I had been having Braxton- Hicks
contractions for weeks and weeks. These were not normal Braxton-Hicks
either. They hurt, and they were every 5 minutes for hours and hours,
or sometimes for even a day or two at a time. I had started dilating
a little too, so my midwife put me on modified bed rest until 37
weeks. At 37 weeks though, I was up and going again! Two days before
Parley was born (Wednesday, June 1) I was out vaccinating our calves,
the biggest of which were a few hundred pounds! Aaron had to leave
for work so I took over vaccinating, and did one BIG calf by myself
and 7 more with Jess. It was a rodeo :)
Also on this Wednesday, June 1st,
I went over to the Richardson's house (a family from our ward) and
did a few things to get labor going. Annie Laurie is more of a drill
sergeant than any football coach! I jumped on the trampoline, ran
down the driveway, did a few stairs...And nothing. No real
contractions.
Thursday, June 2nd, from
midnight to 3am-ish I did have contractions. They stopped though and
I went to sleep. The next morning about 45 minutes after I woke up,
they started again. It was so, so hard to tell though if these were
the “real deal,” or if it was more of my painful, Braxton- Hicks
again. This time though, they continued, and they progressively got
more intense. I had sent Aaron to work that day, but by noon I told
him he needed to come home.
With every contraction, I had been
practicing my Hypnobabies. Hypnobabies is technically self-hypnosis,
but really it just means deep relaxation. How it works, is you
imagine a light switch at the base of your neck, and when a
contraction starts, you imagine that light switch turning off, and
you let your body go loose and limp. This way, you don't fight the
contractions. Your body and all of your birthing muscles are working
in harmony and letting nature work as it was intended.
When Aaron got home from work we
started walking the driveway, and walking across the yard. Aaron
kept saying that maybe it was time to go to the hospital, but I kept
saying no, and that it might not be the real time. I was so nervous
from all of the false alarms before. My biggest fear was that they
would send me home! At one point though I didn't do my hypnobabies
light switch during a contraction, and I started crying- when before
I was super calm and collected. That is when I realized it was
really real! I think because I had been so calm and collected up to
this point we didn't realize that it was really progressing. I also
realized how important it was to do my hypnobabies, so I would have
pain control.
We got kids loaded in the car, made
last minute preparations, and drove to the babysitter's house. We
then had to stop by Wal-Mart. I told Aaron that all I wanted during
labor was strawberries. So we stop, and right in front of the
strawberries I am having contractions and just standing there closing
my eyes. We saw that they had lots of other berries too (
raspberries and blueberries), so we load up, because that is what I
am craving during labor. Yes, my hospital and midwife were AMAZING
and let me eat my berries and drink my Gatorade all through labor.
We get to the hospital around 8pm, they
check me and I am a 3. They said that I will need to walk around for
an hour and see if I progress at all, and if I do, then I will be
admitted. If I don't then I will be sent home. We walked for an hour
up and down the deserted hospital halls. I eventually told Aaron to
sit down, and I walked circles around a small waiting area. We went
back after an hour and I was at a 4. At this point I was officially
admitted. They then had to give me antibiotics for being GBS
positive. They also had to do external fetal monitoring for 20
minutes out of every hour. Our pattern was basically 40 minutes
walking, 20 minutes on the monitor, and then check to see how many
centimeters I was.
My midwife came in to check me. After
checking me she was out at the nurse's station for a bit. She came in
later to tell me that the CRNA had come- this is the person who
usually gives epidurals. I am assuming they came to see if I wanted
one. My midwife told them that I was doing hypnobabies and I was
going to have a natural labor. The CRNA didn't believe it. Just
then I had a contraction, and they could see the monitor since they
were at the nurse's station. On the monitor they could see the mark
of the contraction getting more and more intense, and then they saw
the amazing thing...my heart rate went down. It is a very normal
physiologic response to have your heart rate increase when you feel
pain- but my heart rate was actually going DOWN each time I had a
contraction. That shows how real this hypnobabies can be! It can
help you to relax so much that you don't feel the pain. The CRNA was
shocked, and now believes in hypnobabies.
Annie Laurie Richardson, (a very
special friend from church who we invited to the be with us during
the birth as a support person) came about 10 or 11pm and found us
walking in the hall. She walked and walked with us. We all talked
about everything you could imagine during this time together. It
didn't seem like I was in labor, it just seemed like a walk with my
husband and friend. At every contraction though, I would stop
walking, turn off my “light switch”, and put my forehead on the
wall. Aaron would stand behind me and put counter pressure on my
lower back. It was exactly what I needed! As we walked the halls, I
had headphones in one ear and the “Birthing Day Affirmations”
track playing on repeat. It was wonderful to hear very positive
messages about birthing during the contractions.
