All along I had told him I wanted to work through Friday so that my leave wouldn't start until Monday at the earliest. Yes, it was my wishful thinking that he might arrive a bit early. I woke up Friday feeling "funny" and the nurse at my school told me that it was a good sign! Two people that day also told me that the shape of my bump had changed shape. After work I went to the gym and walked on the treadmill for half an hour before heading home to enjoy Friday evening.
Saturday morning I woke up around 6am with contractions that started about 10 minutes apart. Around 8am, they started coming fairly consistently every 5 minutes and after a few hours, I called my midwife, Katherine, to let her know. She said everything sounded like it was progressing smoothly and to call her again when they were 2 - 4 minutes apart. Around 4pm, they were coming every 1 - 3 minutes and getting more intense. Katherine had to drop some things off near Willowbrook for some home visits and she said she would call me back when she was headed to Nativiti unless there was an emergency and then I should call her. She called around 5:20ish and was ready to head to Nativiti to meet us. We arrived around 6:00 and she checked me before we started bringing everything in. I hadn't had an internal since 36 weeks but when she checked me I was 5cm and 90% effaced so we were headed in the right direction.
I labored for the next few hours and was 8cm after about 3 hours. Everyone kept telling me what a great job I was doing. Katherine told me that no one was going to believe that I was having contractions if I kept joking around and laughing. Things definitely got more and more intense as they progressed but I was focused on my breathing and staying relaxed. My mom and Justin were amazing at helping me through things.
A little while after that, I decided I was ready to get in the tub so Katherine filled up the tub while Justing got changed. I labored in the tub with him for a little over an hour. We used the jets for awhile and then I just rested against him as things got more and more intense. Eventually I felt a popping feeling after a contraction and my water had broken! Katherine checked me and I was 9.5cm. Pretty quickly I told Justin he needed to get out of the tub and after 20 minutes of pushing on my hands and knees, Weston made his debut!
The pushing stage was the most intense and the most challenging part for me. At one point I asked if the head was the biggest part that had to come out and apparently amused everyone. I just needed help to focus on the end goal and telling myself that Weston was going to be in my arms soon. Then he was out and crying like crazy! Justin got to cut the cord though I don't know how he was able to see through the tears he couldn't stop crying! It was amazing to hold Weston and see what he looked like. It was indescribable to finally have him in my arms. He was so perfect and beautiful.
After I held him for awhile, they took him over to the bed in the birthing room to check him over while I finished birthing the placenta and everything that needed to be done. Then I moved to the bed and held him again. We worked on nursing pretty quickly after that. He is definitely a strong sucker. The most challenging part is getting his fingers out of his mouth! My mom held Weston while I got sutured up as I did have some tearing. That was the part that was actually the most stressful for me!
I feel blessed to have been able to have the natural, med-free, complication-free birth that I planned on having. We got discharged about 2.5 hours after Weston was born and go home around 3am on Sunday morning, less than 24 hours after everything began! We truly are blessed by God.
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