The Birth of Levi Jacob

Brace yourselves... this is probably going to be long (I did have 18 hours of early labor, 17 hours of active labor and pushed for 5 hours after all).

My labor was medicine and intervention free. How you ask? Most importantly: God.. without Him and His mercy and grace it would of been miserable and impossible. Secondly: my amazing birth team which consisted of my darling husband who was AMAZING, my mother, my dear friend Margaret, my mother in law and of course the midwives and nurses. And lastly: Hypnobabies (going to abbreviate HB going forward). I know without the training this would of been a lot harder and I wouldn't of handled it the way I did.

Let's get started...

Wednesday, February 20
I had very frequent and strong Braxton Hicks all day.. about every 2-5 minutes. These are not "painful" or difficult to manage, just a tad uncomfortable. I didn't need to use HB to cope with them. After trying a few methods to induce labor this evening (taking Evening Primrose Oil, rubbing Clary Sage Oil into my feet and being intimate with my husband), irregular pressure waves (HB term for contractions.. going to abbreviate PW from now on) began around 11:30pm. I tried sleeping through them as best as I could but was having a difficult time doing so. I got up and sat on my birth ball for a little while and also got in the shower. I would lay down occasionally but didn't get much rest. I did have to use my HB techniques throughout the night, these bad boys were pretty strong. I think I listened to "Easy First Stage" (it's all a little foggy to me now lol) and practiced the "Peace" cue, which is where you breath anesthesia to where you need it. I put myself in "center switch"; this is where you first put yourself into hypnosis by turning your light switch "off" (deeply relaxing every muscle of your body, where you train yourself not to move) and then switch to center.. still deeply relaxed with anesthesia running from your breasts to your thighs but you are able to interact and move in this position. Some people like to remain in the "off" position during PWs but I had to move and be active during them, finding the positions that were most comfortable. The PWs felt most intense in my back, especially my right lower back. There were a few times I didn't know how I was going to manage labor if pre-labor already was this intense, but I made it through to morning some how.

Thursday, February 21
By morning, they had tapered off a bit, but I still got in the bath tub around 6am for some relief. It definitely helped. Jake soon woke up (I didn't wake him all night, didn't think it was necessary) and we got ready to leave for his work. (I had been riding with him to work and staying at his moms to be closer to his work incase I went into labor). Right before leaving, I decided to go to the bathroom one more time. Jake came in with me and I had my bloody show. I gasped and looked at him and said "Bloody show! You know what that means? Labor is likely to happen today or tomorrow!" (That is at least what I had read in other people's birth stories). With that, we decided to stay home and wait it out. Jake worked from home that day. I went back to bed for a couple of hours since my PWs had died down. I still had infrequent PWs during the day, but they were nothing like they were during the night. I ended up thinking that maybe we weren't close since my PWs were so different than they were the previous night.. I was wrong. Thursday after going to bed, they came back.. not as close together as they were Wednesday night, but equally as strong, if not stronger. They were about 15-20 minutes apart, so I did drift to sleep between them, but always woke up when one hit. At one point I moved to the couch because I didn't want to disturb Jake and for some reason it seemed it would be more comfortable. I drifted in and out on the couch and Jake did come and check on me at 4am, I told him to go back to bed and I'd let him know if I thought he needed to be awake. This turned out to be a good thing because he got some rest before our long labor ahead (me.. not so much!).

