Gabriellas Birth Story

Concerns about the baby being born prior to my arrival often come up. I always reassure the family that this rarely happens but when it does, those babies always seem to be just fine. The birth of Gabriella is a perfect example...

Gabriella's Birth Story

The whole 9 months of this pregnancy was completely opposite from my first pregnancy. With Christopher I felt great the whole time until the morning I went into labor. With this little one I had it all - morning sickness, heartburn, back aches, head aches, acid reflux, and I was a little moody...just a little bit though :) I was pretty sure that Christopher was getting a little sister but we would be happy with a healthy happy baby - boy or girl. My EDD was Nov. 5th and although I was hoping to be early with baby #2, I figured I would be late like I was with Chris (who was 12 days late). Thats why I let my husband, Joe drive the 29 hours to Colorado on a elk hunting trip from Oct. 21st - Nov. 1st. Everyone thought I was crazy to let him go away so close to my due date but I just knew our baby would wait until daddy got home. After Joe got home from Colorado, I was ready to meet my baby. Christopher told the baby everyday that we were ready for him/her to come out now! But my baby had other plans....

I woke up every morning hoping for some sign that I was going into labor. I had my 41 week appointment with my amazing midwife, Jen and she told me what I already knew....our baby would come at the perfect time for him/her...whenever the little one was ready. I was anxious to meet my baby but at the same time I wasn't that uncomfortable and I was enjoying the last few days as just being Christopher's mommy. I knew these last moments as a family of 3 were precious. A few nights in a row I had a couple "practice contractions" but I knew they were not the real thing. I told myself I would not be pregnant forever and tomorrow may be the day and then fell asleep...

On Tues. Nov. 15th I woke up with still no signs of labor. My husband took our son hunting for the fourth day in a row and I stayed home to relax. The house was spotless, birthing supplies had been ready for weeks, fridge and cupboards were full of food, nursery was ready...nesting was done! I was officially bored waiting for this little one! I decided to read some birth stories online and wondered about how my birth would be. Around 11 am I received my moms daily text asking how I was feeling (her way of asking if we were gonna have a baby that day without really asking lol) and texted her back the usual "nothing exciting....still being patient :)" I went back to reading birth stories and then something exciting actually did happen!! I went pee for what seemed like the 45th time that day and there it was....my mucous plug! WOOHOO!! Something was finally starting to happen. With my sons birth almost 3 yrs ago I lost my mucous plug 3 days before I went into labor so I still figured I had a few days to go. I decided to keep this little discovery to myself until something a little more exciting happened. This was at about 11:30 am. At noon I got my first "real" contraction! Maybe this little one wasnt going to make mommy wait 3 days like his/her big brother!

I wrote the time down and waited for another one. Twenty minutes later I got another one and I called my husband to tell him what was going on. He was on his way home to get Chris lunch and give him a nap before going back in the woods. I made lunch and contractions came every 20-25 mins for the rest of the afternoon. They were very mild and Joe didn't even know when I was having one unless I told him. My contractions were exactly 3 minutes apart for my whole 10 hour labor with Chris and they just got more and more intense. I knew all labors were different but didn't know just how different my two births would be! The contractions stayed 20-25 mins apart until Joe left to go back in the woods and I put my son down for his nap. I called Jen to tell her I lost my mucous plug and was in early labor. She was so excited for me! She told me to let her know when things changed and call her whenever I needed her to come over. I knew it would be a while and tried to lay down to nap while Chris was napping. As soon as I layed down the contractions got closer and I knew I wasn't taking a nap.... 3:38.... 3:54.... 4:03.... 4:12.... 4:23.... 4:33.... 4:41.... 4:51.... 5:00.... 5:11.... During these contractions I was on the birthing ball rotating my hips and reading some more birth stories. They were still very mild and I was just relaxing, hoping they would get closer together.

