Tulip Festival, about 6 hours before Cupcake arrived
7:30 am--Woke up to water breaking. I was really unprepared for the amount of fluid that keeps baby cushioned! I said something along the lines of, "Uh oh... I think I peed the bed". Chris shot up (probably not the words you want to wake up to) and when I realized that I didn't actually have to go to the bathroom and it kept coming, I asked him to get me a towel. I waddled to the bathroom and got into the shower after calling one of my midwives. Contractions hadn't started yet, so I continued to get ready for the day (since it could be a day or two before anything happened. When your water breaks, contractions don't always start right away and baby is fine since the amniotic fluid keeps replenishing itself). Our plan that day was to go down to Woodburn and visit the Tulip Festival, so that's what we did! (We stopped at the elementary school that I do volunteer work with through the SMART program--Start Making A Reader Today--and let the coordinator know that my water broke and I probably wouldn't be in for the rest of the year. I was able to meet up with my three readers real quick and let them know!) The flowers were gorgeous and as we were getting ready to leave, we got caught in the rain. My contractions started on the way there, but it took me a little bit to realize that's what they were (I just felt kind of gassy/bloated, but it would go away and come back, go away and come back...). They were irregular starting off (sometimes every few minutes, sometimes not for 10 minutes at a time), so we figured walking around would be a good thing. Even managed to get pictures of the flowers and enjoy our time together. We stopped at Safeway on the way back to Portland to get some coffee and hot chocolate since we were soaked from the rain (and I had to make another bathroom stop. Like I said earlier, the amniotic fluid keeps replenishing itself and I felt like a water fountain, ha ha)
1:00 pm--Went to work to drop off paperwork for my leave of absence and let my boss know that I wouldn't be coming in to work the following day.
2:00 pm--We had a scheduled appointment at the water birth center to meet up with a certified nurse midwife (we had to meet her for insurance purposes, despite having two very qualified midwives... insurance is so weird). I wasn't able to sit during the entire hour long appointment because my contractions were fairly close together (every couple of minutes) and definitely getting stronger. I wasn't able to talk during them, I just wanted to walk around and breathe. At the end of our appointment, Rebecca (nurse midwife) called my midwife (Katherine) and let her know that we decided to stay at the birth center and that she should probably start on her way in. We were in the green room that I love at the Portland center and I didn't feel like driving home just to turn around and come back.
3:20 pm--Chris started the tub for me and I was in, working through contractions before Katherine and the two apprentice midwives arrived (Allison and Jasmine). When I first got in the tub, I was resisting getting down into the water for some reason (I liked standing and leaning against the wall), but after a few minutes, I finally hunkered down in one spot and stayed there until Ayla was born. Chris lit a purple candle holder that he bought for me years ago (I had it packed because I knew I wanted something sentimental) and started my mp3 player and plugged in the speakers. I had loaded up two mp3 players a few weeks earlier in preparation for labor. I remember the first song that came on was a Dave Matthews Band song and I almost turned it off. I just turned it down a little and I'm glad I didn't turn it off. I remember hearing little bits of music throughout my labor (let's hear it for Glee music! :) After Ayla was born, my midwives had to laugh a little at my music choice, but they thought it was a nice break from what they usually hear).
Chris sat by my side the whole time and offered encouraging words and sips of water. He did a really great job at reading my cues and not touching me when a contraction came up (I did not want to be touched or massaged at all, I was in the zone and working through it by myself). I felt pretty tired almost immediately after getting down into the water and always had the thought "I don't want to do this" in the back of my mind, but it wasn't enough that I wanted to transport in an ambulance to a hospital, it was just my mind not being in sync with my body--not unlike my relationship with running, haha! My body sure knew what it was doing and what it was capable of. Through every contraction, I just kept thinking, "This won't last longer than a few seconds". That got me through every contraction. I knew when I was going through transition (that's when you're getting close to your cervix being dilated and your body giving you the 'ok' to push) when I told Chris I didn't want to do this anymore and started saying 'no' out loud to no one and nothing in particular. I definitely got the urge to start pushing and moving baby down, which was good. I was a little nervous before it all happened that I wouldn't know or I'd get the urge to push without being fully dilated (which can cause your cervix to swell or make you push for hours with no results), especially since the midwives don't check to see how far dilated you are (it was clear that I was in labor and progressing, so there was no reason to check. And once your water breaks, vaginal exams are typically a huge no-no in order to prevent infection). Allison, Jasmine and Katherine all checked Ayla's heartbeat with the fetal doppler every few contractions to make sure she was still doing well and that was nice to hear in between contractions. I'm not sure what time I started pushing or for how long, but I really don't think it was for more than an hour, if that.