Friday, February 22
Jake and I stayed home again today. This morning, I ended up needing his help because the PWs were closer and strong. They still were establishing a pattern, not super consistent yet. Anywhere from 4-10 minutes apart. We stayed in our room for about 4 hours. We closed the blinds, lit a bunch of candles and Jake hung out on the computer until a PW hit, then he would come to me and rub my back or do whatever I needed him to do. He would tell me to "Relax" (A HP cue that deepens your hypnosis) or say "Peace" amongst other HB scripts (i.e. "just remember, each PW is one step closer to you meeting Levi").. that's one he said a lot. He made sure I stay hydrated. I did drift in and out between these waves. He then made me lunch (last meal I ate til Levi was born!) and I got in the shower knowing we were getting close. Around 1pm he called the midwives (PWs were about 5 minutes apart now) but their phones weren't working. He tried a few more times.. nothing. So we decided if they didn't answer by 2pm, we were going to leave (the Birth Center is 50 minutes away from our house). Some of our family members were already having a fit that we hadn't left yet. The midwives told us not to call until PWs were 3-4 minutes apart, anyway. And I was listening to my body. I knew there was no rush (Boy, was I right). So, 2pm rolled around and since we still couldn't get through to the midwives, we got packed up and ready to go. Thankfully, the "Easy First Stage" track is 50 minutes, just enough length for the car ride. Jake eventually got through to the midwives on the car ride over and they said they would call back in 30 minutes, I can't remember why. I think because they needed to be sure there was a room for us (there are 3 rooms, and 1 back up room). Anyways.. although my PWs were 4-5 minutes apart before we left, I thankfully only had 4 in the car, which was great, because when they did come, they were not fun to deal with in the car. But I handled them! Jake actually said he was surprised at how well I was handling them.. he just said he could tell when one started because I started breathing deeply, then I would stop. I did drift in and out in the car as well, so it could be I had more PWs but didn't notice. Who knows. When we got to the birth center (3pm), we decided to walk around in the parking lot a bit since we hadn't gotten a call back yet. I had a couple of PWs while doing this, and leaned into Jake and breathed relaxation through my body. I did want to sit down and I also had to pee so we went inside. After going to the bathroom I said I wanted to sit down so we sat on a little bench right in the hallway right outside the birth center door. Maureen (the founder and director or the birth center) walked by and saw us and said "Jessica?" and I was like "yes", and she said "come on in, let's get you checked and see where you're at". I didn't realize at first it was Marueen, and when we got in the room I said "what's your name?" and she said "Maureen", and I was like "OH! Duh! Well I get the creme de la creme.. lucky me" and stated she was only there temporarily helping out because it was so busy. Every room was full, the one we were put in was just cleaned and put together for us. It was the room I had visualized birthing in all along, how cool is that? So I laid down and she checked me, I told her not to tell me anything just incase it wasn't what I wanted to hear.. so she whispered to Jake. I asked him if he thought it would be good news to me, and he said yes. Turns out I was 5-6cm (nice!) BUT baby was slightly posterior (hence the back pain!!! UGH!). So she had me lay on my left side with my left leg straight and my right leg hiked up on a pillow almost leaning in on my stomach. This position is supposed to make a hammock out of my stomach and get baby to turn. My PWs were very hard to handle in this position and I really wish I didn't have to lay like that, but I had to do it if we had any chance of making the baby move. Jake started getting all of our things out of the car and making phone calls. I managed to rest a little between PWs and occasionally Jake would come help me through some. I played some HB tracks while laying there (I think "Easy First Stage" again lol), I can't remember which one exactly. When a nurse came to check on me I asked if there was any other positions I could try.. and she set me up on the birthing ball leaning into the corner of the bed onto some pillows. I would rock back and forth on the ball. I always had to be sure I was drooping forward, belly hanging down, to assist baby to move into the right position. The PWs were still the worst in my back. Some PWs had me breathing very deeply and loudly to manage them. A few hours went by of me getting through these PWs and my Mom and Margaret showed up at 7pm. I got checked again at 7:30pm and was 7cm and the baby was more anterior than before (meaning he was turned more the correct way). The nurse said I I could get in the tub.. thank you Jesus!!! It felt so much better to be in there. I had Jake put on the "Deepening" track on the computer... this was the one track I listened to the most during pregnancy and it helps you to really relax. It starts by putting you in the "off" position but I chose to go to "center" after I felt relaxed. I stayed in "center" the rest of the labor, even though I didn't consciously realize it, but my subconscious had listened to that track so many times, my mind was prepared to get through this labor. PWs were about 3 minutes apart at this point. I tried all sorts of ways to be comfortable in the tub.. laying back, laying on my side (not so good) and leaning over the side (not good either). Sitting up or laying back was the best. At 9pm I managed to get out of the tub and go to the bathroom (#1 and #2, yay!) After this I sat back down on the ball leaning onto the corner of the bed. My Dad, Garrett and Kyle (Margaret's husband) showed up at 9:30pm. They came in to say hi and I was able to talk to them briefly between PWs. I do remember saying "Well guys, this is labor" then a PW hit and they saw me go through that. Then they went out to the waiting room and I didn't see them for 8 hours! Poor guys. Martha (Jake's mom) arrived a few minutes later and she stayed in the room with us the rest of the time. Now I was back laying in a side lying position on the bed. PWs were 2-3 minutes apart but I managed to drift to sleep between them (remember, I hadn't really had a night of sleep since Tuesday!). I got checked again at 10pm and was 8cm (transformation aka transition.. supposedly the hardest part of labor). I got back in the water at 10:15pm which felt so good again. At 11:15 the nurse and midwife came to check on me and said the baby's heartbeat was a little high and they'd like to break my water, so I got out of the tub, went pee and laid back in the bed. The midwife and nurse were gone what felt like forever, and I was getting frustrated that I had to get out of the tub before they were ready. What I didn't know was at that time they were handling a situation in the room next to me (the woman in there ended up being transferred to the hospital, not sure why.) My PWs were very intense by now, I was shaking by this point. I couldn't control the shaking.. I tried. It felt like shivering, so I tried breathing and really relaxing which sometimes worked, but I couldn't help what my body wanted to do.

