The Reed Ranch: May 2010

Well it has been a while since my last update and now I well over due. Now almost a month since the birth, I have forgotten a little bit. I should have wrote this the day after as it was fresh on my mind. This is my birth story for me to read to my little girl some day and to share with family. It is a remarkable journey, finding out that we were expecting, then watching a baby growing inside me, preparing for birth, the excitement of the actual birth day arriving and now the joy of raising a child.

It all started when I woke up on Monday morning the 12th of April to see Todd off to work. I went to lay back down, as I didn't get a lot of sleep that night, and I felt a strange pain in my back. I thought it was a gas pain but after a few more I had to get up to walk around. I tried to lay back down but they hurt worse when I was laying down than when I was up and moving around. I guess I was up for the day. I took care of all the animals and then I went to work on the computer for a bit, and had another one. This time I started to time them and they were 30 min apart and 20 seconds or so long. Ok, was having having contractions.

I called to tell Todd and then I went on with my day. I had a customer coming over around noon to pick up some halters that I made for her to donate to a breast cancer awareness walk-athon. After she left I called the midwife a little before 5 pm to tell her what was going on. I said that I have been having contractions all day consistently 30 min apart and they were getting stronger as the day went on but she said that was nothing and could go on for days. I was doubting that, I said to her I just want to give you a heads up just in case I have to come in that night, she didn't take me serious.

I got a quick 30 minute nap in before I took the girls and horses to the arena for 4-h night, this was around 5pm. I had to go the the club house for a meeting for a few minutes when I got out I went back over to talk to Fred while the girls were still riding Nifty & Halebop. I then noticed that the contractions were getting a little bit stronger so I told the girls to rap it up I needed to get home, It was after 8 pm anyway. Todd had fixed a lovely dinner, Chicken Parmesan but all I could eat was the spaghetti and not that much. I told him that I was really in labor and he was skeptical and went on to bed for the night thinking he would be at work the next morning. After getting home its all kinda a blur I think I tried to lay down but I couldn't deal with the pain. I started to time them around 1 am I got my stop watch and tried to time them. At this point they were 10 min apart. I camped out on the couch with lots of pillows some how I did manage to snag a nap from 1:38am to 2:15am but that last contraction was a doosy and woke me up.

I went in to tell Todd I needed him to help with the timing as I could not see straight to time them effectively. He finally got up about 3 am to help me he still did not believe me that I was hurting this bad and still thought he was going to work, after a little more convincing and he woke up some and it hit him that I was in labor and we will have a baby here soon. Todd had some nice music going on Pandora and lit a few candles to help with a more calming mood. about 4 am I lost my mucus plug or what look to be it as I was in the bathroom most of the night with the runs my bodies way of making room for the baby. This is probably why Todd didn't believe that I was in labor he thought I had eaten something that didn't agree with me and told be to go back to bed many times that night. He called Michelle to tell her that we had two signs now but she said if I didn't have the "511" or contractions 5 min apart 1 min long for one hour then not to come in. I didn't want to be in the late stages of labor and driving in the car for 45 min as my labor seamed like it was progressing fast. We waited one more hour it was now 6 am and he called again to tell her that we were going to come in and she said she would meet us there around 6:45 am.

Shew we made it I some how I dozed off in between contractions in the car Todd held my hand and was breathing with me with each contraction. I remember getting there and it was such a beautiful morning the birds were singing and the temperature was perfect, a great day to have a baby. We got settled in to our room. I was checked for dilation, I was between 5 & 7 centimeters wooo whoo now I get to go right into the tub, something I was looking forward to the whole time.

Once there I felt better but out of my body kinda not knowing what was going on and thinking that this is nothing like what I thought it was going to be. I remember after I was in the tub for a while I had several big contractions that made me push. I told her and she checked me once more, the midwife said "honey your ready to have this baby but not in the tub she is resting on your pubic bone and will not come out that way." I had a choice of a birthing chair or the bed the bed looked more comfortable. Now I have not laid down on my back for, lets see, 4 months or so, that was the hardest thing to do it made breathing difficult till I got as comfortable as I could get, considering the situation. I have a few pushes and thought that I had her but that was just the beginning. Todd was on the bed, he held my hand with every contraction and I had a dullas hand on my right my midwife was sitting cross-legged in front of me on the bed. She had me put my feet on her knees with each contraction. All I can remember is saying one word to her Hot!, and one to Todd, cold!

Todd was there with the ice water rag for my head and water bottle of water to drink in-between contractions, and Michelle had a hot towel on me so it didn't hurt wile pushing and it kept me from tearing. I remember curling up into a ball and giving it my all. I just wanted them to be over. She would tell me I see her head she has hair I imagined what she looked like and where she was with each contraction that helped me move right along and not give up. The last push she said give me a big one and we will have her so I did and 30 minutes into it and we have a baby, it was 9:58am. They put her on my stomach and I knew it was over, all that hard work paid off my baby was finally here.

I remember her first breath was a large inhale, no crying, it was amazing. They clamped the cord and Todd cut it after it quit pulsing. Then I had to get her to latch on to facilitate the passing of the placenta. I swished around and drank some "dirt" as the called it and it helped with the placenta about 10 minutes later. Then everybody left us with our new baby for about 1.5 hour, they didn't weigh her or measure her until we were leaving, but they did tell us we could go home in about 4 hours. Todd went Denny's shortly after the birth and got me a grand slam breakfast. I also had to prove that I could walk without passing out before we could go home so we made a couple of trips to the bathroom to make sure everything was OK.

Michelle came back in before we left to do the final exam and weight her. She was 6 lbs 12 oz and 20" long. Then It came to the time to fill out paperwork and name the baby, we said a few names each to her and she responded to Chloe she raised her eyebrows and smiled so Chloe it is. I remember during labor that I kept apologizing for beings so loud, and thought that I was scaring the people in the waiting room since I had a baby during business hours. All the girls that worked there got to see her that morning, they were super stoked for a morning baby they said that is rear. Michelle said I had a beautiful and powerful birth, Todd said I was amazing, I will remember that forever! This was such a wonderful experience, I wouldn't have had changed anything, having our baby in a home like setting was the best thing we could have done. We loved the birth center experience.