Today is the big day, Baby Cadence is turning one! Can you believe it? I can't! In honor of her birthday I want to tell her birth story.
Last year on Sunday September 2 Story woke up at 5:00. I got up with her and fed her pancakes and started some laundry. I was having some pretty strong pains and knew it today would probably be Cadence's birthday. There were two things I didn't think about at the time: 1) It wasn't a Monday, so I couldn't have a baby; my babies are always born on a Monday. 2) It wasn't the middle of the night; I always labor during the night and have my babies in the wee hours of the morning.
Devon and Lyric woke up later in the morning and we all decided to go on a hike to try to get things moving with the labor. We went to a park near the house and hiked around. The pains were pretty strong and pretty consistent at this point. It was a Sunday, so Grammy and Bob were coming to visit. I had already called Grammy and told her she may want to bring her clothes and plan on staying to help with the new baby.
After our hike we made a few phone calls to let everyone know the baby was coming. Caba and KK decided to come from Midland, it was a long weekend for them, so they could be here for Cadence's birth. We called Christy, the midwife and she said she would be near her phone if we needed her.
I don't remember the exact time, but the labor pretty much stopped! Devon and I went on three different walks around the neighborhood to try to get things going, but nothing worked. It just stopped.
Grammy decided to stay the night even though we weren't having a baby. Bob went back home, but said to call him if anything happened. Caba and KK arrived from Midland, they wouldn't be visiting the new baby, but the girls were happy to see them.
That night about 10:30 or so I decided to take a bath and relax. Well, almost as soon as I got in the tub the contractions started and they were pretty strong! Devon and I had written notes on the bathroom mirror and in our bedroom for inspiration during the labor. I don't remember now exactly what the mirror said, but I think one of the words was perseverance and there were a few others. I can remember laying in that tub thinking, 'What have I done? I am about to have this baby at home, it is not going to be very pleasant and there is nothing I can do about it-- she's coming!' I wasn't scared. Story was born at home, too. I was just trying to prepare myself mentally for what was going to happen. I called Devon in the bathroom after the contractions were coming for a while and we decided to call Christy, the midwife.
I stayed in the tub while he called. She answered her phone and he could hear lots of talking and music. He asked if she was at a party. It turns out she was at a karaoke party, no she wasn't drinking. She knew she was probably going to be catching a baby tonight so she stayed away from the alcohol:-)
She said she would go ahead and head over. I stayed in the tub trying to relax. Devon sat on an ottoman next to the tub and tried to help. Christy eventually got there. I think it was around 11:30 or so. She came in and checked on me and then set up her stuff. We had contemplated waking my mom and calling Devon's parents, but decided not to. That was the best decision we have ever made! We had both of our moms at Lyric and Story's births no offence ladies, but we really enjoyed it by ourselves this time! I love them both to death, but Mimi J isn't the most patient person you have ever met and Grammy is quite the worrier!
After Christy was done setting up she came to check on me again. I told her the pains were still coming, but I was comfortable. She reminded me that comfortable is not always efficient, if I wanted the baby to come sooner I might want to get out. That is what I love about midwives. If I had said I wanted to sit in that tub all night long she would have gotten a blanket, went and got on my couch and said, "Wake me when you need me."
I decided to go ahead and get out. I sat in a chair in our bedroom, Christy sat on the floor and Devon laid across the bed and we just sat there and talked and every few minutes I would have a contraction.
Christy doesn't take patients who are due too close together because she doesn't want to have to miss a birth. She had a mom who wasn't due for two weeks who happened to call her and be in labor at the same time I was. She usually has a midwife come and help her, but she had to send that midwife to the other mama, so it was just the three of us. She asked if we wanted her to call another midwife, but we told her we were comfortable with just her if she was okay with it. If you ever have the opportunity to deliver a baby with your husband and your midwife and no one else I totally recommend it! Cadence's birth was by far my best birth of the three!
Around 1:30 I became too uncomfortable for the chair and needed to stand. I would lean on Devon and rock back and forth which really helped with the contractions. Christy would stand behind us and push on my back which was also very helpful! There were a few really funny things that happened during the birth. First, in the middle of labor I was standing in my bedroom and needed to throw up. I told Christy and she grabbed the closest thing to her which was one of those blue pads that they put on your bed in a hospital. I knew that wasn't the best thing to puke in, so I just looked at her like she was crazy and she grabbed a box that she was using for trash (that worked much better!) Another funny thing, was at one point Deovn had gone to the bathroom or something and I was having a contraction, so I hugged Christy and leaned on her. She is at least six inches shorter than I am, so I am sure I looked like this amazon woman using this poor woman for support--she held up like a trooper. Also, Christy went into the kitchen to get me some water and my mom happened to be up going to the bathroom. She saw Christy in the kitchen and was shocked. I think she even asked her what she was doing there, too funny!
Around 2:15 I moved to the bed to start pushing. Christy told me a few more pushes and my baby's head would be out, well to the shock of us all her head came out much quicker than we had anticipated. It was pretty crazy! But eventually at 2:22 she was born and by 2:55 she was latched on and nursing well.
I know homebirth sounds crazy to a lot of people, but it really is an awesome experience! Shortly after her birth my mom made me some scrambled eggs and a big glass of chocolate milk and I was able to relax at home in my bed with my new baby. That is the life!
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