Juliana's Birth...

I have had some people ask me about Juliana's birth and I realized that I don't think I really told the full story to anyone but my coworkers (that's L&D nurses for you!). For those of you who dont know, Madison was born by c-section, and I had an hbac (home birth after cesarean) with Juliana. So here is a shortened version:

My last day of work was Sun night Sept 9th. I was due the 21st, and since Madison came late, I figured this would give me plenty of time to get things in order. On Tues the 11th, Madison and I went to my midwife appt, where I got all checked out and everything was good. Baby was nice and low, and the heartbeat was strong. When we got home, we both took a nap, and when we woke up we went to Target to get the last of the birth supplies I needed. While we were shopping, I noticed I was having lots of braxton hicks which I thought was unusual because I had been drinking plenty of water that day. So we got home and ate dinner (Rich was at a cross country meet) and then I put Madison to bed. I had an urge to get the house nice and clean so I did that and then I went in my room to watch TV. After awhile I noticed I was having these random weird feelings way down low in my pelvis, and so I timed a few. 8-12 min apart! As it turns out I'd been having these feelings for a few weeks, but just thought its was the baby turning its head. HA! So around 10pm I decided I actually might be in labor, even though it was 9 days before my due date. So I decided to take some Ambien so I could get some decent sleep. One of my fears was laboring on no sleep like I did with Madison. The ambien knocked me out for a good 3 hours. I woke briefly when Rich came home, but didnt say anything to him. Denial!

I woke again around 1am, things were getting a bit more intense now. But I was still able to sleep between contractions, so I stayed in bed. Finally around 5am, I couldnt lay down anymore, so I got up and sat on the toilet. This is also where I spent a lot of my labor with Madison LOL. Good thing I had cleaned the bathroom the day before. Things were really intense now. Rich got up around 6 and I told him to start making calls to the midwife and my doula and to his mom, so she could get Madison. Madison woke up sometime in all this, and came in the bathroom while I was having a contraction. I vaguely remember her making a face at me when I yelled, and then leaving LOL. Rich's parents came to get her, and later I found out that they heard me yelling all the way at the end of our driveway (which is long LOL). My doula arrived around 8am and the midwife and her crew arrived shortly thereafter. My midwife suggested checking my cervix, and I was 9cm! I was shocked! I never made it past 6cm with Madison so I was very relieved. At this point the tub was ready so I got in. It helped some, but not as much as I'd hoped. Around 10am, my midwife checked my cervix and found I had just a lip left, so she had me push to see if it would go away and it did. So now I was on the pushing highway, but unfortunately I was only going about 40 mph, when I needed to go about 90 mph LOL. I had no urge to push, I only pushed because it dulled the contractions. So I pushed for about I think 1 hr and 40min or so. At one point my midwife had me feel her head and I remember being disappointed because I thought it would be closer LOL. My midwife did an exam and told me that my tailbone was crooked weird! Finally she suggested I push while holding my breath, which was totally against my instincts, but I'll be darned if that big old head just came charging down the birth canal LOL. I have no idea the timeline here, but I think it was pretty darn fast after that. Things are a little hazy now, but I do remember my midwife saying oh her hand is by her head, and telling her student to get gloves on, and then everyone yelling at me to slow down. Pushing that head out was possibly the most uncomfortable thing I've ever felt, but pushing the body out was possibly the most blissful thing I have ever felt LOL. So amazing to have my baby handed right to me and to be the one to discover that she was a girl! She weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 21 1/2 in long. I climbed right out of the tub, delivered the placenta, and walked into my bedroom. Truly an amazing experience!