Zeke's home birth story

I know I'm tardy on posting about many happenings around here, but I have to get Z's birth story out while it is still fresh in my mind. So, here it is!

My last months of pregnancy were hectic and a little overwhelming. I wrapped up the school year and finished my job as the Health Office Director (school nurse) at a local school. They didn't find my replacement until the last day of school, so I was back on the job training her while VERY pregnant and well into my summer break...ugh. That's all behind me now, though, and I am SO enjoying my indefinite time off! My mom came to help me pack up our basement apartment (Mike had to work) and move back into our lovely condo. The day after she left, Mike's mom came and stayed for almost 3 weeks. She pretty much took 100% care of Selah for that entire time. She also filled my fridge and freezer in anticipation of the babe, such a treat for us!

This pregnancy was quite different than my first. While I was nauseous for nearly the entire pregnancy, I didn't have the insatiable appetite that I had with Selah. With her, I felt like I had to eat constantly and with Z, if I ate too much or too rich, I nearly lost my cookies. I was able to run within a week of my due date the first time, but running got really painful around 37 weeks this time. I ran a 5K at 36 weeks and another at 38 weeks, but didn't run at all between them and not a single time after the last 5K. I ended up gaining about 50 pounds with Selah despite all that running, and right around 30 this time--and what a difference 20 pounds makes. My feet and legs never swelled, even in the July heat, my blood pressure was never above about 118/70, and I maintained a waist through the very end--he just stuck straight out. Selah was exactly 6 days early and Z came exactly 6 days late. Now, at one week post partum, I am 10 pounds from my pre pregnancy weight and already running! I hit the trails with both kids in the Chariot today and banged out 4 or 5 miles without an issue.

Ok, NOW for the birth story...

Sunday night, we had a nice little family picnic and stayed out way past Selah's bedtime. We had a blast slacklining, BBQing, watching the river, and just enjoying each other. I had mild contractions the whole night but convinced myself that it was once again false labor since they didn't seem to be getting more painful or frequent. I went to bed at about 11:00 Sunday night, continued to have the contractions, and started to get a little hopeful that this might be the real thing. At 5:20 I woke up, realized I'd been asleep for the entire night, and started cursing that I'd once again been fooled and was most definitely not in labor. I was pissed. I was sick of being pregnant and was almost 2 weeks past the point where Selah was born. I was sure that this was going to just be another day like all the rest. I got up to pee and went back to bed. At 5:28, I was jolted awake by the sensation of my water breaking. I jumped out of bed and ran back to the toilet, leaving puddles wherever I went. I called Mike in and told him my water had definitely broken and he promptly went back to sleep. I tried to lie down but was too excited to lay in bed and the sun was starting to come up, so I got up and made some coffee and breakfast. During Selah's birth, I was unable to keep any food or fluids down, so I knew I should eat and drink while possible. I called my midwife, who suggested I go for a walk to try and get labor going.

I went outside in the cool quiet of the day and walked for a half hour or so. I called my mom and Sari (who was to take Selah) and just enjoyed the fact that I knew I was going to have a baby today! I started to have contractions that made me stop and breathe and slowly made my way back home. The contractions stayed relatively mild and I was able to take care of Selah, talk, clean up, etc between them. Around 8:00, I called my midwife again and told her things were moving and to slowly make her way over. She arrived at 9:30 and labor was still very tolerable--relatively mild contractions every 4-5 minutes for about 45 seconds. By 11:30, things were getting painful and I asked her to check me. I was 3cm and 90% effaced and after that things quickly turned. Suddenly, I was sometimes falling asleep and unable to speak between contractions. Breathing became extremely focused and I just tried to maintain control. I also started vomiting. By 12:15, I started to grunt during my contractions and told Jasmine I thought I was almost ready to push. She had me get on the toilet and asked me to breathe through some contractions without pushing. I was able to do that for a few very painful contractions. On the next contraction (12:45 now), my body took over and REALLY started pushing. I screamed "JASMINE THE BABY IS COMING!", she ran into the bathroom and told me to get to the birthing pool, about 12 feet away from the toilet. I didn't think I could move and was convinced the baby was going to be born on the toilet. She told me to stand up and forcefully say "WHA WHA WHA WHA" as I waddled that seemingly impossible distance. As soon as I got in the pool, I started pushing again and in a single push, the head was out. One more and the body was out, official time of birth was 12:47. We were delighted to see we had a boy! Jasmine said she gave me from 11:30-12:42 for active labor and those last 5 minutes for pushing. This labor was infinitely easier than the first. Yeah, it hurt like hell for that last hour, but it was only an hour. Labor isn't scary to me anymore. I know if I go through it again, it will be okay.

Now we're a week out and I am LOVING little Z man. I'm still getting used to the fact that boys pee in streams and it goes everywhere (the poor kid soaked his own face last night). Selah is loving him too and we're just a happy little family. I took the kids out for a run today and made it 4 1/2 miles and felt like I could have kept on running.

Pictures to follow.