Labor story #2 - At home

Saturday- We were out working on the car for a majority of the day. We needed to pick up some parts to finish it up so we grabbed them on the way to church Saturday evening. (I am just so thankful my water has not ever broken at church.) On our way home Tim suggested we eat at this little mom and pop's burger place so we did that too. I want to say we were home at least around 6.

Around 7:30pm I had a bloody show, so I suggested a walk around the block, because if something was going to happen I was going to help it along. My poor hubby was in the middle of a Dr. Who episode so he told me we could go as soon as it was done. I went upstairs and put on some comfy pants, socks and shoes, and suddenly had to go to the bathroom again. A little more blood and a first contraction. Tim came upstairs and asked what I needed to take on the walk. I told him that I didn't think the walk would happen if I had to pee every five minutes.

He told me to smile. This was between 8 and 9 pm. 

We called Kathy, our midwife, to give her a heads up and then we called my mom who was going to come over and help with Timothy and anything else we needed. We gave Timothy a bath, and read and prayed with him and put him to bed. We started gathering things in our room for the birth and my mom cleaned up the kitchen getting it ready for Samuel's first bath- in the kitchen sink. I spent a majority of the first hour walking and squatting and kneeling next to the bed. I had a lot of pressure in my back/ upper hips region. Tim
would press on my lower back through the harder contractions and my mom came in and rubbed on my back through some contractions to help relieve some pressure.

Around 9, Tim encouraged me to lay down and try to sleep. That slowed down the contractions majorly to about 15 minutes apart for that hour. They had been about 10 minutes apart.

Through the 10 o'clock hour the contractions slowly worked down to 5 minutes apart. Tim kept trying to let me let him call Kathy again and I insisted that if she was trying to nap that we would not call until 11. Not sure how that would help.

Me bracing myself for breaking my water.
Again, he told me to smile. 

But he made the call at 11pm and they were on their way. Claire, a midwife in training, arrived first and started setting up. Kathy and her daughter Brandi, another midwife in training arrived a few minutes later- this was between 11:30 and 11:45. Kathy checked me and I was dilated to 8cm and my water was bulging. For the next hour my water did not break. I had spent some time in different positions, and on the toilet waiting, before Brandi suggested walking around to try to help. Still nothing. Kathy suggested breaking my water, since that seemed to be what was slowing me down. I pondered on this for a few minutes and then agreed. 12:45am

Up until this point, contractions had been a piece a cake- pressure but I was coherent and carrying on conversations, cracking jokes and so on... Then they broke my water... it's like that had been my protective bubble against the contractions. Ouch!!!

Within the next couple contractions I was really feeling the pressure. My legs started shaking from the sudden rush of hormones- a really weird feeling. Brandi was so sweet and massaged my hips and legs to help relieve the weird feeling I was having there. We labored there for a little bit and they suggested me rolling onto my side but I knew I would instinctively just clamp my legs together and I didn't want that to slow us down on progress.

So instead I got on my "hands" and knees. And by hands I mean elbows propped up on some pillows. I felt like I was sinking down and they all felt that way too, so they grabbed my yoga/exercise ball and I propped up on that. I should mention at this point that I was leaving some pretty significant handprints in Tim's hands and arms from gripping so hard. And I was drenched in sweat. Loving my P90x workout. I labored this way for awhile but we could all tell progress was slowing.
I offered to squat but told them I would need help. So I assumed the position with Tim sitting behind me on the bed gripping me by the arms. I had to stand several times because the pain was crazy intense and by standing, I mean Tim hoisting me up and down. Poor guy, he got his workout too.

Now, at some point, in the squatting and pushing position, Kathy told me to stop pushing, they needed to clamp and cut the cord. Confused, I asked if he was out because I had not felt that pressure be relieved and she said, no not yet, the cord is wrapped around his neck. Then she instructed me to push him out. It took me a good long push or two, but then he was out.
1:56 am
I was stuck there for the next few minutes in the squatting position with Tim holding me up as they went to work on my very white baby, the cord had gotten tight there at the end which is why they cut it before he was out. They cleaned out his mouth and nose trying to get a good cry out of him. Not sure what I could do stuck in that position, so I just started talking to Samuel, telling him "you're ok, you're out now, give us a good cry" over and over.


Finally Kathy passed him off to Brandi, so she could keep clearing out his nose and rub him down to get his muscle tone to a good point. I passed the placenta and then they helped me up on the bed. Tim got Samuel then while they prepped to sew me back up.

9 pounds 2 ounces of baby

It took all three of them holding my legs to get me sewn up, they even put Samuel on me to distract me because my legs were still being hormonal and I could feel them trying to sew me up. Finally they were all done with that. Kathy checked Samuel and I to make sure we were feeling pretty good and then headed out to another birth. (They are super women, pretty sure of it.)

Brandi and Claire gave Samuel the all over baby check up and then Brandi took Samuel for his first bath and Claire helped me get cleaned up.

Around 4am they finished up and headed out to the other birth and we got settled into bed to try to catch up on our sleep.

"But Dad, what is it?"

At 7am, Timothy woke up and came in to meet his baby brother!

He calls Samuel "Nam-null" and is loving being a big brother.