It all started at 10 pm Monday May 17th. I was nine days overdue, but still feeling pretty good. We had an appointment the previous Friday and I wasn’t dilated at all. Since I was past due the Dr. wanted us to have a non stress test and ultrasound, which were both fine. I worked the weekend which was hard and ended up staying for eight hour shifts both days because I was so tired. That Sunday after work I was starting to feel anxious because I knew I had an appointment coming up on Tuesday and I did not want to talk about induction, which I was afraid was coming.
On Monday my friend Melissa came over and we went for yet another 2-mile walk. I had some Braxton hicks contractions throughout the day, but nothing out of the ordinary. Finally, in one last ditch effort to induce labor myself I scheduled an acupuncture treatment with my chiropractor for Monday afternoon at 2:30 pm. Chris and I had been trying everything else to try and naturally induce labor, but with no luck. So I went to my appointment with feelings that it probably wouldn’t work, but hoping that it would. After the appointment I came home and hung out with Chris. Thankfully it was his night off and we were just going to take it easy. Chris was cleaning the house and I swear I didn’t even have to nest because he was doing it for me. He was cleaning the bathrooms and tidying everything up. I told him I would vacuum and dust the living room. I remember wanting to do more but after vacuuming I was exhausted. It was all I could do to finish a couple chores before I laid down on the couch. A few hours later we cooked supper and I remember standing by the stove not feeling the best.
I was having some more Braxton hicks contractions that were hurting a little bit but I didn’t want to get excited so I just sat on the exercise ball after supper. Finally about 9:30 I wanted to go to bed, so we headed upstairs. At 10 pm I started having contractions that were uncomfortable. I still did not want to get excited because we learned that adrenaline could slow your labor down. So I told Chris what was happening but we just continued to hang out in the bedroom. Then I started having to pee about every 5 minutes. That was our first clue that this was real labor. Chris started timing my contractions and they were consistently four minutes apart and lasting about thirty seconds long. I paced in the hallway and packed my last minute toiletries. I really needed Chris to be next to me right from the start. Every time I would have a contraction I would holler for him to come so I could lean on him. I was still able to rest and laugh between contractions.
Around 1 pm we decided to go for a walk outside. It was kind of chilly but the cool air felt good. We were laughing because we thought we probably looked ridiculous to anyone walking. We were walking so slowly and then we would stop and I would have to lean on Chris during contractions. They were about 3 minutes apart at this time.
At 2:30 pm I decided to get into the bathtub. We talked about going to the hospital but I still didn’t want to go. I stayed in the bath for about an hour and the contractions were getting stronger. We called the hospital after I got out and they asked how far apart the contractions were, we said 3 minutes. Then they said to eat and take a bath. We told them we already had, so they said to come on in. I still really did not feel like going, so we tried to take another walk. It had really cooled off outside at this point and we only made it a block and a half before going back home. I told Chris we should probably go soon. He loaded up the car and I drank some Gatorade and ate toast. Contractions were two minutes apart and one minute long. Chris rubbed my back during them and I was still working through them okay.
After I finished my snack we left for the hospital at about 4 pm. We got there at 4:30 and the ride was terrible. I was so uncomfortable sitting down in the car. Our nurse said she wondered if we were going to show up ☺ She checked us in and hooked me up to the monitor. Baby’s heart rate was great and I was definitely contracting. She checked me and I was 5 cm. I said, “So do I get to stay?” haha. We gave her our birth plan and she was on board. Chris was still helping me through every contraction. I was most comfortable sitting on the birth ball leaning either on Chris or the bed. Our nurse called Dr. Fox to tell him I was there and I wouldn’t be coming to my appointment that Tuesday morning!
At about 6:30 Tuesday morning Dr. Fox checked in on us and told us he would be back at 7:30 after a meeting. He gave the nurses the okay to do intermittent monitoring so I could move around the room. They hooked me up to the monitor every 30 minutes, and everything was always fine with the baby. Dr. came back around 8 am and checked me, I was 8 cm and 100 percent effaced. He said to just keep doing what we were doing. I really had to focus during contractions at this point because they were intense.
Around 9 I wanted to get in the bathtub to help with the back pain I was having. Our nurse told me to be careful because many times the bath can make you relax so much that you progress really quickly and want to push, and she didn’t want me to have the baby in the bathtub. I told her I would be careful. I was only in the bath for about 10 minutes before I started having pressure and decided I needed to get out. Chris chugged an energy drink and helped me back to bed.
The nurse checked me and I was fully dilated except for a tiny lip of cervix. I was having the urge to push but because of that lip they told me to wait which was extremely hard. Dr. Fox came back and we decided it would be best to break my bag of water. After my water broke the urge to push became even stronger. After about 2 hours of pushing Vivian Iris was born naturally at seven pounds nine ounces. They immediately put her up on my chest, and I looked down and saw the sweetest baby ever. Labor was definitely the hardest most intense thing I have ever done, but also the most rewarding. It sounds cheesy but Chris and I are so in love that it is hard to put it into words. Here are some photos of little Vivie.
