Our June 9 due date came, went, and we originally scheduled to be induced on June 14, Flag Day, Josh pointed out. Then I got anxious that we were inducing too soon. I was nervous about all the risks of being induced, the complications that might result from being induced, about the baby not being ready, and my body not being ready. I truly believed my body would go into labor when it was time to do, yet I knew God was in control and wanted to trust Him, so we rescheduled for June 19 giving baby an extra ten days. My goal throughout pregnancy had been to deliver this baby naturally if I could, but if I needed pain meds, or a c-section, or whatever that I would not feel bad, or guilty, or shameful, or less of a woman for not having a natural birth. All I really wanted was a healthy baby and a healthy mama.
Those ten days we hoped and prayed that labor would start naturally. We did what we could to encourage baby to come. We walked about 3 miles every day, I kept doing my 100 squats every few day. But, we also enjoyed our last times as just husband and wife, we went to the lake, got donuts, whatever we wanted to relish those moments. As I had been the whole pregnancy, I prayed daily that God would be glorified in this baby's birth no matter the story of how it was birthed; yet I was still anxious about having to be induced.
The night before our induction we got all the bags together, set an alarm & went to sleep. Around 1 a.m. on June 19 I started having contractions every 10 minutes. Our induction was scheduled for 6:30a.m. I couldn't believe it was actually happening and I waited an hour or so before I told Josh because I didn't want them to go away, like telling him had any impact on that actually, ha! After telling Josh we called the birth center to let them know and ask when we were supposed to come in. They said to come in at 6:30a.m. since we had the induction scheduled & talk to the doctor, see how things were progressing and go from there. The rest of the night I tried to sleep but that was a little difficult as I was excited and thanking God for answering our prayers. At 6a.m. we showered, I always feel way better on a day I shower so even though we had a huge workout ahead of us, I felt more at peace having showered. We grabbed all our gear, I told the pups next time I came home I'd have a brother or sister for them & headed out the door.
At the hospital, after doing a check, I was 2 cm & 75% effaced, they gave us the option of starting induction or going home for 4 hours, then re-evaluating. Opting for the least invasive option & still wanting to do everything without medication we headed home. I kept praying the contractions would keep coming. They weren't painful at all but I did take deep breaths through them as needed to help my body continue relaxing and expand. We went for another walk then I walked around the house. I did more squats. I ate a little food, drank plenty water & kept praying. Towards the end of the 4 hours the contractions started to space out with 20 minutes in between it seemed which was the opposite of what we were wanting to happen. I laid down to try to relax some and around 12:30p.m. we headed out the door again & this time they admitted us when we arrived. We called my mom because she was my org support person I was planning to have in the room. My sister in law works in the birth center and was going to be working in a few hours and we were hoping she would be able to be there for the birth too!
After another check I was 2.5 cm & 80% effaced...small progress but progress nonetheless! They gave us the option of starting Pitocin, breaking my water then doing Pitocin if needed, or doing half a tab of Cytotec, after we inquired about this option. I opted for breaking my water which they did around 1:30pm. After starting to monitor my contractions they were actually coming every 7 minutes so apparently I just couldn't feel all of them. We were able to walk around the hospital as much as we wanted, every half hour or so we went back to be monitored for a bit. During one of our walks we saw a rainbow, a beautiful reminder that God is faithful and keeps his promises. We continued walking the halls as long as possible but then the contractions became so uncomfortable it was uncomfortable to walk longer distances so we stayed in the room. As the contractions started to get stronger I decided to try the yoga ball but sitting down was not comfortable so I kept standing, doing minor walking around the room, and breathing through each contraction.
The nurse suggested trying the tub to help which I wasn't wild about since I don't like baths to begin with but I said I would try the shower. Hello amazing! This made contractions closer together. It's such a weird phenomenon being in pain, knowing the pain is going to and needs to continue to get worse. After a while in the shower I was so tired so I decided to try the tub so I could sit down. Being in the tub was nice, the contractions didn't come as often but they seemed much much stronger and were terribly painful. I started to feel really warm, like too warm I decided to get out. At 8pm our doctor came in and said he wanted me to be at 5 cm by 10p.m. otherwise he would want to start Pitocin. I was at 4cm at this point. I knew I had to get to 5cm, so this became my goal, whatever it was gonna take to get there so we didn't have to do Pitocin, which was one of my biggest fears.
