Our Birth Story

It all began with labour and cramping that came and went for days. Tuesday was the first day of discomfort and, coincidentally, a full moon. By Saturday morning, I was ready to resume a somewhat normal routine after days of waiting. We packed up and went on a "benture" for Lucas. A stop at the Gurley library, Vietnamese food for lunch and a run through Walmart. It was brutally hot. The rest of the day included naps, supper (eggplant parmiagian just in case the old wives tale was true).
In my sleep, I was vaguely aware of something around 11:30 and then a few minutes later, I was having pain in my dream. Finally, the third contraction got my full attention.
Because I had experienced days of action that would stop and start, I kind of suspected this too would fade away. Wrong. After several more contractions, Craig and I decided we had better get things organized for a trip to town. He shaved at one o'clock in the morning - strange but true.
By this time, I was leaning over to get support with each contraction. I was having one strong one and then what felt like mild "echos". The strong ones were about 10 minutes apart, but if we counted the little cramping echos, they were only 4 minutes apart. Time to call Sarah and Mark about Lucas and time to call the Doctor.
"You'd better get into labour and delivery", he advised.
By this time, it was around 2 am when we bundled Lucas into the van and as I scanned the house for things we missed, I was aware that the next time I was there, I'd have Mya in my arms.
I had increasingly intense contractions all the way to Huntsville and had to grab the door handle to brace myself for all bumps and stops and starts. Lucas easily went onto his part of this great adventure and had a lovely pajama party at Sarah's house until 5 am in the morning.
The door to the hospital was closed after hours so we had to traipse through the parking lot to the ER door. All the while, I was walking through my contractions - which was actually easier than stopping to experience them fully. The guy behind the desk rushed around to the other side when he saw me and asked if I wanted a wheel chair. How could he tell I was in labour? I assured him, that believe it or not, it was easier to walk.
They made us wait in the waiting room (can you imagine?) after the paperwork was handled and I was contracting every 2 minutes by this point. Our nurse, Sarah, came to get us and I was settled in the delivery suite around 3 am. 7 cm dilated and 2 minutes apart - we had cut it pretty close! I had about an hour of contractions and Craig was my strength. After the first hour, I moved onto maybe 6-12 wildly hard contractions and these were accompanied with some vomiting which our nurse explained allowed all of my muscles to contract and continue to push the baby into position. Soon, I felt that familiar urge to push. The nurse said that my water was really all that was holding the baby in place. She correctly assumed that once my water broke, Mya would arrive shortly. My water broke with one of my contractions, and, at the risk of providing too much information, it would be accurate to say it "shot" across the room. Our poor nurse - we weren't giving her much time to think. I was around 8 1/2 cm by then I think and moved to full dilation in a matter of moments. Right after the water mess, my Dr walked in and got ready to deliver my baby. I was suffering with the intensity of the labour but knew I was close to finished so I kept on.
I changed positions to push with full force and, three pushes and five minutes later, the Doctor was suctioning Mya's mouth out. A final push and my beautiful girl had arrived. They took her to the cart and all gasped "10 lbs 9 oz". When Lucas was born at 10lbs 4 oz, one of the nurses labelled him "Bubba". This time, Mya was christened "Chunkaroo". I guess they mean it in the kindest possible way :)
I'm so grateful that our nurse immediately brought her to me to distract me while I delivered the placenta and was stitched up. (Again, too much information, but miraculously, I had only a minor tear after my Doctor cut me a bit to avoid a terrible tear.)
Soon, the room emptied and it was only Craig, Mya and I together. I could not have gone med free without Craig. He reminded me to breathe, to release, that the process was natural, that I was doing great. I love him deeply for being by my side.
Mya latched on instantly and was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life.
My vision for labour was 2 hours in the hospital, lots of time at home first, med free, 30 minutes of pushing. The reality far exceeded my hopes - 1 1/2 hours in the hospital, lots of time at home in a peaceful, centering environment, no pain meds and only 5 minutes of pushing. I have always subscribed to the power of creating a vision, but never have I been so completely fulfilled by the reality. This labour and delivery was as ideal as it could be. I guess it could have been in the daytime; but I think that I achieved the peaceful cocoon of power I needed because it was dark and peaceful and there was no chaos on the streets or in the halls. It felt like it was just us in one of the most important events of our lives and daylight may not have afforded that.
My recovery has been a breeze because labour was just too quick to batter my body too badly. So, I would say that this experience was not "easy" because I did, after all, deliver a very big baby without an epidural, but it was so ideal I am overwhelmed. I am so grateful that Mya has arrived safe and sound. I love her with all of my heart.