Christopher woke up from his nap and I stopped timing the contractions but I knew that they had gone back to being 20-25 mins apart. Joe came home from hunting, I made dinner and we enjoyed what I figured was going to be our last night as a family of three. I texted Jen after dinner and told her about my contractions getting closer together when Chris was napping and then farther apart after he woke up. I told her I was guessing they would probably get closer again once he went to bed and I would call her when I needed her. Chris sat on the birthing ball with me for a while and thought it was funny that I was rotating my hips in a circle to encourage the baby to move down. Then for the most exciting thing for a 3 year old that was going to be a big brother soon....we blew up the birthing pool!! Chris wanted to go swimming but we explained that it was for mommy to have the baby in and he was fine with that. We had been watching water/homebirth videos and we had a couple homebirth childrens books that we would read frequently. I told him that his brother or sister would be here soon and he talked to the baby and told him/her to come out! So precious! My husband and I read Chris books before bed and cuddled extra long. We talked about how this would be the last time tucking our boy into bed as a family of three. Tomorrow he would be a big brother and wouldn't be our baby anymore :'( We went downstairs and heard Chris get out of bed (which he usually doesn't do). Joe went to investigate and came downstairs laughing - Christopher had taken his blanket and pillow into our bedroom and was laying down in the birthing pool! HAHA! That's my silly boy!!

Sure enough after Chris fell asleep, my contractions got closer together. I decided to call my mom to tell her that I might be calling her tonight or early in the morning whenever I went into "active labor." She told me to let her and my midwife know right when the contractions got closer or stronger and not to wait too long. I told her I was still planning on a 24 hour labor and thought I had a long ways to go. My husband fell asleep on the couch and I tried to lay down too. That wasn't happening so I timed contractions instead.... 9:05.... 9:14.... 9:26.... 9:34.... 9:46.... 9:54.... Contractions were still very mild but I had to start standing up when I had one....sitting or laying down was just not effective....

10:02... 10:10.... 10:17.... 10:25.... 10:33.... 10:40.... 10:50.... 10:57.... My husband wakes up to see how I am and I tell him the contractions either need to get closer and stronger or they need to stop so I could sleep - having contractions 7-8 mins apart was just annoying! I was laying down and resting between all the contractions and then standing up and rocking my hips during each one - visualizing my baby moving down.... 11:05.... 11:12.... 11:18.... 11:26.... 11:34.... 11:41.... 11:48.... 11:55.... 12:02.... ok....those last two were a little stronger. I had to breath and focus to get through them. I still feel like this is just the beginning but knew today would be my baby's birthday....Nov. 16th.....my best friend's birthday...how exciting! My husband was still asleep on the couch and my mom and midwife were the only ones that knew I had been laboring all day. At this point I was doing great laboring on my own and knew I didn't need any support yet. When I was in labor with Chris I labored for the first 3 hours on my own before I felt like I needed the extra support of my husband, mom, and midwife. I still thought I had a while to go.... 12:07....that was only five minutes! 12:12....and that was too!! With every contraction I'm getting closer to meeting my baby.... 12:15....3 minutes?!?! Maybe things are really getting started! I wake up my husband to tell him they finally started getting closer together and were gonna have a baby today!! 12:18....wow! that was a strong one!! The first one that there was no way I could talk through. I decide to call Jen and my mom to come over. I still think its a little early because my contractions just started to get closer and stronger but both of them warned me not to wait too long.... Right after I hung up the phone I got another strong contraction and I decided it was time to focus and forget about the time. I got a little nauseous and ate a couple crackers and had some water. I asked Joe to start filling up the birthing pool. He said "already?!?" and I said "yes!!" At this point in my labor with Chris I felt nauseous, got in the birthing pool shortly after and labored there for the next 6 hours. I still thought I had a ways to go.... I walked around downstairs for a few more contractions and then joined Joe upstairs in our room. They were very strong now and there was no break in between them - I REALLY wanted to get in the pool. I remembered how relaxed I felt in there through my labor with Chris and started to feel like I was losing control. I started pacing back and forth in the bathroom and wished the pool would fill up faster! My husband was supporting me by making sure I was ok but I didnt want him touching me anymore. I started to feel a lot of pressure but ignored it. There's no way I could be ready to push yet. I just called my mom who was fifteen minutes away and my midwife who was an hour away - and neither of them were here yet. I pushed for an hour and a half with my son so I just kept breathing and pacing in the bathroom - ignoring this "pushy" feeling that I was having. I think Joe knew I was farther along than I thought I was but he just stayed calm and close to me. I kept asking about the pool but it wasn't even close to being full yet. I was thinking if I could get in the pool then my contractions would be much more manageable and all this pressure would go away. (HAHA!! wishful thinking!!)

