Our beautiful baby girl, Rua Mae, was born Sunday, October 5th at 6:11am. She was born at the birth center and everything went smoothly and relatively quickly. We are so excited that she is here and have been loving the time we've had this past week to get to know her and get used to having one other little person in our house.
If you don't like the details of birth stories, you can stop reading here.:) I had been having contractions off and on for about 3 weeks already, sometimes seeming as though they might be picking up and getting more regular, only to die back off for a while. During this time we were having all those NSTs (non-stress tests) and after each one I kept hoping that she would just come before the next test. I had been so sure that we were going to have a September baby, especially since Abby had come a week before her due date. But I guess these things really are unpredictable... 40 weeks came and went and I was getting discouraged since we kept having to do these extra tests and as each one came out with perfect results, I felt that we were just racking up extra expenses that we really would rather avoid.
Saturday started out with the same sporadic contractions, but as the day went on, they seemed to be coming more frequently. Around 4pm I started timing them and for an hour they were consistently 6 minutes apart. They weren't strong at all and unless I was paying attention, I could easily forget they were happening. I called the midwife to give them a heads up that the contractions were regular, and she said to keep monitoring them and to let her know if we wanted to come in for her to check us. Since it was the weekend, no one was at the birth center so she would have to drive out to meet us there - a 20-30 minute drive, so I didn't want to ask her to come unless I was sure it was the real thing. So I kept timing. I took Abby to do a quick last minute shopping run, to get a journal for me to write in for the new baby. The contractions were more like 4-5 minutes apart now, still not strong. But it seemed that this might really be it. So I asked Abby if she wanted to go ahead and make baby sister's birthday cake since she was probably coming out soon. Abby and I had decided a while back that we would make a cake when the baby came, mostly as a labor project for myself and because I knew Abby would love doing it.
So we got all our supplies out to make our amazing chocolate cake (recipe
here). It was getting late-ish so we just got the cake mixed up and in the oven before finally putting Abby to bed around 8:30. I finished up the cake and Eric I and worked to get things cleaned up and last minute things put in our bags. The contractions were 3-4 minutes apart around this time, but still not very strong. We talked to our neighbors to make sure they would be ok coming over and sleeping on the couch while Abby slept. I finally called the midwife again around 11pm to let her know that the contractions were 3 minutes apart, wondering if I should come in. She said it was up to me. I felt so unsure since I had been having these contractions for so long, it was hard to me to tell if they were any different, especially since they didn't feel very strong. She said she was meeting another client at the birth center around midnight if we wanted to come and get checked then. So we did that.
The midwife checked me and I was dilated to a 4 and 80% effaced. She said the baby's head was really low down, she could touch if when she reached in to check me. But, she said we were still early enough that we could go home and come back when we felt like we needed to. So home we went. I tried to lie down and sleep but that wasn't happening, the contractions were definitely more intense when I was lying down. So I got up and spent most of the next few hours sitting or leaning on the birth ball, walking around, and trying out different labor positions from my pile of books. I made sure to eat and drink consistently (running out of energy with the long second stage with Abby was just terrible, so I didn't want to repeat that). Eric came out and joined me for most of it, though he was able to get a couple hours of sleep in.
At 2 or 3 am, I get a text from the midwife saying that she was back at the birth center and would be all night, as there was another lady having a baby. This meant I could just come in when I felt like we needed to and not worry about giving a whole 1/2 hour notice.
Finally, around 5am I told Eric that I thought we should probably head in. The contractions were finally getting really intense and I wanted to make sure we got there before I felt like I couldn't move anymore. Our friend came back over and we headed out. That short, 5 minute drive sure felt long with having a couple contractions and not being able to move around. Finally we got there (this was 5:40am) and the midwife was waiting at the door. The other baby was already born so we had her full attention, which was great. We went straight into the room where she checked me again. I was dilated 8cm. Yay, almost there! She said I could head straight into the tub whenever I wanted. The warm water sounded great so I went right in. The atmosphere was wonderful. The lights in the bedroom were dimmed, a fire was going in the fireplace, and candles were lighting up the room where the tub was.
After a couple of terribly intense contractions, the midwife said I could push whenever I felt like it. That first pushing contraction was so painful, I wasn't sure I could do this. All I had in my mind was the 7 hours of pushing I did with Abby and I wasn't sure I could do even a fraction of that time. I kept trying to empty my mind of those thoughts and focus completely on getting this little one out. The burning sensation was so intense as I pushed again, and to my surprise the midwife told me I could reach down and feel my baby. She was crowning already! One more push and her head came out. The relief after her head came out was incredible. I felt like I could relax for a minute. The midwife unwound the cord from her neck and told me I could keep going. A couple more pushes and she was out. She came out with her hand up by her head (the hand that was squeezing on the cord and causing all the trouble with our extra tests!). So Rua came at 6:11, just a half hour after arriving a the birth center!
The midwife brought her right up to my chest and I held her close as they suctioned some fluid out to get her breathing better. After several minutes Eric cut the cord and I pushed the placenta out. What an amazing feeling it is to hold a brand new baby like that. So incredible. Here was our little girl that we had been looking forward to for so many months.
As I held her, I looked down a little more closely in the dim lights and noticed her hand seemed a little different. A moment of worry and fear went through me as I asked the midwife if her hand was ok. The midwife just said, 'We'll talk about that later. Your baby is just perfect.' She said it so reassuringly and confidently that I tried not to think about it and focus instead on the beautiful moment. (We'll do a follow-up post on her hands and feet). It was incredible to watch as she almost immediately started rooting and moving up my chest before attaching herself to suck and try to start nursing.
After a few minutes Eric took her for some skin to skin time as the midwife helped me out of the tub and over to the bed. Rua came back over to me and I held her and gazed at her as the midwife sewed up my second degree tear and massaged my uterus. (Ouch!) Over the next couple hours, the midwife and nurse were in and out checking on us and taking temperatures, etc. At about 9am, maybe later, the midwife came back to do the newborn exam. Rua weighed in at 6lb 13oz, 19.5 inches long. Not a teeny tiny baby after all! Just perfect.
Our friend brought Abby over around 8am so she could meet her new baby sister. Abby was a little quiet at first but then climbed right up on the bed to be next to mom and baby sister. My parents dropped in around the same time and after about an hour, took Abby back to our place. Eric and I then got to enjoy the next few hours together with our beautiful Rua. We went home around 1pm.
I am so grateful that everything worked out well, and that our Rua was healthy enough for us to have the birth I wanted not just for me but also for her.