Saturday, February 23
By midnight, they finally broke my water and barely any fluid came out, which had them a little concerned and they were going to keep an eye on it. I laid in bed through a few more PWs and decided to get back on the ball. By this point, the nurses decided we need to try something to get things going. They decided on a homeopathic tincture called Kali-C (kali carbonicum) which was to help with back labor and make things progress quicker. I had 2 doses within 20 minutes. I stood up from the ball to get back in tub (12:40am) and 2 big gushes of fluid came out, which was great news being not a lot came out earlier. After 5 minutes of being in the tub, I felt an interesting sensation bear over me during the next PW and found myself pushing and grunting. Everyone was like, "are you pushing?"... and I'm like, "what's it look like!" Haha, I don't even know if I actually said that, but you get the idea. Apparently I said some very interesting and funny things throughout labor.. I was pretty delirious, I don't remember everything. The next time I got checked (uncertain on the time) I was 9cm with some cervical lip. So the midwife reached in and held it while I pushed to get past it. I was then left to listen to my own body on when to push from here on out. She said all I had to do was push past the pubic bone. Little did I know it would take 5 hours. This is where I don't understand how you push with an epidural. How the heck can you feel what you're supposed to be doing when you don't feel anything? It seems so odd to me. When I was pushing, I really had to push in my bottom with all my might (even beyond my might!!) and sometimes the midwife would stick her finger in me and say "push my finger out, that's where you need to push" to help me. I went on pushing in the tub until 2:45am. I was pretty freakin exhausted by now. I hadn't eaten since lunch and hadn't slept in 2 days, I was beginning to question whether or not I could do this. I never questioned whether I could handle the "pain", because that I could handle, although very hard, I was managing it quite well. It was whether I could manage it while being so exhausted. While in the tub, someone (don't remember who) rubbed a cold rag on my head with peppermint oil, that was nice. And people were giving me sips of V8 fruit juice and water. I also got to look in the mirror to help "motivate me". It wasn't very motivating though because I didn't see a head or anything, just a tiny opening. And when I saw this I was like "WHAT?! That's it!!! You guys are telling me I am only this far?"I kept saying, "how do you guys expect me to get the head out in one push, that doesn't happen guys, it can't be done" and that had everyone laughing because I kept saying it. But they kept insisting I was making progress and to just keep on trucking. The tub just wasn't working out anymore for pushing so I got on the toilet (2:45am) and pushed a few times there and another gush of fluid came out. I think this is where I took off my tank top and was buck naked (never thought I'd be one of "those women" who birth naked lol). For the next couple of hours I tried everything you can think of... leaning over the birthing ball on all fours, sitting on the birthing stool leaning back into Jake, laying on my side on the bed and hiking up my knee to my shoulder and laying on my back (I know, I know.. I always harped on this position in other posts, but it was worth a try) while playing tug of war with Jake. What I mean by this is I would lay on my back, two people were holding back my knees, one on each side, and Jake stood at the end of the bed holding one end of a blanket while I pulled very hard on the other. After moving around in all of these positions, it ended up being the tug of war position that got this little guy out. My most effective pushes probably happened at 5am and I felt like a boxer in the ring at this point. I didn't know left from right, up from down... my eyes were open and closed, I was getting sips of a drink from whom ever was there, I barely had time to catch my breath before the next push and had to push with everything I had, which wasn't much at this point. Believe it or not, pushing was not that bad pain wise, it was the effort that was difficult. I'm sure if I was well rested and fed before pushing started it would of gone much quicker. After FINALLY managing to get the head out, the midwife unwrapped the cord from his neck and said "Oh I see his arm" (NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN by the way) and she had to finagle it free. This was the worst part, his arm was what caused me to have my only 2 lacerations which were near my urethra. Didn't need stitches though. It just felt like a very strong burning sensation. After the arm and head were free, I think I did 2 or 3 more pushes and his body slid out and Jake caught him and plopped him right on my chest, where he pooped immediately on me. Nice welcoming gift, right? Right before he came out, I got a shot of Pitocin in the leg (only drug given to me) to prevent hemorrhaging because my labor was so long. They give this to you right when baby is coming out so it doesn't harm baby at all. My placenta came out in one push I think, barely felt it. Levi didn't cry right away and they had me talk to him and rub him and he finally let out a little wail. I had to have my stomach pushed on to check bleeding, at first they didn't like how much I was bleeding so they kept monitoring it. Eventually it wasn't cause for concern anymore. He laid with me for an hour before they weighed him. They weighed him right in front of me then put him right back on my chest where he stayed for about 3 more hours (Daddy held him during this time, too) before they did any of his newborn tests (besides the APGAR, which he scored 8 then 9). I think I was in more discomfort right after labor then during, I wanted some Ibproufen and got some after I finally ate something (the guys went to Bruggers to get breakfast sandwhiches at like 6am). And had some ice packs down there to help with the burning senesation. My family all left shortly after (they didn't even hold our little guy, we held him the whole time) because they were so exhausted! We decided we would leave around 1pm so we rested and enjoyed our new addition in our room alone, while being checked on periodically. At one point the nurse came in and explained newborn care and postpartum care and a midwife came and did his newborn exam. We did not get eye drops/ointment (we do not see a need for it) but we did get the Vitamin K shot for him. The midwife wanted us to nap before we left... Jake napped for about an hour, I did for about 45 minutes. I was so exhausted, but wasn't at the same time. I guess it was all the endorphins and hormones that you have after giving birth. I was a little shaky and light headed for a while.. after all, that was tedious and long all while I was practically running on empty, not to mention you lose a lot of blood after birth. We left around 2pm and stopped at a Chick-Fil-A drive through (which tasted SO good to both of us.. we were starving!!!) and headed home.

