We had been in bed for a while, and were still in that drowsy awake stage of pre-sleep when suddenly, I felt a tiny "flick", and boom: the precautionary mama cloth I was wearing, my pajamas, the piddle pad and the mattress pad were all soaked! Guess who was glad I had preemptively protected the mattress now!
I knew it could be a while before contractions started, but I went ahead and texted my midwives and the people who had promised to be in prayer for us, around midnight. I was excited and jittery and found it hard to get to sleep. I got a surprising number of replies too, which helped keep my mind calmer. I'm thankful for my night owl friends.
I woke up around 7 as usual, and no more signs of labor, just the occasional gush of amniotic fluid reminding me how I wasn't laboring. By 10, I was starting to get resigned to the fact labor was not going to happen, and frustrated about it. My mother-in-law picked up the three youngest and the girls and I kept busy around the house. We went for a walk down to the lake about 1/2 mile from our house. It was pretty and peaceful and I would have stayed there most of the day if not for a heavily pregnant woman's need to relieve herself frequently and the fishermen I wouldn't want to see me do so. We trundled back to the house and relaxed a little.
At lunchtime, Kevin wondered if he and Aviana could drive a few hours to go pick up the milking LaMancha goat he found on Craigslist. I said they may as well, since I wasn't going to have the baby. My midwife thought it was possible it wasn't my actual amniotic sac that ruptured, but the forebag. She also thought that perhaps it wasn't amniotic fluid at all, but pee. I was positive THAT wasn't the case. A friend,meaning to be helpful, bless her heart, told me she had gone to the hospital one day thinking her daughter would be born, and she wasn't born for 17 more days. And my discouragement grew.
I posted on Facebook , "We aren't having a baby, but we are getting a milk goat, so yay." The support and solace my friends offered were bountiful. My photographer and friend, Kelcy, commented that there was still plenty of day left, and that made me feel a little better.
At 3ish, I felt a twinge of something. A dozen minutes later, definitely, something. I put the first birthing wave in my contraction app at 3:30. I texted my midwives again. Kathy lives an hour away and I'm not known for long drug out labors. Sarah, my midwife's assistant and friend and I chatted for a while. While we were going back and forth, my uterus amped up. Now the waves were about five minutes apart. I told her I would feel more comfortable if she were with me. She texted back, "ME TOO!" A little later she told me she would leave as soon as her husband got home from getting a chicken.
Meanwhile, Kevin was still 45 minutes away from home after picking up the goat.
Kevin got home eventually, and he started filling up the birth tub. Sarah arrived soon after, much to my relief. Aviana felt strongly that JuneBug, the goat, needed milked then and there. Since I had the tub ready now, and Sarah was with me, I was ok with that. The contractions were coming right on top of one another. Getting in the tub spaced out the contractions so I was able to have some breath of a break; I was amazed at how the water helped!
During the time they were down at the barn, I had a contraction that was 'different', one that made me feel if Kevin and Aviana didn't hurry up with that goat, they were going to miss Fizzy Baby's arrival!
My good friend Karen arrived. She was here as support for the girls. We wanted someone to specifically be with them, in case of anything going awry especially. She was absolutely perfect in her role, and supported anyone who needed her. She and Brielle went downstairs to get some fruit ready to snack on. The watermelon tasted wonderful. It was the first time I had ever eaten in labor.
Close to 6, I told Sarah she had better tell Kelcy she had better come. She texted back, "I can see your house." I asked her if she would braid my hair, as it was starting to get wet and was all in my face annoying me.
It was such a peace filled, calm hour. Aviana tried to read some Baby Blues comics to me when Wanda was giving birth. It was amusing for a while, but quickly got to the point where I needed it to stop. I had some praise music playing. The birth affirmations were hung on the mantel so I could read them, and I would think of one when a birth wave came on, over and over again as a meditation.
It wasn't long before things started to intensify incredibly. A few days before, I had watched a mare give birth out in the open air. It was beauty to behold. She would get up, turn around a few times, and then lie back down again. I found myself sort of spinning around in the tub, and thinking of that mare.
A couple of times, as a birth wave crescendoed, I started to say "no" and then I caught myself and released myself into the passionate force of the moment. Being able to do that, being given the safe space, being surrounded by love and prayers, being completely mentally comfortable, was awe striking.
Soon, my birthing waves changed and my body needed to start pushing Fizzy Baby. There was no one moment of "Now, I shall push." It was a gradual buildup and I didn't really notice exactly when it was different. I never got checked to see if I was complete. No one told me what to do. Everyone just supported me and held me emotionally.
I had my hand on her head, and could feel as she began to come out into the world. This was a wonder-filled stage for me. I had never felt as in control before, so aware and internally calm.
She didn't even cry at first, just opened her eyes and looked at me, and gazed around at her new world. It was astonishing to see her be so peaceful and placid.
My legs started aching and shaking immediately after she was born, and I started whining about soon after that. Somehow they managed to get me out of the tub, and into bed. There I delivered the placenta. Kathy assisted Aviana in its delivery.
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| Finnella-- heart-- placenta |
Brielle then cut the cord, and Finnella was forever her own person.
We all fell immediately and irrevocably in love.
Our phenomenal midwives.
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