Birth story

And nearly a month later, I give you...Josie's birth story! Warning: this is a birth story! It is messy! It is painful! I talk about the dilation of my cervix! Jump on in!

I was starting to feel like this baby was never going to come out on her own. My goal was to deliver naturally with as little medical intervention as possible so I really didn't want to be induced, but I was also really done with being pregnant. I had an induction scheduled for July 5th as a last resort.

My decision to try to "go natural" wasn't made based on any real hard and fast reasons. I first started thinking about it because our maternity coverage is crap and I saw that if I did get an epidural, none of it would be covered. Then I did a little research and started feeling more confident that I could actually do this. I had an epidural with Lily and had a great experience, but I was curious about how things would go without an epidural, or pitocin, and I kind of wanted to test my limits and see what my body was capable of on its own. I readily admit that I would have considered this crazy talk when I was pregnant with Lily, but there you have it.

So! Back to being far too pregnant. On Saturday, July 2nd, I decided that I was going to walk 3 miles, and if that didn't get this baby out I was going to lay around and pout and eat until I was induced. Dirk and I did our walk, and then we took a family trip to the community pool. I was having some contractions at the pool but was unimpressed; I'd been having erratic contractions for the last couple of weeks. We all took a little nap, and around 2:30 pm I started noticing that the contractions were getting more regular. By 4:30 it was time to farm the children out, and some awesome friends kindly took Lily and Dirk off of our hands.

I had decided to pay for a doula to help me out because, let's face, neither Tim nor myself knew anything about natural childbirth, and I wanted an expert around. I called the doula around 5 pm and she said I didn't sound like I was in active labor yet and advised me to come in after shift change at 7 pm. We arrived at the hospital around 7:15 and, nerd alert! I proceeded to have a long, in-depth conversation with my nurse about The Lord of the Rings, in between contractions.

TIM'S TAKE ON THIS MOMENT: "The best part is that the guy [the nurse] kept looking at me like I had any idea what you guys were talking about, and I definitely didn't."

The doula came in and made more comments about how I was probably still just in early labor. I told Tim I didn't think anyone was believing that I was really in labor, and maybe I needed to be more dramatic? Finally the nurse got around to checking me and said, "Well, I wouldn't have guessed this, but you're at a 7." Hallelujah! That got everyone moving real quick to get us admitted to Delivery.

The contractions were definitely more intense at this point, but they seemed pretty short so I was managing the pain much more easily than I thought I would be. Once I was admitted I was able to get into the bath tub and that was great. Tim and the doula hung out in the room chatting while I was in the bathroom with the lights off, chilling. A little bit before 10 pm the contractions started kicking it up a notch, and the doula came in to talk me through them. She was saying some pretty hilarious stuff like, "This is the last time you're going to be able to bond with your baby in this way. Guide her. Parent her." At that point I asked her to get Tim so that a) he could hear what she was saying and we could laugh about it later and b) she would stop. Pretty soon I was feeling like it was time to push, so the nurse, the doula, and Tim all tried to help me get out of the tub.

TIM'S TAKE ON THIS MOMENT: "I really didn't think we were going to get you out of the tub in time."

It was hard to move because the contractions were much more painful and coming more quickly. It was at this point I realized why there are so many pictures and videos of women delivering naturally while buck naked. It's because when you get to that point, you really don't care. Who needs a gown? Who cares? There's a baby coming NOW! This is why we don't have any pictures of me post-delivery with Josie in my arms. Well, that and the fact that I couldn't stop shaking and shivering and it took them a little while to clear Josie's lungs out and get her screaming properly. Wait! Back to getting out of the tub.

So Tim, the nurse, and the doula were helping me make my way to the bed and right before I could get onto the bed I told them I had to push. They had me put my hands on Tim's shoulders and the nurse got underneath me in the event that a baby came out and then...my water broke and I splattered that poor woman with amniotic fluid. Sigh.

TIM'S TAKE ON THIS MOMENT: "I've been needing new shoes anyway."

Then friends, things got a little crazy. I screamed and yelled as I have never screamed and yelled before. I kept screaming, "Get her out of me! Just GET HER OUT OF ME!" I only pushed for half an hour and I really have no idea how women do that for longer, because it was crazy hard and I kind of thought I was going to die. It was pretty crazy having my whole body completely focused on only one thing: just getting that baby out.

TIM'S TAKE ON THIS MOMENT: "Everyone kept looking at me to make sure I was ok. And I was ok."

TIM'S TAKE ON NATURAL CHILDBIRTH: "If it were up to me, you'd be induced and get the epidural right away. Just sayin'."

Then Josie was born, and it was amazing, just like it was amazing when Lily was born, because there was this little person that I'd been waiting so long to meet, finally in my arms.