I realize that my blog is very out-of-the-loop, but I had another baby! Here is his birth story.
On Saturday, August 27th, I started having contractions that felt like more than Braxton-Hicks contractions. I felt them low across my abdomen, as opposed to just in the belly area. I started timing my regular contractions around 8:30pm, although they were about five minutes apart, not lasting too long, and were relatively easy to relax through (I was just reclining or lying down). My midwife was out of town, so I called her backup to let her know that I was pretty sure I was in very early labor. I also texted my doula, Megan, to have her on labor watch. Another indicator that this was the real thing was that my feet were cold. Normally, my feet are cold, but the last two months or so of this pregnancy my feet very often felt hot. So around 11:30, I decided to try to sleep if I could. Which I couldn't. Thankfully, I was still able to rest and didn't have to really focus on handling the contractions, even though they were still very regular and somewhat uncomfortable. I rested in bed, trying to sleep, for about an hour, when I decided to just get up instead of laying in my bed in the dark. I called the midwife again and gave her an update, and she suggested I time my contractions for a while and call her back. While I was resting, which was still possible, contractions were about five minutes apart (still), but while I was walking, they were closer to three minutes apart. I called her back and we decided to have her come over and sleep at my house, in the event that labor got serious quickly like it did with Ainsley. She arrived about 2:30am (I had to wake Adam up twice!) and we talked for a few minutes while she checked me out (took my temperature, and I think maybe my blood pressure? I don't remember) before we decided that I should try to sleep again, if I could. I laid down and I think I was able to actually get some sleep, dozing off and on, even through the still somewhat uncomfortable contractions. I woke up around 5:30 and waited in bed until the midwife woke up around 6:30. Since I was still in pretty much the same condition (regular contractions five minutes apart) as the night before, she did a vaginal check to see my progress. I was about 4 cm dilated and very effaced (I don't remember if she gave a percentage), but baby was still pretty high up. She said she still thought it could be a few hours, since he was so high, and that she thought she would go home for a while, but to call her and she'd come back. I figured that once I started walking, things would progress very quickly, but I thought I would let her run home and just have her come back in a little while and that we'd be fine. So she left around 7 or 7:30, and we called my doula Megan to come over. Meanwhile, the kids woke up around 7:15, and Declan started watching "So Dear to My Heart," and Ainsley went ouside with Adam. We called a friend from church to have her come get the kids, since labor was well under way. Then Megan arrived around 8, and I brought her up to speed with my labor and what the midwife had said. At this point, I was sitting up in bed, trying to see how I liked that for contractions. It was pretty uncomfortable, so I tried lying down for the next one, but that was also pretty uncomfortable, so I decided to get moving and try other things. Shortly after that, some of my contractions got stronger, so I called the midwife to come back. She lives about half an hour away, and she said she would get ready and head over. Pretty much as soon as I hung up with her, I had to really start focusing on handling my contractions. I tried going outside (I don't remember if it was just to see if I wanted to be outside, or if I had a reason to go outside), but came right back in and had a contraction as I was going up our entryway stairs, so I went on all fours at the top to finish out that contraction. Walking was ok, but once again I gravitated to the bathroom, and had Megan apply pressure to my back, since I started feeling a lot of pain there. I was sitting on the toilet for a strong contraction, and they started coming back to back with barely any break (for example, my contraction would end and I barely had a chance to get up off the toilet before the next strong contraction started). I had Megan get me a cool, wet washcloth, and I whipped my dress off, since I was feeling really hot. Our friend from church arrived to get the kids, and Adam got them out the door as I was loudly vocalizing (something between a roar and a yell) through the strong, back to back contractions. Just after they left, I came out of the bathroom into the kitchen, where Adam had set up a plastic-y tablecloth on the floor, and had another contraction with bad back labor. It must have been the next contraction that I had to push and baby's head came out, as I was standing up, leaning against the kitchen island for support. My mom, who had spent the night upstairs, had gone next door to my in-laws to get a cup of coffee, and came back in the door basically as this was happening, so she grabbed her camera, as Megan and Adam were there trying to catch the baby and encourage me not to breathe. I felt a really strong pressure on my butt and towards the front of my vagina as his head was born, and I said, "Oh baby, what are you doing to me?" I decided I didn't want to be standing up to deliver him, so I got down on my hands and knees for the rest of the birth, which was just a few contractions. My water had broken just prior to me leaving the bathroom for the kitchen, so baby's head came out with the deflated bag of waters on his face. Megan held baby while Adam got the bag off his face, and a couple of contractions after that, his shoulders and body were out. I flipped over onto my back and they put my newest little man onto my stomach. Archer Lyn was born at 9:05 am on August 28, weighing 7 lb, 8 oz, and measuring 20.5 inches long. Once again, the midwife missed the birth, and this time we didn't even have a chance to call her during for assistance. She arrived about ten minutes or so after he was born, and she was able to assist with delivering the placenta. My bleeding was minimal, I didn't tear (yay!) and I felt pretty good. Not as energetic as after I had Ainsley, but way better than after I had Declan. The active labor part of this labor was the fastest of my three, but it took more out of me than Ainsley's somewhat longer active labor.
Similarities:
* Vocalized during contractions like I did with Declan
* Got up to pretty much the same weight (150-151 lbs) with all three pregnancies, regardless of starting weight, which has been different each time (117, 107, and 109 in order)
Differences:
* Didn't get in the shower at all; used the shower for both previous labors
* Gave birth standing up and on all fours; previous births I was in a side-lying position
* Birthing contractions came back to back with no break (small breaks when I was on all fours); previous births I had much bigger breaks when I was pushing
* Felt pressure towards the front as opposed to the back when his head was born. That was weird. Maybe because I was standing up?
