no detail has been missed so if you're a little squeamish you may want to skip this post, just a fair warning to y'all! oh and this is super long so grab some popcorn or somethin.
The week leading up to Labor Day, I was feeling fantastic! So much so, that I was absolutely convinced our little guy was going to be late. Very late. But to my surprise, he proved me wrong. I was due on May 2nd and never thought he would actually come on his due date, as only 5% of babies do! Turns out, he is one of that 5%!
On Thursday, May 1st I had a fairly busy day. My cousin came over to take measurements after completing her first 24 day challenge and then my dad stopped by for a quick visit and a haircut. I was feeling so great, I even cut Vince's hair.. and he usually gets left looking shaggy a week too long so this was a big deal. But on this particular day I was feeling feisty and ready to go.
Vince had planned to start his leave from work on the 1st but since there was no baby yet we decided it be best he just go to work that evening. Better than him sitting and staring at me, waiting for something to happen. Little did we know, something would in fact happen that very night!
So off Vince went to work around 7pm. I did my usual. Sat in my pajamas in front of the tv catching up on my favorite shows and surfing Baby Center. I headed up to bed around 11 and sent Vince a goodnight text.
It was pretty warm that night so I decided to sleep in the guest room as it's usually much cooler in there. I tore off the duvet cover and grabbed a thin bed sheet and climbed in with my body pillow. I drifted off around 11:30 or so.
At 2:00am I woke up to some really strange pains in my stomach and the need to go to the bathroom. I was so uncomfortable and thought that I must be getting some kind of stomach bug. I was on and off the toilet for a good 45 minutes, in a ton of crampy pain but still not realizing it was labor. I finally decided to text Vince around 2:45 to see if he was busy. No response. I figured he was out on a call so I just kept doing what I was doin.
3am rolls around and I decide maybe this is the real deal and I should call Vince to come home. As soon as we hung up I swear the garage door opened. He drove home as quickly as he possibly could. He says that as soon as he saw me he knew I was in labor. But silly me, I was still in denial. He asked if we should call the midwife and I said I wasn't sure if it was labor but he insisted we call. He got everything ready first, loaded our car with my bag & some food in a cooler. We had anticipated a long labor, as most first time moms have, so we stocked up on lots of goodies for our stay at the birth center.
4am we decided to call the midwife. At this point, I was still on and off the toilet (They say this is your bodies natural way of cleansing itself right before birth... weiiird). I had also started throwing up as soon as Vince called our midwife, Ali. She asked to speak with me, but I was clearly a little preoccupied trying to figure out how to puke & poop at the same time. During the last hour Vince had been trying to time my contractions on a phone app but every time I would start to get one he would try and ask me if I was having one and I could barely talk, so the timing wasn't super accurate. I kept telling him not to ask me but i know it was really hard for him to time them when he couldn't see or feel them himself. Poor guy, such a trooper! anyway, Ali asks how far apart the contractions are and at this time they are about 3-4 minutes apart lasting 30-40 seconds -- this is according to Vince's calculations though so who knows. She tells us to wait til they are a minute long and then to call back.
The whole time I'm actually feeling really lucid. I thought I would be totally focused on the contractions but I wasn't. My mind kept wandering and I was thinking about all kinds of things which I thought was really strange. Also, the contractions didn't feel anything like what I thought they would. I thought they would start in my back and wrap around to my stomach, as we were told they do. But mine were way down low and felt like period cramps. They also didn't have a super noticeable rise, peak, and decline as I've heard too. They mostly were consistently uncomfortable tight, cramping feeling. Definitely not a sharp pain or in my whole stomach.
5am rolls around and I beg Vince to call the midwife back. My contractions weren't exactly at a minute long yet but they felt close enough! We make a plan to meet at the birth center at 6am. Sweet! So, silly me, decides to get up and curl my hair between contractions and put on some make up. Let me just say this was no easy task. During a contraction I would get down on the floor on all fours and then once it was over I'd pop up and apply a little more make up and repeat.
5:30am I start heading downstairs to get into the car and feel the need to throw up again. This whole time I haven't had any pants on, just a tank top, so I ask Vince to get me some of his basketball shorts because the thought of squeezing into pants is just unbearable. He gets me some shorts and I turn into the downstairs bathroom and throw up all over the place. At the exact same time my water breaks all over the shorts I've just put on. Great. Vince grabs me another pair and I just say "I can't!" and walk to the car with no pants. I attempt to get in the car facing the seat but Vince tries telling me to sit normal. I try anyway. No such luck. Finally I get seated in the car and we head out. Me, still with no pants on.
