Tons of stuff has gone down since my last Blessingway post! Paddy is here, boy did he come quickly! I would have never thought that I'd be so blessed with a speedy labor! It was intense, but awesome!
My due date was Sept 21st, I was sure this was VERY accurate too, but I know some baby's need more time and some need less. Because Grace came at 38 weeks I figured that Paddy could choose to come early, but because he is a boy, I thought he also might need some extra time to bake so I wasn't really surprised to be past 40 weeks. I did become annoyed when people made comments about him not being here yet, etc. Isn't it normal to go a few days past the due date? Near the end I started to stress out because the last thing I wanted was a hospital induction. But, at the same time, I knew that my body responds really well to natural induction methods, so I wasn't completely on edge.
I decided to have my membranes swept at noon on Sept 27th, prior to this appointment I took a walk and put on my beautiful Blessingway necklace to remind me of all of the women in my community who were praying and sending positive vibes my way. I was already 4cm dilated and 90% effaced -1 station. This day was my maternal Grandfathers birthday. He was like a 2nd father to me, we always lived VERY close to or with my Grandparents as I was growing up. I have always felt so fortunate that I had such a great relationship with him. While on his deathbed I saw him surrounded by his eight children, they sang to him and comforted him as he was in terrible pain. It wasn't until I witnessed his last few hours that I truly realized the importance of family. He and my Grandmother had what really matters in this lifetime- they were truly rich people. I decided that having a family of my own would be meaningful and important on that sad, yet beautiful night. As I took a walk with my Mother In Law that morning, I noticed not a cloud was in the sky and the temperature was ideal "this has to be it!" I said, being very hopeful, while feeling a great vibe in my body as I walked.
At about 9:15pm or so, my husband, daughter, mother in law, both dogs and myself were watching "Castle". While they were watching I received an email from my friend Amelie, she sent a list of things that she did to encourage labor. One of them was whipping out the breast pump. This was the second time someone suggested this to me. I had an episode of "Mad Men" that was on DVR, and I wanted to watch it so I thought I'd go to the other room and watch it while I pumped. I probably started at about 9:20 or 9:30, not exactly sure. But I do know that after pumping for what was probably about 30 minutes I felt a monster contraction that forced me to stand up. Before I knew it, I was leaking water just like I did while I was in labor with Grace. My husband came to the door and asked why I was making strange noises, I explained that I had a major contraction and labor was underway. I called Delilah, my doula, after the contraction and told her that there may be some action that night and to be on alert. She told me to try to get some sleep, relax, take a bath etc. After 2 more contractions I knew a bath wasn't going to work. Andrew started to time them, he called the photographer and the midwife on call, Kathleen and decided he should eat something. While he ate, my Mother in Law started to time the contractions. I leaned into and pressed my forehead against the wall to manage the severe pain. After just a few contractions my forehead was dripping with sweat, my body was working HARD, I could not talk through these hardcore contractions. They quickly became 3 minutes apart and I started to scream. Andrew was still eating, piddling around, his mother told him he needed to get the car ready and pull it around front, we needed to go ASAP. As we were getting ready to go Kathleen called and Andrew told her that we were on our way.
I was happy to have so many people there after the birth! Having the photos from Stephenie is priceless, she was very helpful showing me the photos during some difficult moments after the birth. I knew that Delilah was so happy for me and my family, the joy of seeing the baby just showed on her face. She was really glowing! Delilah also helped us get off to an awesome start by helping me with breastfeeding. With her help, Paddy and I were sucessful! Kathleen was so awesome during those crucial moments upon arrival. I was grateful that she told me it was time to push! It all happened so fast, and her encouragement was spot on. I'm also so glad that my Mother in Law was with us to help with Grace.
It felt really wonderful to see my friend Rheagan after the birth, she stopped by to meet Padraic and to wish us well. She was and still is a source of constant support for me before/during and after pregnancy. I loved the fact that I had some women friends there to share in the joy! We were only at the Birth Center for a total of 4 hours so it was brief, but meaningful.
Padraic was born at 11:27pm on Sept 27th. Just 33 minutes shy of being exactly 41 weeks. My labor was only about 90 minutes long, and I pushed for about 10-15 minutes. I never thought it would be so fast!
The entire pregnancy was ideal. It was exactly what I wanted. I only had one sonogram, and the only invasive procedures were having 1 exam and my membranes swept. I love all of my midwives and am thankful and fortunate to have such amazing prenatal care!
The only drug I had was 2 Alleve after the birth! How awesome is that? My recovery was FAST and EASY.