Finally Joe tells me that my mom is here and I stopped fighting it..."I have to PUSH!" I yell. Joe calls the midwife and yells downstairs to my mom that I have to push. My mom comes into the bathroom and I'm leaning over the bathroom sink. She asks how I'm doing and I say "I'm pushing!" She tells me "No dont push" and I tell her to shutup - here comes the baby! I squat down and push and there is the head! The midwife says over the phone to check for a cord but before my mom had a chance to she had a baby in her hands!! My mom looks at me yells its a girl and shes beautiful and she has hair! Our baby girl started crying as I brought her to my chest so we knew immediately she was alright. My son came out of his bedroom which was right next to the bathroom to meet his baby sister. WOW! We were all in shock! And so in love with this beautiful baby girl - our Gabriella Jo! Daddy comes behind me to meet his daughter and we have our first picture together as a family of four....in the bathroom :) Gabriella kept whimpering but decided it was too bright in the bathroom to open her eyes and look at the world. Christopher was so excited he had a sister and wanted to see her umbilical cord. He knew it was his job to cut it but was ok with waiting until Jen got there. I was amazed at how great he did - we had never talked about the baby being born in the bathroom without our midwife there! My sister, Jocelyn was quick with the camera and caught pictures of Gabriella right after she was born but we definitely didn't have time to videotape the birth like I planned. After 10-15 minutes in the bathroom I got uncomfortable, so we set up a path of towels to the bed and I walked into the bedroom. We all sat there and stared at our new baby in amazement while we waited for Jen. Nobody could believe how fast our little girl had come! I kept telling them I really didn't think I waited too long - I actually thought it was a little early! Jen arrived about 20 minutes after Gabby was born and said we both looked great and Gabriella was beautiful! We figured out with Jen's help that Gabriella made her entrance into the world at 12:55 am. Once my baby girl decided to come out she wasn't waiting! My first contraction that I felt like I really had to focus on because it was much stronger than the others was at 12:18 am.... so about 38 minutes of active labor!! And that is the first contraction that I felt like I needed support and called my birth team. It never even occured to me to call anyone before that because the contractions were mild up until that point.

The cord had stopped pulsating by the time Jen got there so Chris (with a little help from mommy) cut the cord. I pushed the placenta out and felt instantly like my body was my own again! Daddy held his baby girl for the first time and we got some precious alone time with our new family of four. Grandma held her new granddaughter for the first time since she was born into her hands! We took a few more pictures and then it was time to get cleaned up. Daddy took Gabby downstairs to meet Grandpa Rusty, Aunt Bri, and Aunt Jocelyn and they took turns holding her. I took a fast bath because there was not much hot water left after we filled the birthing pool up halfway....for nothing!

Downstairs Jen did the newborn checks on our baby girl. She weighed 7 lbs 10 oz and was 20 1/2 in long. She was perfect! Mommy got her dressed and Chris held his baby sister for the first time - he was amazed and instantly in love! What a great big brother!

Jen finished cleaning upstairs and we talked about how amazing the night had been. Everyone left and it was time to put Chris back to bed and try to get some sleep. It was 3:30 am. We couldn't believe that less than 4 hours ago I was thinking that I had many more hours to go. What a birth story little Gabriella has to tell! Gabby is now 2 weeks old and the perfect addition to our family. She sleeps and nurses great and never cries. Her big brother loves her, she already has daddy wrapped around her finger, and mommy just cant imagine how life was without her! Thanks for choosing our family Gabriella Jo!