Sept 26 - I went to the MW for a prenatal visit.  I was reluctant to have my cervix checked but gave in to curiosity.  I was 2½ cm and leaking a lot of runny discharge all day.  My baby had turned a bit and was facing my left hip instead of my back.  Haley was with me and we decided to buy some groceries on the way home.  In the store, Haley was not paying attention and walked into something and fell to the floor.  After picking her up for a minute, I started having pain every 15-20 minutes.  

I had switched motors for the birthing tub at the MW  office because the one I had first didn't work so when I came home, we got that one attached and started filling the birthing tub, just to make sure it worked right.  I put away groceries, cooked a big pot of spaghetti, cleaned out the cabinet with my pots and pans cuz it was a mess, and then got in the tub.  The pains were 10-20 minutes apart then and by evening got to 6 minutes apart. 

Around 7 pm, my friend, Gladis, came over with her baby and 3 year old.  I baked cookies for the kids (and myself LOL)  I got back in the tub and my kids decided to join me.  I had talked to my doula, Shannon, and told her I really didn't know if it was the real thing because it felt the same 2 days earlier and stopped when I went to bed.  

At 9 pm, Gladis had to leave so I called my neighbor, Katie, and asked her to get my kids ready for bed.  At 9:30, I decided to go to bed to see if it would stop.  The pains* continued and an hour later, I was back up.  Jamie, got home from work and I could not really concentrate so I called my doula again.  I still was not convinced it was the real thing because I'd had pain and contractions off and on for 2 weeks. 

* During pregnancy, the HypnoBabies program had me ready to say "birth waves" or "surges", but what I felt was nothing but absolute sharp stabbing pain.  I really didn't feel "contractions" at this point, just pain.  

Shannon got here just after midnight.  Just before she arrived, I had some bloody discharge.  So finally I was convinced - I was really in labor.  I sent Jamie to bed in the kids' room and stayed up with Shannon.  We tried watching a movie but paid no attention to it.  From 1:30 to 2:00 we timed contractions and they were 3 minutes apart so we called Gina, the midwife.  I talked between contractions, moaned during them, and Gina asked when she should come.  I gave the phone to Shannon and said "I don't know about birth - you 2 figure it out!"   I suggested she should not hurry, but get here within the next couple hours.  She was here at 3:15 and checked my cervix which was at 4 cm.  She listened to the fetal heart rate with her doppler and everything sounded good.  

Gina went to lay down in my bed while I was in the living room with Shannon.  I got in the tub for about half an hour at a time and that really helped with the pain but it would get too hot after a while so I'd go to the bathroom, lay on the sofa, do some pelvic rocking, whatever felt right, then back in the tub, then back to the sofa . . .    

At some point, I asked Shannon to put in a HypnoBabies CD to help me focus.  Later she put in another one.  They were very helpful.  Shannon also was wonderful, cueing me to work with the contractions, reminding me to ask Aliyah to turn, come down, come out.  She stayed quiet in the shadows when I needed her to, and spoke the right words when I needed them.  

I felt nauseous a few times so I had a bowl nearby, in case I should need it.  I had gone to the bathroom and upon returning, I was still standing through a contraction and finally vomited.  I felt better and Shannon said that was worth 10 contractions.  I went to the sofa and laid down on my side for a while.  Not much longer, I felt a twist, then a pop, then a small gush, and I yelled with happiness, "My water just broke!"  Amazingly, none of it got on the sofa.  

Gina got up and said she needed to check me, make sure there was no meconium, etc.  It was 6 am when I laid on my bed for her to do an internal exam.  I could tell by how far she reached that the head was still very high.  She said I was a stretchy 7 and she wanted to check during a contraction.  I begged her not to and she said she had to know how far I really was.  I still don't understand why.  That was so terribly painful and I was really fighting her which upset her.  (Later, Shannon said I was probably already in transition)  Gina said I was only 6 cm.  I started crying, I was never going to be able to take another few (or several) hours of this pain.  It was at least 6 hours from 6 cm to pushing Haley out so I imagined I still had quite some time left. 

I went potty again and my goodness being on the toilet hurt so much, I was literally screaming like someone was trying to kill me.  I went straight into the birthing tub and my Jamie had gotten up.  I told him "I don't know where I will find the strength to keep going".  (I feel proud of myself for thinking "how will I?" instead of "I can't")  I had a couple more pains, then was quickly possessed by my body taking over.  Within minutes, my belly was contorting itself, like a clamp on my stomach and fire where her head was being pushed down.  Gina asked was I pushing and I said "yes, I mean no!  My body is pushing!"  She said don't push, you're not complete!  But I was *not* pushing, my body was doing it on it's own, and her head was right there! 

I had Jamie and Shannon get Quincy and Haley out of bed.  They got to the living room just in time to see her head come out.  I stretched my perineum to control everything as she came.  Once her head was out, contractions stopped and I couldn't get a good push.  Gina could not get a good hold on her wet, slippery head so I had to get out of the tub.  (Later we learned that just like Haley, her chest was so much larger than her head, it took extra effort to push her body out)  My kids found it to be funny watching me step out of the birthing tub with a head hanging out of me.  Gina told me to push leaning over the tub, but I had no urge and just could not get a good push.  She then had me sit on the floor and  finally, one long, strong push, and she was out - on my living room floor!!  Only 35 minutes had passed since I was only 6 cm with a high head position.  I don't think any of us expected it to go so fast!

After a few minutes passed, Gina clamped the cord. Haley cut half-way though the cord and Quincy cut the rest of the way.  I asked Jamie to hold Aliyah while I pushed out the placenta then went to my bed where she nursed and Jamie fed me a plateful of eggs.  I was very happy when Gina checked to find I had no tears, not even a skid mark.    

Having a baby at home was absolutely amazing.  It was more painful and faster than Haley's labor, but I am so happy I finally had a chance to give birth the way I wanted to, letting my baby and my body do what they were made to do. 

 

click to read Quincy's birth story  ~ March 2001, 9 pound-6 ounces, c-section due to failed induction, "suspected macrosomia" (baby over 9 pounds)

click to read Haley's birth story ~ April 2003, 11 pounds, hospital VBAC on a time limit, augmented with pitocin to avoid repeat c-section

Eternal thanks to the support from ICAN.  I could never have done it alone.