On April 5th I started having consistent and different pressure waves beginning in the morning, which is not the usual for me. My body likes to prepare ALOT so I had pressure waves every evening 3-5min apart and lasting a min to 1.30 for about a week and a half now…..talk about teasers! So this time I thought it must be it. I just went about my day and would time them every now and then to see that they were still very consistent. Well, that night I couldn’t sleep. They were stronger and it didn’t feel comfortable to lay down through them anymore. I popped in my easy first stage and tried to sleep through them, but was excited about what was coming :) I finally decided around 1am to call my midwife and tell her that I thought I was in my early birthing time, but that I could still manage the pressure waves pretty good so she didn’t need to come yet just giving her a heads up. An hour later I felt like I needed to call her and see if she wanted to come set up. So Mary Anne ended up arriving around 2:15am and checking my vitals and asking questions. The minute she walked in the door everything sllllooowwed down! I was so confused….she said that I was normal when they show up for things to stop progressing as much for a little bit almost like my body was nervous to perform, lol. She talked me into to going back to bed and if this was it my pressure waves would wake me. 4 hours later…….I woke up completely fine and pressure waves gone! Sooo embarrassing! Lol Poor Mary Anne stayed up all night at my house but assured me that this wasn’t her first rodeo with false alarms :) which brings me to April 6th.
I was pretty bummed about last night since I was a week over my guess date and was starting to get anxious about if I would get to have a home birth or not (you can’t have baby at home past two weeks). Around 2pm I started feeling the same kind of pressure waves that I did the night before. I described them as more “firery”….I know that is not a word, but it’s the only thing that came to mind. A slight warming sensation when they would come on. (Editor’s note: “like a big warm hug for you and your baby?!”) So I decided to go about my day and just see what happens. I even had an out of town friend that I hadn’t seen in a couple years come by around 2:30pm to hang out for a few and catch up. I warned her that I was probably in my birthing time but it was no biggie and I would let her know if she needed to head out ha. So about an hour of talking and walking around with her I calmly told her that it was time for me to call my midwife that this was happening tonight….needless to say she jetted out of here! Mary Anne showed up about an hour later and my mom, husband, and her quickly started preparing the birthing tub and getting set up while I listened to my early birthing tracks, rolled on the birth ball, and swayed around the house breathing through waves.
The timeline of everything is still pretty fuzzy to me, but after what seemed like an hour the tub was finally ready! Ohhhh was it soooo worth every penny! The birthing tub was amazing and was just what I needed. I stayed it the tub for a while skipping around through birthing day tracks and positive affirmations on my iPod. Things started getting more intense and I felt the need to low moan and have pressure on my back. I was drinking lots of water so I had to get out of the tub about three times to use the restroom. I didn’t mind this even though it was awkward at times because I was determined to not feel “stuck” this time and I knew the more I moved the better chance of Cole moving down and out. I could tell when I hit transition because the pressure waves were closer together and I started feeling like I was getting the break I needed between them. I quickly realized I needed to just stay in the present and focus on getting through one pressure wave at a time and using low moan and ooooopen. Finally my body started pushing which felt so good! I wish I could have pushed through transition lol. My water quickly broke and I just went with it and pushed as my body allowed.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I felt a sense of urgency fill the room to get the baby out. Later I found out that Cole’s heart rate had dropped and they didn’t want him in there long. So I flipped to my back and pushed like it was my job until Mary Anne said okay we are getting you out are next push and on to the bed! I was like whaaaat, lol. You want me to move? Lol. So of course I did and a few pushes later he was out! Bright eyed and bushy tailed and 9pounds 23 inches :)
I am so happy that I did hypnobabies……it really helped me become mentally prepared for everything :) my techniques worked amazingly. The tracks and finger drop were my savior in this birth for sure. So happy how it all turned out and I would do it all again in a heart beat!
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