Zoe's Birth

Zoe's birth is the beginning of our life as a family of four. I typed out the birth story from my perspective. It's long, so if you're not particularly interested, just scroll down for a few pictures!

I was due September 15, and while it would have been very cool to have two due date babies, I was not too surprised when the day came and went with no baby. So, I continued to go to work and try to get us and the house ready for company that weekend and for baby's impending arrival. I was kind of expecting to go into labor over the weekend, when my parents and  brother and sister-in-law would be here to watch Eli when needed. 

I woke up early on Friday morning around 4:30 with some cramping. Hmm...I thought, maybe this is the beginning of something. I went back to sleep and woke up around my normal work day wake up time of 5:40. I was still getting this off and on cramping and went ahead and took a shower to see if it would stop and because I hadn't quite decided if I was going to go into work or not. After my shower, I decided that I was probably in early labor and that even though I was not in a lot of pain, there was no way that I was going to be able to concentrate to be a good worker. Also,  I had a bunch of stuff I still wanted to do around the house and a meeting I wanted to avoid at work anyway, so I decided that I was going to enjoy the early part of my labor and get stuff done at home rather than stress about being somewhere else. When I woke Neil up to tell him of my decision, he surprised me by saying he would still go to work for a while. It was a day at school that if he went in for an hour or two, he wouldn't need a sub and would be able to finish getting things ready for the sub for the next week.  So, Neil and Eli went to work and daycare like it was a regular day. I called my mom to let her know that I thought I was in early labor, and she and the rest of the group coming up decided to skip work too and go ahead and head up here.

So, I was on my own for a few hours in the morning. I packed food and clothes and stuff for the birth center, cleaned up the house (including scrubbing the kitchen floor--I've always heard you're supposed to do that in early labor!) . I was fairly busy while Neil was gone and was happy to  sit and watch West Wings with him when he got home about 9:30 or 10:00. I sat on the exercise ball bouncing away while crocheting and watching tv. It was pretty fun. My family got here around 11:30 or 12:00 and we chatted for a while before sending Neil out to Five Guys for burgers for lunch. YUM! After lunch, we played a new board game that my brother had. 

At this time, I realized that sitting was not helping along my labor, but I was having a good day and didn't really care! Towards the end of the game, mom and dad went to pick Eli up from daycare and pickup milkshakes from steak and shake. More yum! At about 4:00, I realized that my contractions were more consistently in the every 5 minutes range, and while they were not very intense or long, I talked to my midwives to see if I should come in to be checked. Friday evening traffic can get pretty bad around here, and I wanted to be closer to the center in case things started going quickly. So, mom, Neil and I packed up and headed to the center. We got there at around 5:30, I got checked and was at a 5. I was definitely in labor, but still had a ways to go. My midwife recommended that we go for a walk and maybe get dinner and come back in a couple of hours. So, we went to Kohl's, because I had a 30% off coupon:) It was kind of fun walking around the store in labor. We looked at all kinds of things and ended up buying some shirts for Neil, a toy for Christmas for Eli, and a Panini grill for me. My parents had one and really liked it, and they offered to buy me one, so I let them. I got a dishwasher from them while I was laboring with Eli, so it seemed right to get another kitchen appliance during this labor!

After a quick stop at a used dvd store, we settled on pizza for dinner (which took way too long), and got a coffee for my mom and some chocolate for me before heading back to the birth center. We got back at about 8:30, and when I was checked again, I was at a 6. Still dilating, but slowly. So, I agreed to try some herbs, since I didn't want to be in labor all night long, I was already getting tired. So, for the next hour and a half, I leaned over a birthing ball, alternating blue and black cohash and watching the West Wing dvds that we brought with us. The midwife had me tell them when I was beginning and ending a contraction since I was able to get through them with just breathing and they weren't sure how often and long they were. By the end of the second West Wing, they were getting closer and more intense. The midwife's assistant asked me if I wanted to try the tub. I thought that was a fabulous idea. I got checked before getting in the tub and was a 7, but my water was bulging and the baby had definitely moved down. They asked if I wanted my waters broken, and I declined, knowing it would happen on its own pretty soon.

On the couch while watching West Wing

I went to the bathroom before getting in the tub, and my water broke. So, yeah, soon. The tub felt great! Although it was draining constantly, so we had to try to stop up the drain with a washcloth, which was kind of funny. The contractions were definitely more intense  at this point, and I had to verbalize through some of them. I had to concentrate on Neil's breathing so I could breath correctly and remind myself to relax--both of these really helped. The next thing I remember, they were asking to check me again, and then asking if I was planning on having the baby in the water. I told them that I was certainly not getting out of the tub at that point, so sure a water birth it was! I guess I was complete when she checked, but I didn't realize it. I thought she was just trying to prepare, not that baby was almost here! Anyway, after a couple more contractions, I felt like I really had to poop, but didn't particularly want to poop in the tub so held it in. I think it took me a couple of contraction like that before the midwife said something about pushing and I asked lamely--oh, I can push now? I really wanted to push but wasn't cause I thought it was poop! 

Anyway, after trying to "breath the baby down" during contractions, I think part of her head was out, and the midwife asked me to push more. I responded that I wasn't having a contraction and she said it was okay to wait for the next one. So we did and a couple of contractions later, the baby was out and on my chest. The last part all happened so fast--it was about 11:00 when I got in the tub and she was born at 11:36--that I was in complete shock. I was just holding her and kissing her and it was awesome. We stayed in the tub until after the placenta came out, and the cord stopped pulsing and it was cut (by daddy!). She and I were covered in vernex, even though she was a couple of days late.

Right after the birth

Chilling in the tub

We got out of the tub and snuggled into the nice bed at the birth center for a while.  Zoe took to nursing like a champ. She nursed for probably an hour and a half before we did anything else. That was another neat part about giving birth at the center. They waited to do her newborn checkup until we were ready to do it, which ended up being a couple of hours after she was born. Of course, we already knew she was perfect, but they confirmed that with a more thorough examination. She weighed 8 pounds and 4 ounces and measured 21 inches long. She also had tons of very dark curly hair. We had some more time to rest before we headed home. We originally got to the birth center around 5, left for a while and returned at 8:30, had the baby at 11:36 and were home by 4:30 in the morning. Not bad! We didn't get a whole lot of sleep, but it was so much better than being on monitors for hours and having to be away from home for days. I definitely recommend a birth center birth for anyone who is able to have one!

Zoe and Daddy!

During her first exam

Another of Zoe and Daddy

 

Going home!