My Labor & Delivery Story

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Baby B was born on March 11, 2021, at 1:52 am. I decided the moment I wanted kids that I wanted to try an unmedicated water birth, when we found out we were pregnant we went searching for the perfect place and found it at Flourish. Luckily my pregnancy was a low risk so we were able to give birth at a birthing center. It was the best decision I made, especially in the times we are currently living in.

Water Breaking

On Wednesday, March 10 (our anniversary) my water broke. I laugh because it happened while I was taking a picture. My outfit in my eyes was super cute and I really wanted to capture it. When my water broke I wasn’t entirely sure if it actually was or if I just peed myself a bit. I immediately called my husband and he left work, I called my midwife right after. I had a scheduled appointment ready so I left to get checked & to make sure my water had broken.

Sure enough my water had broken! I was only 2cm dilated at 3pm so we scheduled an appointment for the next day, I was told to keep track of my contractions (I had not had any) and to get in contact should anything change. I went home and finished getting last minute things ready. No contractions in sight.

Laboring at home

I was at home laboring until almost 9pm, I did not start feeling contractions until around 5, but they were not intense and not as close together. While I labored at home I used my exercise ball, showered, and did some stretches to help minimize the discomfort I was feeling. I also tried to finish some last minute training I had, needless to say that did not get done that night. We waited for our food to arrive as we were “celebrating” our anniversary, by the time the food arrived I was no longer talking during contractions and I knew I was ready to head to the birthing center. My husband called our midwife and we headed to the birthing center.

Labor at the Birthing Center

The drive to the birthing center was AWFUL, every minute of that drive felt super uncomfortable. There was no way to position myself to get comfortable, and every red light we hit made things 10x worse. We got to the birthing center and my midwife checked me, I was 4cm dilated, things in my head were moving slow. I labored in many different positions, walked around the center, went from the bed, to the toilet, floor, chair, and back to bed. The toilet was one of the places I found the most comfort in, ha! When I could no longer handle the pain we decided it was time to get into the tub for hydrotherapy.

When I got in the tub I finally started feeling some relief. The contractions were painful still, but did not seem as intense. I had my husband, mom, and sister by my side helping me by bringing me water, holding my hand, playing with my hair, and anything else I asked for. When we were getting closer to actually giving birth and when things got even more intense I had everyone breathing with me. The only way at this point that I could manage through contractions was by taking deep breaths, I’m pretty sure at some point I annoyed everyone by demanding they breathe with me haha, but it was the only way I was able to get through it.

The Ring of Fire

The only way to describe this sensation was immense burning and uncontrollable pain. I however knew what was happening and was prepared for it. Birthing classes warned me about the ring of fire, and when I felt it I knew my baby boy was about to make his grand entrance. I asked loudly if it was the ring of fire & then I was told they could see his head. While I was in pain I felt an instant relief knowing that he was almost getting ready to be in my arms. I started pushing at 1:35am, and by 1:52am my beautiful baby boy was born.

Birth

My husband was in the tub with me and was the first person to touch our baby, he actually caught him and laid him on my chest. It was the most amazing experience with words that I cannot describe, in that moment everything was worth it. He was absolute perfection and I could not stop looking at him. We did skin to skin and delayed chord clamping we got to bond as a family and welcome our new member together. It was a very intimate moment full of love and happiness. When my husband finally cut the chord it was time to deliver the placenta, my husband got to do skin to skin with baby while I tried to deliver the placenta.

No one ever talks about delivering the placenta and I always assumed it would be easy to come out. That was not the case for me. It took over an hour for me to deliver the placenta, it would not come out & my body had stopped contracting, because of this I had to get pitocin to induce contractions for the placenta to come out. This was the most uncomfortable part and the hardest to get through because there was not something exciting to look forward to. After an hour it finally came out and I got to fully enjoy being with my baby boy.

Things I would do again

We decided early on to hire a birth photographer and we are so thankful for that decision, she took the most amazing pictures and was super supportive. At first I honestly did not notice she was there, but when her presence became known she motivated me & helped me with breathing. Erin Beth was amazing and I am so thankful she was part of my team.

Using a birthing center. If I decide to have more children and have a low-risk pregnancy I would 100% do it again! My experience was amazing, we became like family and I knew exactly who would be helping deliver my son. I was informed and knew what to expect.

Birthing classes! If I had not taken birthing classes I don’t know that I would have been able to pull through. Our instructor at Metroplex Birth was amazing and made sure to prepare us for everything. We talked about all sorts of different births and were even prepared in case we had to go to the hospital. This was not just a class for moms but for dads as well.

Lactation consultant! I am so thankful for Mother’s Eve, we met with our LC shortly after birth she helped me by teaching me to breastfeed properly. I appreciate her help so much we are almost two months into our breastfeeding journey and it’s only as successful as it’s been thanks to her.