A birth story – part 2

Time has passed by in a blur and it’s hard for me to believe that 13 weeks ago, our little Lucy girl came roaring into our lives. Since this was my second time giving birth, you’d think I’d be better prepared, but my daughter’s lightning fast arrival threw even me for a loop!

But before we get into that, let’s go back to the beginning shall we? My official due date was July 17 and everyone had me convinced that the baby would come sooner because “second babies always do”. Well needless to say that is definitely NOT true since baby girl didn’t make her arrival till 10 days after my due date so there’s that. Just goes to show you that what “everyone” says will happen, won’t necessarily be the case for you. My doctor was once again comfortable going up to 42 weeks if everything looked fine and I was following her lead. Sure, being super pregnant in peak summer wasn’t easy but hey worth it for those sweet babes am I right?

My due date came and went and when at 41 weeks, nothing had changed, I mentally started planning for another induction (like I’d had with my older daughter.) I had my last appointment on a Thursday at 41 weeks and 2 days and decided against a dilation check because it was proving to be so depressing. Each time I’d been checked there had been no progress so I thought screw it. I promised my doctor I’d be dancing that evening to hopefully get things moving. And for full TMI some adult activities with my husband lol Hey when you’re super pregnant you do what you have to do! Well lo and behold, guess what happened in the early hours of Friday? (Spoiler alert! I went into labor.)

Now, since I was induced with my older daughter I had never gone into labor on my own, so I wasn’t sure what it felt like! I know this sounds crazy but I swear I was afraid that I wouldn’t recognize the signs. About 4:30 after another restless night of sleep which of course during the last few weeks of pregnancy is par for the course, I realized that I felt a little funky. I went downstairs to go to the bathroom and realized that maybe just maybe I was in labor. Around 5 a.m. is when my husband usually wakes up to go to work so I went to wake him and told him that he wasn’t going to be going to work that day. I quickly texted our neighbor to come stay with our daughter and bless her heart she texted back right away and was over within minutes.

At this point, I still wasn’t sure if I was actually in labor. I told myself that maybe it was Braxton Hicks even as my husband noted that it was probably the real thing since I was 10 days past my due date haha. We headed to the hospital around 5:30ish and at this point my contractions were picking up intensity. As much as I had joked about laboring in the car while rushing to the hospital like you see in the movies, when you actually have to do it, well let;s just say it is NOT fun. I tried my best to breathe through the contractions as my husband sped through the streets. Thank goodness there was no traffic that early in the morning so we got to the hospital quickly.

Naturally, we couldn’t park near the entrance and had to go to the emergency entrance. Then in another cruel twist I had to walk down the longest hallway of my life while in VERY active labor. There was no way I could sit on a wheelchair so I powered through. By the time we got to the check in desk I was not able to talk and my husband quickly filled the nurses in. I was examined within a minute and I was already at 6 cm! At this point they asked if I wanted an epidural right as I was mid-contraction so I didn’t answer. When I could breathe again I asked how long they thought it would be till I delivered. Since I hadn’t had an epidural with my daughter I wanted to try do that again one more time but the pain was getting intense very fast. It honestly felt like it went from 0 to 100 in minutes and turns out that’s because it did. Only a few minutes after I’d declined their initial offer of an epidural I started frantically asking for one haha Unfortunately, the nurses laughed a bit and said that wouldn’t be possible since they could already see the baby’s head!

After that it was honestly a blur and I said some choice curse words very loud as I focused on getting that baby the F out if ya know what I mean. I’d been laboring on all fours on the bed and this position felt really good for my body. Unfortunately, the nurses couldn’t get a good read of the baby so they made me get on my back. This was probably the hardest and most frustrating part. Several more F bombs were dropped as I willed my body into turning over.

Finally, after only a few pushes baby was out and within seconds on my chest. I looked down and found out we’d had another girl! I was actually the first one to see this and that moment is just pure magic. From start to finish the entire labor and delivery took about 2 hours, which yes was nice in a way but on the other hand because it had happened so damn fast I hadn’t had time to mentally wrap my head around what the hell was happening until it was well HAPPENING ha! But I wouldn’t have it any other way. We got to the hospital around 6 a.m. and at 6:33 a.m. our precious Lucy was born. It was a crazy fast delivery and truly a bit of a surreal experience. The post-birth part that no one likes to talk about was not so fun and in many ways more painful than the birth itself. I did tear and had to have several stitches but luckily my body recovered much quicker this time around. (Hot tip for all you expectant moms: Dermaplast and Tuck’s witch hazel pads work wonders for post-birth healing!)

All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. A healthy delivery and a healthy mama and baby. A quick note about my two birth experiences. I’m all about empowering women to making their own choices when it comes to their bodies. For me, delivering without the aid of an epidural was simply a personal preference (and honestly my fast births definitely helped me achieve that.) Had I ended up getting an epidural or having to have a C-section I would’ve been totally OK with that. Like all moms, my main goal was the safe delivery of a healthy babe. I remember how nervous I was about giving birth the first time around and honestly even though I’d done it once before I had nerves this time around also. It’s a big deal! I mean bringing life into this world should be! So for all you mamas out there, however your birth experience went, I salute you! We are all truly rockstars! And if you happen to be an expectant mom reading this, you got this mama.