Birth Story # 3- Harper Skye

 Harper is our newest addition. She truly is the best baby in the world and really, her birth story is my favorite one so far. When I found out I was pregnant in May 2013 I went to the same OB/GYN practice I had been using for my well-woman care because I had always liked it. What I quickly learned was that there is a big difference in the care I wanted being pregnant compared to what I needed for a once a year physical. So, about 2 months in I decided to go searching for a new practice. I found one near my home and decided to give it a try. It felt cold and I never felt like I had any control over anything. It was just coming in, waiting for 35 minutes to be seen and then getting pricked, poked, and prodded and sent on my home. Answers to my questions were brief and I was never asked about if I wanted all the tests and things they gave to me. I really felt like a number. Being that I didn't expect to be pregnant and I thought this might be my last time, I really wanted to make the most of the experience and savor every moment of the miracle of childbirth and I quickly realized that I needed a new plan of care to do that. I remembered a friend of mine had delivered at a birth center called Breath of Life so I asked her about it and she had such positive things to say that I decided to check it out.

So hubby and I went to an informational things they had when I was about 5 months along. Chris was very hesitant at first but I convinced him to go and we could just check it out. I think we were in the door all of 5 minutes and I just knew this was the place for us. Long story short, we loved the midwives, the facility, and the personalized, involved level of care. I have never felt more cared for or at ease with a medical professional in my life. After months of great midwifery care we reached the almighty due date! And there was nothing- not even a hint of labor. I tried to be strong but I was so ready to be done. Everyday I thought "this has got to be it for sure!" I was so afraid that I would have to be transferred to a hospital (after 42 weeks you can't deliver at a birth center in the state of Florida). I prayed, asked my friends to pray, my midwives prayed- basically we broke God's ear off asking for this baby to come before 42 weeks and like a last-minute miracle I began early labor at 41 weeks and 6 days! Just 12 hours shy of being forced to deliver at a hospital. God taught me and important lesson through that about keeping the faith even down to wire!

So labor begins on Sunday January 27 at home. It was slow so I was doing everything I could think of to help it along- I was bouncing on a labor ball, walking, and jiggling in every way I could thing of to put pressure on things. It got to be evening time and I decided to head to the birth center. I could have stayed at home longer but I felt more comfortable laboring with the kids safely at grandma's and us at the birth center in case things took a midnight turn. When we got there we were greeted my Chris (one of the midwives) and she led us to our super comfy room that was all ready for us to settle in to. My contractions stayed 5-7 minutes apart for a LONG time. I even remember sleeping in short spurts and Chris got to sleep for a while as well (we were grateful for that later). In the early morning things began to get more uncomfortable. I had to move a lot more and my labor sounds were becoming a bit louder but I could still talk and joke between contractions so it felt totally workable.

Then things began to ramp up quickly and it became harder to feel like chatting and I began to feel nauseated. Everly (another midwife) began massaging my feet with eucalyptus oil and my nausea immediately began to subside (plus it felt like a spa for a few minutes between contractions) By about 10am things really became intense and even with my super supportive hubby and the talented team of birth professionals I was struggling to find relief so I went ahead and got into the birth tub. I can't really tell you where I was dilated to at this point because midwives to constantly monitor that because it's not really needed and it just adds to the discomfort but if I had to guess I'd say 7 which it the phase known as "transition". Ahhhhhhh........ I immediately felt like things became more manageable. The contractions were still fast and furious but I found them to be much easier to manage in the nice warm water. Harper continued to make her way and I tried pushing probably a bit too early. I think I somehow felt that I could will her out of my body and end this but it doesn't really work that way :) I remember Everly kept trying to get me to change positions in the tub but I was not hearing that- I am a pretty stubborn gal in everyday life so you can imagine how non compliant I was in labor. Poor Everly tried though but one of my favorite things about birthing at the birth center was that no one made me do anything. I was always asked and I always felt free to say no.

At one point I was contracting heavily but she didn't seem to be getting out and under my pelvic bone the way she should so the midwife asked if she could do a quick exam. She discovered that a little flap of my cervix was not moving out of the way so baby could move along. So she had to kinda push it back while I was contracting so baby could slide past it- this was probably one of the more painful moments of labor but it only lasted a minute and after she did that things went really quickly! Within a half hour or so at 12:34pm on January 28, 2013 I was holding little Harper in my arms surrounded by my husband and the midwives and birth assistants that had invested so much time, love, and prayers into bringing this baby into the world. I could not believe the immediate relief and emotion that came to my body the minute she appeared!

She was placed into my arms and I got to hold her there as long as I wanted. One of the many joys of delivering at a birth center is that you get to savor those first precious moments. After a while she was handed off to her daddy and he took her to have some skin-to-skin time in the next room while I got all cleaned up (really I just sat there and the birth team did the cleaning) then I was helped back to bed and got Harper back from Daddy. One notable difference is that no one in the birth team took the baby to do anything except a quick wipe down just before handing her to daddy. There was no rush to get a weight or poke her with stuff. Harper was all ours. When I did feel ready to let her out of my arms for a few minutes they did most everything right there by my bed. She weighed in at a whopping 10lbs 3 oz and 21.5 inches! I would have never guessed she was that big! If someone had told me she was that big before I went into labor I might have worried about being able to deliver a child that size but thankfully, our bodies are designed to handle babies big and small.

Recovery from a natural water birth was the easiest I'd ever had. almost immediately I was ready to be up and around. I required no stitches and had very little pain. As a matter a fact the team at the birth center had to make me stay put! After 4 hours I was feeling great and allowed to take Harper home and so off we went with our perfect little, water born bundle of joy.

I'd like to say a special thanks to the wonderful team at Breath of Life. I wish I had had all my children there. The care is unparalleled and it was an absolutely magical experience for our whole family!

Everly handing me Harper immediately after she was born.

Posted in: Life, Parenting