My CRAZY Fast Unmedicated Birth Story! #2
Hi ladies, welcome back to my last post (for now) of our Unmedicated Birth series! I've had so much fun sharing my personal experiences with you all, and I hope they've helped you in one way or another! This past Monday I posted my first unmedicated birth story, and I'm so thankful to all who read it! It was a long, but rewarding labor and delivery! (If you haven't read “My First Unmedicated Birth Story,” you may want to read it prior to this one to put things into perspective!) My second unmedicated labor and delivery was ten times crazier, and I'm about to spill ALL the details why! So, make some tea, relax, and laugh with me as I reminisce!
I was getting antsy around 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant. My first child was born five days early, and I assumed my second would be no different! Reality check, Laura...EVERY birth is different! Let me catch you up to speed; My son was a three-day unmedicated labor. I labored at home, arrived at the hospital dilated to a six, labored for ten more hours, and ended up "force" pushing on my back for a whopping hour! It was a total of 56ish hours! I wanted this next birth, especially the pushing aspect, to be different...and oh boy, it sure was!
I went to bed at 10:30pm on February 25th, 2019, and woke up at 12:15am with "uncomfortable" back labor. (As many of you know from my previous birth story, I like to downplay labor and use words like “discomfort,” “uncomfortable,” and “pressure” to describe what I'm feeling. This means absolutely no talk of “pain!”) I do this to prevent fear and tension from forming! I called my husband, who once again was working overnight, (Just my luck!) and told him, “Hey babe, I don't thiiiinnnnk you need to come home from work, but I'm definitely having contractions...it might be false labor, but I don't think so.” As you can see I was in denial about the whole situation! I called my mom, who had planned to watch my son once I went into labor, and told her, “Mom, I'm definitely having contractions, but I don't necessarily know for sure that it's the real thing.” Downplay much, Laura?? You're 40 weeks and 3 days girl, it's the real thing! After much phone ping-pong back and forth, she finally convinced me that I was in labor, she was coming right away, and to tell my husband to come home too. Thank God someone was decisive, haha! I called my husband around 1:30am and said, “You better come home just to be safe.” During this time I was still having consistent, “uncomfortable” contractions.
I spent my alone time trying to find comfortable positions to labor in. Sitting on the yoga ball ached....Standing and swaying ached.…On hands and knees, swaying felt best! When my husband got home, I reminded him that my midwives said, “If it's in the middle of the night, don't call and wake us up unless it's ‘the real thing.’” They had instructed me to call once my contractions were four minutes apart. My contractions were still hopping from four to six minutes apart so I became really unsure whether or not to call. I finally caved, and called my midwife at 2:15am. (Luckily she was already awake from delivering another baby!) She said, “Your first labor was three days long, and you think you're in labor after just two hours? Why don't you wait till the intensity is higher and the contractions are three minutes apart...then you can call me.” I agreed. (Looking back, I definitely should have listened to my body!)
A half hour passed and I began to notice similar high intensity labor symptoms that I experienced for three days straight with my first child. I found myself begging my husband...“Honey, please put pressure on my back with your hands, and the heating pad!!!! Come quick, move your legs, massage higher, middle, to the left...ahh thank you!!” I then remembered to utilize the bath! (The bath slowed down contractions with my first, and I was looking for some relief!) I tried a warm shower first, but found standing through contractions was NOT to my liking, or even an option as my knees buckled from the “discomfort.” I got on hands and knees, and BINGO!...again, this position gave me the most relief I was going to get!
Once my mom arrived, my husband had to leave me to let her into our building because the front door was locked. He helped her look for parking too, and they unintentionally were absent for FIVE contractions!!! WHY DID HE HAVE TO LEAVE ME?! Now was NOT the time for my husband to be a gentleman…no offense, Mom!! I was trying to hold it together, but being alone in labor for that long felt like an eternity! My husband finally came back and I started to drain the water in the tub. The bath wasn't relaxing me like it did last time. I just needed to listen to my body, and remind myself that EVERY LABOR IS DIFFERENT.
I literally hobbled over to the couch and saw my mom welling up in tears from seeing me “uncomfortable.” My husband, like the rockstar he was, continued to massage my back every single contraction, and put counter pressure on it with the heating pad. Thankfully, I managed to pop my head up mid-contraction to ask my mom the most crucial question…“Mom,” I desperately asked…“Can you make me a grilled cheese, please?” She thought that was hysterical, but I knew I needed to eat something for strength, and grilled cheeses are known comfort foods! Little did I know, I was about to need all the “comfort” I could get.
