we headed home around 11pm. We were exhausted but it was definitely so great to be in our own house so soon after the birth of our precious baby girl.