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Friday, June 13, 2014

Easton's BIRTH- Part 2


Easton's Birth 
PART 2

*if you haven't read part 1, CLICK HERE to read*



As we waited for everyone to arrive, I had Michael start to fill up the birth tub down in our family room. I hadn’t really planned on birthing in it, but I knew I wanted it as an option. I put on a little makeup and fixed my hair… this is how Michael knew. 

He always says he knows it’s real labor when I put my makeup on. 
It was the real deal. 

It was 12:30 and contractions were 3-5 minutes apart and building, but still feeling random. I sent Valerie a text to let her know.



I labored for a while as the tub filled. 

Just a bit of advice. 
Birth tubs make rooms humid. 
Humidity ruins pretty hair. 
Fixing your hair before you hang out in said room is a waste of time. 

Back to the birth…


By 1:30 Jessica, Miranda, and Teresa had arrived. The interesting thing about my contractions at this point was that they were coming consistently, but the intensity was weird. They would be strong, and then get lighter, then stronger, and then light again. I never knew quite what to expect.

I labored throughout the early morning hours with contractions still at every 3-5 minutes. Valerie arrived sometime. I was in labor land, so I have no idea what really happened. I remember talking & laughing between contractions. I also remember my mom mentioning the book she gave me when I first got pregnant with our oldest & how it made me sick to see the pictures of birthing. I got the book out to show everyone, which is really funny to me. It’s a great book that I have used in my birth classes actually! I just find it funny that I felt the need to have show & tell during my labor.


They look amused, don't they? Haha!

Anyway, I do know that around 3:30 I wanted to be in the water. I debated in my head whether it was time or not… & then after a contraction, I just knew. Within moments I was in that tub. I had now been up for a while & was getting really tired. 
The water was super relaxing. 
Now I know why mommas love their water births!

Contractions still felt inconsistent as far as intensity, but regardless, I began to feel pushy around 6:30. I had the thought that I wanted to have someone check me, but they had just shown my mom the “purple line” about an hour before that and it showed that I was really close. So, I figured I was probably fully dilated.

If you don't know what "the purple line" is... check this out. It's pretty amazing!



We woke up our oldest daughter so she didn’t miss anything & our 2 year old had started to wake up at this time too. It was almost time to meet our baby!

I pushed… and grunted… and growled… and pushed some more. I had never felt such strange contractions. They were spreading far apart, which can be normal to give your body some rest between. They didn’t feel as powerful as they should though. My water still hadn’t broken, but we thought we *maybe* saw it leaking. Perhaps that would help things intensify? Slowly, as I’m working through these weird contractions, our other kids began to wake up. I felt weak & tired. Almost like I could fall asleep between contractions. So, I rested, but assumed we were getting close. I knew it had been a longer active labor, but I was so tired at this point that I didn’t realize how long I had been pushing!



After an hour of pushing with no results, Jessica got a look on her face. I know that look. It’s the same one she got when she thought I was losing too much blood after our last birth (really it was just the placenta coming out right after baby). 

I can hear her voice now saying
 “I need you to show me that you can push this baby out on the next contraction”. 

So I tried, but the contraction was so weak! I couldn’t get enough power behind it to feel like I was doing anything! She then said I needed to get out of the water. I didn't hesitate. This was about 7:30 am.



I got right out of the water & lay on the couch where she was going to check me. Sure enough, there was a lip of my cervix that wasn’t dilated & my water still hadn’t broken. It was bulging and firm. Baby would not be able to descend until we got past that lip. As I waited, trying not to push, for 2-3 contractions, Jessica slowly stretched that lip of my cervix. As soon as she was finished, my bag of waters ruptured on the next contraction. 
It was such a relief. 

However, she then needed me to try not to push through a few more contractions, so that my cervix could slowly stretch & baby could descend. We decided it would be best if I stood, allowing gravity to help. Well, it sure did. As soon as I stood up, baby descended and I felt those strong, uncontrollable contractions that I should have felt an hour before that!

