Back story:
I don't feel this story would be justified without first doing a little back story. At my 32 week appointment my midwife decided to do a growth scan to see if everything was looking good. My appointment was set for 35weeks 5 days. After going through all the different things the technician tells us that my baby is measuring much bigger than normal. Like measuring 40 weeks.
This information was relayed to my midwife, because of my C-section with Hinalei this raised concern as there is always a chance of uterine rupture from the old scar. Professionally my midwife had to refer me to an OB at the hospital for an assessment. I did not feel that I was carrying a super big baby as I felt this was one pregnancy I felt more strong and healthy.
My appointment was during week 38 and I was not looking forward to it. I knew my weight would immediately cause then to make assumptions and would just want to run tests. Sure enough the OB was a very young professional who sounded like a medical textbook. She was throwing around stuff like baby's shoulders would get stuck and that I must have gestational diabetes because of my weight. She wanted me to take the glucose test again and go for another growth scan and then come back for an appointment with an anethesic(sp?) to make sure my airways were clear and my spine was good. All I was hearing was that it regardless of my past two wonderful births they wanted to steer me to a C-section.
After the appointment I felt so discouraged and sad. I knew my body, I knew what it was capable of and I knew I could have this baby. I did not want to go and have a glucose test at 39 weeks as the results would only give them more power to push for a C-section. Thankfully my midwife is an angel. I shared my feelings with her and she went to see the OB and told them off for being so hard on me, she let me decide if I wanted to do the glucose test and also said she would do a stretch and sweep on Monday July 14. I opted not to do the glucose test. I hate that test and I trusted my body. I did go to the growth scan they scheduled and low and behold baby was back inside normal range. She was measuring around 9lbs but I know there is a margin of error and my son was close to 9lbs so I knew my body could stretch. We were suppose to go back to see the OB after my scan but my midwife told me to just go home, she didn't want to see me bullied again.
At my stretch and sweep I was already 4cm dilated, my midwife told me that we probably shouldn't go pass 40 weeks just in case she was above 10lbs. So we set up to break my waters on my due date July 20. I felt good about this decision but still wanted to just go into labor naturally as your body deals with everything better.
The birth story:
July 17 rolled around and I had been walking, bouncing on my ball, envisioning myself going into labor etc. That morning I had been contracting. However suddenly I felt like I hadn't felt baby move for some time. I lay down and trier to get her to move but after 15 minutes I wasn't feeling anything. I called my midwife and she said to just go into the hospital to be monitored. That experience was a scary one and I am not ready to share about it but they found her on the heartbeat machine. I was contracting while being monitored but they said the best place to labor is at home so off we went. They slowed down. Joe had a job interview that day and I think baby knew he needed to be there.
That night around 10:15pm my contractions started up again. I felt like they were definitely more intense. They were around 3 minutes apart. Not wanting to worry we headed into the hospital. Well as things go my midwife was there with another lady. She was dilated to 9cms so she told me to just labor in the other room. Well the contractions just didn't really get stronger, they were consistently coming but just not building in intensity.
Finally at 4am my midwife was finished with the other lady and came into to check me, she told me I was 5cms and that if I wanted they could break my waters to get things moving. I knew mentally that if she did that I was going into full blown labor and that their would be no turning back. I decided to do it and I let myself know that I had to get it together for these next hours. My mum, Sister Nicola and Joe were there to support me along with my midwife. Mum and Joe were sleeping just after my water was broken so Nicola helped me through the first hour. Then my midwife lifted my bed right up and I was leaning over the side when I felt baby start to turn inside of me. It was like a full 360 motion and then the contractions just started to come. At this point we called my sister Jenna on Skype because she was in Wellington but wanted to see the birth.
Time lost its meaning after I felt that turn, the contractions came quickly and often and indeed intensified into what I knew to be labor. I was holding onto Joe's hands/arms and mum and Nicola were in charge of massaging my back as each contraction rolled in. I was leaning over the side of the bed. I had to tell Joe to say during the contractions "just a bit more, a bit more." Mentally it was great because it was so hard sometimes to just keep breathing. I had a good throw up so I knew that transition was near as my body was cleansing itself for when I had to push.
After leaning against the bed for a while I decided to climb on the bed to give my legs a break and was on my knees, however I felt myself tense up each time I had a contraction and I knew that wasn't going to help move the baby down and I kept getting cramps in my right leg. I was starting to feel really tired. I felt like I wanted to push but I my midwife told me not to, she said to just keep breathing and we could just breath the baby out. I told them I was tired and she suggested flipping around onto my back so I could take the pressure off my pelvic bone. I didn't actually think this idea would work but as soon as I turned over onto my back I felt baby move through the pelvic bone and I knew we were so close. My midwife checked me and said that I was like 9 and 3/4 with just a lip of cervix and if I could just breathe through the next two contractions she would most likely be born.
Mentally it was so weird because I was only breathing but my body was voluntarily pushing but because I wasn't also pushing baby was able to come and turn slowly and properly. To be honest I don't remember much of those two contractions because they were so so intense and I was telling myself to relax my face and I was listening to my midwife tell me to breathe or pant. Finally she actually started using the word push but it was like small push, hold, pant, little push, pant, little push and the whole time I think I felt like laughing because there were so many instructions and I didn't even know if I was doing it right but everyone was saying "good job" and "she is right there!" I think everyone must of got emotional at this time, I had felt her head come through and then after a few more push, pants I felt her come into the world. Everyone in the room at the same time said "Woah!" and then my beautiful little girl was placed on my chest. Born 6:39am after only 2 and 1/2 hours of labor (well what I consider full blown labor).
She weighed in at 8lbs 15oz and measured 19inches she is my biggest baby but shortest baby so far but nothing like the big or large that the OB was going on about. My midwife said that she had me pant and push to make sure the shoulders didn't get stuck but she said when the head came out so beautifully she knew that the shoulders would come out perfectly too. When my midwife checked me for tears she told me I didn't have a single one! Not one tear! Considering her size I couldn't believe it but again my midwife said that was all because I breathed her out so I gave my body time to stretch.
Ever since Hinaleis birth I have strived to empower myself with knowledge of how birthing should be and how women are built for this. I don't know if I come off making it seem like birth is easy because it isn't but I believe our attitude and view of birth can change how we birth and the experience that we have. I am not trying to prove I am super women but having a drug free, no intervention birth I just know that my body was built to have children and that your body takes care of itself. I am grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed me and our family with a 4th child, I don't know how many more we will be blessed with but I am grateful that he trusts us with these spirits.
