Maggie Jo's Birth Story :-)

I havent blogged since Aug. and I can think of no better way to re-enter the blogging world than with a birth story. I don't know about you-- but I LOVE reading birth stories so hopefully you wont mind that this is really long :-) I wrote out part of this the night she was born so I wouldnt forget the details so please ignore my "tenses" if they dont make sense haha

Margaret Joanna made her entrance November 28th at 9:21pm-- 7lbs 1.4oz and 20 inches long :-) We are completely in love already and I am so thankful for such an amazing blessing!

I started having contractions Saturday night/Sunday(11/27) morning at 3am. They werent super painful but were fairly consistent and I had constant lower back cramping. I went about my normal business (cleaned the house, took a shower, went to church) and all the while the contractions continued so I started to think it was the beginnings of labor not just the false labor I had been having for weeks prior. I called my sister Devon who was my doula (she was my doula for Nicholas too and is finishing up her DONA certification-- shes the best!) since she lives 3 hours away and told her what was going on and she decided it would be worth it for her to go ahead and start coming my direction. She got into town around lunch time and the contractions continued but still werent painful or anything, just uncomfortable.

My sister and I decided to try and go to a few stores and walk around to see if that helped pick things up (which it did as long as I was walking....once I stopped power walking the contractions slowed down again). We got dinner then came home and I called my sister in law, Kate, who is a L&D nurse and asked her to come over and check me to see if that would help get things going. She came over and checked and said I was 3cm, 70% and a -1 station (I had progressed slightly since my last appt where I was a stretchy 2, almost 3 and 50%). Once I was checked contractions got harder and more uncomfortable and were consistent but again after a few hours they petered out and werent doing much. At that point I decided to try and use my pump for a few minutes to see if that would increase the contractions-- same results. It seemed like I could get the contractions going pretty well by doing different tricks but once I stopped they contractions became more mild and less frequent.

At this point I was really exhausted and frustrated because I hadnt slept in 24 hours, I was mentally frustrated assuming that this was going to be days of false, on again off again labor so at 2am on Sunday night/Monday morning I decided to take an ambien to try and get some sleep. I slept for about 4 hours and was woken up to painful contractions.

All day Monday (11/28) was the on again off again labor but with more painful contractions than what I had experienced before. Kate was working L&D and I was hoping I could come in during her shift (she had planned on trading with other people but obviously it would be easiest if I went into labor during her shift). My sister/doula also had to go back home on tues. morning so I was REALLY hoping that today would be the day so I didnt have to worry about my doula not being here in time. The weather was really rainy and cold out so my sister and I decided to go up to my parents house in Glendale and go walk around Tri-County mall. Before going up my sister recommended calling my midwives to see if they would strip my membranes again before doing the power walking. I called and they said to come on in so we went to the Midwives office and they checked me again and I was still only like a 3, almost 4, and basically hadnt changed much since the night before. My midwife, Cindy, said to go ahead and keep my appt for that Thurs. (was SO frustrated, and really hoping she would have come before then) and said to keep them updated if contractions got harder.

So my sister and I drove up to our parents house to have my mom and dad watch DS and we went and walked the mall again and the contractions were getting harder but they petered out once I got home. At this point I mentally lost it-- was frustrated and feeling like real labor would NEVER happen. My sister and Donnie were both trying to reason with me-- I had 2 options: keep doing things to make my body contract in hopes that labor would kick start or try and sleep/relax and see if the contractions stop and give my body some rest. I basically was pissed and didnt want to do either--I didnt want to keep walking, etc. because I was tired and it wasnt working but I also didnt want to try and rest b/c I didnt want to slow the little progress I was having. I was crying and whiney and generally annoyed and frustrated. Thankfully Donnie took initiative and when I called him crying at work he insisted I get in the tub to try and relax and recooperate my thoughts-- I was hesitant too because I was afraid it would get rid of what little labor was still going on and I really wanted to "get the show on the road". I talked with Devon while I was in the tub and she recommended that I plan on hanging out with friends that night-- she didnt think it would be productive for me to have another night of sitting at home, timing contractions and getting frustrated so I called Megan Gautraud and planned to come over to their house and have a glass of wine and try and get my mind off things. With a plan for the evening in mind and laying in the tub I was able to relax quite a bit. The tub reallyrelaxed me-- helped me gain some peace and calm and got my head back in the game. While in the tub my contractions completely stopped, I slept for about 20 mins (very safe haha) and I was pretty sure my labor stopped. When I stood up to get out of the tub though(around 4pm) I had a super painful contraction.

After being in the tub I had markedly more painful contractions but they were still pretty spaced out and not worth timing. I still planned on going to Gautraud's house that evening and I was convinced the painful contractions were still just prodromal labor since they were spaced out. Since we were at my parents house my dad said he could keep Nicholas overnight there so I could have an evening to myself and I wouldnt have concerns about someone watching Nicholas to keep me worried. We ate dinner around 5:30 and my sister and I decided to head back to my house at 6pm.

