Grace's Birth

Well Grace was a tease the last few weeks of pregnancy. There were several days I was SURE I would be going into labor based on what was happening, but she just kept on hanging out in there waiting until the time was right. My due date was Sunday, February 28th and a month before then I dropped. A few days after my due date, I had bloody show (lost my mucus plug) for the first time, and really thought that meant things were happening. I'd been having regular Braxton Hicks all week and hoped they would turn into real contractions. Then a couple days later, on March 5, I started having painful contractions about every 20 minutes. Still nothing...the next two days I had a lot more bloody show, and more painful contractions all night long every 10-15 minutes, but then they'd eventually die off and I'd wake up the next morning really angry! Haha.

(41 weeks pregnant - last pregnant picture)

So needless to say, I was extremely discouraged those last couple weeks. All my babies have been late, but that doesn't mean it's easy even when you expect it! Especially with all the false labor I was having. People seemed so surprised that I would wait that long, but I really do believe in letting babies come when they're ready, even though it's hard. And I wanted to have a natural delivery, so being induced was far from ideal. I had an induction scheduled for Monday, March 14th (15 days  overdue), but I was really hoping she'd come before then!

Luckily my mom came the week after my due date, and I felt SO much better after that. We had beautiful weather so we were able to go on lots of walks, and Jeremy and I went on a few dates as well. I continued having several-hour stretches of regular painful contractions until Friday, March 11. I felt like I'd been in labor for a week and I was so ready to be done. I went into my midwife appointment that day for my 42 week checkup. They monitored the baby to make sure she was doing fine and then checked for dilation and found out I was already at a 4! So apparently I HAD been laboring off and on and luckily it had actually done something. I asked my midwife to strip my membranes because I really wanted to get this thing going. She did (oh my goodness that was awful) and then I continued to have painful contractions about every 10 minutes for the next 4-5 hours. Super fun. Jeremy and I went out to lunch and then I came home and made my mom's birthday cake. It was her 60th birthday the next day so I wanted to make sure I got her cake made in case I had the baby!

So eventually contractions died off again so I made dinner and we had a normal evening. My dad was there at that point too. After the kids got to bed we talked about watching a movie, but then we decided it was too late. My mom went to bed and my dad and Jeremy and I stayed up and set up some fun decorations for her birthday. We finished that around 10:00 and then Jeremy and I got ready for bed. As soon as I laid down at 10:15 I had a strong contraction and then another at 10:30. After that I dozed off, but woke up to another strong contraction at 11:15. During that one I felt a little "pop" and thought, "Hm, I wonder if my water broke". I always thought my water would break before I went into labor this time. That's never happened to me before and it's not very common, but for some reason I thought that's the way it would go. Sure enough, right as I sat up, liquid started gushing out and I leapt out of bed, shouted out to Jeremy that my water had broken, and ran to the bathroom. I was so excited!!!

I changed my clothes and put a pad on and started getting dressed. Jeremy got back in bed and laid down, at which point I asked him what he thought he was doing, because we needed to go to the hospital! Haha. He thought we had some time, but I knew with how much I'd already been laboring that we better start making our way there. I called my midwife and sure enough, she told us to come in as soon as we were ready. My parents heard the commotion, so we told them what was going on and everyone was so excited! We knew she'd share a birthday with my mom and she was FINALLY going to come!

So we got in the car and headed over. I had another contraction in the car but it still wasn't too bad. It felt weird going to the hospital before I was in really active labor, but the timing ended up being completely perfect. We pulled in right at midnight and I had another contraction. We went into the ER entrance since it was late and they let me right in. I got to bypass any checking in there and triage because once they found out my water had broken, I was 42 weeks pregnant, and it was my 4th baby they didn't seem to need to know anything else! I was in my room 5 minutes after we got there and it was great! (Side note - the more kids I have the more respect and confidence I feel from the nurses and staff. First baby they assume you don't know anything, which is true, but by #4 they trust you know what you're doing! It was really nice).

