Willow's Birth Story

We left our hospital testing on Monday morning with plans to induce labor that night. Baby Girl's fluid levels were 5.28 cm, and the nurses recommend induction at 5.0 and lower. The ultrasound technician first measured the fluid at 4 something and then retried for the 5.28 reading. We decided it was too close, we didn't want to take any chances and so we'd return that night. 

It was strange because I had been thinking all along the 26th would be the day. It was the night of the full moon, Simone's half birthday, and I woke up that morning full of energy and plans to bake and cook and clean all day long. 

Instead, I went to the grocery store, prepared some snacks for labor, made sure Lane and Cynthia knew when to come home and packed last minute things. 

Gabriela, our little sweetheart, was in tears when we left. She was so scared. I felt awful and Lane and I both cried as we drove away. I tried talking with her before about how this might be a difficult experience, waiting again for the baby to be born at the hospital. But she didn't seem phased in our conversation and I didn't want her to walk away feeling like she was supposed to be worried or nervous. So we just left it at that. 

6:15: 

we were admitted to our labor room. Lane and I set up the room with our decorations, I got out our special blankets, my labor supplies, snacks. 

7:15: I got cervadil to ripen my cervix. My midwife explained that this would be a boring night, the cervadil gel would be placed by my cervix and left there until the morning. The nurse rolled in a cot for Lane so he could sleep, I brought books and games to keep us busy. My midwife left an order for medication to help me sleep, if I wanted. She said occasionally, some people go into labor with cervadil, but it was very rare. She told me I could eat whatever I wanted two hours after the medication was placed. In the morning, I could shower, eat a nice breakfast, and then we would determine if my body was ready for a dose of pitocin. So she placed the medication, noting that I was only a "fingertip" dilated, not even one centimeter. Later, I was shocked when my nurse said inductions can take two to three days sometimes. What were we getting ourselves into??

8:15 About an hour after getting my cervadil, Lane started massaging my legs and pressure points with clary sage essential oil. I started noticing some mild contractions, but they were only slightly uncomfortable.

9:30: Lane left to pick up some dinner from Whole Foods. I was totally fine just hanging out without him, still having very mild but noticeable contractions. 

He returned with dinner and a beer. I took pictures of him with his feet up, enjoying his beer. We talked and ate dinner. But then I started wondering if my contractions were actual labor,  maybe I shouldn't be eating a full meal. 

I was under the impression that this would be a very long process. I didn't even want to start using up my labor tricks because it was so early. I was nervous about how I would handle things once labor actually got going. And that wasn't supposed to be until the next day. 

10:45:  By this time, I was fairly certain I could call what I was experiencing labor. The contractions were coming more frequently and getting stronger. Laying in bed was not going to help my labor progress, so I got up and onto the birthing ball. This was such a relief on my lower back and hips. 

My contractions got even more intense and I started wondering if we should tell Lindy, my midwife. The whole time though, I rolled around on that ball, practiced very deep breathing, reminding myself of all the birth affirmations I had been practicing in preparation for this experience. All the while, I was focused on my rainbow banner, sure to keep my hands and mouth relaxed to encourage the rest of my body to do the same. 

11:30: My contractions intensified even more. I vomitted up my dinner.  My nurse notified my midwife that my contractions were coming one on top of another and were getting even more painful. I had gone from breathing very deeply through contractions to low vocalization, sometimes needing reminders from Lane to slow down my breathing and keep my intonation low. 

11:50: My midwife ordered the nurse to remove the cervadil now, instead of in the morning. My contractions were overworking my uterus, and I needed a break. So the cervadil came out and my nurse informed me that it should take thirty minutes or so for the medication to wear off, that I should notice a decrease in the contractions, that they should start coming less frequently. I was so happy to hear this. I needed a break. There was just no way I'd make it through a long labor at this pace. I waited and waited for those contractions to slow down, but they never did. After she removed the cervadil, I felt like my water was slowly breaking and told the nurse. She didn't think that was it, said it was probably all the gel coming out. It seemed about right to me, after all, I still had a long, long way to go. 

12:20. I decided I needed to get in the water; laboring in water has been really relieving for me in the past, so Lane started drawing me a bath. Suddenly, I felt like I just couldn't do it anymore. I needed to change positions, but I couldn't stand, I couldn't sit, laying down was out of the question, the birth ball would never work.  My legs started shaking, and I felt my body starting to fight the contractions for the first time, instead of welcoming them and working with them as I'd managed to do before. For the first time, I wanted to cry. I told the nurse I needed pain medication. Forget this natural birth business. So she left the room to discuss with the midwife.  As soon as she left, I felt like I had to push, which seemed incredibly ridiculous to me, because here I was, waiting for these contractions to stop. Before I knew it, I was on my hands and knees on the edge of the bed. Lane ran out of the room to tell to the nurses that I felt like pushing. Everyone just looked at him, too, in disbelief. My midwife hung up the phone and raced the hospital. She only lives a few miles away. 

12:30: By the time Lane returned, the baby's head was already out. I remember thinking, oh yes, this is why they call it the ring of fire. Without anyone there to help me, I just tried to slowly birth that baby's head, so as not to tear. 

12:35: The nurse was trying to get her gloves on, but before she could finish, the baby's whole body practically flew out of mine. No one was even there yet to catch her. Thank goodness she landed safely on the bed. 

And my midwife arrived in the room, only moments after our sweet Willow was born. She told me at least she could help me birth the placenta, since I birthed the baby on my own. 

Everyone was shocked by how quickly my labor went, the nurses, my midwife, and definitely Lane and me both. They said they'd never seen anything progress like that before. When my nurse removed the cervadil at 11:50. She said the baby was still very high, and didn't feel at all as though she might be close to arriving, but given how quickly this happened, that probably was my water breaking. 

She also said that at no point during all those back to back crazy, forceful contractions did Willow's heart rate ever go outside of a normal perfect range. This was very uncommon, especially given how rapidly she arrived. Thank you, baby girl, for not giving us extra reason to worry. 

We wonder if the cervadil was that powerful, or if my labor would have started that night anyway, or if the clary sage oil had something to do with it. It's supposed to be very powerful and to make contractions more efficient. 

When she was passed to me, I was immediately struck by how tiny she seemed. 7lbs, 14oz. Our tiniest baby yet! She looks so much like Gabriela, but also has some very Grover features, like her mouth and chin. She has a full head of beautifully long and silky hair. No wonder they could see it on the ultrasounds. 

She immediately started making sucking motions after being placed on my chest and she latched on right away, nursing like a champ. 

It was strange to be back in the hospital on Simone's half birthday, to be laboring again 18 months later to the very day. But we are glad our rainbow baby got her own special day, and so incredibly relieved to have her here safely in our arms.

We can't even express the relief we feel knowing that our baby girl has arrived safely, healthy, and alive. We all just love her to pieces.