Ethan's Birth Story

October 6th, 2016:

I was 2 days past my due date and feeling HUGE!  I decided to book a last minute pre-natal massage and see if that would jump start my labor.  The massage must have worked because on my way home I started having light contractions.  I got home and told Scott I thought I was in labor.  We were SO excited and thought we might have a baby by the end of the night.  We decided to go to frozen yogurt and go for a little walk in the park to see if it would help things progress a little more.  

I had contractions on and off through the afternoon but they were pretty manageable.  After dinner I started feeling them in my low back and the pain felt more like stabbing low back pain.  The next few hours were a blur but I remember the contractions becoming really intense and close together.  

We timed them and realized they were in the “active labor” timing of our chart from our birth class.  Our doula was out of town so we called the back up doula to ask her what we should do.  She told us to stay calm and stop timing the contractions, which was really hard because the contractions were coming so close together.  I labored through the night and early the next day the contractions slowed down.  I tried my best to lie down in bed for a while and get some sleep.  

October 7th:

The next day we were exhausted but the contractions had stopped.  My doula came over to help me move into different positions to help the baby move down a little.  She told me contractions usually start back up in the evenings and to call her when they did.  That afternoon they started back up and by 3 am they were really painful and close enough to call the doula.  She came over right at the point when I felt like giving up and going to the hospital for an epidural.  She was so calm and brought a sense of renewal to me. She helped me labor at home for the next 6 hours.  We tried different walking and lunging techniques, essential oils and massage.  

October 8th:

After a long night of labor we decided it was time to go to the hospital around 9 am.  Ashley helped me get into the back seat on my hands and knees while Scott drove.  I had 2 strong contractions in the car and could feel the baby lower in my pelvis.  He was coming!  I felt like I was in a dream at this point and just wanted to get to the hospital! 

When we made it things progressed really quickly and it was a blur for me.  As soon as I showed up the baby started crowning and I barely had time to climb onto the hospital bed and put on a gown (there wasn't even time for an IV).  2 pushes later Ethan was finally here!  

As soon as they handed Ethan over to me and I immediately started crying.  I cried out, “My baby!”  I felt a wave of emotion come over me after working so hard to bring my little one into the world.  I looked up at Scott and I couldn't believe that cute, sweet baby boy was ours.  He was so tiny and snuggled right up to me on my chest; we loved our baby boy so much already.