This whole experience was so surreal. It was a total out of body experience. Turns out, he still wasn't all the way in the correct position by the time I pushed him out because he head was turned towards my thigh, it's supposed to be facing down. So if it weren't for him having his hand near his face and being positioned wrong, my labor would of been a lot quicker! Also, this was a 9 pound baby. Those 3 things made this labor more difficult than it should of been, but you know what? I DID IT. I did it without any medicine, I did it and didn't tear (those 2 lacerations were very minimal), and I did it without intervention. The midwife and nurses all said I would of had a C-Section hands down if I was in a hospital. But look what happened when my body was left alone! It birthed my big boy who didn't want to cooporate without any complications. The only complication was the length of labor, which Mommy handled and made it through! The midwife told my mom afterwards that my body was meant to birth naturally. Such an encouragement!! It seemed daunting at times, but I never once said "I can't do this" or got angry. I may have been discouraged at times, but it was mainly because I was so exhausted and didn't know where to find the strength. But the LORD gave me the strength and everyone in the room did such an amazing job coaching me along!!! As far as using HB, I would say it definitely helped. I'm not going to say I didn't feel uncomfortable sensations. I don't know that I would classify this experience as "painful", but definitely VERY intense. Had I not prepped myself with all of the positivity that HB provides, I'm sure I would of hated every minute of labor. I definitely will be using HB again for future births.. and of course I'll be doing them all natural again. If my body can do this, I feel like I can do anything!!! It was the biggest accomplishment of my life and I don't think I will ever come to terms that I conquered this birth med free.

Thank you for reading.. and I hope you enjoyed learning about my experience. I plan on having Jake write a post from his P.O.V. soon.

Thank you for all your support!

Here are some pics...