In Hypnobabies there are “Joyful”
pregnancy affirmations that I would listen to every day before the
birth (for about 5 weeks). One of the affirmations says, “After
each pressure wave (aka contraction), I smile and feel very happy.”
I thought that was silly, but I chose to implement it. After every
contraction I smiled, and would say thank you to Aaron for his help
in getting me through it with the back pressure. Another of the
affirmations said, “Each pressure wave feels like a tight hug for
me and my baby.” Since I had been programming my mind to think
positively about child birth, this really was true for me. When I
gave birth to Peter, I had halfheartedly prepared using hypnobabies.
I was in sooooo much pain. I remember crying and being near
hysterical at 3.5 cm. I know, I am a pansy for pain. This time, I
chose to think positively and I didn't feel the pain of contractions.
I felt pressure, and that pressure just felt like a tight hug. The
mind is absolutely amazing.
At one point, I remember being a little
impatient to go out and walk again after my 20 minutes on the
monitor. The hour before when they had checked me, I was a 5. This
time when they checked, I prayed and prayed that I would at least be
a 6. The nurse's first words were, “I need to go call Tracey (my
midwife), you are an 8.” In an hour I blew through the transition
phase, which many women would call one of the worst parts of child
birth. I didn't even know that I had passed it! I was busy walking,
talking, and laughing. This was 2am. After my nurse called Tracey, I
wasn't allowed to leave the hospital room...I don't blame them. I
wouldn't want to deliver a baby in the hall way either.
There was just one problem though, I
felt the NEED to walk during labor. Sitting down, or laying on the
bed was torturous- walking however was just fine. I started pacing
my hospital room. There wasn't enough room for all three of us to
walk, so Aaron and Annie Laurie sat down. With each contraction I
would walk over to the wall, put a wash cloth on my forehead to keep
my head from pushing too hard into the wall. I would say, “Aaron,”
and he would jump up and come over and push on my back.
Aaron was seriously amazing during
labor. He was so attentive and helpful, and supportive of my choice
of doing it naturally. I don't know how to explain the need I had of
having him right beside me and touching me through every contraction,
but I needed it. I couldn't have done it without him RIGHT there!
From 8-9cm it took one hour. This is
where things heated up a little bit. It got harder to be positive
through the contractions. It started to get a little painful. At one
point I just started to cry a tear or two as I leaned on Aaron
between contractions. I was starting to feel I couldn't do it. I
knew though that I had to stop. I couldn't let myself give into the
pain, because it would only get harder. I pulled myself together and
kept going. At this point I asked Annie Laurie to come and rub my
back. She was very helpful, calming, and reassuring. She helped me
to visualize beautiful things, and it gave me a realization again of
how sacred and special the birthing time is. It is a time when I
truly believe heaven is VERY near, and heaven's help is available.
When I laid down to be checked and was
at a 9, I just stayed in the bed. For the first time I didn't want to
get up and walk. I laid on my left side and had a peanut pillow
between my legs. Annie Laurie was in front of me keeping my leg from
falling off the pillow. Aaron was behind me continuing to give me
counter pressure on my back with each contraction. Going from a 9-10
happened relatively quickly, maybe 20 minutes.
I remember having the
urge to push, and starting to push. After a push or two, then my
water broke. Remember how I said I had the peanut pillow between my
legs? Well, this pillow was making it so no one could see the baby
coming out. Tracey said she needed to move the pillow to see, I
said “NO!” Women in labor (aka me) can be a little irrational.
When she moved the pillow there was a baby coming! She didn't have
time to get her gown on to cover her clothes. She just had her gloves
on. I kept pushing, and I could feel him coming more, but he wasn't
out yet. After that contraction ended, Tracey said that he would be
born with one more push. I pushed right then. I didn't wait for the
next contraction- and BABY! He was born at 3:25am on June 3, 2016.
How amazing it feels to have them hand
that little newborn up to you. They laid him right on my chest.
Aaron and I dried him off. After the cord stopped pulsating, Annie
Laurie cut it. Parley was breathing and grunting, but he wouldn't
cry. For six awful hours he wouldn't cry, and he struggled to
breathe. He was having retractions and would grunt with each breath.
They took a chest x-ray and saw some fluid in his lungs. He had
TTN- transient tachypnea of the newborn. It means he was breathing
poorly and rapidly, but it would pass with time. For those 6 hours
he didn't eat either, even though we tried and tried. At 6 hours,
our nurse gave him a drop or two of sugar water and he perked right
up and breastfed for the first time. Right after nursing for the
first time, he breathed beautifully! He then could cry too.
The recovery from having Parley has
been a night and day difference from my recovery with Peter. I
attribute it to a much more peaceful and prepared for birth
experience. Peter and Jess adore their little brother! We are
loving having a new baby in our home again!
Tracey, my amazing midwife who delivered both Peter and Parley.
Ready to go home!
Meeting the siblings.
