Selah's Birth Story

Selah’s birth was a lot different than Joel’s (you can read his story here: Joel's Birth Story  ) , but different in a good way. Although I had a very good experience with his birth at the hospital (everyone was very kind, respected my wish to have a natural birth, and didn’t try to push anything on me), his birth was very long, hard, painful, and exhausting. I was REALLY nervous to give birth again and was surprised and thankful that her birth was so much faster and easier.

This is kinda long, but I didn’t want to forget any of the details!
 
Monday, April 9, 40 weeks and 5 days
I was having a really hard time with still being pregnant that Monday. The day before was Easter, and I had been just sure that we would be taking a brand new baby to church that day….but no….still pregnant. I had only gone 4 days overdue with Joel, and for some reason, I was positive there was no way I could possibly go more overdue the second time :P

We had an appointment with Susan at 5:00, and I had regular contractions the whole way to the appointment. Hmmmmm. But this had happened to me before, so I didn’t think too much of it. At the appointment, I was dilated to 3, so we decided to strip my membranes. We had talked about doing this at earlier appointments, but I never felt quite right about it until this day. Today, I was done, done, done with being pregnant and was really ready to be in labor no matter how hard or long the labor would be.

We went to Riverstop Café after the appointment for dinner. I was able to eat a sandwich, but the contractions were getting stronger. Hmmmm. But again, this had happened before, so I didn’t believe I was in labor. We were going to do a big grocery trip after dinner, but I decided to just let Nate run in for a couple things while I sat in the car with Joel….I didn’t feel up to explaining to people why my belly was so big, how overdue I was, why I was having to stop walking with contractions, etc.

When we got home, Joel went with his aunts and uncles for ice cream, and Nate and I stayed home to straighten the house. I was still having strong, regular contractions but still didn’t believe I was in labor. I didn’t think the contractions hurt enough, and I didn’t feel nauseated like I did in early labor with Joel. So we decided to go to a movie (haha…I don’t know what we were thinking…I guess I was REALLY in denial). I decided to take a shower first and had some REALLY strong contractions that I couldn’t be quiet for, so thankfully, we ditched the movie idea.

9:00pm…..Joel came home but my moaning during contractions was making him really nervous, so we watched about 15 minutes of Veggie Tales while I had 3 contractions as quietly as possible…trying to act normal for him so he could go to bed without being scared. OUCH….up until then, those were the only contractions that actually hurt…as long as I could make noise, the contractions didn’t really hurt, just felt strong. We put him to bed. I still didn’t really believe I was in labor….well….I thought maybe really early labor. Again, it just didn’t seem to hurt enough. I tentatively texted the people planning on being at the birth that maybe, just maybe, we would have a baby sometime tomorrow.

10pm….We had a snack and played Settlers of Catan. I would stand and lean against the table during contractions, and Nate would rub my back. Still didn’t really hurt, but I was starting to come out of denial and believe that I was in labor. I thought the contractions were every 10-12 minutes and lasting about 30 seconds, but when Nate timed them, they were actually every 5-6 minutes and lasting a minute. Hmmmmmm. I told Nate I thought maybe if we were lucky, we would have a baby by noon the next day. Haha….little did I know.

11pm….I thought maybe we could get a little sleep. I figured we had about 17 hours of labor ahead of us and wanted to be as rested as possible. Took a bath, crawled into bed, and tried to sleep.

12am….contractions were getting too uncomfortable to be in bed. I really needed Nate to be pressing on my back (Selah was posterior…so back pain was getting really strong). I woke him up. I knew I was in labor now, but figured I had hours and hours left and wasn’t sure if I should call Susan yet. Then I had a REALLY strong contraction that left me in tears, and I dramatically told Nate to call everyone. Haha. Thankfully he was calm and collected and just called his mom. She came pretty quickly and helped me through some more contractions. They were getting intense and more painful but still pretty easy to manage as long as I breathed through them. I was able to talk and laugh in between contractions, and I still didn’t have any nausea. So I still didn’t think I was very far along…maybe 4cm. I felt kinda bad for calling Kim so soon because she didn’t get much sleep, and I figured we would be up all night and into the next day.

Brushing my teeth because I was NOT going to make the same mistake I did with Joel and go 17 hours of hard labor (throwing up the whole time) withOUT brushing my teeth. Ew. 

