Darcy June's Birth Story 12.8.12

Our baby girl’s due date was Saturday December 8^th 2012. On December 7^th, there was still no sign that she was ready to come. I was 40 weeks pregnant and by this time was sure that she was going to be a couple weeks late. I hadn’t had a single contraction, or even felt a Braxton Hicks for that matter! Since it was a Friday night, John and I decided to go on a date thinking it might be the last one we ever have as a family of two (we were right!). I wanted to do something that would make me walk around a lot to see if that would help encourage her to come. So we decided to grab some dinner at Costa Vida and then go miniature golfing at Golfland/Sunsplash in Mesa. We hadn’t been there in years and it was the perfect thing to get a pregnant woman walking, without being too intense. It was close to Christmas, so they had the whole place decorated with lights and giant ornaments and had Christmas music playing. It was seriously so cute! There weren’t very many people there either, so John and I had a really fun time just taking it slow, enjoying each others company, and talking about how we were going to be parents soon. Even now I still look back on that date and think about what a great time we had. Afterwards we went and got an ice cream to share, and went home. We started watching a movie, but I was too tired to watch the whole thing and just ended up going to bed.

 

Last picture taken of me pregnant. Everything happened so fast the next morning that we didn't think to take a picture. I was huge!

At about 3:20 am I felt a little popping sensation and quickly jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. I was not gushing water, so I wasn’t sure if my water had broken or if I had possibly just peed myself a little. I wasn’t sure if I should wake up John or not. I walked around the bathroom for a little bit trying to decide what to do, when I felt more water leaking out of me. I knew then that my water had broken. I went and woke John up and said something like “Um I think my water broke”.  That got him up! He asked what we should do and I said I wanted to wait until contractions started before we called the midwife. He started packing up stuff to take to the hospital and I started to try and get ready. As I was doing my hair I felt the first contraction. This was about 30 min after my water had broken. It felt uncomfortable but not painful. I told John that I was having my first contraction and that we would need to time how long it was in between them so that we could tell the midwife. The next one was about 10 min later. I decided that we should call her and let her know that my water broke and contractions had started. She advised me to get in the tub and try to relax. It would probably be a few hours before I would be ready to go to the hospital. I hung up with every intention of doing what she said, but then things started getting intense!

My next contraction was only 5 min after the last one, and then the next one was 4 min, and then they were just coming one after the other with only about 1 min in between them. I couldn’t sit still at all, let alone get in the bath! I walked around our kitchen island over and over because I couldn’t hold still. I sat on my birthing ball (one of those big exercise balls) because it felt so good to sit on it and move my hips around. I seriously could not believe that things were happening so quickly. I had heard over and over that labor, especially for first time moms, takes a long time! The contractions were intense but I could concentrate and breathe through them. They were so close together that I decided we needed to get to the hospital. We called Janice (our midwife) and told her that we were heading to the hospital. She said she would meet us there. I didn’t know how I was going to make the drive to the hospital because sitting still was seriously SO uncomfortable. John put a towel on the seat to make sure the water didn’t get everywhere, and I just sat up as straight as I could, held on to that handle thing on the roof above the window, and breathed. At this point John called my mom to tell her we were on our way to the hospital and that we thought the baby would be here soon. It was about 5:45 am at this point.

We got to the hospital and John and I walked in to get checked in. I was seriously so focused I couldn’t even talk to the nurse, and John had to give her my info. However, when she asked when my due date was, I was able to say “Its today!” At this point my concept of time became a little blurry. I was very, very focused on getting through my contractions so everything felt like it was taking FOREVER. I do remember another lady walking in to the hospital and checking herself in saying that she was in labor. She was totally calm and standing there talking like nothing was happening. I wanted to yell at her “YOU ARE NOT IN LABOR WOMAN! I AM OVER HERE SITTING ON MY BIRTHING BALL BARELY ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THESE CONTRACTIONS! IM THE ONE IN LABOR!” But I didn’t. They finally had some nurses show up with wheelchairs to take us to triage, but when we got there it was really full and there was only one bed left. Thankfully, the other lady said, “she was here first, she can have it”.

