January 18th 2016

I was 41 weeks 3 days pregnant with baby #3.

10:45 I received a NST and membrane sweep. I found out I was 4 cm dilated.

The drive home from my sweep was very uncomfortable, between Little Dude kicking and the cramps driving took a lot of focus. When I got home I ate a large meal and began spin the baby exercises. I knew baby was left facing posterior and that would make labor difficult.

The contractions began coming regularly around 3 pm but they were only 30 second long and well over 10-15 minutes apart. I was not distracted by them but they were almost exclusively in my back. I knew he was posterior so I was prepped for back labor. By 5 pm I could tell I was most likely in labor and told Hubs we needed to call Nana to watch the girls. I didn’t think baby was coming soon but I figured they should be settled before bedtime. Around 7 pm Nana and PopPop came. We explained that Little Dude was on his way and that they would meet him tomorrow.

Once the girls left I hopped into the shower to clean off any lotion, shave, and relax a little. The water was nice but I didn’t “need” to stay in long so I did my cleanings and hopped out. Around 7:45 I called the midwife on duty to let her know I was most likely in labor. We agreed to meet at the birth center at 9 pm.

I went downstairs to watch some TV with Hubs and give him the time table. I labored on all fours or the birthing ball. The moment I stood upright I would have a strong contraction so I stayed bend over. By 8 PM it was clear we needed to leave, even Hubs was worried about the drive time. I called the midwife and said we needed to meet up sooner, 8:30 pm. We grabbed our stuff and headed straight to the birth center.

The drive wasn’t terrible. Its never fun to contract in a car but only one or two contractions were difficult to cope with given my position. Apparently we arrived within moments of our midwife and nurse because the birth center doors were still locked when we arrived. It was below 0 out so the nurse quickly let us in.

I could hear the tub being filled from the front lobby. The midwife Bonnie checked me and announced I was at 7 cm! I got right into the tub. From this point on I stayed in the tub. I switched from rocking on all fours, deep squatting while leaning on the wall, floating on my side, and floating on my belly. It was wonderful to run warm water over my back during contractions!

Around 9:45 PM I knew the end was approaching and so did my midwife. I saw her grab the birthing supply and she called the nurse in. Around 10 PM the pressure became overwhelming. I needed to vocalize through them. Hubs poured hot water on my back while I alternated between a deep squat and all fours. We decided to try birthing on all fours to help him flip through the birth canal.

His head descended very suddenly and my water broke around 10:10. I pushed with the contractions 1 or 2 times but could feel he wasn’t handling them well. My midwife suggested I lay on my side and lift my leg to help turn him. It took less than 2 minutes for him to come out after I flipped.

January 18th, 2016 at 10:16 PM Little Dude came earthside at 9lb 11 oz and 22 inches long after a rounded total of 8 hours of labor and 3 minutes of pushing. He was a perfect color and screamed bloody murder when he came out of the tub water (loudest baby we have!). He was placed directly into my chest and calmed down immediately. Hub cut the chord after a few minutes and I delivered the placenta shortly after.

The only concern was his face. Poor dear suffered full face bruising from rubbing my pelvis during delivery. Both his eyes were swollen shut for the first 6 hours or so and his coloring is more purple then pink on his whole face. This should all correct itself over the next few days as the bruising heals.

Little Dude proved a good sleeper which is a blessing given the hour of his birth. We worked on nursing but didn’t get it right away, he is still working out some bad habits. We headed home around 6 am the next morning just under 12 hours after his birth.