As soon as baby dropped down, I felt lots of pressure. Amniotic fluid poured out all over Michael & I. Then the next thing I knew, baby was pushing on my bladder so strongly that I peed right there in my family room on the floor… on my husband’s feet. Haha! I couldn’t help it! At this point, I couldn’t even stand any longer. Michael was holding me up completely. I just remember I kept saying “I’m sorry- I have to push. I can’t wait. I’m so sorry!” I was trying to follow my instructions, but I couldn’t stop the urge to push.



There are 2 words that come to mind when I think of the next moments… 
intense & violent. 



I would have never used the word violent to describe such a beautiful moment as birth, but as my legs began to shake and I felt my baby coming out with such force, no better word comes to mind! Within moments I was scared, nervous, weak, emotional, and ready to get this baby out. I squeezed Michael’s arm, hearing everyone tell me how good I was doing and how I should give one more good push. 
I just cried,

“I can’t!" 

I had made it all along being such a good birther. 
I had moaned. I had breathed. 
I had done everything I was supposed to do, 
but in that moment I just couldn’t take any more! 
My cries were met with instant replies from my husband and amazing birth team. 

“Yes, you can!”

So, I pushed through the most extreme, burning, fiery pain I’ve ever felt. I had never had a birth like this. I had never known such weakness & yet strength in my body all at the same time. I gave one last growl & felt the head, followed by 2 shoulders, and then body & legs come out. I knew what each part was as my baby literally was ejected from my body. As I fought through, I felt so much emotion. I felt so much love. This baby that I had been waiting for was finally here!

At 8:02 am, as my husband held me, and my children waited on the steps watching with my mom, I heard someone say “Kourtney reach down & grab your baby”. As I pulled this little one up to my chest, I practically fell onto the nearby couch. I couldn’t stand, but my heart was so full at that instant that I didn’t even notice how weak I was. Michael & I just held our baby and cried. We didn’t care if it was a boy or a girl. We didn’t care how long it had taken. We had conquered this amazing, beautiful thing during this birth & for that brief moment time seemed to stand still. We looked at every finger and toe. We stroked that sweet, soft skin. I just held my baby & breathed in deeply, taking in every last bit of that amazing newborn smell.

After those precious minutes had passed I looked over to Michael & said “are you ready to find out?” Jessica & Miranda had already snuck a peek, but since they’re awesome they didn’t say anything. 

I should also mention that most everyone thought we were having a girl. Our boy-girl pattern had become pretty predictable. My mom & I, however, had been thinking it could be a boy, since I felt like it was a bigger baby. My boys are usually longer & weigh more.
 So, back to the story…



We hesitated for a split second. I made sure the kids were all watching. Then, Michael pulled open the skinniest, longest baby legs I’ve ever seen to find out… 

IT’S A BOY! 

We looked over to find our boys with the BIGGEST smiles on their faces. Our oldest daughter said, “I guess God thought we needed another sweet boy.” 
*sigh*
Precious. Just precious.


There are many more details that I could ramble on about... 

I could tell you about how wonderful it was to walk up to my bedroom 
and change into dry clothes. 
I could tell you about how hungry I was or how sore I was the next day- 
like I’d been in a car accident or something. 
My entire body ached from those last 45 minutes of fierce labor! 

However, I don’t need to go into all that.


All you need to know is the “sometimes”. 
Sometimes things don’t go how we have planned. Sometimes it’s hard and we really have to work for what is important to us. Sometimes we not only have to work, but we have to fight. Sometimes, when it’s all said and done, you discover something you never knew. 
You uncover a warrior inside of you. 
I had never realized what I was truly capable of, and yet how much I needed everyone around me to get to that place.


That isn’t the end of the story. We still had a long postpartum road to walk through. 
But for that brief moment, I had a glimpse of perfection. 
An absolutely perfect, 8 pound 8 ounce, 21 ½ inch long baby boy who made those hours of labor completely worth it. Someday I might not remember all these details, but I will always remember who I became that day. That’s the unseen beauty of giving birth. 

No matter how many times you do it, 
a baby is not the only one who is born. 


And now...

EASTON'S HOMEBIRTH



1 comment:

  1. Just beautiful, and inspiring. CONGRATULATIONS! Welcome to the world, Easton!

    ReplyDelete