"How was it?" and other similar questions were asked after I gave birth to our first child.
People were great and did check-in, asking, "How are you and the baby doing?" and giving us well wishes, but "How was it?" or "How'd it go?" were definitely the most commonly asked, especially among moms who are currently pregnant, so READ ON if you are interested!
***I especially found it helpful to read or ask other people their birth stories/situations as I approached my due date, so if you are due soon, this might be a great read for you!
My Birth Plan or Birth "Wish List"
Lots of people say "don't bother making a birth plan" because things won't go according to plan. Yes, that is possibly true, but think of it as a wish list. Having things go as CLOSE as to the way you'd want them is really important in having a less stressful birth experience, but yes, accept the fact that things may not happen the way you want them to so that you also have a less stressful experience when things do end up possibly changing.
From the beginning, I chose to see midwives versus OBs. With midwives, I got to see and get to know 2 ladies throughout my pregnancy rather than one OB. I heard plenty of stories of how many people that saw an OB throughout their pregnancy ended up not having them be the one to deliver their baby, so if that's important to you, then midwives might be the way to go! My midwives were great and encouraged that I make a birth plan so that we had some talking points in the last few weeks to see what I wanted and what was doable based on our hospital. (You can download birth plan apps or print templates off of the internet).
Here are some of the things that were on my birth "wish list". We were blessed with this birth to be able to have everything we wanted met.
For during Labor
lights dim - yes
free movement - yes, but because we were at the house most of my labor. lol
no medication - yes
nitrous oxide - not needed
natural water rupture - yes, as she was coming out actually
pitocin only if necessary (used to induce labor) - yes, but not for labor
food and drink for mama - yes, wasn't at the hospital long enough to want to eat
no episiotomy (surgical cut) - not needed
no forceps or vacuum extraction - not needed
For after Birth
partner to cut cord - yes, Ben got to
delayed cord clamping - yes
immediate skin to skin - yes, right after she came out
breastfeeding ASAP - yes, tried
delayed eye treatment - yes, later that night
delay exams - yes
no hep. B - yes, not yet
delayed bath - yes
partner with baby during treatments and tests - yes, except for one because Ben and I were both sleeping so I said "it's fine. I trust you" to the nurse. lol
baby to stay in room at all times - yes, this is our hospital's standard
The Days Leading Up
So, Zoe was born on a Saturday (March 7).
I had cramps and contractions for about 2 weeks, but they were just gas cramps and Braxton Hicks (practice) contractions.
Thursday (March 5)
I worked a normal day. I had contractions and cramps pretty strong and close together, about 7-8 minutes apart. I asked this Mommy Support Group I'm a part of on Facebook to describe their contractions because what I was feeling was pretty different, but still manageable. Most of the comments said they were just Braxton Hicks. They went away after a while, so I didn't worry about having a baby that day.
Friday (March 6)
Again, I worked a normal day. After work, I had the energy to clean the house before my childhood best friend came. Even vacuumed myself with our clunky Rainbow vacuum. Xyryll got to my house around 7:30 that evening. It was kind of funny because we didn't hear the doorbell from our master bathroom and I missed her call, so she thought I went into labor as she drove over and we weren't able to text her before we left. lol
When I opened the door, Xyryll said to my belly "party's here!" haha. I swear Zoe just waited for her auntie to come. Xyryll was actually supposed to come Saturday night, but she decided to come Friday so that she could just head on over after she got off work (we live 2-3 hours apart). All 3 of us had a good time, chatting, catching up, talking about the baby, eating dinner, showing her the baby room and having her geek out over all the baby stuff, etc.
The Big Day
The following events happened within 13 hours
Saturday (March 7)
Around 7 am
I woke up to a cramp in my stomach, and they kept coming and going, so I started to time them. Ben was still sleeping. I didn't wake him as I didn't think much of it. They were about 6 minutes apart (the gray bars in the screenshots show the time between).
Keep in mind that I'm just timing my contractions. I wasn't telling Ben or Xyryll exactly how far apart they were because I was doubtful I was going into labor.
Similar Dreams
When Ben woke up, he said that he had a dream where I was mad at him, and I said "no way! I had a dream where I was mad at you too!" lol
HIS dream was about me going into labor, then going to the hospital without him, but being mad that he wasn't with me.
MY dream was about me going into labor, Ben drove, and he was going WAY too fast. I was mad at him because I kept telling him that he could slow down, but he wasn't listening to me at all. I actually woke up crying in the middle of the night because I was so mad! haha
The Big Day cont...
9:49 am
I went to pee and had bloody show. (If you are expecting, it's nothing scary. Just a slight tint on your toilet paper or underwear.) My contractions were about 5 minutes apart. Some even just 2 minutes apart.
We made Kodiak pancakes with Nutella, strawberries, and powdered sugar. I ate a bunch of them! Xyryll woke up and had breakfast with us. I guess no one could tell I was having contractions the whole time because I was handling them like bad cramps and going about my day.
1:13 pm
I lost my mucus plug. Me and Ben were Googling away at that point and found out it could still be days before you go into labor (even though I was in labor lol). I even called my midwife (ended up talking to a nurse) about what has happened so far. She said it definitely sounded like I was in labor but to wait an hour until they got stronger (I didn't think they were getting stronger, but I was just getting used to the contractions). They were less than 5 minutes apart.
We hung out in the living room, watching the Office, and I sat on my exercise ball. It was actually uncomfortable to sit low like that (probably because Zoe's head was right there haha).
2:30 pm
I was getting more and more uncomfortable. It was a blessing to have Xyryll there. She was like my personal doula as she is a mother as well. She recommended positions to get comfortable (wall sits for counterpressure on my lower back, etc.), made me drink water, and cut-up fresh fruit for me.
She even did my eyebrows "just in case" I gave birth that day.
Without her, I might've given birth at home! I was still in doubt even though my contractions were taking my breath away. I told them to turn off the TV because trying to hold back laughing at the Office made it super hard to handle my contractions! lol
They were getting to the point where I had to cover my ears to listen to my deep breaths. That seemed to help.
Xyryll said that I should get ready, so I did, and Ben made sure everything was in the car.
4:37 pm
We headed out the door.
Xyryll helping me put my shoes on
On the way to the hospital, I was so uncomfortable (I'm using the word "uncomfortable" because having gone unmedicated, contractions are not "painful" compared to feeling your baby come out). I even said something like "I hope I'm at least 3 centimeters (note this for later) so we don't get sent back home" (we live 45 minutes from the hospital).
I let my family know that we were headed to the hospital and that we'd let them know the status so they don't head over until it's for sure game time. Ben called his family. When his dad answered, the conversation wasn't very long and I had two contractions during!
Also, no one really talked about how NORMAL you feel between contractions.
Around 5:30 pm
We got to the hospital. I had 5 huge contractions (that I remember) before getting up to Labor and Delivery. One at the car as Ben was getting stuff out of the trunk, one right outside the hospital doors, one at check-in, one in the hallway (I wanted to walk up rather than be wheelchaired), and one when I got up to the Labor and Delivery Unit.
My contractions were about 2 minutes apart.
Around 6 pm
In triage, they checked how dilated I was. Let's just say, that was super uncomfortable. The nurse said "Yeah, you're about 7 to 8 centimeters". I literally LOLed in shock.
Before leaving triage to head to my delivery room
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