6am finally arrive at the birthing center! Woohoo! The car ride was horribly painful and I'm starting to feel pressure in my butt, but brush it off. Vince helps me out of the car and grabs a towel to wrap around my waist since I'm still without pants and mooning the whole street. As soon as I get out of the car I have a contraction that instantly feels different than the others. There's so much more pressure and the pain is different. We hurry into the birthing room and I feel like I need to poop again. I walk to the bathroom and before I can sit down I have an intense contraction that feels like my body is pushing. I yell "I think my body is pushing!" And the midwife says that's okay and to come lay on the bed so she can check me. The student midwife, who I later learn is Taylor, checks me and midway through I have a contraction so she stops. Then checks again and Ali asks where I'm at and she says she's trying to see if there's anything left. I'm in total shock! Then she confirms, I'm complete. I had no idea it would happen so fast, I figured I was at least 6-7cm but certainly not 10 already!
6:15 I get into the tub and it feels amaze balls! First I am kneeling in the tub, leaning against the side, and just letting my body take over. I didn't push with the contractions yet, I was letting my body do all the work. Then I had Vince get into the tub as well and I flipped over onto my back and held his hand. I squeezed the living day lights out of his hand through each contraction, they were so intense! But I really believe the warm bath water helped to calm them and relax me. Between contractions I felt myself almost drifting to sleep, it was such a cool feeling.
At one point, I remembered how I had curled my hair and now, being in the water, it was all wet and wild. I turned to Vince and said "so much for curling my hair.." I remember him laughing and then I closed my eyes again. Also at some point I realized there was two ladies in the room who's names I did not know. So again, I opened my eyes after a contraction and introduced myself. I think they got a kick out of that. I learned Taylor was the student midwife and Jessica was another student who was recording everything that was going on in a notepad for my chart
A little before 7am I start to feel like pushing with the contractions. Vince is still by my side and I'm squeezing his hand with each one. Finally the head starts crowning and I say "so this is what they call the ring of fire", somehow I felt very calm throughout it. Vince kept saying how he could see his head.
7:11am out he came! They laid him on my chest and he was pretty blue but started to pink up nicely. Ali had to suction his mouth because he had some fluid in there. He started crying and we hugged and kissed and loved on him while waiting for the cord to stop pulsing. Once the cord stop pulsating, they clamped it and Vince cut the cord. I was so impressed! I didn't think he would want to, as he's a little squeamish but he did such a great job! I was even surprised to know that he looked downstairs and watched as the head was crowning and he popped out. We stayed in the tub for a couple minutes just staring at this beautiful little creature that we created. We instantly fell in love. The feeling is indescribable!
We got out of the tub shortly after and Vince took Truett while I birthed the placenta. We kept the placenta in a container and later had it encapsulated, which I will post about soon! Then we got on the bed and he started eating right away and then I got stitched up. I had a 2nd degree perineal tear (but just the skin not the muscle) and a small skid tear elsewhere. After they stitched me I got some clothes on and Vince went out to bring our family in.
My mom, dad, stepmom, and mother-in-law all piled in to meet our little man! After everyone met they did the newborn exam, gave him his Vitamin K shot, and weighed him. He weighed in at a whopping 8lb 15.5oz and measuring 21.5". We were all guessing somewhere in the 8 pound range but didn't expect him to be a hair shy of 9lbs!
We ordered some breakfast and all got acquainted and then slowly the parents started to leave and we got ready to head home as well. We left the birth center at 12:45 and it felt so good to have our little family home.
My labor start to finish was a total of 5 hours and was truly the most amazing experience. My unmedicated, all natural water birth could not have gone any better! The immediate unconditional love I feel for my son is overwhelming. He is truly a miracle and I feel so blessed. Its so amazing to know that Vince and I created this little guy and that I carried him in my belly for nine months. Even though the contractions were painful I kept telling myself & Truett "My body made you, my body grew you, my body will birth you." I truly believe this mantra helped me to get through the pain and to enjoy every minute of my birthing experience. I feel like superwoman now & like I could do just about anything!
Truett is pronounced TROO-it. The name is Norse and means "dry wood meadow." We found the name months before I got pregnant and it just stuck! We love his unique & interesting name.
