I woke up this morning at 6:15 feeling that today was going to be *baby day*. I stayed awake for a while trying to see if I was having any physical signs of labor. I finally decided that it must have just been a dream or something... but I couldn't get rid of the feeling that today was today. I found myself awake again about an hour later feeling that same sense of *knowing*... today was the day.
I had a nice hot shower and got dressed before any of the kids were up (quite a treat for me!) And went into the living room to see if mom was awake yet. My mom and stepsister Jessica had come down the day before to visit for a few days and hopefully be here for the birth of the baby. Mom and I sat in the (SO quiet) living room and talked for a while... I told her that I felt today was the day, but I didn't know why I felt that way. No impending labor signs or anything.
I called Patrick at work and asked about his schedule for the day. He had meetings from 11:00 to 1:00 but was free the rest of the day. I told him that I felt that today was baby day ~ and he said he had felt that too when he woke up this morning... Wow.
I'm feeling this intense almost electric feeling, and a peace at the same time. Almost like a nervous tension kind of thing, but not as negative feeling. I'm not doing very well at explaining my feelings today! I'm ready... I think. Feel free to come baby, we're all ready for you!
Friday:
Woke up feeling as though I was actually having contractions, but nothing came of it and I finally fell back to sleep.
Saturday November 10, 2000:
Have been feeling crampy as though my period will be starting now for a couple of days... and getting tired of it! I hope this is all working towards something! I'm feeling a major strong need for seclusion again!! I want to be alone, have some quiet and focus on baby! Luckily mom and Jessica are here, so I am getting a bit of *me* time.
Tuesday November 14th:
I woke up at 1:05 feeling a contraction. It was strange... it felt like a real contraction at first, but it just fizzled before reaching that *peak* feeling. I had them off and on until about 5:30 when I finally fell back asleep. I woke up at 7:30 with another one, a little more intense, so... I got up and did my labor routine. Put the baby blankets in the dryer to warm, started filling the birth pool... I still wasn't sure that this was it, but I didn't want to take any chances, I wanted to make sure that pool was available!
Pretty soon it was apparent that the contractions were gone and there was no signs of any activity for two days...
Thursday November 16th...Labor Day!!!
I had those bizarre contractions again last night. Starting at about 1:00 in the morning again. They fizzled out much faster this time, so I didn't think much about it. Went through most of the day feeling no signs of anything, but having pink tinged mucus and bloody show throughout the day... something was obviously going on!
I started feeling a vague sense of... something different (I really don't know how to describe it) sometime after 6:30 that night when we were finishing up with supper. I told Patrick and the kids we would not be going to church tonight ~ baby or no, I didn't want to leave the house, and I wasn't really feeling like having them gone either. After all the false starts, I'm still not sure if what I'm feeling are really light contractions or what. I have a very strange feeling, like I'm disconnected from the real world though. It's hard to explain, but I feel like my entire mind/body/emotions are preparing...
Paris (2 1/2) is picking up on something...she has been asking all day, "Baby come out you belly and I hold her on my lap?" "I put baby's hat on?"{ (I still really have no inkling as to whether it is a boy or girl ~ very strange for me... I keep telling Patrick that must mean there is one of each! Paris seems to think it's a girl apparently!)
I made the comment that we'd finally get to meet this baby tonight ~ and Patrick says, "It still doesn't seem real to me." Sprite (who turns nine next week) asks, "So what do you think, she's going to have a doll?" These people crack me up! I sent the family off to watch Tarzan (Kainan has been begging to watch it all week, he probably won't want to stop to see the baby if it does come!)
Well, still feeling crampy... sort of. I went into the bedroom to finish filling up the pool ~ yes, I was that *sure* this time:) Paris came in just in time to see me get the floor all wet ~ my water broke at around 7:30. This was it!
I grabbed the video camera and followed Paris out to watch her tell everyone that I got the floor all wet... After we broke the good news, Paris followed me back to the bedroom and we sat on my bed reading some Big Bird stories. By 7:45, the other kids were there (except Kainan who was still watching Tarzan) and I was beginning to feel the beginnings of contractions. It was still very light, but I could tell these were definitely doing something. I stopped reading stories so I could concentrate, and wanted to get in the pool soon before the contractions got painful. I had to go to the bathroom first, and when I came out, I had another contraction, a bit more *noticeable* this time around. I got down on my hands and knees because standing was just making it too intense... and I always thought hands and knees would be better ~ I don't think it was. Still, it wasn't that painful, it just reminded me of my other labors and how hard it could get.
