I was due on Saturday, July 22. My first two babies were born one day before their due date and my third baby was born two days after his due date. So I expected this baby to come pretty close to her due date, too. I was having a lot of contractions the week of her due date, but when July 22 rolled around there was no sign of labor.
Thankfully, her bedroom furniture (which I had only ordered two weeks prior) was ready for pick-up. We went to pick it up and then spent the day putting it together and unpacking all of the gifts/clothes that I had stashed away in her closet. It was a fun way to spend my due date since I was still pregnant. Her room is still a work in progress, slowly, but I will do a room reveal once I have it all finished.
As the days ticked by, I was having contractions that I was certain would turn into active labor. But each day, the contractions would last for a couple of hours and then die down and I would feel no where close to having a baby. I was doing the exercises that help the baby engage and it didn’t seem to help. I felt like a ticking time bomb. Nervous that once active labor did start, everything would progress quickly. Each day I woke up and thought, “Maybe today I’ll have a baby.” Every night at bedtime, Savannah would tell me she’s ready for me to have the baby.
I started to stress about the unknowns. What day would I finally go into labor? Which midwife would be on call? I really wanted Amy to be the one to deliver because she delivered my first baby, my only other girl, and I love Amy so much! What time of day would I go into labor? Savannah’s one wish was that I would have the baby during the day so that she could come to the birthing center to see the baby. Since we are usually home a few hours after the birth, she didn’t get to come to the birthing center last time because the baby was born at midnight and we were home by 3am. Would my birth photographer make it in time or get stuck in traffic? I actually dreamt that in the rush and chaos of being in labor, that I forgot to call her and she missed the birth completely. So many possibilities that were out of my control.
On Wednesday, July 26, I went to my “just in case” appointment that had been scheduled in the event I didn’t have my baby by then. I really couldn’t believe I was still pregnant. I had never been pregnant that long. That day, I was still smiling and happy and feeling okay. Everything with myself and the baby looked fine, so there was no reason for concern. I was scheduled for a stress test for the following Monday, in the event I was still pregnant.
By Thursday, I was done. I was tired of being pregnant. I was tired of people texting “No baby?”, but thankful for the texts saying, “Thinking about you.” I was tired of acid reflux every.single.night. I was tired of waiting. My attitude was bad and I was not happy. I went to bed early to get the day over with and hoped that I would have a baby the next day. I had cramps and contractions during the night, but that had already happened a few nights before, yet still no baby. All it did was make my attitude worse.
When I woke up Friday morning, the contractions subsided, yet again. The cramps were still there and those have always been my first sign of labor, but I had been cramping off and on for days. By the time Caleb got home from work, around 11:00am, I was emotionally frazzled. I didn’t want to talk. I sat on floor of my closet, in the dark, and cried as I did all of the pelvic tilts I could and praying that this baby would come soon.
Shortly after lunch, the contractions started again. I didn’t even talk about anything I was experiencing because every time I had in the past 2 weeks, nothing came of it. I’m sure Caleb felt like he was walking on eggshells around me. I went to lay on the bed, praying the cramps and contractions would turn into active labor. Every other time I had continuous cramps + contractions, laying down made them subside. But not this time!
By 2:00 p.m., I decided I should start timing them. They were ten minutes apart and I told Caleb. By 3:00, they were 7-8 minutes apart and we called my mom to come on down. She was the one who would be staying with the kids whenever I did finally go into labor. We also called the birthing center just to see who was on call and to give them a notice that we “should” be having a baby soon. Amy was on call! She told us to call back and head that way when my contractions were 5 minutes apart. I text my birth photographer, who I had been keeping up to date all week, that I was finally in active labor and we would let her know when we were on our way to the birthing center.
My mom was at my house by 3:30, but I wanted to labor at home as long as possible. Maddox had just woke up from his nap. Savannah and Hudson were outside playing with the neighbors. By 4:30, I had two or three contractions that were only 5 minutes apart, and strong. So we started to gather up our things, I loved on all of the kids and told them I was going to go have a baby. We took this picture in between contractions, about 10 minutes before we left the house.
The drive to the birthing center is about 25 minutes from our house. I only had two contractions on the drive there. I was so afraid, that for some reason, things were halting and I would be sent home until they start back up. One worry was relieved when we were able to make the drive down the highway without getting stuck in traffic. We got there around 5:30 p.m. and my birth photographer was already there. Whew!
