Ellie Kate’s birth story

I had been content just to wait for Ellie to arrive and I was telling myself I didn’t care when she decided to come as long as it was sometime around her due date and I wasn’t being talked into an induction. On Sunday night (1 week before her due date) I was having some uncomfortable contractions that I thought might lead to the “real thing” and so figured maybe Monday I would go into labor. But after Monday morning came and nothing more was happening my spirits started to sink and I started to become a bit impatient and anxious for her arrival.

My sister Amy came into town that weekend to help me in my last week/days of being pregnant and was helping a ton with the house and meals and taking care of Lola & Amelia. With all the relaxing I was doing I was making myself more and more anxious. Plus there was the added pressure of having the baby before Amy had to fly back to St. Louis on Ellie’s due date. So after a week of hanging out and trying to not be in control of everything going on around me we headed into another weekend.

That Friday morning I had an appointment with my midwife and she informed me that I was 1cm and 50 percent effaced. I didn’t really know how to take that info because with my previous births I had never been checked until I was actually having consistent contractions.

Saturday morning I woke up kinda feeling yucky which seemed strange but a good sign that labor was going to start anytime. Throughout the day I was having some contractions that were more than braxton hicks but not enough to really say I was in labor or consistent enough to start timing. I did have a wonderful relaxing day with Sam though. We went to the local diner for breakfast and then when we came back to the house my sister Amy and my mom took both the girls with them to run errands and get lunch. For lunch Sam and I went and got deli sandwiches from the grocery store and then took them to Starbucks to relax and enjoy the calm before the storm. We had a great day just being together. Later that evening I was still having random tightening/contractions but they weren’t holding any kind of pattern. So after the girls went to bed about 8pm Amy and my mom and I did a girls night to starbucks. They both got coffee drinks and I had a raspberry leaf tea. The whole evening I was having contractions but they weren’t holding to a pattern or getting stronger. By the time we girls got home I was pretty sure I was going to be going into “real labor” sometime soon or during the night so Sam and I started packing everything on our lists and sticking things we might need in the car. We went to bed just after midnight. I woke up a few times in the night with a strong contraction but was some what disappointed when Sunday morning came and I wasn’t in labor. So I went on with the day and went to church. I did have to endure a few “you’re still pregnant” comments and one, “do you need a trampoline?” I had a total of 4 contractions during sunday school and worship service. At this point I’m beginning to think this is never going to happen. After church there was more of the same off and on again contractions. Later that afternoon Sam and I took a two mile walk and timed some of the contractions. They were getting more consistent but still just barely there. Again our evening went on as normal and we went to bed around 10pm.

Okay so that was the part of the story that lead up to actually going into “labor.”

At 11:30 I started getting some real contractions. I laid in bed for a while until I couldn’t just relax through them. I got out of bed at about midnight. (I didn’t wake Sam because I knew he’d be awake soon enough and most likely the rest of the night so I let him sleep as long as I could.) I found 2 friends on facebook who were chatting with each other and used them to distract me as long as I could. By the way, I HATE chatting on facebook and so this was a rare occasion and it was after midnight but I needed a distraction because I had no idea how long I was going to be in labor.

So around 12:40 I’d had enough “chatting” and needed some relief from the contractions so I got into the shower. With both Lola and Amelia’s natural labors I spent a great deal of my labor in a tiny Japanese shower so I knew the water would work for me.

I woke Sam up to let him know this was the “real deal” then I got into the shower. At this point my contractions were bearable but coming about 6 minutes apart and lasting for a minute or so.

With this being my first time giving birth in an American hospital we decided to have a doula. For those who don’t know what a “Doula” is, she is a birth coach who is there to assist the laboring mother and the father in anyway. She isn’t a medical provider but is there to give the mother creative options to manage pain and cope with labor.

We called Robyn at 1am and let her know the pattern of my contractions. She arrived at 2am. I had been in the shower for an hour and when she arrived she just asked me a few questions to get a feel for how I was doing. By the answers I gave her and how I was talking she figured we still had a few hours before we needed to head to the hospital (we had planned for 4 hours before the birth to get a dose of antibiotics because of a positive GBS test so at this point she was figuring 6ish hours or so.)

Robyn suggested that I change up my labor technique and get into the bath tub. We have a large Jacuzzi tub that she filled. I sat down in the tub, had one contraction and had to get out. I felt like sitting down was really uncomfortable and impossible to relax through a contraction.

