Saturday, February 27, 2016

Amelia Mae's Birth Story

It's been a long time and I'm going to catch up with everything that has gone on in the last year, but this post is going to be about the very fast birth of baby Snyder # 2.




We were due on December 18th, 2015 and I was fully expecting to go late again because I did the first time.  I was also expecting to be in labor for 8 + hours because one of my midwives told me that second labors tend to go for about that long.  I figured anything less than the 40 hours of labor I had with Zachary would be nice.

The night before, December 13th, I had been really uncomfortable because Mia was moving in all the wrong places and I just felt like crap but there were no contractions at all.  Zachary didn't go to bed until 10 pm because he had gotten a nap that day.  He always goes to sleep later whenever he gets a nap.  I headed off to bed at 10 pm and only slept for about an hour.  I woke up around 11 to the baby moving a lot and I couldn't sleep because of it.  I went out into the living room and got something to eat hoping that would help.  Sometimes I would just wait it out until the baby settled down and I was able to sleep again.  By 12:30, she had stopped moving but I started having really mild contractions.  I went to bed thinking that they were just Braxton Hicks contractions and that resting would make them stop but I was wrong.

The contractions got more painful after I laid in bed but they were still manageable.  I got up because I couldn't sleep and started getting last minute things ready while still not sure if this was the real thing or not.  Around 1:15 AM I woke Louis up and let him know that I thought it was the real thing.  He stayed up with me and helped talk me through the contractions, which wasn't that hard because they still weren't too intense.  Since we are living with my parents right now, I let my mother know what was going on and that we may be leaving in the next couple of hours but would keep her updated.  Louis and I got the food and drinks packed in our bag and I was still having contractions that were every few minutes but still nothing too horrible.  We weren't timing them but they were getting closer.  I told Louis that I thought it was time to page the on call midwife.

Louis made the page around 2: 20 AM and then we played the waiting game.  It seemed like FOREVER for the call back but in reality it was less than ten minutes.  Louis talked with her for a minute before I asked for the phone.  I figured it was faster if I just talked and answered questions directly because I was still able to talk, even through the contractions (barely).  I don't think she thought I was as far along as I was because I was still able to talk okay.

It happened with my labor with Zachary too and the midwives at that time didn't think I was very far but I ended up being 5 cm.  So I guess I just take contractions really well or they just aren't as painful as some women.

Anyway, she asked if we were timing the contractions and I said no but that they were close together and getting stronger.  She said to time the contractions for 45 minutes and then call back after that time... UNLESS, the contractions got stronger or my water broke.  Little did she know that we would be calling back sooner than she expected.

I had 3 contractions within 6 minutes with the last one so strong that my water broke while I was sitting on the bed.  Louis called the midwife back and she told us they she would meet us at the birth center.  Louis started putting the bags in the car while I changed my pants and let my mom know we were leaving and what was going on.  We left the house around 2:50 AM and it felt like the longest drive EVER!  Thankfully there were basically no cars on the road because it was the middle of the night.  We saw maybe 4 cars and 2 of those were police cars.

I remember that the car radio was on and playing Christmas music.  I didn't tell Louis until the car ride home but I sooo wanted to rip the stereo out because the music was too happy.  I was just hoping and praying that we made it to the birth center.  We got off the freeway and were just about 10 minutes from the center when I felt like I had to push on the next contraction.  I tried not to push because we weren't there yet but my body and instincts just took over.  I couldn't help it, I had to push.  The closer we got, the better I felt because I didn't really want to have the baby in the car.

We parked right in front and Louis walked me inside.  The midwife, student midwife, and birth assistant walked me to the front birth room in between contractions.  While Louis went to get the bags, I was in the room and had another contraction and again, felt like I had to push.  I told them that I was pushing and they had me lay down after it was over so I could get checked.  We had only been there for about 10 minutes and so I was shocked when she told me that I was 10 cm and the baby was right there.  It was around 3:30 AM and I don't really remember everything that happened in the next 40 minutes but I did push with all the strength I had.  I listened to my midwives and Louis every step of the way and before I knew it she was born at 4:09 in the morning.  We were thrilled to find out at the birth that it was a little girl, Amelia, and she was beautiful.  This was right after she was born and put onto my chest.







I was still in shock that it was over so fast!  We hardly had time to think at all, and none of our family knew that we were even in labor.  Here I am getting my blood pressure taken.





My mom was definitely not expecting the next update to be a birth announcement and we surprised Louis' parents as well because they didn't even know what was going on.  Louis let his boss know that he wouldn't be coming in to work that day or for the rest of the week.  It was such an amazing time even though it was kind of crazy.  Our vitals were checked several times to make sure everything was great and soon, 3 hours, we were on our way home.

We got home around 8 AM and Zachary was still asleep.  We woke him up so my mom could take him with her to the preschool where she works and then my sister came to pick him up.  She watched him the whole day and it was nice to have some quiet time to rest.  This was right after we got home.



That night Louis' parents came by to visit.  Zachary was happy to see them as he still wasn't sure what exactly was going on.



I have to say that it was an amazing experience.  I didn't know what to expect but it was so much easier than I imagined!  I am so proud of myself for going natural without anything for the pain and, let's face it, even if I did choose a hospital birth with an epidural, it went so fast that I would have had no choice but to go all natural.  I have recovered so much faster than the first time and I was even driving again after 5 days!

Well, that's the amazingly fast birth of our baby girl!  Just for fun, let's recap:

12:30 am- contractions start

1:15 am- I wake Louis up

2:20 am- Midwife calls after getting paged

2:35 ish- water breaks and we leave for the birth center

3:20 am- we get to the birth center

3:30 am- I start pushing

4:09 am- Amelia is born

Total labor time: 3 hours 39 minutes!

PHEW!  That was a lot!