About 5:20 pm?--I had a different pressure sensation and reached down to discover that baby was making her way down and out. She wasn't crowning yet, but I could feel her head. At that point, I was so happy and excited and I got a huge dose of energy. I was so happy to know that she'd made it through the cervix and would be here soon! The next few contractions and pushes, I could feel her coming down a little lower and then recede just a little after the contraction was over (your body does that to help gently bring them out instead of shooting them out like a rocket and leaving a wake of destruction). I can't say that part was painless, it does sting a little, but I was so excited at that point, it didn't matter. She finally crowned and I gave a few pushes and out was her little head! I couldn't believe it (and it's such a weird feeling to have a little baby head floating between your legs. I kept thinking to myself, "Don't crush her little head, keep your legs open!") I told Katherine, "I think the head is out!" and she said, "I think you're right! On the next contraction, you're going to push your baby out." It seemed like forever before the next contraction came! I don't remember that last one at all, I just remember her coming out and it being an amazing feeling that she was here.
5:47 pm--I was kind of caught up in the moment and Katherine told me it was okay to pick her up (I thought it was weird when other people told me this happened to them and thought, "How could you not be immediately ready to pick up your baby?" but now I get it), so I looked down for her and started to pull her up out of the water (she had the cord wrapped around her neck once, which is fairly normal for a lot of babies, so Katherine slipped it over her head and I scooped her up). She didn't cry and her eyes were open. I think she was a little in shock because it all happened so fast, so she kind of just hung out and thought about things. She hadn't taken a breath, so Katherine asked if she could give her a quick breath. Once she did that, little Cupcake sputtered a little, cried a little and then quieted right down. She just needed a little help and everything was fine. I held her in the tub for about 10-15 minutes, cord still attached. There wasn't any reason to cut the cord right away and I fully believe it's best to wait at least 5 minutes so they can get every last drop of what they need. After a bit, it stopped pulsing and I wasn't having any more contractions (to help push the placenta out), so we decided to clamp and cut the cord (Chris cut it!) so Chris could hold her while I finished up my work. I just have to say, the cord is an amazing thing. I hadn't seen one before, let alone touch one, so it was amazing to be able to see and hold this thing that nourished Ayla for so long. I tried a different position in the tub to try and get contractions going so I could deliver the placenta, but it just wasn't happening. My midwife suggested a little gentle traction (no yanking!) and let me do it myself first. That didn't work, so I got out of the tub and sat on a birthing stool. Still nothing. It's really hard to push when you don't feel the urge and no longer have something big enough that you feel you can push out! Katherine suggested I lay on the bed, but that didn't help, either. The big concern was that if I was hemorrhaging at all, the placenta could be blocking that blood from coming out and letting us know that I was, which could obviously be a huge issue. I felt fine (not dizzy or like I was losing blood), but it did seem to take a while for the placenta to want to finally come out. I was going to go into the bathroom to try and pee (that helps sometimes), but before I did, Katherine wanted me to stand and try one more time. Jasmine had me wrap my arms around her in a standing hug and I managed to feel the urge to push and that was it! No bleeding/hemorrhaging and I was relieved that it was finally over (it almost seemed more difficult to get the placenta out than baby!). I tore just a teeny tiny bit when pushing baby out and was pretty swollen, but that went away pretty much by the next day. I got into bed and snuggled with my little baby and Chris. It was such an amazing, incredible experience!
I was so lucky through my entire pregnancy and labor. Everything lined up just perfectly and went really well. After going through what I went through, I can't imagine ever planning a scheduled c-section or wanting/needing an epidural or other interventions (I told Chris that about 10 minutes after giving birth, too), but that was just my experience. I understand that things can definitely not go as planned or hoped for and that drugs and interventions are necessary sometimes. I just feel so lucky that it was fairly easy and everything worked out and I wish every woman could experience what I did.
Everyone at Andaluz water birth center was amazing and so helpful, knowledgeable and compassionate! We stayed two nights (Ayla slept with us in the queen size bed!) and spoke with a Lactation/Breast feeding consultant twice, had someone available at all times if we needed anything or had questions, breakfast was made for us, lunch was ordered from Lair Hill Cafe and dinner was our choice. I even got a massage on the second day before leaving (so nice)! We even had a 3-day home visit (they come to check on mom and baby). Very helpful!
So much nicer than a hospital room
