Easton’s Birth Story
East was due on January 10th, 2023. I was fully convinced that he would come after his due date, because his older brother was overdue. The beginning of January, I would occasionally feel some cramping, but nothing that made me think that labor was starting. I was really hoping to do some exercises and other things you can do to make sure the baby is in the correct position. Bryson was not, and it made labor SO much harder!
On January 4th, I decided to go for a walk and do some curb walking. (You walk with 1 foot up on the curb and 1 foot on the road) I pushed Bryson in the stroller, and we ended up walking for about 4 miles. When we got home, I started to feel some cramping and some light contractions. I went about the afternoon as usual, doing some dishes and cleaning - to prepare in case labor did start. Around 7pm, I called my parents and asked if they could pick up Bryson in a few hours. I wasn’t totally sure it was real labor or not yet, but I figured it would be better for them to pick him up at 9 than 1 or 2 am!
I called my midwife to let her know what I was feeling, but she said it sounded like I was still really early, and I should stay home for a while yet.
They came to pick him up. and as soon as they left, the labor contractions got way more intense. Eric and I watched a show for a while, until I decided to go up and take a hot shower. (taking a hot shower is a great way to relax your muscles and it could slow down labor if it’s not the real thing yet!) It was soon at the point where I was needing to lean over an exercise ball and breathe through contractions. I decided it was time to call our doula and have her come. She showed up around 11, and was applying counter pressure on my hips during every contraction which helped so much!
Around 12:15am, I called the midwife and told her what was going on. She said that we could come in and she could check how far along I was, but it sounded like I might need to go back home and labor there longer. We had a 30 minute drive to the birth center, and I decided to risk it even though we might get sent back home. The drive there was torture. I was so uncomfortable, and was praying the whole time that I would be farther than 4 cm and could stay at the birth center because I didn’t think I could make the drive 2 more times. When we got there, she checked me and I was 8 centimeters! My doula said later that she laughed when she saw my face when they told me that - I was SHOCKED! This was only about 12 hours after labor started and last time it took me about 30 hours to get to 8 centimeters.
My plan was to have Easton in the birth pool, so they started filling that up with water. The birth pool was the BEST THING EVER. I sat in there on my knees, draped over the side, and fell asleep in between each contraction. I think my midwife was concerned that labor would slow down, because she asked me if I wanted to get out and walk around for a little. I said absolutely not! She checked me again, and I was fully dilated! She said that I could start pushing on the next contraction if I wanted to. Pushing was so uncomfortable and painful, but I knew that it was the only thing that was going to get this baby out. I pushed for 3 contractions and he was out!
I was so thankful the Lord gave me my perfect birth with Easton. After a hard, long, slightly traumatizing labor with Bryson - this is exactly what I wanted! The birth center was amazing, and I never want to go through labor without a birth pool again! :)