I changed in to the hospital gown and went back to sit on my birthing ball next to the bed in triage. There were a lot of other women in there and I could hear them groaning through their contractions. John later informed me that he could hear the woman next to us swearing up a storm, but I didn’t hear that at all. I sat there rocking side to side on my ball for what felt like a long time just breathing and focusing on getting through each contraction. I seriously recommend a birthing ball for all women in labor! It was a lifesaver and I don’t know how I would have gotten through without it. A nurse came in to ask what I wanted to do for pain management. I told her I was going all natural. (I am so grateful that Mercy Gilbert hospital was so supportive of my decision! This is the only time they asked/ offered me drugs, and I am so glad I didn’t have to fight them about going natural.) After what felt like an eternity another nurse finally came in to check how far along I was. She checked once and said that she couldn’t feel my cervix so she asked me to put my hands under my hips to prop myself up. This was not easy for someone who is in intense labor! She checked again and said that she couldn’t feel it because I was already at a 10! I was seriously so excited and relieved to hear that. She asked me if I felt like I needed to push. I said no, so she said they would get me to a delivery room ASAP.

At this point I thought that she would be here very soon. I was already at a 10 so all I was waiting for was the sensation that I needed to push! We got to the delivery room and Janice was there waiting. She had a warm shower going and suggested I get in to help me relax until I felt like pushing. I sat in the shower on my birthing ball, and John took the showerhead and sprayed it so it was directly on my back. It felt so good! I stayed in there for quite a while, but still didn’t feel like I needed to push. Eventually Janice suggested that I get out of the shower and try something else. She had me get on the delivery bed and kneel leaning onto the head of the bed, which had been raised up almost vertical. She had me sway back and forth, make deep groaning sounds, and had John push against my hips with his hands with every contraction. It actually felt so good! We did this for a while too, but I still didn’t feel the urge to push. Janice suggested that we try doing some pushes just to see how I felt doing it.

At this point a nurse came in to the room to help with the birthing. It was only me, John, Janice and this one nurse for the entire birthing process. I am very grateful for that because I wanted this to be a private, personal experience, and I did not want to be distracted by tons of people coming in and out of the room. I lay down on the bed, John was on my left side and Janice on my right. They each held on to my leg/ foot to give me something to push against. The first few pushes felt AMAZING. I finally felt like I was using my contractions to do something. Janice said she could see the baby’s head, and this gave me the confidence to keep going. I remember seeing John’s face when he said he could see the baby’s head too. He had this amazed look like he couldn’t believe this was actually happening. I remember at one point Janice asked me if I wanted to feel the baby’s head, so I reached down really quick to feel her. I could feel her hair, and her head felt super soft and mushy, it was so weird! But really cool too. The nurse took Janice’s spot so that she could go down to catch the baby. I loved being able to feel each contraction coming and using the power behind it to push my baby down.  They call the crowning of the baby’s head “the ring of fire” for a reason! Yes it burned. I remember saying “Oh my gosh this hurts!” and Janice saying “Yes it does!” But there was no turning back. I had to get that baby out by myself no matter what. Those last few pushes were painful and difficult. I gave it everything I had, and before I knew it I felt her slide out of me.

I remember Janice saying something like “We have a fat baby here!” before placing her right up on my chest. Holding my fresh born baby for the first time was incredible. She was so chubby and had a lot of dark hair. One of the first things I did was hold her little hand and look at her tiny little fingers. I kept saying “my baby, my baby” over and over again. I never cried during the labor or pushing, but with my baby girl in my arms I finally broke down in tears of joy and relief. After the cord stopped pulsing, John was able to cut it and then it was his turn to hold her for the first time. Seeing the man you love hold your newborn baby has got to be one of the best sights in the world. It is so amazingly sweet. Without a doubt, this was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I know I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the incredible support of my husband and my midwife. Darcy June was born on December 8^th 2012 at 10:34am (only 7 hours after my water broke). She was 7lbs 15oz and 21.5in long. She was so cute and perfect and we were so excited to finally be parents!

Right after she was placed on my chest. I'm so glad John thought to capture this moment!

 

The new daddy holding his baby for the first time

Having an all-natural birth was definitely not easy or painless. But I knew before I even got pregnant that it was what I wanted for my baby and me. I am so grateful that I had a healthy, uncomplicated pregnancy, which made medical intervention unnecessary. Giving birth was an absolutely amazing experience. I had to completely trust my body and its abilities, and I had to trust in myself not to freak out. I am so grateful to be blessed with an amazing, supportive husband who managed everything for me while I was “in the zone”, and was there to hold my hand and tell me I could do it the whole time. I Love him! And I am so grateful for the beautiful, healthy baby girl who came into our lives that day. Darcy is my spunky, sassy little sunshine and I cannot imagine life without her.