After Caleb’s marathon labor and delivery, I knew I wanted a completely different labor and delivery with our second baby. I wanted to do everything I could to prevent an induction, be hooked up to unnecessary IV’s and I wanted to be more in control of the process. Virtually everything I had in my birth plan with Caleb went out the window the moment we got to the hospital and it definitely impacted me postpartum. This time around, I wanted to be more educated on hospital procedures, my rights as a patient and how I could achieve a natural, unmedicated birth.
Around 14 weeks pregnant, I decided to look into a doula. Chris was apprehensive about hiring a doula, but mostly because he didn’t understand why they can play such a vital role in the labor and delivery process. I threw out the idea of a home birth, but Chris was not having it so we compromised on hiring a doula to ensure we had the birth we wanted. I also started looking into natural ways to prep for labor and watching a lot of labor and delivery vlogs on YouTube.
The week I went into labor, I had a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions but they never progressed into anything more. The same week, I started to lose my mucous plug but I didn’t want to get my hopes up that labor would be starting soon because I learned with Caleb that you can lose it weeks before you go into labor. During my prenatal check ups I declined any cervical checks for similar reasons; I could be dilated to a 1 and go into labor that night or be dilated to a 3 and still be weeks away from labor. Cervical checks really serve no purpose other than getting your hopes up or making you feel really bummed for no reason.
The day I went into labor, we went about our day as normal. We went to church and then stopped for breakfast before heading home. When we got home I had my raspberry leaf tea, ate some pineapple and bounced on my yoga ball. When Caleb went down for a nap I decided to walk up and down our street to see if anything would happen. I did not want to have a discussion with my OB at my next appointment regarding a medical induction, so I tried almost every natural induction technique that day.
The whole morning, my body was quiet. I didn’t experience many Braxton Hicks and Logan’s movements weren’t as strong, but I could definitely still feel him moving around. Towards the end of my walk around 4:00, I had a contraction that felt different. It started lower in my abdomen and went down into my pelvis; it didn’t hurt as much as it was just uncomfortable. I wasn’t sure if it was a Braxton Hicks or something else, but I certainly didn’t think it was the start of what was to come. I started getting these contractions about every 15 to 20 minutes.
At 4:42, I had one that made me think I should start keeping track of them. It was a little more uncomfortable but still, I didn’t think it was anything serious. I continued to bounce and roll on my yoga ball to open my hips. The contractions were coming about every 10 minutes at this point, but not lasting more than 30 seconds at most. Around 5:15 I started doing the final prep for dinner and noticing I was having to concentrate on my breathing a little more. Around 5:30, Chris suggested I send our doula a text just to give her a heads up because earlier in the day she let me know she would be about an hour away if I went into labor. I reluctantly decided to text her, knowing the contractions weren’t lasting that long. She suggested I stop tracking them because they weren’t lasting a full minute and they could go on for days. So, I stopped.
We finished up dinner around 6:15 and decided to give my mom a call to let her know I was starting to have some contractions, but not to get her hopes up that I would be having Logan any time soon. While I was on the phone with her, my contractions picked up. I couldn’t talk through them and they were coming about every 3 minutes, but varying in intensity. I would have one that lasted about a minute and then the next one would be shorter. After Chris cleaned up dinner, he suggested I start to pack the last minute items for my hospital bag. And still, I was reluctant to do so. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that I could be in active labor.
I was in the middle of packing my bag when the contractions started becoming consistent in intensity and I started moaning through them. I always wondered how I would react to contractions since I had an epidural before I could experience true contractions with Caleb. I was amazed at how instinctually my reaction was to sway my hips, brace myself on something and moan through them. I was pretty composed given the situation and mostly because I didn’t want to freak Caleb out.
At 7:18, I went to check on Caleb. In the midst of the contractions and Chris loading the Tahoe with our stuff, Caleb was off doing his own thing. I walked down the hallway from our bedroom, got to Caleb’s doorway and saw him trying to put on a pair of pajama pants. While in the middle of asking him how he was doing, I began having a contraction and as it peaked, I felt a large amount of warm water between my legs. It wasn’t a gush but it sure wasn’t a trickle. I yelled to Chris, “babe my water just broke!” and made my way to our bathroom where Caleb quickly followed me. I sat on the toilet and more water came. Caleb kept asking, “your water broke? You ok momma? You cry?” I reassured him I was okay and not crying, but that baby Logan would be on his way soon.
I knew after my water broke my contractions would start becoming even more intense. I decided to get in the shower since it was evident we would for sure be going to the hospital, but even then I was hesitant that we should go to the hospital any time soon. I knew my water could be broken, but still be in labor for hours. I had my first contraction after my water broke in the shower and I remember thinking to myself, why am I trying to shave my legs through a contraction?! At that point did it really matter if I had a little stubble on my legs? Absolutely not.... but, you know I finished shaving. When I got out of the shower the contractions were coming pretty close together, roughly 2 minutes apart and lasting a while.
During this time, Chris was making phone calls to our doula and mom’s giving them updates. We asked Chris’ mom to come over to watch Caleb for us since we decided we’d be going to the hospital as soon as possible. Our doula started making her way to Loma Linda since she was an hour out. She also called her back up doula to meet us at the hospital in the event she didn’t get there in time. Shortly before 8:00, we left for the hospital. From the walk from my kitchen to the garage and into the Tahoe, I had 2 very intense contractions that stopped me in my tracks. And at the time I didn’t know it, but Chris grabbed a pair of latex gloves from his work bag because he honestly thought he might have to pull over and deliver Logan on the side of the freeway.
