It is hard to believe that I was in labor over a month ago anticipating the arrival of my sweet Kellam and my “perfect” birth. Through my whole pregnancy my sweet sister told me not to plan anything because I would be sadly disappointed if things didn’t go the way I wanted them too. Boy was she right! I should have listened to my younger wiser sister. Thanks for trying Jess! (;
May 16, 2012, was a normal feeling day for me. Jack and I woke up to our normal routine. He watched his favorite program and I was tired but began some house work. Around 11 am I looked in the pantry to decide on lunch and realized that I had not been to the grocery store in almost two weeks due to the fact my husband’s grandmother had been in the hospital and then had passed away on Mother’s day and we buried her on that Tuesday. Needless to say we needed food. Jack and I loaded up and went to the grocery store. I had felt some strong Braxton Hicks contractions but I had been having them “strong” since I was 36 weeks along. Along with lots of “false labor.” Which I have renamed “getting me ready to deliver in hours labor.” I was 39 weeks 3 days and was very pregnant so moving around the grocery store with a toddler that had his own cart took a long time. Almost two hours later we were home unloading the groceries. After unloading them I fixed us lunch and was extremely tired. So nap time it was. My husband Brad arrived home from working around 6? I had had some “pressure down there” and had a burst of energy. (Should have been a sign.) Brad made dinner for us. After dinner he had to go run an errand and I decided to clean up the kitchen. Around 7:30 pm I started having irregular contractions. I was cleaning and Brad had gotten home. It was 9:30 pm at this point. I calmly told Brad that “I maybe in labor” mind you false labor was still on my mind. I text members of my birth team gave them the heads up. I told them I was in early labor. I believed I was since everything I knew stated that contractions became regular during real active labor. I called my midwife around 10 pm she believed I had a ways to go yet and said she would send her student midwife who was an hour away at the time and she would be along shortly. I continued to labor contractions were getting really intense fast. I decided to get in a warm bath to help ease them. I laid on my right side and felt relief for a bit. The pressure began to build again. I decided to get out and get on my yoga ball. I bounced, rotated clockwise and counter clockwise. Still climbing with intensity my instinct was to go sit on the toilet. Sitting on the toilet helped greatly. It helped relieve the pressure from “down there.” Around 11:15 Christine my midwives student arrived. She took my vitals and then helped Brad with the birth pool. I went back to sit on the toilet. I decided I needed to get back in the water. The birth pool was not ready so I ran a tub of water. I realized that after the fact I probably should not have done that since I need to fill the birth tub with warm water. In the bath tub I began to feel myself enter into “labor land.” My midwife arrived at some point. At this point I had lost track of time and was working calmly through each intense contraction. I don’t remember when I decided to get out of the bath tub but I did and moved to the toilet. Vicky came and asked me if I wanted to be checked and to my surprise I said yes. Something I had not planned on. She checked me and I was 8 cm! I was so shocked! I turned to Brad who was on his way to Walgreens to get a few things and said I am 8 cm. That didn’t seem to make him moved he said “okay how is that relation to when the baby gets here?” I smiled because this was a honest question and he really had no clue. This also told me how much he listened to the birth stories I told him about! Brad went to the store. Pressure and contractions were intense I was breathing and doing really well on the toilet. I tried to sit down on the toilet and that was a no go. I yelled to Vicky I think I need to push. She instructed me to go get in the birth pool to see if that relieved the pressure. AWWW….sweet relief!!! I highly recommend being in a large warm tub of water while in labor! The contractions were still coming fast but there was so much pressure relieved I could finally breathe. Well, for a minute anyway. Christine kneeled down in front of me and helped talk me through the contractions. I was breathing but the turning point came very quickly I was calm on the outside but very irrational on the inside. I was panicing in my head. I was scared and afraid of all of this at once. I even told myself in my head that it would be easier to go to the hospital. I laugh now because there is nothing they could have done for me at that point. I snapped myself out of it and told myself I could do this, I wanted to do this and I was going to do this. I also reminded myself that I knew when I had gotten to this “panic” feeling my baby would be here in my arms soon. I finally began to vocalize and moan a bit. My midwife jumped up and I heard Christine say “She knows what that means!” She did I looked up and said “ohhhhh I need to push!” She said go ahead. Well I barely began to push when my body began to work all on its own. The most amazing thing I have ever experienced!!! My body was pushing all on its own! I was in the birth pool on my hands and knees leaning over the side. I heard a “pop” and asked what was that? Christine told me it was my waters breaking. My body then gave my baby an eviction notice so fast I barely felt the crowning of the babies head. I felt my baby move out of my body. I felt his head, his shoulders, body, legs and feet. It was amazing!! My midwife almost couldn’t reach the baby to help me bring him up. She almost ended up in the birth pool with me!! I grabbed him and brought him out of the water. He was so cute. All I could say was how cute he was over and over. I felt relief that was very nice!! I had the overwhelming but most welcomed feeling of oxytocin! That was an unbelievable high!! It was wonderful. I was smiling like a Cheshire Cat! Grinning from ear to ear!! There are no other words other than AMAZING!! That describes this kind of experience and feeling. You cannot buy this kind of high. The baby came out looking to nurse so as soon as the cord stopped pulsating and the placenta was delivered which was like 5 mins later then we moved to the couch and began to nurse. He nursed like a champ!! Which made me even more excited!! Big brother woke up was very excited that he had a “cute” as he put it baby brother. Jack held him with pride.
I loved this experienced and although I didn’t get my video or pictures I am very happy with the labor being fast! Kellam McCommas Taylor was born May 17, 2012 at 1:26 am, weighing 7 pounds 9 oz 20 ¾ in long.
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