Just a few minutes after we arrived, contractions started coming HARD and FAST! My nurse checked me and I was dilated to a 5. It really was a blessing we got there right when we did. Contractions came about every 3-5 minutes after that, and my nurse, midwife, and I all thought it was going to be fast. Things progressed quickly, but not quite as quickly as I was thinking they would. I was getting into a good rhythm and doing really well for an hour or two. I mostly was on the birthing ball, kind of rocking back and forth and leaning on the bed. I got up to use the bathroom once and was so grateful to be laboring freely and moving around. They started setting up everything for delivery which made me excited thinking things were getting ready. I was in a lot of pain, but I was feeling confident and positive. When they checked me again though, I was only at a 6 or 6.5 and I got really discouraged. Labor is such a mental game! After that, I struggled for awhile. I was doubting my ability to endure too much more and wasn't sure if I could do it. They discovered at this point that Grace was turned the wrong way, so they encouraged me to try another position. When I got on my hands and knees they said they could see her head bulging in my back. Ouch! It was really hurting. Back labor is not for sissies. I tried hands and knees for awhile, but that just wasn't working for me. My arms were so tired and shaking from leaning on them when I was on the birthing ball, so didn't last too long. They checked me again and I was only at a 7. I was feeling nauseous and defeated.

I laid on the bed and said in a shaky voice "I want an epidural" and I swear Jeremy, Renee (my midwife) and Debbie (my incredibly awesome nurse), just all kind of looked at each other and ignored my request. Haha. Renee said, "Everybody says that at this point. You're in transition." Debbie explained that I'd have to be hooked up to the IV for a 1/2 hour before they could call the anesthesiologist, and then it would be awhile before it could happen. I think they knew I was too close and there wasn't time (which was true - I had less than 30 minutes until I delivered), and I just needed to get the baby turned and we'd be there. They started me on the IV anyway, which I think helped get my energy up a bit, and I found a comfortable position laying on my side.

At this point things get a little fuzzy. I think I was on my side for about 20 minutes. They tried to give me some nitrous oxide to take the edge off the contractions but the machine wasn't working, so instead of providing relief, it provided a distraction as they were trying to get it hooked up, and that actually worked well! I was also drifting off to sleep in between contractions, which was a great relief. And since I was finally so relaxed, the baby was able to turn. Debbie kept pushing on my back really hard during contractions, which not only felt great, but helped her turn.

Once she finally turned, it was only a few minutes later that I felt her head coming. I yelled out, "Baby's coming!  Baby's coming!" Debbie ran out and told Renee who had stepped outside and everyone got into position. Man that pressure of baby's head is intense! I started taking some really slow deep breaths because this was the part I was most fearing since it was the most traumatic with Anna. Luckily Grace didn't come quite as fast as Anna (three contractions instead of one), so I had a little more time to ease her out. Once I felt her really descend, I had one contraction that I pretty much just yelled through. Haha. Renee said, "Okay, I know that feels good, but you're not pushing. I need you to really push this baby out." So I mustered all my remaining mental and physical strength and pushed really hard on the next contraction. I felt her crowning (ring of fire!!), felt like I was going to die while I waited for the next contraction, took a few breaths, and then pushed her all the way out on the next contraction. Sweet relief! It was 3:27am - 3.5 hours after we arrived at the hospital and just over 4 hours after my water broke.
They tried to lay her on my chest, but the cord wasn't long enough so she was kind of on my stomach. After a few minutes they clamped the cord and Jeremy cut it and I got to kiss her through lots of tears and lay her on me. It was wonderful. She had a beautiful round head like Anna did (not much time in the birth canal!) and lots of dark hair. They left us alone for an hour or two and it was sweet bliss. We just looked at her and enjoyed this precious baby straight from heaven.

She nursed and snuggled and then they came back in and weighed and measured her. She was 8 lb. 6.9 oz. and 21 inches long. Perfect! Jeremy finally got to hold her then (I was hogging her before). I got up and used the bathroom easily and was grateful for a good healthy body and surprised at how good I felt! My nurse Debbie was so amazing and hugged me and thanked me for letting her be a part of my birth. Seriously? I told her thank YOU! She was really more like a doula and was a huge help to me. She said she loves being a part of natural births; they are her favorite. :)

It was such a special day! Jeremy and I couldn't stop talking about it. I was seriously so euphoric this time and it lasted several days. All those good hormones! I felt incredibly accomplished and grateful that I was able to birth another child the way I wanted to. Childbirth is a miracle! I had quite a few fears through my pregnancy this time, wondering if I had the mental strength to do it naturally again, even though I really wanted to; but through prayer, talking with Jeremy, and positive thinking, I was able to push those aside and do it. Right after she was born I told Jeremy "I don't EVER want to do that again!" but I said that with Anna too, and here we are... We're so glad Grace is part of our family!