I gave up on sleep and walked out to my front porch swing around 5:30 AM; just as the sun was rising. As I listened to the rain against our metal roof top, I felt completely at peace and eager to meet our baby. I had been training for 9 months for this day and I felt so ready in every capacity.
Last day with my bump!
Around 7:00 AM, I ran out of the bathroom and triumphantly announced to my husband the loss of my mucus plug. He was torn on whether to go to work or accompany me through my day. I assured him I wouldn’t be laboring anytime soon and encouraged him to commute to work.
I went to my acupuncture appointment at 10:00 AM and felt more severe cramping within 5 minutes of the hour long process. Afterwards, I drove myself home as nothing seemed to have escalated.
I spent the day reading, napping, and took a bath around 4:00 PM. By the time my husband returned home from work around 5:30 PM, I had begun experiencing contractions about every 15 minutes but nothing consistent. We walked around outside and worked in the garden until my contractions became closer; about every 10-12 minutes.
I remember questioning myself “Is this really a contraction or am I just unable to endure small amounts of pain?” I imagine many first time moms feel this way; the inability to understand your body at this point and trying to determine what real labor feels like.
I prepared dinner and we lounged in front of the TV for a couple of hours. At this point, I had my contraction app open on my phone and was tracking inconsistent times between contractions; every 7 minutes, then 12, then 5, then 15. I feared calling my midwife because I didn’t want to stall my labor by leaving my home too soon.
By 9:00 PM I had to stand up, move my hips and breathe through each contraction. I called my midwife and she suggested going to bed as labor was going to require a lot of energy and that the baby would most likely come tomorrow. I attempted to lie down but had to work through each contraction; standing up and moving. I can remember thinking “There is no way I can sleep through this.” so I gritted my teeth and forced myself to be still so maybe I’d fall asleep and the contractions would carry on without me.
Shortly after 11:30 PM, I felt a gush and realized my water broke. My midwife suggested taking a shower (best suggestion ever!) and lying back down. I spent 30 minutes in the shower, put on a Depends (yes an adult diaper and it was glorious) and as I went to lie down on the couch I felt the urge to get sick. I began getting sick and working through more intense contractions until finally at 1:30 AM, I called my midwife and we made arrangements for us to come to the birth center immediately since we had a 45 minute drive.
When people ask me about the pain during labor, I tell them that the worst part was the drive. Living in the country lends itself to windy bumpy roads and I’m pretty sure we hit every bump that night. My poor husband patiently dealt with me harassing his driving the whole way there. At this point I was still getting sick and everything was becoming pretty hazy. I felt as though I was returning from a long night of drinking.
We arrived at the birth center and as the nurses encouraged me on to the bed in the blue birthing room, I immediately detoured to the bathroom.
They suggested I try taking a bath and began running the water. In the tub, I tried managing my contractions with breathing and deep primal groans. I turned from my back, to my side, and then my other side but I couldn’t find a comfortable position. It felt as though I was riding contractions back-to-back. My husband later assured me that I had a minute or two of rest in between each contraction. The midwives later told me that I looked in control, but in my head I felt like I was flailing and trapped in this uncomfortable place forever.
My husband turned on my playlist and I found this soothing as I faded in and out between songs. As he encouraged me to drink some juice he would also whisper in my ear; letting me know I was beautiful and repeating one of my favorites quotes “She may be little but she is fierce”. My husband was a source of encouragement and happiness for me throughout the entire process.
Around 4:00 AM I was feeling a desperate need to push; but my midwife said not to as I was only dilated to 4 cm an hour before. She suggested sitting on the toilet backwards as this may help to dilate me further. I sat on the toilet for 40 minutes or so until I couldn’t handle it anymore. I told my husband to get the midwife because I WAS going to push. The midwife checked me and was surprised to already feel the head; I began pushing.
The movies always depicted this part to be the most agonizing, I beg to differ. It was tiring, don’t get me wrong, but to be able to push and feel progress was empowering. I felt as each push helped descend my baby farther and as her head emerged I understood what other women have described as “The Ring of Fire“. Fire!!
Once her head was out, my pushing no longer seemed to bring about any progress and the midwife suggested I move from my back to my hands and knees. She stated the shoulders were stuck and I needed to really push. She assisted getting the shoulders out and this was the most uncomfortable part of active labor. As I felt my baby slide out of me, I couldn’t roll over fast enough to lie down and hold my baby.
I didn’t even bother to check the gender; I counted the fingers and gazed down at the most perfect little being ever. Those beautiful eyes looked up at me and I knew we were in love. The cries were a melody that moved my soul and I couldn’t get enough. My husband stood behind me with wet cheeks; telling us how good of a job we both did. Finally, I broke eye contact long enough to check that our baby was a girl and we announced her name was Eileen Adele Cloud.
She was born at 6:00 AM, weighed 7 pounds 9 ounces, and measured 20 inches long. Dad proudly cut the cord about 30 minutes later.
I was disappointed when Mary said I was going to have to give a few more pushes to get the placenta out. I felt completely drained and only wanted to focus on our baby. However, within a few minutes the placenta was out and Mary confirmed I had no tearing.
Eileen was born tongue-tied and was having trouble nursing. Feeling a bit let down, I hand expressed her first feeding. After discussing our options, we felt confident that Mary could perform the cut that morning. Without a sound, the snip was made and Eileen began sticking her tongue in and out of her mouth. We were able to nurse and went home just a few hours later.
I had a very enjoyable birth experience and felt loved and secure with my labor team. I was overjoyed that I could return to the comfort of our home within hours of bringing our baby girl into this world.
The Adventures of a Housewife 
What a beautiful memory!