I got in the pool as soon as the contraction was over and it felt sooooo good! I have always loved a nice hot bath, and during labor it was even more wonderful! It seems like I was in there for quite a while before I had another contraction, but it couldn't have been too long. When it did hit, it was more intense than the last one. All the family was in the bedroom with me now and I told them they all had to be completely quiet while I was having a contraction. They did very well:) I was on my knees for the first contraction, but that felt way too intense, so when it was over, I leaned onto my right side and rested my head on the side of the pool.
When the next contraction hit, I remembered women on my unassisted childbirth list saying that looking straight up (tilting your head back) during a contraction helped with the pain. So, the next contraction, I did that and focused on a smudge on the mirror. All I could think of was all the birth stories I'd read about women going through labor for hours and hours or DAYS. It almost sent me into a complete panic! Thoughts of hospitals and epidurals ran through my head! I couldn't believe I was having those thoughts... I told my husband if there were any way he could get an instant vasectomy when I was in transition, I'd make him do it. He said I've told him that during transition with every kid.
I noticed at some point that Sprite had taken Paris out to get a comb and she sat there letting Paris comb her hair to distract her. She was so much help... Paris wasn't a problem or a distraction at all, she just totally focused on Sprite until things got closer to the birth.
I only had a few contractions (maybe three?) In the pool before I thought it might not be a good idea to be lying sideways... maybe the baby's head wouldn't be getting down against my cervix evenly... something like that, so I sat back up on my knees. As soon as that contraction started, I felt the urge to push... actually, it was more like my body started to push without any effort on my part. I changed positions again and sat on the pillows in the bottom of the pool, in a semi-sit kind of position. The next contraction came quickly and I felt the baby's head moving down. I told everyone the baby was coming and all the kids ran up to the side of the pool to see. With the next contraction the head was ready to come out and I reached down to try and support my perineum a little since it was coming so fast. I couldn't reach far enough and I managed to stop pushing before the head was out. Patrick happened to be coming out of the bathroom right beside me and I said, "I need some HELP!" I don't remember what I told him to do, but he got the point and put a bit of counter pressure on my perineum... the head was out almost immediately and within seconds, another contraction hit and the rest of the baby came flying out. I picked her up out of the water and held her... the kids were completely fascinated. Paris looked almost stunned and incredibly excited.
I told Sprite to call grandma Sue at that point, since she had been at all the other births, I meant for Sprite to call her before the baby was actually out, but things went a little too fast for that! I looked at that point and saw that it was a girl. I was really stunned. I had felt that it was a girl from the first, but at about 6-7 months, I started worrying that if I got my heart set on a girl, that I would be upset if it were a boy... so I no longer *felt* anything about the sex of the baby. I was so surprised ~ and incredibly happy. Even now, a day later, I'm still shocked!
The baby was so calm and serene ~ she just curled up in my arms and was quiet. Her breathing was pretty gurgly so I had someone get me the bulb syringe and sucked out her nose. She still was calm and this started to freak Patrick out a little bit. He started saying, "Make her cry" so I had him help me out of the pool and as soon as the cold air hit ~ she cried. That made him feel much better... we covered her up and went to sit on the bed.
The kids all immediately jumped on the bed ~ Paris kept asking to pet her and Sprite was on the phone telling grandma all about the new baby.
Finally Patrick called his mom, and in the middle of their conversation, I felt the urge to push and the placenta was coming. (This was probably about 15 minutes after the birth) Patrick told his mom he had to go and hung up ~ the placenta was so small that he thought only part of it had come out and was a bit concerned. Once he saw that everything was intact and in one piece, we both looked at each other, then at my stomach ~ he asked if he should listen for another heart beat. It seemed really odd to both of us that only one tiny baby and one extremely small placenta came out of there.
As I was leaning over a little so that Patrick could get the placenta, the baby managed to latch on and start nursing! Definitely the earliest I've ever had a baby show interest in that! She's been sucking on anything that comes near her whenever she's been awake since! Of course, she's usually asleep. She fell asleep beside me (didn't want to lie on top of me at all... just curled up next to me) and slept from about 11:00 until I woke her up at 7:30 the next morning. She's spent most of today sleeping too ~ and I can hardly sleep because I just love looking at her. She is sooo tiny!! So gorgeous, so perfect!! (BTW ~ she was about 19 inches long and we're assuming she weighs around 6 ½ to 7 pounds... she's very similar in size to Paris when she was born ~ we have a photo of Paris next to Sprite's doll and they're about the same size... comparing this one to the same doll... they're about the same.)
I had pretty bad after pains but I had Patrick make some of the after pains tea (cramp bark, hops, and black cohosh) and they were quite manageable for a while. I could definitely tell when they wore off though! I've made myself a big pot today and plan on drinking it throughout the day.