Hello ladies!!
I am happy to report that our precious bundle was born on Friday , Feb 8th at 8:28 am (9 days overdue). Sienna was 8 lbs 2 oz and 20.5 inches long. She is absolutely amazing and I am completely smitten.
Here is how it all went down...
Thursday morning I had my second sweep. I came home and tidied, vacuumed and organized for the home birth I was hopeful would soon be happening. As the sun set I discovered that we were in for the largest snow storm our area has seen in more than four years...which I guessed was probably a sign.
DH came home late from work and we chatted for a bit and after bouncing on the ball for a while I asked him to rub my back and joked that I wouldn't even know if I was in labour since I'd been having BH contractions for days and hadn't even noticed. At 11:00 I went to bed and was aware that my back was aching but I attributed it to the fact that I'd done so much housework.
At 11:22 I had a strong contraction and they continued every 6-8 minutes until 11:56 when my water broke in bed. Thank goodness for the waterproof mattress cover!!!
I knew there would be lots of water but Wow!! I screamed to my hubby and he ran upstairs to my rescue. I hobbled into the shower and cranked up the water temp... I ended up with massive shivers that seemed like they would never end. I worked through the contractions that were 6 mins apart and around 25 seconds long.
Eventually I warmed up and climbed out of the shower and got down on all fours and leaned on the coffee table I had put in our room. DH put lots of absorbent pads under me as my waters continued to gush with every contraction. I asked him to call our doula to come since the weather outside had turned into a full blizzard and to alert our MW.
As I was talking to our MW on the phone (around 1:30) the contractions went from 6 mins to 2 mins apart lasting 30 seconds. At first she was assuring me that they would spread back out over time and I explained that I was concerned about the weather... Then, they suddenly started to last 1 min in length so she packed up and started heading to our house.
I got back into the shower and was in there when our doula arrived. I stayed in a long time. Our MW showed up and worked with DH to set up our pool. I finally got in and it felt so nice!!!
At 2:30 our MW checked me and I was already 7 cm. I continued to labour in the pool, getting out occasionally to pee and try other positions. At 6:00 our MW offered to check my progress but told me I would have to get out of the pool and I said, "no way... I can't handle you telling me I am not there yet!" Not long later, my body started trying to bear down whether I liked it or not, so I agreed to be checked - but in the pool! Our MW agreed and told me I was 9.5 cm but that the rim was moving over baby's head and she told me I could start to push!
I pushed in the pool for an hour but I wasn't making any progress...so our MW asked me to get in bed and push with her direction. I pushed for an hour in bed, on the toilet, squatting... But baby was stuck on my pelvic bone. Finally I was so close that DH could see her head but she wouldn't budge. My MW was getting worried because her heart rate started to decline to 90 bpms due to compression of her head.
Our MW looked VERY serious/concerned. At the same time, the back-up MW called called an ambulance just in case I needed to be transferred for a vacuum or forceps intervention. She gave me a shot of lidocaine to prepare for an episiotomy and something in me just panicked that the baby was in distress and I pushed like mad!! I harnessed strength I didn't know I had and out she came!
DH caught her and we discovered together that she was a girl!! 
The paramedics arrived in time to watch as I delivered the placenta and was stitched up for the second degree tear that resulted from my aggressive pushing and the MW's aggressive manipulation... and then they were on their way.
My family were downstairs and hearing everything and panicking (which is why I had suggested they stay away... but they couldn't bear to be far away during a blizzard)... and our doula's most important function was keeping them all calm. My mom was apparently trembling.
Sienna is perfect in every way. She had huge scratches on her head from my tailbone and pubic bone but they have already healed. I feel fine despite my uncomfy stitches and have already forgotten the pain. The endorphins that come with an unmedicated birth truly are awesome! I couldn't imagine doing it any other way, it was just so magical.
A big thanks to all of you for getting me through this journey!!!
I am happy to report that our precious bundle was born on Friday , Feb 8th at 8:28 am (9 days overdue). Sienna was 8 lbs 2 oz and 20.5 inches long. She is absolutely amazing and I am completely smitten.
Here is how it all went down...
Thursday morning I had my second sweep. I came home and tidied, vacuumed and organized for the home birth I was hopeful would soon be happening. As the sun set I discovered that we were in for the largest snow storm our area has seen in more than four years...which I guessed was probably a sign.
DH came home late from work and we chatted for a bit and after bouncing on the ball for a while I asked him to rub my back and joked that I wouldn't even know if I was in labour since I'd been having BH contractions for days and hadn't even noticed. At 11:00 I went to bed and was aware that my back was aching but I attributed it to the fact that I'd done so much housework.
At 11:22 I had a strong contraction and they continued every 6-8 minutes until 11:56 when my water broke in bed. Thank goodness for the waterproof mattress cover!!!
I knew there would be lots of water but Wow!! I screamed to my hubby and he ran upstairs to my rescue. I hobbled into the shower and cranked up the water temp... I ended up with massive shivers that seemed like they would never end. I worked through the contractions that were 6 mins apart and around 25 seconds long. Eventually I warmed up and climbed out of the shower and got down on all fours and leaned on the coffee table I had put in our room. DH put lots of absorbent pads under me as my waters continued to gush with every contraction. I asked him to call our doula to come since the weather outside had turned into a full blizzard and to alert our MW.
As I was talking to our MW on the phone (around 1:30) the contractions went from 6 mins to 2 mins apart lasting 30 seconds. At first she was assuring me that they would spread back out over time and I explained that I was concerned about the weather... Then, they suddenly started to last 1 min in length so she packed up and started heading to our house.
I got back into the shower and was in there when our doula arrived. I stayed in a long time. Our MW showed up and worked with DH to set up our pool. I finally got in and it felt so nice!!!
At 2:30 our MW checked me and I was already 7 cm. I continued to labour in the pool, getting out occasionally to pee and try other positions. At 6:00 our MW offered to check my progress but told me I would have to get out of the pool and I said, "no way... I can't handle you telling me I am not there yet!" Not long later, my body started trying to bear down whether I liked it or not, so I agreed to be checked - but in the pool! Our MW agreed and told me I was 9.5 cm but that the rim was moving over baby's head and she told me I could start to push!
I pushed in the pool for an hour but I wasn't making any progress...so our MW asked me to get in bed and push with her direction. I pushed for an hour in bed, on the toilet, squatting... But baby was stuck on my pelvic bone. Finally I was so close that DH could see her head but she wouldn't budge. My MW was getting worried because her heart rate started to decline to 90 bpms due to compression of her head.
Our MW looked VERY serious/concerned. At the same time, the back-up MW called called an ambulance just in case I needed to be transferred for a vacuum or forceps intervention. She gave me a shot of lidocaine to prepare for an episiotomy and something in me just panicked that the baby was in distress and I pushed like mad!! I harnessed strength I didn't know I had and out she came!
DH caught her and we discovered together that she was a girl!! The paramedics arrived in time to watch as I delivered the placenta and was stitched up for the second degree tear that resulted from my aggressive pushing and the MW's aggressive manipulation... and then they were on their way.My family were downstairs and hearing everything and panicking (which is why I had suggested they stay away... but they couldn't bear to be far away during a blizzard)... and our doula's most important function was keeping them all calm. My mom was apparently trembling.
Sienna is perfect in every way.
She had huge scratches on her head from my tailbone and pubic bone but they have already healed. I feel fine despite my uncomfy stitches and have already forgotten the pain. The endorphins that come with an unmedicated birth truly are awesome! I couldn't imagine doing it any other way, it was just so magical.A big thanks to all of you for getting me through this journey!!!
Btw Sienna is gorgeous!! Xxxxx
