I was due September 11 with this little one, but by 37 weeks I was starting to think we weren't going to make it to September. Baby was sitting very low, prelabour was starting off and on, and I was losing bits of plug now and then. However, thankfully I was still fairly comfortable, able to sleep reasonably well, and still able to exercise every day. I was looking up against labour - the memories of transition from previous deliveries were coming back, memories of pushing and pushing my brow presentation baby without success for so long (he did eventually come out!), and especially if I was tired, I was feeling afraid. I was praying for peace and strength, and a few days before he was born, I read a few things that really helped settle my mind - reminding me that the best thing I could do to help at this stage was to relax, enjoy what I could, and not "get in the way" of the process.
On Saturday, we went to the lake and a park with some friends and their kids, walked around, and had them over for supper. I felt like the baby's head was right between my legs, and my stomach felt weird. I was also having some occasional bouts of just feeling grumpy, irrational, and weepy, which isn't really like me at all. Then Sunday morning at 5:30, I got up and went to the bathroom and noticed that I was bleeding. No contractions yet, and it was bright red blood, which startled me a little. I got a pad and went back to bed to see what would happen. When I laid down, contractions started to come about every 5-7 minutes - mild, but feeling like the real thing. I rested until about 6:30, and then DH woke up and I told him that I thought things might be getting started. I called the midwife at 7:00 to ask about the bleeding, but she was not concerned. She said it was just from changes in my cervix, and totally normal.
And then everything died down. Contractions pretty much stopped. Bleeding stopped. Now what? DH sent the kids over to his parent's house, and we spent the day just resting, talking, walking a little, waiting to see what would happen. I would have a contraction every 20 to 30 min, but that obviously wasn't going to do anything. It was a nice relaxing day though, and DH and I don't get too much time together alone, so we enjoyed the time we had with just the two of us.
Around 6:00 I had another strong-ish contraction that started the bleeding up again, and made me realize that things were still happening. But again, not much change after that. I thought maybe we should go get the other kids and put them to bed at home, and just carry on. DH said he'd rather let them spend the night at his parents, so that he wouldn't have to move them at 2:00am if things really got started in the middle of the night. And they were happy over there, so we let them be. I figured I'd be picking them up in the morning and carrying on with our usual weekly routine....
Suddenly at 9:00, everything changed. The contractions picked up drastically. They started coming every 2-3 min, and I was feeling shaky, weak, exhausted, tearful, and miserable. I couldn't think and I couldn't talk and I was feeling pretty overwhelmed. DH called the midwife and told her she'd probably better come over. Thankfully, the contractions slowed down a little, but built in intensity. They started coming every 4-5 min, lasting a minute long. I could cope with that better, but they were still kind of erratic, and I wasn't sure what to expect. Were they going to stop again? Was anything actually happening? Christine, the midwife, arrived a little after 10:00, I think. My primary midwife was off for the weekend, but I was just as happy to have Christine - she had done a number of my early prenatal appointments, and I got along pretty well with her. She brought in her stuff, listened to baby's heart, and at my request, checked my progress. 6cm, with a very low baby! Wow! We are actually having this baby tonight! I was so happy and relieved to hear that! I told her we were planning to have a water birth, and asked if I could have my water broken before I got in the tub, so that I wouldn't have to get out again. (I HATED having to get out for that with my last delivery - once I'm in the water, I don't want to budge, but I find things go faster with my water broken, so I have asked for that to be done.) She was fine with that, but wanted to wait until the second midwife, Joanne, got there, because we all figured that once my water was broken, baby would be arriving shortly, and they like to have two sets of hands available, just in case mom and baby both need help. Contractions were coming very quickly now, and were pretty intense, but I was able to breathe through them and was coping pretty well. I would get down on my hands and knees when a contraction hit, or lean over the side of the bed. DH would press on my hips or back, and that helped quite a bit. The tub was filled, and I couldn't wait to get in! Finally, around 11:30, Joanne arrived, and they broke my water with a contraction. I was 8cm, baby well-positioned, water nice and clear. I stumbled my way over to the tub and got in. Too hot. It was quickly cooled down, and I relaxed and let the contractions come. The intensity continued to build - I was now gripping DH's hands HARD and pulling myself up by his arms, and trying hard not to fight the contractions. They were very intense, but I could still breathe, and wasn't yelling at this point. Gradually, I began to realize that I was pushing a bit at the beginning and end of the contractions. And they didn't seem to go away totally either, which made things pretty challenging. There was only the occasional break, which I really enjoyed! Christine encouraged me to just go with what I was feeling, and to push if I wanted to, but I asked to be checked again, to make sure that pushing was going to be useful. I didn't feel a strong urge yet, but there was some relief in pushing when I did do it. She said yes, I was definitely fully dilated and baby's head was right there - so close! I gave a couple good pushes, but didn't feel any movement. Is he in a good position? Is he going to come out? Yes, he's just fine - go ahead and give it your all, right down low. So I pushed like crazy with the next couple of contractions, and suddenly I felt the tremendous sting and pressure of his head on the way out. Pant, pant, pant, breathe, breathe, breathe, OK PUSH! And there he was, up on my belly, tiny and covered in vernix, but obviously healthy and strong, wiry little muscles, lots of brown hair, and a good healthy cry. Pink already. 12:12 am. That is the best feeling in the world. Done. Baby in arms. We let the cord pulse, and clamped it. Had the syntocin shot as I had previously discussed with Christine. (ouch!) Delivered the placenta in the bath, since it was right there, and then passed our baby to DH and moved to our bed. They let us rest and Caleb nursed for a while - latched on like an old pro. DH called our parents, though it was 12:30 by now. They were thrilled to hear the news. Caleb was weighed and measured (6lb 12oz, 20 inches), I was checked over for tearing (nothing, thank goodness, and Christine was really gentle with the check too.) and I went and had a shower. DH made me some toast and got me a drink - I was starving!
Then DH and Caleb and I all settled down to bed together, and snuggled and talked and just smiled at each other while the midwives finished up their paperwork and tidied things up. This birth was probably the easiest one I've had, and I am so very thankful that things went well for me and Caleb. I couldn't have asked for anything better.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.