At 2:30 AM it was relatively cool outside especially for July in FL, so we decided to change things up and take a stroll outside. We didn’t walk fast just kind of strolled and every time I had a contractions I’d lean against Sam and Robyn would apply counter pressure on my lower back. We walked down the road a little ways and then turned around and by this time the street lights started to bother me so we headed back to the house with a few really intense contractions on the way. At this point we decided to head to the hospital. Things seemed to be picking up and we wanted to get to the hospital in time for the antibiotics. We went inside and finished getting everything together. I was starting to feeling cold and shaky. Robyn and Sam were trying to get me to eat or drink something but the idea of food seemed bad. I did feel like maybe I should try to eat something because I was anticipating labor lasting another 4 or 5 hours and I felt like it would be good to get some food in my system so I would have the energy I needed for the rest of labor. I was standing in the kitchen and had a very intense contraction. As I was leaning against the counter and trying to relax with Robyn applying counter pressure I asked her to apply the pressure lower on my back because the pain had moved down my spine and was close to my tail bone now. This was a sign that the labor was progressing fast and we should get out the door.

I didn’t want to cope with contractions in the van without counter pressure so I was glad we had Robyn ride with us instead of her taking her own car.

As we backed out of the driveway I had to tell Sam to stop the car because I needed to get out and have a contraction. So I hoped out and leaned against our mailbox and waited for another strong contraction to pass. At this I’m my doula is calm but insisting that we get back in the car and get to the hospital.

We were finally in the van driving at a normal pace (going the speed limit and obeying the traffic laws and stopping at reds lights). I had the first contraction in the van and it was very difficult to relax through it because I didn’t have the same counter pressure and room to move around. When the second contraction hit I was feeling anxious about them because I didn’t like being confined to the car kneeling on the seat. So when my water broke with the second contraction it was a surprise and what was even more surprising was that the baby was on her way and there was no stopping her.

Lets address the fact that my water just broke. For all of you who are grossed out by the idea of my water breaking in the car and making a huge mess, rest assured that Sam had planned ahead and put a towel on the chair so there was no speakable mess that wasn’t under control. The same thought crossed my mind as it was happening but then as I felt the baby trying to make her way into the world I forgot about the seat and tried my hardest to keep her from being born in the van.

Once my water broke Sam picked up the pace and pretty much ran every light and stop sign between our house and the hospital. He said the second my water broke the next light on the road we were driving on moved further and further away even though he was driving 75 MPH! The trip to the hospital would normally take 10-15 minutues.

Robyn was thinking fast and dialed the hospital’s emergency room and told them to meet us outside with a wheelchair because if they didn’t come now I was going to have the baby on sidewalk outside the hospital. So after 1 more impossible contraction (I had passed transition and was in the pushing stage, yikes!) we arrived at the emergency room entrance and even though we called it took a few seconds for them to get me into a wheel chair. One of the nurses thought she was going to be pushy and make me actually sit in the chair but I knew it wasn’t a good idea to sit on a baby’s head. So I kneeled on the chair backward and hung my arms around the guy pushing it. He smelled like cigarettes. Pretty much that is as much as I perceived about the wheelchair ride. I was trying with everything I had to not have the baby in the wheel chair and then I was trying not to have her in the wheel chair while riding the elevator up to labor and delivery. So after an eternity of trying not to have the baby I was finally sitting on a bed in labor and delivery.

One contraction in the bed and she was crowning. Then all of a sudden time seemed to stop. Once the pushing contractions started they slowed down so it seemed like forever with her crowning before I had another contraction to actually get the rest of the way out. They were saying, “Okay, just push her out.” I was thinking, “just” like this was a walk in the park. I was sitting / squatting on the bed being propped up by Sam and Robyn with the baby’s head crowning waiting for one last contraction. Finally it came and there she was.

From the time we got into the van at 3AM in the morning, it took 7 minutes until Robyn called the hospital and then another 10 minute before she was born. Pretty much we did all the crazy stuff in between in 17 minutes. That was a lot faster than I had anticipated but at least it was over and she was safe and healthy and in our arms.

So after less than 3 hours of active labor we had our baby girl in our arms. She was born on her due date and just in time to meet her auntie Amy who was leaving on a plane that same afternoon.

The Lord was so good to us. His timing was perfect. I had been so anxious about everything and once again I was humbled by His mercy and grace.

That is the crazy and eventful birth story on our third born daughter, Ellie Kate Green, born July 26th 2010 at 3:17am weighing in at 6 pounds, 14 ounces and 19 inches long.