Amy was there to welcome us in and take us upstairs to a birthing room. The same room in which I had all of my other babies. That was another little hope I had. She checked my cervix and I was dilated to 4cm, fully effaced, and baby’s head was super low. Amy said, “Well, you’re going to have a baby today. And 4cm doesn’t sound far, but you will progress quickly from here. The baby’s head is so low that you will not have to push for long, either.”
She started to fill up the birthing tub for me and I leaned on the edge of the bed with each contraction. The first few contractions were manageable, but it wasn’t long before they became stronger. Amy kept reminding me to relax and to not tense up with each contraction. Shortly after 6:00, Amy said I could get into the birthing tub whenever I was ready. I looked at her confused because they don’t typically let me in the water until I’m 7cm so that it doesn’t slow down any progress. She didn’t check me again, but she said she could tell by my demeanor that I was close to push time.
We had Christian music playing and the lights were dim. I got in the warm water and that always helps manage the pain. The contractions were probably two minutes, or less, apart. They were intense. After a few contractions, Amy told me that I could push whenever I felt the urge to do so. I wasn’t suppose to relax now. I needed to work with my body and find the strength to push this baby out. Caleb was outside the tub, holding my hand and wiping the sweat off of my head/face. I started to cry thinking about how I had longed for this day. How ready I was to hold my baby. And I was almost there.
After a couple of pushes, I told Amy I was feeling pressure on my pubic bone. She thought maybe the baby’s shoulder was stuck and suggested lifting my belly up and in on the next contraction. I didn’t have the strength to do that during the strong contraction, so Caleb did it for me. And that was the end of that pain. Then came the burning. Often referred to as the “ring of fire”, it hurt more and more with each push. During another contraction, I felt my water break. Just a few minutes later, at 6:50 p.m., my baby was born, lifted out of the water and placed in my arms, against my chest.
She was here! She didn’t cry and her complexion was pretty pale. Amy pinched her foot which instantly made her cry and with the crying brought the blood flow through her little body giving her a beautiful color. Then I checked to make sure it was really a girl {I might have been in a bit of denial all pregnancy}. My sweet girl, Cora Rose, was safely in my arms and I was so, so happy.
Her umbilical cord had been wrapped around her arm and she was born with both of her hands up by her face. That did not make birthing her any easier! I stayed in the tub, holding her, while we let the umbilical cord finish pulsing, getting all of those precious nutrients. She was perfect. All of my worries and fears were washed away and I was so thankful to be in that moment.
It was about 10 minutes or so before the cord finished pulsing and Caleb cut it. Then he held her while I got out of the tub and moved to the bed. I delivered the placenta and Amy looked it over, as they always do to make sure it is still in tact and nothing was left inside of me. That’s when she found that the umbilical cord was on the edge of the placenta rather than the center, as it should be. She went on the explain that when that happens, the baby is often deprived of the blood and nutrients needed to thrive and survive during pregnancy. When I told that part of the birth story to another midwife at Cora’s check-up a few weeks later, she simply said, “Wow! What a miracle.” Just another example of how God protected my baby girl and my pregnancy.
Amy measured Cora, checked everything she needed to for the Apgar score, and then weighed her. She was 20.5 inches, 13 inch head, 10/10 for the Apgar score, and weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce. My third eight pound baby! After Amy was finished, I nursed Cora and held her skin-to-skin. Caleb sent texts out to all of the family with the news and the stats and called my mom so that she could bring the kids to see their new baby sister.
My mom and sister arrived around 8:30 with Savannah, Hudson, and Maddox. My dad arrived shortly after they did. They were all so excited to see the new baby. Everyone took turns holding Cora and stayed for about 30 minutes before going home while we finished at the birthing center.
Caleb got Cora dressed before giving her her first adjustment and then I took an herbal bath. The nurse went over all of our take-home instructions and we were home by 10:00.
The kids were all in bed asleep and my mom and sister loved on Cora once more before they went home. Caleb and I got into bed, but all I could do was hold Cora, love on her, and soak in all of her tiny self. I felt so thankful. Thankful that labor/delivery was relatively short and quick, natural and drug-free, and everything I had hoped for. Cora is everything I that I had prayed for and I’m so thankful for how God provided the desires of my heart. This bible verse has never meant more to me and it hangs on display in her room.
I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. 1 Samuel 1:27