Birth "novella" as @Mrs. Wagon would say, I love when she says novella so I just had to steal it.

On Dec 28th, the day before my due date, I decided to start trying different tricks to start my labor. I chose to bounce and sit on my exercise ball. I also did prenatal yoga and really concentrated on doing the squats. The next morning, I woke up feeling crampy. I didn't think much of it, but DH said "I bet you're having contractions" so I started using a timing app. I got the feeling like this was the real deal. I finished packing my bag, messaged my doula (Melissa), and jumped in the shower. With my first birth, I had a really random contraction pattern and I was noticing the same thing this time around too. I would have 3, 30 second long contractions, 7 minutes apart, and then nothing for up to an hour. After my shower, I jumped into bed to nap and rest up. I timed contractions here and there, but the pattern was gone. I wondered if having a very active toddler in the house made a difference. She's very attached to me and kept looking for me while I was holed up in my bedroom, laboring. I felt like the stress of that situation slowed down my contractions after the initial morning start. I had DH distract her and they were in and out of the house to give me some peace.

At 4:45 pm, I had some bloody show. Contractions were averaging 10-20 minutes apart and getting a bit more uncomfortable. I started drinking lots of red raspberry leaf tea and bounced around some more on the exercise ball. By 9 pm, my contractions had come down to 10 minutes apart, lasting for 1 minute each. I called my OB (it was not my regular OB on call) at 10 pm because I tested GBS positive and he had instructed me to call at that point. He said to call back when things were down to 3-5 minutes. Oh, really? On one hand, I was glad to labor at home for a while longer, but on the other, I was stressed out about not having enough time to get my two rounds of antibiotics before the birth. I asked him 3x to clarify and he kept saying the same thing so I decided to trust him and headed up to bed to rest up.

By 11:30 pm, my contractions were dipping below 10 minutes apart and becoming more painful. DH was sleeping on the couch and I texted him to come upstairs to keep me company. I was enough pain now that I didn't want to be alone anymore. He quickly fell asleep and I labored on by myself. My contractions bounced back and forth in the 7-10 minutes range and were becoming very painful. Somehow, I managed to fall asleep in between every contraction, but woke up, pressed start on my app, and got on my hands and knees while I contracted. I instinctively knew that this position made the pain the most manageable for me. DH continued to sleep - amazing!! I was fine with that, though, and kept debating whether or not to call my doula to keep me company. But I was getting sleep in between and I just wanted everyone to be well rested so I didn't make the call.

Around 2:30 am, I was making enough groaning noises that DH could not sleep through any longer. I started thinking that I could not take this pain anymore and that I would want an epidural. My contractions were staying around 7 minutes apart STILL and I did not understand why I was not progressing any quicker. Finally, when I started to feel like I was reaching a breaking point, my contractions bounced down to 3-5 minutes apart! There was a flurry of activity - call my OB! call my doula! I got dressed and hobbled downstairs. My dad was awake for some reason, at 3:30 am, but had no clue what was going on. "Where are you guys going?" OMG dad - "the hospital!!!" - I grunted. (He and my mom are in town to watch DD1 while we are in the hospital.) I had enough sense to grab my Camelbak before we left and I chugged water like crazy throughout my labor.

We got in the car and waited for my doula to arrive. She was there in a few minutes and followed us to the hospital. We got there around 4:10 am and were escorted to L&D. I felt a million times better once we got to the hospital and even cracked a joke when the escort asked me how I was feeling. With DD1, I remember arriving at the same spot and DH declined a wheelchair for me without asking. This time I reminded him before we left the house that he better not DARE decline my wheelchair again, but I didn't even want one this time!

I guess I really was looking fine because they didn't want to check me into a labor room. They escorted me to an assessment room where I quickly told them that I was GBS positive. Those were some magic words and they put me in a room right away. I got undressed and checked -- 7 cm!! Hallelujah! If they had told me 4 or 5 cm, I would have given up right then and there. Hearing 7 cm was just the boost that I needed. I was so close! The nurse (June) asked me if I had a birth plan. "Do you have a birth plan? Haha! You know how some people walk in here with a "plan". LOL!!!" Errr, ok, let's not hand over my printed out birth plan then. So I simply stated "I do not want an epidural and I want to be free to move." "Easy" enough and she had nothing more to say although I could still feel her skepticism.

I started my first dose of antibiotics after being poked a few times because I have very stubborn veins. DH, Melissa, and I started walking the halls with my drip. I gripped the hallway banister throughout each contraction while Melissa massaged my lower back. It felt amaaaaazing and really helped pull the focus someplace else. I saw my OB arrive and he came over to say hi. June came over and informed him, in an amused tone of voice, "she does not want an epidural". *eye roll*

An hour later, I was checked at 8 cm! Another hour later, 9 cm! I just kept moving and walking. Melissa made sure I was hydrated and kept filling up my water bottle. I also went back and forth to my trusty all fours position that I was doing at home. We definitely mixed it up. Things were getting more intense and I asked for oxygen because I was having trouble catching my breath. There was a shift change at 7 am and my new nurse (Talia "T") said to tell her when I started to feel the need to poop. We went out into the hall to attempt another lap, but quickly returned because I felt the need to poop. T checked me and said that I just had a lip left. It was then that she also discovered that the baby was sunny side up. Apparently, this is why I felt the most comfortable laboring on all fours. T said that I could try the next few contractions on the bed, on all fours, to try and turn the baby. I'm a bit hazy on how this all works but I did it and after a few contractions ... the baby had turned!! After that, I requested my OB to break my water and T started my second round of antibiotics an hour early at 8 am to make sure that we would get it in. She asked me if I was ready to push. Deep inside, I felt like I would be lying if I said yes. Even though the pain was getting horrendous, my gut told me that I should hold off.

By 8:25 am, I WAS ready to push and a squatting bar was set up upon my request. As I pushed, T manually pushed the baby over the lip. I did not like the bar so she took it away and I got into the traditional on my back legs up in the air position. By 8:45 am, I got over the lip. There was a mess of activity after that and everything happened super fast. T asked if I wanted a mirror and I said ok. As T was coming back in with the mirror, my OB happened to be right on her heels. After a quick exam, my OB started frantically setting stuff up. T called for back up help, but they couldn't hear her over the intercom so my OB yelled "GET SOMEONE HERE NOW!!!" I tried to look at the mirror but it wasn't set up in the right position so I couldn't see anything. There was no time -- the baby was coming!! I was pushing like crazy and feeling like a wild woman. "Get this baby outta me!!!" And at 8:55 am, she was out!!

Major props if you've read this far! We got home on New Year's Day, which was kinda cool. I love our family of 4 and the birth doesn't seem all that bad already. Baby K is just too wonderful!

Here's a pic of her and her chubbs.