The shower had seemed to move the contractions along, it didn't feel THAT amazing but I knew it was making contractions come closer together, which was getting us to the goal, so I got back in the shower and stayed there for about 3 hours. At this point of being in the shower I was exhausted. I remember telling Josh after being in there for a little while I wanted to be done but he kept helping me through each contractions. He stood outside the shower and would hold my hand as I rocked through each contraction in the shower. My mom would read some of the birth affirmations I had written down on cards. He asked me once if I thought I needed to do something for the pain but I told him no. When he asked me I knew I could handle it, I was just exhausted & wanted to be done. At 10p.m. they checked & I was at 5cm! I was so happy and thankful that meant no Pitocin. From then on we just continued to get through each contraction. Josh helped me through almost every contraction, my mom stepped in for a few when Josh was getting a drink of water when one would start. Being in bed was terrible for contractions, every position I tried and had looked up in preparation for labor was terrible, so I stood for all of them and rocked from side to side while Josh held my hands and matched my breathing.
Close to 8cm I felt lots of pressure & wanted to push but they told me I couldn't yet and to keep 'pushing' through each contraction. The contractions were coming super close together & the pain never really went away before it started rising again with another contraction. This was one of the hardest things since I was never sure if I was going to get a break in between contractions. At 12:30a.m. they called our doctor and told him my progress. At 12:50p.m. I knew it was time to push . Our nurse checked my dilation my mom went out to get the nurse and she checked you standing up while I tried to go to the bathroom that's when she felt the head and she had stuck only like a pinky's length of her finger in. Though I totally did not hear her say any of this because I was in the zone. She said that I should go back to the bed and that she would check me again and then she had the other nurse on duty did the recheck.
At this point the nurses asked each other who wanted to deliver the baby because our doctor wasn't there yet, (he hadn't thought we would go so fast being a first time mom). Again, I didn't hear them saying this, when you're in the zone your in the zone! So, they told me I could start pushing. Pushing was difficult & painful but totally a different pain and difficulty than contractions. I pushed for about 10 minutes, a total of 4 long slow pushes & Cora was born at 1:05a.m. Feeling every inch of her being birthed and come out was totally amazing, one I hope to never forget. My favorite part of having absolutely no drugs was being able to feel everything. Even with the pain, being able to feel everything, being able to feel in control was wonderful. She came out, Josh announced it was a girl (we waited to find out baby's gender until then), they placed her on my chest, and the doctor walked in the door! He got to deliver the placenta so at least he got to do one of the two, and Josh got to cut the cord.
Woofda! God is so SO good! Almost daily I think back to how everything went and I am so thankful how God blessed us with this beautiful baby and this incredible story!
P.S. They say you typically follow what happened to your mom with your first baby. I was my mom's first baby, born 13 days late. Fun part is, she also went into labor with me the morning she was scheduled to be induced :)
Those ten days we hoped and prayed that labor would start naturally. We did what we could to encourage baby to come. We walked about 3 miles every day, I kept doing my 100 squats every few day. But, we also enjoyed our last times as just husband and wife, we went to the lake, got donuts, whatever we wanted to relish those moments. As I had been the whole pregnancy, I prayed daily that God would be glorified in this baby's birth no matter the story of how it was birthed; yet I was still anxious about having to be induced.
The night before our induction we got all the bags together, set an alarm & went to sleep. Around 1 a.m. on June 19 I started having contractions every 10 minutes. Our induction was scheduled for 6:30a.m. I couldn't believe it was actually happening and I waited an hour or so before I told Josh because I didn't want them to go away, like telling him had any impact on that actually, ha! After telling Josh we called the birth center to let them know and ask when we were supposed to come in. They said to come in at 6:30a.m. since we had the induction scheduled & talk to the doctor, see how things were progressing and go from there. The rest of the night I tried to sleep but that was a little difficult as I was excited and thanking God for answering our prayers. At 6a.m. we showered, I always feel way better on a day I shower so even though we had a huge workout ahead of us, I felt more at peace having showered. We grabbed all our gear, I told the pups next time I came home I'd have a brother or sister for them & headed out the door.
At the hospital, after doing a check, I was 2 cm & 75% effaced, they gave us the option of starting induction or going home for 4 hours, then re-evaluating. Opting for the least invasive option & still wanting to do everything without medication we headed home. I kept praying the contractions would keep coming. They weren't painful at all but I did take deep breaths through them as needed to help my body continue relaxing and expand. We went for another walk then I walked around the house. I did more squats. I ate a little food, drank plenty water & kept praying. Towards the end of the 4 hours the contractions started to space out with 20 minutes in between it seemed which was the opposite of what we were wanting to happen. I laid down to try to relax some and around 12:30p.m. we headed out the door again & this time they admitted us when we arrived. We called my mom because she was my org support person I was planning to have in the room. My sister in law works in the birth center and was going to be working in a few hours and we were hoping she would be able to be there for the birth too!
