The Day I Was Born: Racquelle Joy’s Birth Story by Jennifer W.

The Day I Was Born

Racquelle Joy’s Birth Story

 Don’t you love a story that begins, “I lost my mucus plug…”  But, that is exactly how it began.  It was 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, September 17th.  I woke up and went to the bathroom, which was my usual early morning routine in the third trimester.  With the bloody show that was present it was obvious that my mucus plug was definitely gone.  I attempted to return to bed, but noticed that my contractions were becoming more severe.  I knew from my Bradley Method of Husband-Coached Natural Child-Birthing class that I needed to conserve my energy.  “Just relax and go back to sleep,” I told myself.  But, I was only 1 week away from my estimated delivery date – this could be false labor, or it could also be the real deal!

 I decided to get up because the severity of the contractions was different from the Braxton-Hicks I was accustomed to.  I simply could not sleep through them.  I decided to time my contractions to see if there was any regularity to them.  Surprise!  They were between eight and five minutes apart and usually 1-1.5 minutes in duration.  I knew this was it!

 I waited until 7:30 a.m. to call our midwife, Connie.  We discussed resting and relaxing while I labored at home because exhaustion is not a friend during labor and delivery.  That’s also when my husband, Michael, rose for the day and I called our doula, Vanessa.  Vanessa is my sister and also a labor and delivery nurse at a local hospital – plus, she’s my personal lactation consultant!  Vanessa made babysitting arrangements for her own children and arrived at our house around noon with lunch.  I remembered to eat throughout the day, first in the morning with my usual oatmeal, again at lunch with a sandwich, and macaroni-n-cheese for dinner with healthy snacks in between. 

 Being at home was the best and most comfortable arrangement for this early labor.  While there, either Michael or Vanessa would time my contractions on our smart phone application while the other would help massage my lower back.  We walked around the backyard and did some lunges, used the birth ball, and labored in the side relaxation position.  I took two small naps while still attempting to time the contractions.  Connie would call every few hours to check on my progression.  Finally around 7:30 p.m., my contractions were picking up speed and increasing in intensity.  I felt I needed to get to my birthing location.  Michael called Connie and the Birth Team met at the Babymoon Inn around 8:30 p.m.

 I thought it would go quickly and smoothly after arriving at the birth sanctuary and into Connie’s capable hands.  After all, I did everything that I could during pregnancy in preparation for this day.  I did my research, stayed in shape, ate a great diet, and stayed happy and healthy overall.  I had already been in labor for approximately sixteen hours and only expected the eighteen hour average.  I was wrong!   

 I had previously requested during our prenatal appointments and in our birth plan that during labor, Connie would not tell me how far dilated I was for fear that it would depress me and stunt the continued progression of my labor.  When I arrived at the Babymoon Inn and Connie checked my cervix, unfortunately I was only 4.5 cm.  She simply stated that I “wasn’t going anywhere,” so we nested into the large bedroom and labor progressed slowly again.

 Right from the start, I became quite cold with the chills, ran a small fever and vomited twice.  Our Birth Attendant, Erin, would check the baby’s heartbeat (which was phenomenal every time!) and my temperature every hour.  When the hours dragged on, I realized that this was going to be neither quick nor easy.  When I finally glanced at the clock, I noticed that I had been laboring for an entire day – that’s 24 hours! 

 Throughout the evening, we attempted to change positions every 30 minutes or so.  I laid on my side and the pain became almost unbearable, even with the heated rice sock on my back.  We switched to the shower and while my uterus contracted, I would bend over using the shower wall for support and Michael would spray my lower back with the hot water.  We walked around the interior of the Babymoon Inn and when a contraction would hit, one of my birth team members would be right behind me, ready to massage my back or put pressure on my hips to help with the pain.  I continued to labor on my hands and knees in the cat-cow position and even got into the large Jacuzzi tub.  I attempted to imagine the weightless feeling of scuba diving while in the tub.  But each time a contraction came on, I would rise up on my hands and rock my pelvis back and forth – my own modified cat-cow.  I remember falling asleep a few times while in the bathtub and even when I was in the middle of a contraction standing up!  Exhaustion was creeping in.  While getting out of the tub, I looked at Connie and commented that this was not what I had expected.  That’s when she and Erin said a prayer of intercession over me.

 Connie also made me an herbal tincture to help my labor progress, but my contractions would not get closer than two minutes apart.  She also requested that I eat something so a hardboiled egg and tea with honey was presented to me.  I took two bites and then needed to use the restroom.  Vanessa accompanied me to the bathroom and continued to give me words of encouragement like, “You’re doing such a great job!” and “You’re so strong!”  I finally looked her in the eyes and mentioned that I had been pushing on the last three contractions while on the toilet and asked if that was okay.  She said we should have Connie check me again.

 As I approached Connie in the bedroom, I mentioned my urge to push.  That was the best news she had heard all night!  However, I was not sure if it was just the wishful urge to push or if my body was really ready for second stage labor.  After Connie checked, I still had a portion of cervix remaining, but she could assist its opening to the fully dilated 10 cm during a contraction.  Therefore, we went ahead and proceeded and on the second contraction, I felt the baby’s head “break through” into the birth canal.  That’s the only time I cursed during labor and delivery!  It was definitely a different feeling than the first stage of labor.  Unfortunately, I had to cease pushing at this very moment so that the team could check the baby’s heart rate.  All was good, so it took me just one more contraction to push her all the way out…eleven minutes total.  I remember Connie commenting that the baby had a lot of hair and that she was a very pretty baby.  Mind you, all I was thinking was, “Yah, she probably says that to all her clients!”  But, when the baby’s shoulder was out, Connie told me to take my baby and pull her the rest of the way out of the birth canal.  I did just that and our beautiful baby girl, Racquelle Joy, was born at 6:29 a.m. on Sunday, September 18^th.  Michael was behind me, supporting me all the way through the pushing, and was weeping at the sight of our new little creation. 

 I breast-fed Racquelle immediately after birth.  Then, she was weighed and measured and we cuddled some more before she fell into a deep slumber.  With this second wind I was experiencing from natural childbirth, I was able to take a shower and eat some breakfast.  We took photos, discussed post partum items, did some paperwork and enjoyed the beautiful Sunday morning that was before us. 

 What a blessing our little one is.  And, what a blessing to have such an amazing place like the Babymoon Inn and wonderful people like Connie and Erin to support the natural child-birthing community here in Phoenix!