I had this prodromal labor all morning. Really irregular contractions. I didn't take the pills again yet because I wanted to make a spicy curry lunch which might antidote them. We were busy with a few things anyway. So early afternoon I took homeopathics again. It gave me a push but there was still no regular patten. I found it significant that between 3:30-4:30 while I lay on the couch I timed consistent contractions about 5 min apart. But as soon as I got up and moved they went back to being off/on, irregular both in frequency duration and intensity.
Rychen and I lay down to watch a TV show and they really fizzled out it seemed. Plus I was getting sleepy and not in the mood for games!
Ate dinner, discussed false labor with my mom who had 8 kids and had her fair share. I thought that's what it was and felt pretty down. Just wanted to go to bed and try tomorrow. I had to give Elisabeth a shower first and I had a few successive contractions there.
After giving her a shower I got in the bath per mom's advice to try to make the "false labor" stop. I just felt down so I called my cousin Alyssa for a pep talk since she is a birth warrior with six kids! Contractions did not stop.
Couldn't decide if I wanted to walk and encourage it or just rest. I guess a part of me wasn't ready for it to get going and I still felt tired and a bit despondent, so I rested in bed. Felt a strong contraction in my hips and was like "Back labor? No thank you!" So I crawled on my hands and knees up and down the hallway to flip the baby, all while giving the two older kids instructions for going to bed. They needed so much attention and I was getting irritable! Just go to bed and let me deal with labor! (My 10-year-old said "you're not in labor"--I guess he expected me to be louder?)
After putting them to bed I just wanted to lay and snooze and hopefully get through the night, since it still didn't seem like serious labor. My husband and I lay down (about 8:30 pm) and I had a few strong contractions, enough to hold his hand and really focus on my breathing. In my mind I said "I surrender. I allow myself to open and my baby to come down". I guess that psychological conceding was just the trick I needed because right away things really picked up and I felt a lot of pressure. I thought I must have to go the bathroom, and while I was standing in the bathroom I was overcome by a series of intense contractions. I just stood in the bathroom hanging on to my husband! My sucking urge kicked in and I sucked his hand a bit (is that just me? I get this oral fixation in labor) I must have been in transition. Which means all the irregularity was in fact "active labor."
We filled the tub and I got in. We let our birth team know things were for real. These intense contractions continued one on top of the other for about an hour. I gnawed on my husbands thumb with each one!
When he needed to grab something there'd be a little hesitation as I cling to him, and I'd tell him when I was ready for him to jump up quick. But it's interesting when communication is difficult! For example I was getting cold but couldn't express that. I turned on the hot water myself--the bath was already full but it felt nice to have a hot stream i could touch. Another time I wanted a stimulating oil and reached to my selection to find peppermint (honestly for some reason it's easier to attempt doing the action myself than to say the words "peppermint oil"!) but I managed to communicate it and he began giving me whiffs of peppermint and lemon for mental vigor. He also put a small pillow on the bath ledge which was nice to put my forehead on.
As we neared pushing, My body naturally began panting and shaking with the contractions. I could feel the head about 2 inches inside me, with a large cervical lip. So for about 20 minutes, I focused hard with each contraction, visualizing the lip going back and praying, and saying "I release this, I release any and all blocks or hesitancies that could be involved." Etc
I kept checking myself every few contractions but I had mixed feelings because it would bring on a stronger one each time afterward. So finally I felt the lip gone and got a good feel of the head--hair and some kind of a funny ridge. I thought baby might not be presenting ideally. So I focused with each contraction on talking to baby. "Chin down please!" And in between I stood up to move my hips around, such as putting one foot up on the bath ledge in a deep side lunge position. Then as each contraction began I would kneel back down in the water and pant some more and grasp my husband. It's interesting how people say "try to let your body push by itself, go slowly, just pant" and I was keeping that in mind, although I wasn't really controlling what I was doing. My body automatically did the panting, and I didn't have a strong pushing urge. I think only twice (not consecutively) did I feel the need to give a push, and they are big pushes with a loud roar!! Of course this meant clearing my bowels the first one which actually felt nice to relieve some pressure.
I felt a stretch as the head emerged and then my body stopped for a minute and just rested. It was a new experience for me--my other two unhindered births, they were smaller and just shot out all at once like a rocket! So I thought it was funny to have a head out, just chilling! (I considered standing up out of the water to show Rychen. Good thing I didn't because in retrospect to I remember the fact that the baby would have taken its first breath and it would be dangerous to get back down in the water.)
So after a minute another contraction came and the rest slid out. Always an amazing, indescribable moment! All I could do is shout "oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" And lift baby up. I held baby across my arm, face down. It was 10:00 pm. Baby snorted her first breath and then got real quiet and I realized she had slept through her birth! She lay contentedly in my arms for several minutes as we called in everyone to come see (including my friend who lives close by who wanted to come as soon as possible!) after my friend arrived we all peeked together and saw it was a girl!!
I got out for the placenta to be delivered, walked around, but since the bleeding was fine I thought why hurry? I need to lay down and rest. But after a few minutes I changed my mind. I know people who wait and let it come leisurely but I'd just rather have it over with! So I followed Lennon's tips, and it took longer than previous times but it finally came out about 10:45. All the while holding (nursing some) baby attached to me. I wasn't opposed to cutting the cord but it just didn't happen with the various hubbub. Again, I had to talk to myself and release any subconscious beliefs blocking it (They say letting the placenta go is the final goodbye to pregnancy and sometimes we resist that. Could have been true for me, this pregnancy was a long road with lots of learning, growth, and faith. The last couple weeks really weren't bad at all. It was like a friendship I had come to appreciate).
So finally I got to lay down and nurse my baby. Lennon took care of the cord, helping my 10-year old to cut it. I had some snacks and Lennon finished things up (cleaning, giving me advice, etc) and a while later weighed baby at 8 lbs 14 oz (I delayed taking the baby from me because she would cry out loudly when she was disturbed) and we put the kids to bed (again!) at now 1:00 am.
My husband went down to eat his dinner while I just marveled at the whole thing!! Birth is so amazing. Our bodies are created in such beautiful harmonies, and it's a wonderful thing to experience pure, undisturbed instinct. To be the one "in charge" of my own birth and yet surrender because I am really just a passenger as God works his glory through me. Childbirth is truly the pinnacle of a woman's creation. It's such an honor to experience it.
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