I have felt a sense of accomplishment with several small and
big things in my life. A couple big accomplishments that stick out in my mind
are when I received my black belt in Tae Kwon Do and when I was able to receive
my bachelor degree from MNU in 3 years. Both of those accomplishments took a
lot of time and commitment, but none of those compare to the sense of
accomplishment I have felt after my two natural deliveries...especially
Asher's.
Asher has been the easiest newborn I have ever known. He is
the happiest most content baby, and I am just in love with him. Even though I
have had it "easy" since he has been born, his labor was quite the
opposite.
As my second natural delivery I felt a little prepared for
what I was in for. I knew the strength and determination I would need to
accomplish another natural delivery. I knew that labor brings you to a new
point emotionally and physically that you never knew was possible.
The two days prior to Asher's birth I had several hours of
false labor. I had contractions that were around 8 minutes apart and intense
enough I had to breathe through them. Then, after several hours they would just
stop. This was my first experience with false labor, and it caused me to only
get about 3 hours of sleep the 2 nights prior to his birth.
The night I went into actual labor I slept for about 4 hours
and then woke up with contractions again. At this point I doubted that it was
real based on the past 2 nights. After 4 hours of contractions consistently 6
to 8 minutes apart I woke up Michael thinking this was maybe the real thing. We
decided to call my midwife, and she wanted us to come in to be monitored and
checked since we live 45 minutes away from the hospital.
Around 5 in the morning we headed for the hospital.
Contractions continued until we got to the hospital and then they stopped
again. We went ahead and went inside. They checked me and the nurse didn't
think I was in labor. She called our midwife, and our midwife wanted me to stay
there until she was able to come in and check me. Throughout the next hour of
waiting for our midwife I started having contractions again every 6 minutes. In
the hour of waiting I dilated 2 more centimeters. She thought I was in labor,
and I was admitted.
I decided to get in the whirlpool tub to labor for a while.
I was so tired from the lack of sleep and the idea of relaxing in the tub
sounded great. I spent the next 4 hours in the tub with consistent
contractions. I decided to get out to change it up a bit since nothing was
getting more intense. I got checked and I was only dilated to a 6, which is
only 2 centimeters in 4 hours. My contractions also stopped... again. I was not
prepared for this at all since my entire labor with Eli was only 5 1/2 hours
from my very 1st contraction.
Since it had already been over 11 hours of labor with not
much progress we decided to break my water. I was nervous about where this
could possibly lead if my labor decided to stop again, but since I was at a 6
we decided to take the risk.
After my water broke things started picking up fast. I
quickly went to the transition phase. Everything seemed to be going normal.
Intense, but normal, until my back pain started and never stopped.
Throughout labor Asher continued to change positions. He
never got fully engaged until this point and unfortunately he was posterior.
The intense transition contractions continued to come and go, but the pain in
my tailbone never left until he turned as he came out. It got so intense that I
asked for pain medicine. I knew I didn't want it, but at the time all I could
think about was relief and holding my baby. My midwife and nurse knew I didn't
want the pain medicine and sort of stalled until it was too late for me to get
it anyways. I'm so thankful I didn't get anything! Before I knew it I felt the
urge to push. I was soooooooooooo happy and relieved to have this sensation. I
knew at this point it would only be moments before my sweet boy was in my arms.
Even though he was posterior I only pushed for 6 minutes. The
midwife had talked to Michael prior and she let him catch the baby. This was
exciting for him. It was such an emotional experience to finally get to hold my
baby boy!
Since my labor was so long I had time to actually think
(unlike Eli's fast labor), and as I took deep breaths to get through the
contractions I was constantly visualizing and dwelling on holding my little
Asher. So when the time finally came hours later it was almost surreal. I
didn't want to ever let him go!
I love my sweet Asher more than words can describe. He is
more than worth every pain I went through in his labor. I'm beyond thankful
that God blessed us with this precious baby boy!