After another check I was 2.5 cm & 80% effaced...small progress but progress nonetheless! They gave us the option of starting Pitocin, breaking my water then doing Pitocin if needed, or doing half a tab of Cytotec, after we inquired about this option. I opted for breaking my water which they did around 1:30pm. After starting to monitor my contractions they were actually coming every 7 minutes so apparently I just couldn't feel all of them. We were able to walk around the hospital as much as we wanted, every half hour or so we went back to be monitored for a bit. During one of our walks we saw a rainbow, a beautiful reminder that God is faithful and keeps his promises. We continued walking the halls as long as possible but then the contractions became so uncomfortable it was uncomfortable to walk longer distances so we stayed in the room. As the contractions started to get stronger I decided to try the yoga ball but sitting down was not comfortable so I kept standing, doing minor walking around the room, and breathing through each contraction.
The nurse suggested trying the tub to help which I wasn't wild about since I don't like baths to begin with but I said I would try the shower. Hello amazing! This made contractions closer together. It's such a weird phenomenon being in pain, knowing the pain is going to and needs to continue to get worse. After a while in the shower I was so tired so I decided to try the tub so I could sit down. Being in the tub was nice, the contractions didn't come as often but they seemed much much stronger and were terribly painful. I started to feel really warm, like too warm I decided to get out. At 8pm our doctor came in and said he wanted me to be at 5 cm by 10p.m. otherwise he would want to start Pitocin. I was at 4cm at this point. I knew I had to get to 5cm, so this became my goal, whatever it was gonna take to get there so we didn't have to do Pitocin, which was one of my biggest fears.
The shower had seemed to move the contractions along, it didn't feel THAT amazing but I knew it was making contractions come closer together, which was getting us to the goal, so I got back in the shower and stayed there for about 3 hours. At this point of being in the shower I was exhausted. I remember telling Josh after being in there for a little while I wanted to be done but he kept helping me through each contractions. He stood outside the shower and would hold my hand as I rocked through each contraction in the shower. My mom would read some of the birth affirmations I had written down on cards. He asked me once if I thought I needed to do something for the pain but I told him no. When he asked me I knew I could handle it, I was just exhausted & wanted to be done. At 10p.m. they checked & I was at 5cm! I was so happy and thankful that meant no Pitocin. From then on we just continued to get through each contraction. Josh helped me through almost every contraction, my mom stepped in for a few when Josh was getting a drink of water when one would start. Being in bed was terrible for contractions, every position I tried and had looked up in preparation for labor was terrible, so I stood for all of them and rocked from side to side while Josh held my hands and matched my breathing.
Close to 8cm I felt lots of pressure & wanted to push but they told me I couldn't yet and to keep 'pushing' through each contraction. The contractions were coming super close together & the pain never really went away before it started rising again with another contraction. This was one of the hardest things since I was never sure if I was going to get a break in between contractions. At 12:30a.m. they called our doctor and told him my progress. At 12:50p.m. I knew it was time to push . Our nurse checked my dilation my mom went out to get the nurse and she checked you standing up while I tried to go to the bathroom that's when she felt the head and she had stuck only like a pinky's length of her finger in. Though I totally did not hear her say any of this because I was in the zone. She said that I should go back to the bed and that she would check me again and then she had the other nurse on duty did the recheck.
At this point the nurses asked each other who wanted to deliver the baby because our doctor wasn't there yet, (he hadn't thought we would go so fast being a first time mom). Again, I didn't hear them saying this, when you're in the zone your in the zone! So, they told me I could start pushing. Pushing was difficult & painful but totally a different pain and difficulty than contractions. I pushed for about 10 minutes, a total of 4 long slow pushes & Cora was born at 1:05a.m. Feeling every inch of her being birthed and come out was totally amazing, one I hope to never forget. My favorite part of having absolutely no drugs was being able to feel everything. Even with the pain, being able to feel everything, being able to feel in control was wonderful. She came out, Josh announced it was a girl (we waited to find out baby's gender until then), they placed her on my chest, and the doctor walked in the door! He got to deliver the placenta so at least he got to do one of the two, and Josh got to cut the cord.
Woofda! God is so SO good! Almost daily I think back to how everything went and I am so thankful how God blessed us with this beautiful baby and this incredible story!
Share your birth story with me below, I love reading them!
P.S. They say you typically follow what happened to your mom with your first baby. I was my mom's first baby, born 13 days late. Fun part is, she also went into labor with me the morning she was scheduled to be induced :)
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