At this point the super painful contractions started to seem more consistent but I was convinced labor was never going to happen so I didnt think much of it. On the 40 min drive home I decided to time the contractions and they were about 5-6 mins apart, almost 2 minutes long. But I was still talking and laughing in between them so I thought I had a while to go. Once we got home I debated if Donnie and I should try and go out still and Donnie went ahead and got in the shower to clean up after work while I decided. While he was in the shower the contractions got SUPER hard and a lot closer together...I was crawling around my house on all 4's to work through them and my sister thought it was probably time to head to the hospital and I agreed.

The car ride to the hospital was TERRIBLE the contractions were right on top of each other and I didnt know it at the time but I was going through transition. I can remember praying that God would give me strength and I had some serious self-doubt that I would be able to do this. I also remember Donnie driving past the hospital (to go to a different entrance) and I looked up and basically cried "There's the hospital-- why are you not going there?!" haha While in the car the midwives called me back (I called them when I left our house to let them know I was on my way) and when I talked with Nancy I guess she could tell I was in serious labor so she said she would direct admit me so I didnt have to wait in triage (HUGE blessing!)

When we got to the hospital Donnie dropped me off at the entrance to go park and I had to get down on all 4's in the lobby of the hospital to work through the contractions. I was having self-doubt, moaning, and really working hard. Pretty sure I scared the few people in the lobby haha I had a tough time making it up to the L&D floor-- I had a long contraction in the elevator going up, dropped down on my hands and knees and refused to get out of the elevator. Devon was like you HAVE to move regardless of the contractions so I finally got up to L&D and they skipped triage for me since I was clearly in hard labor.

I got back to my delivery room at 8pm. It was very strange because after about 10 mins of being in my room the contractions became much more managable. My midwife checked me and I was 7cm, 100% and +1. Things were obviously going fast-- I labored and was handling the contractions really well. They were about 3-4 mins apart and about 1.5 mins long and while I worked hard and was in a lot of pain during each contraction I was laughing and joking and able to rest in between each one. I started having a lot of pressure about 30 mins after being checked and was checked again and was 9cm. At this point my midwife told me to just listen to my body, do what I needed to do and follow its cues as far as what position to be in, when to start pushing, etc.

I used the squatting bar, got on all 4's in bed, laid on my side, laid flat and was moving a lot between contractions to try and find a position that worked. I was bearing down and pushing really hard with each contraction and was starting to feel scared because I was feeling physically tired and was worried that pushing could be a long process. I probably "pushed" from about 9pm until she was born at 9:21pm. It wasnt at all the traditional pushing experience I had with Nicholas it was much more organic (cliche I know) and me just listening to my body. Around 9 or so more family/friends came (Pam, my mother in law, Kelly & Kara my 2 sister in laws and Megan my best friend). I remember them coming in the room but I was pretty in the zone at that point and was pushing with each contraction but still pretty calm. I finally found a comfortable position laying on my left side and had 1 really hard push and my water made a huge pop and leaked everywhere and then things got going really fast.

After my water broke I remember Kate looking down and then quickly calling my midwife Nancy back in the room. At this point I reached down and felt Maggies head and realized it was really time! I couldnt stop pushing and my midwife had me open my legs more and turn onto my back and 3 minutes after my water broke Maggie was born! It was crazy and intense and fast and amazing all at the same time! My midwife literally almost didnt have time to get a glove on since it was only minutes from the time my water broke to her being completely out. I didnt tear at all and we waited till the cord stopped pulsing before Donnie cut it. She latched on right away and I was able to get 1 entire hour of skin to skin before she was weighed or touched at all by anyone but me :-) It literally was perfect! Another bonus of things going so quickly was they didnt make me get the required IV/Heplock which after having so many IV's in my life I was INCREDIBLY thankful for!

While early labor was not fun and mentally frustrating my hospital experience was perfect and I wouldnt change a single thing. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful support people in my life to help and encourage me-- I love having the women I love the most be there for the birth of my first daughter-- I know it is an experience I will never forget :-) Recovery after Maggie has been really easy, nursing did not go well at all so after about 3.5 weeks (and Nicholas getting hand foot and mouth and me getting mastitis) we decided that transitioning to formula was our best bet. Nicholas is absolutely in love with his little sister (is constantly wanting to kiss her and yelling "Hi baby!") He is such a good little helper boy-- helps hold the bottle while feeding Maggie Jo, brings me her diapers/wipes, blankeys, etc.

So now I am sitting here, looking down at the sweet (almost 6 week old!) baby sleeping on my chest and I am just overwhelmed by how blessed I am-- God's amazing and never-ending grace and mercy has been so apparent as our family has transitioned from 3 to 4. I could go on and on about how thankful and happy I am but I'll keep those thoughts for my prayer journal haha Nevertheless-- this is the story of how sweet Maggie Jo made her entrance into this crazy world :-)