"Honey, I think my water just broke!?" was where it all began on Wednesday night, March 13, at 11:50 pm. Grant was in the bathroom brushing his teeth; we had such an enjoyable night that we were getting to bed a little late and I was fairly exhausted from a long day. My mother in law and I had gone to get pedicures and lunch that morning, I'd cleaned the kitchen, gone on a three mile walk, and ended the day with a nice, long bath and my Kindle (and I still really want to know what happens in the book I was reading!).
I had gotten up to go pee one last time before settling in to bed and thought I'd peed a little on the bed, so I quickly stood up to a huge gush of fluid onto the carpet. Completely shocked, I yelled for Grant, temporarily frozen in the moment. He came running, immediately left for towels, and I then hobbled to the toilet. This leaking and clean up continued for quite a while. We called the midwife, Kathy, who told us to get some rest and call her in the morning since my contractions hadn't started. Before bed, we got everything ready for the morning, and I tried to get some sleep.
Somewhere around 2am, my contractions started and they were pretty strong. I'd had bouts of contractions the previous Saturday and Monday nights, and these were much more intense. At about 4:15am, I couldn't do it on my own anymore and had Grant get up to help me through some of them. We used several positions from our birthing class that the other midwife, Ginger, had taught. My favorite was the dangling squat, which Grant says he also enjoyed because he was able to help me through some of the pain and feel close to me.
We called Kathy just after 7am, because I was having some contractions really close together and then would have short breaks. She had us stop by her office at 9:30am. I really wanted scrambled eggs, but we didn't have time to make any, so we stopped by McDonald's to get some. They asked us to pull ahead because it would be a few minutes on the eggs. Grant asked how long and explained that I was in labor. The woman slammed the door shut, yelled something to the back, and another woman came running up to the window about 30 seconds later and practically threw the bag at us. It was rather hilarious!
At the office, I was dilated to about 4-5 cm, so Kathy sent us over to the Birth Inn, suggesting that we take a walk around a nearby park on our way. We got around the 3/4 mile path once before I was too cold and had to use the restroom really badly. We stopped by a different McDonald's so that I could use the restroom, and a kind middle aged man talked to Grant while I was away. He told Grant that having a baby is a good thing, but what Grant remembers most is the smile on his face. It was a sweet moment in our story.
At about 11am, we arrived at the Birth Inn, and I rested while Grant got everything inside. We took a walk a while later and ended up at Sonic so that Grant could get some food, realized he didn't bring his wallet, and walked back to the Birth Inn. We started walking down the street that the Birth Inn is on, but my contractions were getting pretty intense, so we quickly headed back.
I was really tired again, so I rested, and then we started watching Finding Nemo. I was trying to get through contactions on my side, but they were getting really intense so I laid back for a few minutes. Ginger walked in the door sometime around 1:30pm, right as I was having an intense contraction. She checked on the baby, who was doing great, and I went out on the birthing ball. A while later, after complaining about back pain, Ginger suggested that I try leaning over the birthing ball through a contraction. It was pretty intense, but I breathed and moaned through it, and I suddenly felt a little pop which brought some relief. This was a milestone that enabled me to continue pressing into the contractions, rather than pulling away.
From there, the rest of the afternoon is a bit of a blur. Kathy arrived, and Grant and I worked the contractions until they got really intense. I started crying, I think around the time I hit transition. It was a sweet release, and I had the strength to go on. I continued to use the birthing ball, and Kathy offered me the tub, which I had previously said I wanted to use. I declined, saying that I felt like I was doing well and didn't want to change anything.
A while later, they suggested the tub again and Grant encouraged me to give it a try. I was experiencing some very intense contractions and we thought it might be of help. I got in the tub, worked a couple of contractions, which did seem to help me jump a hurdle, but then I became overheated and felt like I might pass out. Grant went to get the midwives, who quickly came in and got me out of the tub. At this point, they checked me and I was just a smidgen under 10cm dilated. They tried to help me get through to 10cm, but it was too painful. We moved around a lot on the birthing bed and the toilet. I seriously felt that I couldn't do it, but I was consistently reassured by Kathy and Ginger that my body was made to do this. I remember several times staring into their eyes, pleading them to silently soothe my fears. They were both wonderful and gave me some extra boosts of strength. Soon after, I felt like I needed to push.
I was squatting, on my hands and knees, on my side, and probably doing other gymnastics that I don't even remember. Grant was helping me squat (and by helping, I mean holding me up completely!). He was so reassuring, as he had been during the entire labor, and I am certain that he gave me the strength to keep pushing when it was hard. They showed me Gideon's head as it was crowning, and I remember little more than seeing it. Grant later told me that I said, "That's my baby" and had a smile of pure joy on my face, despite my pain. There were several times during the two hours that I didn't think it was going to happen. Near the end, I started crying out to Jesus, thanking Him. I repeated it over and over again. My birth playlist played perfect songs at a couple of crucial moments, reminding me not to give up. Two hours of pushing later, and we finally got to meet our sweet Gideon.
It was difficult, there is no denying it. But I am so, so thankful that we welcomed our Gideon into the world this way. Grant said that people told him to cut the cord because he will always remember it; and he did cut the cord, and he will always remember it. But he was there every step of the way: holding me up, watching the baby's head bob in and out, speaking words of encouragement to me.
Looking back, I can see that my I had just what I needed to make it through this birth. My contractions on Saturday night and Monday night were very tiring and distressing to me. At my 39 week appointment on Tuesday, I was somewhat distraught about how much longer I would be going through this. Kathy reassured me that it was good to have contractions, because every contraction I had before labor was one less contraction during actual labor. Given that my water broke before contractions started Thursday, I am thankful that I endured the others when I had time to rest up afterwards. God equipped me and provided for me, even though I was discouraged and frustrated.