During my next contraction, around 3:55am, I found myself grunting instinctively and more loudly along with sudden small urges from my lower body. “Strange....this was a familiar feeling...when I was pushi....WAIT...but that was after like 50 hours of labor!?? Could I already be “ready to push?!” I froze and frantically told my husband who already knew that something was wrong! “OH...OH NO....BABE, BABE I HAVE TO PUSH…OH MY GOSH I FEEL THE NEED TO PUSH!!...I'M NOT GOING TO MAKE IT TO THE HOSPITAL!! I HAVE TO PUSH!!!!” I had not planned to give birth in my home…I had mentally prepared to deliver at the hospital! I called and just barely got the words out to my midwife that “I nee…d to PUSH!” She was shocked, and instructed us to go straight to the emergency room. I contracted two or three more times, with only TWO minutes apart, before I could even MAKE IT TO MY DOOR...then again in the hallway.... then right before I crawled on all fours...yes CRAWLED on my hands and knees into the elevator (which was my poor mother's last visual of me!)...and lastly CRAWLED on the sidewalk to our car that was parked out front! Thankfully, noone was around, or I would've looked so crazy! I even forgot the grilled cheese, ugh! My mom said that she thought there was no way I was making it to the hospital so she sent us to the car with bedsheets to keep the baby warm in the car! It became really REAL, you guys! Was I about to end up on the News for giving birth in my car?!?! I was contracting every two minutes on the car passenger floor as I hugged the passenger seat. (I know this is not a safe position while driving, and I don't recommend it at all, but it was the only position that was going to get me to the hospital in my “about-to-give-birth” state!!)
My husband sped “Fast and Furious” style....(Thank God for empty middle of the night streets)...to the hospital as I contracted over and over. He called my midwife on his bluetooth, and she told him to tell me to "LOW moan, but DO NOT bear down," or I would have the baby in the car! Bearing down was exactly what my body was instinctively doing, so I needed to really get inside my mind, and take back control! Pushing in the car was my biggest FEAR coming to life!! However, to encourage you all, my BIGGEST moments of unexplainable PEACE and REST happened in between these contractions, which I credit to God! Peace filled my mind as I prayed, regained control of my body, and somehow managed to hang on for dear life while my husband sped through the streets! We safely made it to the hospital where five nurses were already waiting for us, and ran out with a stretcher.
Now picture this…you're in the ER with your seven year old child who has a stomach bug. Your watching TV when five nurses, a midwife, a husband, and a crazy moaning pregnant lady on her hands and knees while on a stretcher come bursting through the automatic doors, and fly past you! Yup, that was me! I often wonder who witnessed me being pushed at full speed into the elevator and through the halls as I held on for dear life, moaning loudly with each contraction?! I wish I could have gone back and given an apology to each and every one of them, haha!
We got to the delivery room, and my midwife gave me the green light to push! I allowed my body to finally push while on my hands and knees, and my water immediately broke! Instantly, I felt such relief! Baby girl's head shot out, which I initially thought was her entire body because of all of the relief, and then BAM!, the rest of her on the next push! She slid out after three pushes and probably less then 5 minutes! What an incredible difference from force pushing on my back with my first birth story! Ps. Before you go into labor, research “Fetal Ejection Reflex!” She was finally here! Our baby girl weighed in at 6 lb, 7 oz, 19 inches long, born February 26th at 4:25am. I had started labor at 12:15am and my daughter was born 4:25am!! Like, what??!
After the cord stopped, my hubby cut it, and I started to nurse. The placenta came out on its own with no tugging, and no need for pitocin. I had minimal bleeding again, NO tearing at ALL, and I credit that to letting my body do the pushing on my hands and knees, instead of on my back with gravity working against me like my previous birth! I felt so amazing immediately after birth! My butt and lady parts didn't even hurt like they did last time! It was exhilarating!
What did I learn from this fast, unmedicated birth? Our bodies really are made for this! (Especially when we are given the “Okay” by a medical professional since everyone's health conditions may vary!) My second unmedicated birth story may have been fast and chaotic, but it was also incredibly rewarding! Don't let the unsure moments of my story intimidate you! It was actually in my most worrisome “what if” moments that I actually felt the most in control and at peace! I feel like I learned so much about listening to my body! The moral of this fast birth story is that our bodies are made to handle and adjust to the unexpected, beautiful, spontaneous moments of birth! Listen to your body (as well as your healthcare professionals)! Noone knows it better then you! I still can't reflect on this crazy day without thanking God for His constant protection and provision in each and every area! Thanks also goes to my husband for being SERIOUS DOULA MATERIAL! With unmedicated labor, support means everything!
Thank you for reading my second unmedicated labor and delivery story! Was that a crazy ride, or what?! As you can see, I had two very different labors! Whether it's a three day labor, or a 4 hour labor, I can tell you IT IS TOTALLY WORTH IT! Do you have any questions for me? Leave them in the comments below! I hope this encourages any mamas that are considering unmedicated birth! Of course all birth is beautiful, and should be celebrated! No birth is “easy!” Be sure to check out the rest of my unmedicated birth series, and thanks again for following along!
Cool, Calm, and Collectedly Yours,
