First Time Mom’s Natural Birth Story — Maverick Leo [Part 1]

Let me tell you, thank goodness I had written this down within a couple weeks post delivery. If you have any desire for recollecting the details of your birth story, then I urge you, through the fog, the sleep deprivation and all around consuming nature that is now your newborn.. take the time to write it down! Soon enough your little one will be admiring you back and clinging to your every word and/or body part and it will seem just a vague, distant [now wonderful] memory.

It was a normal Sunday in the Capella home, after coming home from church, Nick and I went to finish painting our master bath – yes that means full on squats at nine months large to paint the baseboards! I attribute all the housework to inducing my labor.  Around 3pm I started to notice my Braxton hicks were becoming more regular and noticeable, so I took a mental note and thought maybe this is something.  We continued the day working and finishing up as much house work as we could, since the Peterson addition could be coming soon.

We ran a few errands and decided to grab the Habit for dinner – subconsciously thinking ‘this would be a good and hardy last meal.’ I downloaded a contraction timer because the tightness was pretty consistent and they were coming every 6 minutes, but with very little discomfort.  Once home I decided to draw a bath – only to find out our tub doesn’t have a properly working drain stop – doh! Regardless, I sat in the shallow water with some espom salt and lavendar essential oil to alleviate the little discomfort I had and more so to remain calm. Within minutes I experienced the beginnings of losing the mucus plug (could they have coined this term any worse!?)  I instantly had a moment of panic – could this really be it? Am I about to have a baby? Meet my baby boy? And in came the nerves.  I mentioned this to my husband, who’s eyes became as big as an owls… It was getting quite real. I texted a friend who was acting as my stand in doula, told her contractions were 5 minutes apart, quite painless but I saw the show – she told me to contact the birth center just to check in and notify my family since it was now 10pm at night and who knew what might happen overnight. She decided to pack some bags and head down just so she could be here to help but since she wouldn’t arrive until midnight she told me to lay down and get some rest and that’s when I stalled. I woke up at midnight to the arrival of my doula, husband still wide awake and alert watching trash TV – I told her I had stalled and she said ‘good, now go sleep.’ Thinking, not exactly what I was hoping to hear – but I listened.

Through the night I awoke here and there to, what I now deem as, mini-contractions. They were mild enough not to hurt but noticeable enough to wake me – I must admit it was partially due to the excitement and anxiety I was also wrestling with!

The entirety that was Monday entailed visits from friends and contractions that would hit 3-4 minutes apart. They were enough to take away all my concentration but not enough to be deemed painful in my definition. It really just felt like a large bear hug around my lower mid section and then a release. All day long I attempted walking the neighborhood — I even once got a comment of “Wow, you look about to pop” and I thought, ‘How about I pop you, lady’… but on I walked. I hopped on the swings at a local park, tried bouncing on my birthing ball, all to end up with the evening rolling around and nothing more than these bear hugs of contractions that were all over the place. My doula headed home to her four babies, knowing that leaving me probably meant my progression [Murphy’s law | foreshadowing.. cue the music]. My parents brought us dinner and I must apologize to them – Mom, Dad, I truly thank you for the dinner you brought as I was in no state to think of cooking and with Nick’s distraction, he didn’t either. I also apologize for my un-attentiveness but it’s very hard to be present when you are sitting there wondering if this child is coming or if you’re going to end up the poster child for Braxton Hicks / False Labor.

I laid my head on my pillow that night wondering if this child of mine would be coming. Nervously I went to sleep knowing that if this was truly the real deal, I’d need rest. [HA rest, while you’re excited that you’re in labor with your first child, right…]

I was woken up about every hour with very tight pressure that would cease by the time I would even be aware of what was happening, so I’d fall back asleep while thinking and waiting for another wave to hit.. and nothing…

Continue reading Part II