An Ordinary Miracle...

October 27, 2009
I woke up feeling like it was a special day. The baby had moved so low in my pelvis I could barely walk, but I didn't feel much in the way of contractions. We went to Ionia to get the deed to our house, and then we went to Arby's. I had a hard time eating lunch; it just wasn't very appetizing to me.

The baby was very quiet all day, not moving much except for small little twitches here and there. These movements reassured me, because up until that point, it was a very active baby. If it had stopped moving altogether I would have panicked.

I went in my room about 8pm and watched Family Feud while The Hub called his daughter from his first marriage (age 10.) After he talked to M for awhile, he talked to his ex-wife, all the while sitting next to my bed. I started having small frequent contractions, and had to leave the room to vocalize. The contractions were happening every 2 or 3 minutes but only lasting 25 or 30 seconds, so I thought it was prelabor.

I took a bath and something changed. I don't know what it was. Something told me to call the midwife right NOW! So The Hub called her around 9pm and I was moaning in the background. She hears laboring women all the time and later told me she knew I was close to delivery just by those sounds. She took off and made it here around 9:40.

She helped me through some contractions, which were now every minute or so but still only lasting 30 or 45 seconds at their peak. She asked if she could check me and I said yes. I was dilated to 5 centimeters, which was quite discouraging, but as she was checking me my water broke. This was around 10:10pm.

Suddenly everything changed. I had to go potty. I literally ran to the bathroom, all hunched over, and sat on the toilet. The midwife chased after me. She sat on the floor in front of me. With each of these little contractions my belly would push. It was like throwing up - I couldn't control it at all. It wasn't me pushing, it was my body. I tried to go potty in between the contractions but I couldn't. It hurt when I did that. The pain during a contraction was scary but completely manageable. I started to cry and shake and sent The Hub to get the space heater since I thought I was cold. Then all of a sudden I felt the baby do something, shift downward, and then my belly did that funny involuntary push and there was a head!! I quick stood up so the baby wouldn't fall in the toilet.

It burned so bad, especially up front. It felt like my pelvis was being ripped apart. The cord was wrapped tightly around the baby's neck but the midwife was able to get it off without having to cut it. Then the baby kind of slithered out and I sat back down. The time was 10:28pm.

The midwife put the baby in my arms and I just sat there on the toilet. We didn't have any of the birth supplies so we wrapped the baby in regular towels. Luckily it didn't need suctioning or anything. The Hub managed to peek his head in just as the baby came out, and then after the cord stopped pulsing, he cut it. The girls came in and had to stand in the bathtub because we were all crammed in the tiny bathroom. They peeked between the baby's legs and both screamed at the same time...

It's a BOY!!

After that everything's a blur. I went back to my bedroom and nursed him, and then we did the exams. I had no tears or anything, just some swelling, which is kind of to be expected, I think. The baby is totally perfect and almost completely bald. He has some bruising on his head and face from coming so quickly. The midwife measured him and he is 21 inches long, and then she weighed him. I was shocked to see that he weighs 10 pounds, 6 ounces!

I hurt now - like my pelvic bones are seriously pissed at me - but I feel great. I don't understand why I got pain medication at the hospital with my other babies because this was truly a BREEZE. It was intense and it hurt but I remembered what some beautiful strong women told me, and kept everything as loose as I could, and he just slid right out! It was really one of the easier things I've ever done. I mean, I've had craps that hurt more than this.

The baby does not have a name yet, but here he is....