Normal Tuesday for us Bryants.
Woke up at 6:45am...still pregnant. 40 weeks and 4 days knocked up. Feeling too good to be having a baby anytime soon.
Got the morning started just like I do every day.
....Coffee....
The 15 minutes of alone quiet time is quickly swallowed up and replaced with morning snuggles, bed head and bad breath. Breakfast was brought to us by our good friends at Kellogg's.
PBS kids is playing on the tube while Zeke gets dressed for school. After we go back and forth on what he can and can not wear to school, his little naked booty is dressed and ready to do his "everything is awesome" hair.
Shoes are on and I do one more check of his school agenda just incase I missed something.
Like..... early release day and Zeke gets stuck waiting in the office for an hour and a half. Oops! Pregnancy brain? Sure, lets go with that.
Once he is dropped off, the girls and I come back home and do our thing. Which for me, this day, is CLEANING!!! Nesting was in full force.
My house was already clean and spotless from the day before but something in my pregnant waiting brain was screaming, " YOU MUST CLEAN AND RE CLEAN EVERYTHING!"
That's what I did.
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| Last Belly Shot! |
This was what I did until 12:00. Got lunch together for us girls and took a big ole nap. I knew my days were numbered on being able to take a nap for a while.
I was having a ton of Braxton Hicks contractions all morning but I was also moving around cleaning. Getting up and down and leaning over tubs, scrubbing the clean away replacing it with an even cleaner clean. So I just chalked it up to that. Woke up and picked the boyo up around 3:00pm
When we get home, it's snack time and I look over Zeke's school stuff for the day. Still having BH's but they were more annoying then painful.
I knew this was NOT labor and to just ignore it the best I could.We played and probably snacked some more. Dinner got started, the husband came home from work and we devoured our sweet potato burgers.
Bed time routine got rollin and soon enough, it was bed time! Sometimes, this is my favorite part of the day. :)
Now it was time for me to clean up my mess in the kitchen and relax on the couch with Mr. Bryant.
Can't remember what we were watching but we watched a couple shows and it was Mr. Bryant's bedtime.
I wasn't quite tired yet so I stayed up and made sure the house was all good incase we have a baby in the middle of the night.
I folded into bed around 11:45 pm still having the annoying BH's that I have been having for weeks now.
I woke up to roll over to my other side cause my hips were achy and asleep. As I rolled, I got crampy and felt like I had to use the potty. Got up and the feeling went away. Looked at the clock and it was only 12:08am. I felt like I had been sleeping for a couple hours but it had only been 20 minutes since my head hit the pillow. I didn't think much of the campiness in my half asleep brain. I layed back down and try to go back to sleep. Well, about 10 minutes later I got hit with the same feeling. Then it hit me in the head like a person at a golf game who didn't hear, "FOUR!"
These are contractions. Real life ones. Not those fake ones I'd been having for weeks. No, these are the real deal Holyfield!
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| This is how my uterus was feeling. |
For the next hour, I was trying to relax , even go back to sleep cause I knew if this was "it" I needed rest. When a contraction would come I'd record it in my labor app. They were consistently 15 minutes apart lasting 30 seconds. Now, since I tend to have fast labors, I wanted to text my midwife just to give her a heads up that she might be getting a page that I'm in labor snd she needs to come to my house.
This was the text I sent her.
I then texted my birth crew and called my mom to let them know what was up and that I was going to be up laboring if they wanted to wait with me. They said they were on their way and would be there in the next 30 minutes.
I officially woke up Mr. Bryant and said, "This is it! I texted everyone including Sharon. They are headed over now. We'll call Sharon when we think it's time for her to come. Better get that coffee started."
I rushed to the bathroom to put my contacts in and brush my teeth before I really got into labor and couldn't do it. I have birthed one time with glasses on and it was not fun. They kept sliding off my nose. SO annoying. Brushed my teeth cause who wants smelly breath? Not this girl.
Kim, Jen, my mom and Brittny and her babe, Easton, strolled into our bedroom a wee bit before 2:00 am.
Britt used the contraction app to time mine and Chris started my birth music. Kim helped manage getting the bed ready for birth or after birth with momma and baby.
I was feeling really good at this point and excited to meet my sweet Kudos. Laboring over the birth ball, breathing through contractions and having fun in between them.
Round 3:00am, my labor got a little bit more intense. Contractions are closer to 5 minutes apart, lasting a minute. I'm starting to make my low moaning noises to get me through the contractions. I start to notice at this point, my contractions are starting in my back, then traveling to the front. Never had contractions like this. I know lots of momma's who have had back labor and they say it horrible!!
This wasn't horrible, just different. I told everyone ,"Man, my back hurts in the beginning then it goes to the front. I don't think it's back labor though."
My birth crew looks at each other like, umm girl is having some back labor!
In the second half of the 3:00 hour, I needed to stand. I could no longer lean over the yoga ball or be on my hands and knees.
