She is here!...Birth story

Lydia Beatrice Lewis was born Thursday, February 17th, 2011 at 10:17 PM weighing in at 8 pounds 4 ounces and is 20 and quarter inches long.

Thursday last week everything started as normal. I got up, did my blog, my mom came over early, we played with Delores and I went off to my 40 week 4 day appointment with my midwife. I got there and had to wait a little while, but when she took me back she asked me almost immediately if I wanted to be check and have my membranes stripped. It kind of took me by surprise because having my membranes stripped was not something that I had even considered or even knew that she did. I hadn't done research on it. I didn't know what it entailed and frankly it kind of scared me. I believe birth should be a completely natural process based on the fact that God equipped women to bear children and anything that comes between that is just not natural to me. I couldn't decide if having my membranes stripped was coming in between natural birth. After talking to Josh we decided to go ahead and do it. That was around 4:00. I drove home and started noticing some cramping. I got home around 4:45 and started making Delores's dinner. By 5:00 I was having contractions. I timed them for about 30 mins and they were 2 mins about about 30 seconds long a piece. I texted Josh to come home ASAP and he call his parents to come sit with Delores. My mom was still there so she helped me with Delores because my contractions were getting intense fast. Josh got home and we finished packing our bag. We put Delores to bed and then we were gone. We were going to stop and grab a bite to eat before we got there because I hadn't eaten anything since lunch and I knew I was going to need it for energy, but I was so uncomfortable I just wanted to get there. I had my mom pick us up something on the way there.

When I got there around 7:00 she checked me and I was 6 cm. This did not make me happy. I made it to 8 at home with Delores and this time I felt like I was further along. So she sat me on the birthing ball for about an hour and checked me again. I think I was around 8, although she never really said. I was so tired so I tried to get in bed but that didn't work. It made the contractions so intense that I felt like I was going to throw up. I went back and forth from the edge of the bed, to the ball, to the bathroom until I started moaning to get through the contractions and then she got me in the tub. At this point I had no idea how much time had passed or what time it was. The tub made me a little more comfortable till I started getting the shakes and it was time to push. Nothing can make you comfortable at 10 cm. So at 10:00 I started to push. I was making good progress but it hurt so much worse than Delores did. This time I actually had to scream. Last time I was just able to hold my breath and push through it, but it hurt so bad I wanted to cry this time. Josh's poor mom had to go outside to pray because she just couldn't listen to me go through it. When she started to crown I started feeling nauseous during each push. When the head came through I said I was going to throw up and had to dry heave through getting her head the rest of the way out. When it was all the way out I had no feeling of relief because I still felt like dry heaving so I just took a deep breath and pushed her on out. She was born at 10:17 PM.

I felt ten times better obviously after she was out and laying on my chest. She didn't really want to cry good, but she kept going. Her head was covered in dark thick hair and thick vermix and I just kept looking at her waiting for some emotion to hit. But nothing really did. I just smiled and talked to her and then Amy cut the cord and handed her to Josh armed with a warm towel from the dryer. Then Amy cleaned me up, delivered the placenta, and got me to the bed. I was still shivering so I stayed under the covers while she checked her heart and breathing and took her footprints and all that. Then it was time to breastfeed. I breastfeed her for about an hour and then Amy dressed her and handed her off to Josh to show her to the family while I relaxed. He announced her name, Lydia Beatrice, and everyone liked it (or at least they pretended too, lol). Then I was ready for bed. My brother and dad made a late visit at 12:30 for a split second and then we all went to bed around 1:00.

Beginning to end, labor took 5 hours 17 mins. It was so much more intense this time around and if I had to do it all over again I would not have my membranes stripped. To me the labor was too fast. I need a little time to adjust to each pain and work through it. I think this just kick started it too quickly and I couldn't mentally work through the pain. There were actually times this time when I said "I don't know if I can do this," but of course they reassured me I could, and that I was, and that in a little while I would be holding my new baby and it would all be worth it. It wasn't going to last forever and before I knew it she was there. I will say one thing, I am not having another baby for a while. Lol.