Ava's Birth Story - Part 2

Click here to read part one of this story. 

To quickly recap, we were ten days past our due date and my midwife had just informed us during a check up that I was 6.5 cm dilated and therefore technically in labor. She wanted us to check in right away, also because I was GBS positive and we wanted to get the antibiotics started and hopefully get the first dose in 4 hours before the baby would be born. We didn't come prepared though; my hospital bag was still at home. I hadn't felt a single contraction and felt completely fine so I said I wanted to go home and grab my things. My midwife said that wouldn't be a problem and we could also grab lunch if we wanted to before checking in. This was at about 11 am. 

So we drove home to grab our bags, and decided to just check in first and then think about lunch. I didn't want to feel rushed and have time to settle in before things got going. We were super excited and I was happy Noah was with Bryan and Kaylee and we didn't have to worry about him. 

We were back at the hospital at about noon where the staff looked at me funny when I walked in, still not having felt a single contraction, letting them know I was in labor and was ready to check in. We later found out that they were completely full and weren't happy to give the room away to a patient whose labor hadn't even started yet. In the room, I settled in and changed into a lovely hospital gown. The nurse hooked me up to monitors measuring the baby's heartbeat and contractions, and started my IV with antibiotics. All set up, Tony left to get some lunch since we were expecting this to be a long day. 

At around 1 pm he was back and we ate pizza for lunch, watching the contractions on the monitor. We joked around and thought it was so funny that the monitor showed that contractions were clearly happening, but all I could feel was my belly tightening up a bit. Of course we had no idea how close I was to delivering this baby. At about 1:30 pm, right after I had decided to lay down a bit for a nap, I started to feel contractions and got excited - finally something was happening. This excitement didn't last long as contractions became extremely intense very quickly. I had to get out of bed and move around in order to manage the pain. I now had very strong contractions, one right after the other. I'd say it was about 1:45 pm. I was not prepared for this kind of pain, and remember quietly saying "I don't know if I can do this", still thinking I had hours of this ahead of me. Tony reassured me I could and I leaned against him, my head pushing against his chest, with each contraction. The nurses were still calm, not realizing how quickly things were progressing, I think also because I did a pretty good job at managing my pain, and asked if they could call the midwife, just to check in on the progress. I agreed, knowing that I needed her with me as soon as possible. 

Shortly after the nurse called the midwife to come check in because things were 'slowly' progressing, I decided I needed to go to the bathroom. Again, no one realized how close I was to the delivery so no one argued. I managed to walk into the bathroom by myself when another extremely strong contraction hit me, and I called for Tony to come in (this is where he typically jumps in when I tell the story and tells people how I yelled "Loveeeeer!!!"). Again, I leaned against his chest when I realized that the baby was coming there and then. My water broke all over the bathroom floor, and I immediately felt the baby drop. I think I said something out loud, but maybe didn't, because Tony had no idea what was going on. Poor guy thought we were just working through another contraction when the midwife asked me if I thought I could make it back to the bad. I responded with a very firm: no! Here I was, standing in the bathroom, Tony supporting me completely as my legs went weak, feeling the baby make her way into this world. As painful as it was, it was almost a beautiful moment when I closed my eyes, ignored everything that happened around me, and focused on my breathing and my body. As I had planned, I didn't actively push, I just let my body and gravity do all the work. Every once in a while the midwife said I could push a little, and so I did, slowly and carefully, always focused on my baby. Tony hadn't realized what was going on until the midwife said: I can feel the head, a couple more pushes and the baby is out. And yes, I was still standing, if you can call it that, Tony holding me up, trying not to slip on the wet floor. 

When she finally came out at 2:52 pm and all the pressure disappeared, it was an amazing feeling, and I was so grateful how conscious and focused I was, how I was so in the moment, so aware of my body. 

Still standing, and still connected to the umbilical cord, the midwife and nurses helped me take two steps back so I could sit down on the toilet. My midwife handed me my beautiful baby girl and I remember laughing because she was so slippery. It was the most amazing feeling to be holding her in my arms. Tony then cut her umbilical cord right there, then took her, now wrapped in a towel, so they could help me move back to the bed and deliver the placenta, which only took a few more minutes. I already knew it, but was so happy when the midwife confirmed that everything looked great and I wouldn't need any stitches. I got comfortable in bed, and they placed Ava back on my chest where she found my breast and started to eat right away. There are no words to describe the happiness I felt in that moment. 

Because it had been less than four hours since I had had my dose of antibiotics, we stayed at the hospital for two nights, but were discharged at around 10 am that morning. I felt so good I even walked to the car all my myself. Because I had been in so much pain after Noah was born, this was truly an amazing experience and added to this high I was on. When I got up to go to the bathroom by myself the morning after she was born I was so happy. I was so thankful that I could focus 100 percent on my baby and completely enjoy the moment, not being distracted by pain. Even though we really wanted to go home, we stayed the extra night, and just enjoyed cuddling our sweet baby girl. Noah was so sweet when he met her that day at home and has been the best big brother since.