Chris was the most supportive partner ever! He was tuned in to my wave link and would say the right things at the right times. Rub my leg or hum along with me.
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| ::SEXY SOCK ALERT:: |
Contractions were getting more intense. They way it's suppose to go. The question of when to call Sharon started to float around in the background. I knew I didn't want to wait too long just incase this babe decides to come really fast. No unassisted births for me if I can help it. But then you don't want to wake someone up in the middle of the night to come over to early and have them wait. Ugh I battle with myself every time! Its so silly but it's true.
I know Sharon has this crazy midwife sensor of when to come to births sometimes. I knew I would feel it in a contraction and then have them call Sharon.
You hit a point in labor, at least I do, where I need my midwife right that minute. That's usually when we call:)
Sure enough, I was in the middle of a contraction and it changed. Got super intense and I knew I needed Sharon to come now! As I finish that contraction, guess who called? SHARON! How crazy, right? She was gonna head our way.
I wanted to get in the tub at this point but I was waiting for Sharon to check me first. I didn't want to have to get out of the tub once I got in. When Sharon walks into the room, I just feel this peace come over me and usually get hit in the face with reality that I'm going to have a baby, SOON!
She checked me and gave me the ok to get in the tub. She didn't tell me how dilated I was, which is usually a sign that you have a bit more to go until go time....pushing the babe out.
As I get in my tub, Sharon let the birth crew know I was 5 cm dilated. Halfway there. I'm so thankful she didn't tell me where I was because I would have felt like I couldn't do it anymore. I felt like I was almost done but in fact, I was only halfway there. Our bodies are crazy though and truly unpredictable in labor. You can progress really fast at any moment.
The hot water in the tub is magical I tell ya! It was helping with my back so much! I labored in there for another hour with contractions becoming more intense and closer together. 2-3 minutes apart, lasting over a minute. Every now and then getting a double contraction. They are just lovely.
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At this point, my back was REALLY starting to hurt. I was feeling lots of pressure there and burning. I didn't really have the urge to push yet. I felt like I was in limbo. You would think that on the fourth baby, He would just come out with a sneeze but he had other plans.
I wanted to push because of the pressure but my body wasn't ready. I kept saying, "I don't know what to do. I'm feeling a little pushy but my body isn't pushing"
Sharon checked me in the tub and said I was complete...YAY... but had a little bit of cervics that was in the way. She said she thought I could push past it if I wanted to or just wait for my body to start pushing.
I wanted to get this babe out! Be done with the pain. Finish the race and hold my prize.
With the next contraction, I tried to push. I felt like a first time mom pushing her baby out. I couldn't figure out how and were to push. You really have to dig deep into the push and I could get my feet on the ground, so to speak, to give it my all. Plus, my back had a ton of pressure on it. At this point, it hurt non stop. During contractions and in between. I was trying to breath and focus on my birth music in between contractions. I remember Jesus Cultures, Might Breath Of God, song came on and it helped me refocus on my race and why I was here, in that moment. To bring this sweet boy earth side.
His love and grace blew over me. Calming me in between pushing. Surrendering.
Chris was amazing! Sweet and supportive. Giving me water and a gentle hand to hold....or squeeze like bloody murder!
I wasn't getting far pushing myself. I felt like I may need some help from Sharon. She could sense it too. She asked, if on the next push, She could hold back the little bit of cervic left and then I should be able to do the rest. I said ok. Contraction started to build and she started to help. HOLY GUACAMOLE! That was super intense and it took everything inside of me not to punch her in the face. I wanted to grab her hand cause Lordy it was pretty painful. I knew it was necessary though so I went with it.
I felt like i was pushing for hours but it had only been 15 minutes. I was pushing with all my might. Sweating like a beast and outta breath like I was running a marathon. Oh wait, I kinda was. :)
FINALLY, he was pushed past and was right at his exit. My water decided to break then and Holy mother of Zeus, was the pressure on my back more present then before. Midwife checked his heart rate after and he was doing fine. I just need to jump, or shall I say push, past this last hurdle to meet my son.
The song Grace came on and I started to push with my whole being and three minutes later.....Thatcher Grey was born.
As he came out Sharon told me not to pull him up right away cause his cord was wrapped around his body, twice! She also told me that he was OP - Occiput Posterior. Meaning, he came out sunny side up.
The reason why my back hurt so bad is cause the hard, boney part of the back of his head was up against my tailbone. Normally, they are face down with the smushy side up against your bone. That's why he was so hard to push out. He was not in the easiest way to get out. I had to work hard to get him out. I did it though and he is worth every second of the race!
My Prize. My fourth baby. My Baby Kudos. My Thatcher Grey Bryant.
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| Just me and Thatch hanging' out with the amazing midwife that help him out! Love you Sharon to the moon and back! You will forever have a special place in my heart! |
7 pounds of perfect baby love.
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