We arrived at the hospital at 8:15 and on the way to the hospital my contractions were coming every minute to two minutes apart. Chris asked me if I wanted a wheelchair or to walk in and still being hard headed, I told him I’d walk. I literally stepped one foot out of the Tahoe, in the middle of a contraction and quickly changed my mind. He ran to get a wheelchair and then asked what I wanted to take in right now. Not thinking clearly, I told him our bag of snacks, my boppy and pillow. I must have thought it’d still be a while before Logan would be born because we left our birth plan in my hospital bag and didn’t even remember it until we were up in Labor and Delivery.
When we got to Labor and Delivery, my doula and her back up were there waiting for us. Chris checked me in and despite me having contractions on top of each other, the staff was in no rush to get me into a room. I stayed in the wheelchair in the lobby of Labor and Delivery for what seemed like forever having very intense contractions and feeling the need to push. My doula helped me breathe through them, relax and regain my composure in between. We finally got a room, I assume around 8:30, and the nurse asked me to give a urine sample. I stood up from the wheelchair, had a contraction and told her that wouldn’t be happening.
I got into the bed to be checked and hooked up to the monitors. I was dilated between a 7/8 and told I couldn’t push yet, despite having the urge. The nurse told me I would tear my cervix if I pushed too early and then it would become a medical emergency. I continued breathing through them laying on my side because I literally couldn’t move in a different position before another contraction would come. The contractions became so intense with the urge to push that I couldn’t hold back the need to push. My doula reassured me to do what my body was telling me to do because I could go from an 8 to 10 in a matter of minutes.
With the next couple of contractions, I gave in to what my body was involuntarily doing and pushed. The doctor was still getting set up and when she was ready, she made sure I was at a 10. Within a matter of 4 minutes, Logan was born at exactly 9:00 pm. His cord was wrapped around his ankles and when it was loosened, he was placed on my belly. When the cord stopped pulsating, Chris cut it and Logan was brought up to my chest. Just like his brother, he didn’t come out crying. It took him a minute to clear his lungs. He needed a little assistance with suctioning out his nose/mouth and he did receive a little bit of oxygen to get things going. I delivered the placenta without pitocin, which is what I wanted. It’s standard procedure for a lot of hospitals to administer pitocin through your hep lock to get your uterus to contract just in case you start to hemorrhage. I declined it and told them I only wanted a shot of pitocin if it was needed. The nurse responded with, “well, just so you know, most moms eventually need it because they hemorrhage” I told her thank you but I didn’t want something unless it was absolutely necessary. And guess what, I didn’t need it. Thanks, but no thanks.
When Logan was born, his poor cheeks were bruised because he was birthed so fast. A NICU doctor came in to check the coloring on his face, just to make sure it was only bruising. The rest of his body was a normal shade of pink and the bruising on his face went away within a few hours. We did skin to skin for the first hour in the delivery room and Logan latched on to breastfeed within the first 40 minutes, which was amazing. Our sweet boy weighed 8lbs 8oz and was 21 inches long. He beat his big brother by 4 ounces and a whole inch and was born at 39 weeks and 6 days.
Following his delivery, the nurse was able to complete my registration process and give us our ID bands. Everything happened so quickly, there wasn’t time to do any of that beforehand. I asked to see what the monitors looked like when they hooked them onto my belly and the sheet was maybe a foot long. I had about 5 contractions on top of each other and then they stopped because Logan was born.
I am so extremely happy I was able to have the labor and birth I always wanted. I wanted an unmedicated labor and delivery. I wanted to experience what our bodies were made to do without being numb or medically altered. I wanted to know I could do this; not to prove anything to anyone or boast about it but to prove to myself that I am strong, able and capable of experiencing such a raw, amazing moment. Women’s bodies are remarkable.
I never thought my labor would progress as quickly as it did. Contractions are intense and painful, there is no doubt. Never once did I think I couldn’t do this nor did the thought of getting an epidural cross my mind. I was committed and besides, even if I was screaming for the epidural there wouldn’t have been time to administer one. I delivered Logan in an unorthodox position and was grateful I was able to deliver in a position I felt most comfortable in; not what the textbooks tell the doctors which position is best for THEM to deliver a baby in.
I am so grateful to have such an amazing, supportive husband who remained my voice of reason and encouraged me throughout my pregnancy and labor/delivery. Even when he thought I was getting “a little hippyish” he supported me because he knew how important this process was to me. He saw how Caleb’s labor and delivery affected me and understood why I wanted to have the birth I wanted. I so wished we had a doula with Caleb and I would highly recommend one to any pregnant woman. My doula was able to give me the support Chris didn’t know how to give. She breathed through the contractions with me and reminded me to relax in between. She reminded me how strong I was and how capable I was to do this. In moments where she could see I was struggling, she encouraged me. I know I would have struggled so much more through the contractions without her there.
My recovery after Logan is night and day compared to Caleb’s. I never got swollen and I have yet to take any pain medication because I honestly don’t need it. I haven’t opened the tub of witch hazel pads the hospital gave me nor have I used any dermoplast. I tore with both deliveries, but this time it hasn’t been as painful. I honestly feel amazing. Breastfeeding has been going great and I’m looking forward to sharing this special bond again with Logan. I know he’s going to be a chunk just like his brother.
