Beginning of Labor
It all started at 1 am, when I felt the water leaking in my sleep. I carefully scooted out of the bed and ran to the bathroom. It was definitely the amniotic fluid. I put on a diaper so I could catch some more and observe its color. It was a little greenish.
The presence of green color in water could be an indicator that the baby has passed meconium, and there is a chance that the baby may inhale it. It’s essential to recognize the signs and understand the potential consequences.
I called my midwife, Kristy, and we decided that she would come to check on me and the baby. 10 minutes after I had called Kristy, my contractions started. They were a bit more intense than early labor contractions, still short and coming every 3-5 minutes.
Midwife's Arrival
I decided not to wake up my husband in case it would be a long labor and I needed him to be rested.
Kristy arrived around 1:40 am, she checked the color of the water, it was light green; the baby’s heart rate was perfect, so there was no concern at the moment.
We also checked my progress and I was only 4cm dilated and 70% effaced. I was a bit disappointed since my contractions started to feel more intense.
Kristy decided that she’d stay, and I would go and rest. I also messaged my photographer, Carmen, since she lives an hour away, and she decided to head my way (those 4 cm didn’t fool anyone).
I could only stay in bed for 15 minutes as the contractions became longer and more intense…
Am I Ready Yet?
I came out of the bedroom and went back to the living room to find Kristy. All of our kids were sleeping in different bedrooms, so the living room was the best place for giving birth.
I walked around a little, moving my hips through contractions, but they became longer and more intense with each one, so that I wanted to be checked again just 25 minutes after Kristy had told me I was 4 cm.
Well, I knew those contractions were doing something as Kristy confirmed I was ready and told me to go wake up Alex.
This time, knowing that my body was ready, it was important to me not to rush into pushing (as I did with my previous birth) and let my body and the baby do the work for me.
As a person who likes to be in control of everything, it wasn’t easy to just let it go. Also, pushing is my least favorite part of birth. I can deal with contractions, but pushing scares me.
10 CM
Kristy suggested I check if I feel the baby’s head. I tried and couldn’t feel it at first, and then I realized that I was, in fact, feeling the molding of the head, and that was awesome.
I tried different positions to see what could bring the baby down. I was on the floor all the time: hands and knees, leaning on the couch, and moving my hips/tailbone up and down during contractions; I also tried sitting in a supported deep squat.
None of these positions felt right to push.
Also, my contractions became shorter and less intense for some reason…I guess I just got some time to rest before meeting my baby.
I was having fun and telling stories between contractions, but then I felt as if I wanted to poop. I had that feeling with a couple of my next contractions, but I wasn’t feeling like pushing yet…As I mentioned before…it just didn’t seem comfortable in those positions.
It's a Girl!
I was on my knees and leaning against the couch when the next contraction started, so I decided to find a better position, and I extended my right leg to the side. Kristy suggested pushing if I can. I started pushing, and I felt the head begin to crown. I kept my hand on the head, and Kristy said to keep pushing. Her voice gave me strength, and my body took over until the head was completely out.
Then I said, “What’s next now?” and with the next contraction, I pushed the rest of the baby’s body. I think I saw that it was a girl, but I haven’t said anything yet.
What a relief! I saw the clock on Kristy’s phone and realized that I’d given birth in just three hours. I was holding my new baby now. I finally moved to the couch, and a minute after our middle daughter woke up, five minutes after that, the oldest one joined. I think I woke them up with my screaming when pushing.
This time I felt blissful. It was a combination of relief and a love bubble. It felt as if I was high on life and everything was just perfect. I don’t remember feeling this with my previous births, but it’s possible that I didn’t recognize it at that time.
It was my favorite birth, the one that makes you want to have more. However, we decided that four is our number. For now, it is hard to accept it, but I also blame on the postpartum hormones.
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Sophia. Birth. Photography is a Dallas-Fort Worth birth photographer. She focuses on documenting raw birth and motherhood stories. Sophia serves families located in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex (Dallas, Fort Worth, Flower Mound, Irving, Denton, Allen, Plano, McKinney, Melissa, Anna, Van Alstyne, Arlington, Richardson, Little Elm).