12:45am…We decided to call Susan. I was still talking and laughing, but the contractions were getting closer together and more intense. And I really wanted to know how far along I was. I really, really hoped I was at 5cm….and was really, really scared I was still only 3cm.

1:15am…Susan got to the house. She observed a few of my contractions and decided to call Julie (her assistant) and Tami (the Dr who delivered Joel wanted to come as a friend). Kim called Jessica (a friend who was going to help with Joel in case he woke up or video tape the birth if he was sleeping). Contractions were hurting but didn’t feel as bad as they did at 5cm with Joel, so I was hoping I was 5cm, but figured I was probably closer to 4cm. Susan checked me………….8cm, fully effaced. WHAAAAAAAT!?! I was already to transition???? YES!!! I cried a lot of very happy tears at that point.

AND, I could get in the birth pool now! I had been waiting to make sure I was at least 6cm before getting in. LOVE the water…it helped so much.

Goofy picture...but proves I was still laughing at 8cm! 

1:45am….Everyone else showed up. I was still laughing and talking some, but this was about the point that I needed to really focus on just contractions to get through them. They really hurt now and were very intense, but I didn’t mind because I was SO close! I knew I probably didn’t have hours and hours of labor ahead of me.

2:45am….starting to feel some pressure and like maybe it was time to push. The contractions were very close together. I told Nate and Kim that I didn’t think I could do labor much longer…it was getting too hard. And the nausea had finally come, and I was throwing up some. Kim was very sweet…talking and breathing with me through each contraction. And Nate was my support…I needed to hold his hand and have his head close to mine. I hate pretty much any smell while I’m pregnant, but for some reason during labor, I just needed to concentrate on the smell of Nate’s hair. Weird, I know. But it was a “safe” smell and really helped.

3:00am….out of the birth pool and on the bed. Susan checked me…9+cm, anterior lip (little bit of cervix holding the head back), -1 station (head was still pretty high), asynclitic (head tilted to the side…not a very good position), and posterior (baby facing my belly button…also not a very good position). Hmmm…not cool. I had an anterior lip with Joel too, and it was NOT fun.

3:15am….Susan broke my water. Still had a lip (I HATE lips!!). She tried pushing it back over Selah’s head (this worked with Joel), but it really wasn’t working this time. I was so frustrated and confused and starting to feel a little out of control and frantic with the contractions. I didn’t understand why the things that worked with Joel weren’t working this time. I didn’t know what to do. Everyone kept reminding me that every birth and baby is different….that helped some.

While I was talking with Susan about what position we should try next (I was still sidelying on the bed at this point), I felt Selah start wiggling her head into a better position. Ouch! It felt like sharp, stabbing pains, but I was glad she was moving. Then we watched her whole body rotate into the OA position (facing my back)—arms, knees, and feet poking out my belly and rotating around into a better position. Ah…my back felt much better now.

3:30am…tried a few positions: sitting supported by Nate, sitting on the toilet, standing, and finally ended up kneeling in the tub with the shower on my back. Julie was so sweet and rubbed my back even though she got soaked by the shower. I was REALLY getting frantic now. It didn’t feel right to push….but it didn’t feel right to NOT push either.

3:45am…I asked Kim to call my parents and ask them to pray. I couldn’t do labor by myself anymore. She left to call them, and I decided to try feeling Selah’s head. I remembered that feeling the head had helped me with Joel. I felt the head, sweet baby hair……… and that dumb lip. I started having another contraction and without thinking, pushed the lip up and over Selah’s head. The head slammed down, and I really needed to push! “Ow, Susan! It burns!”

Susan: “Do you think the lip is gone?”

Me: “Um, I KNOW it’s gone! I pushed it back myself.”

Susan: “Whaaat??!”

Hahaha…I wish I could have gotten her face just then on camera.

Jessica ran and told Kim to come back…the baby was coming! Susan wanted me to get out of the tub in case the shoulders got stuck and she needed to maneuver them (Joel’s shoulders had gotten a little stuck, so we were a little concerned). Whew…asking a woman at the end of labor to lift her legs up over the tub wall is like asking someone to flap their arms and fly….it’s pretty much impossible! Somehow between Nate, Kim, Susan, and Julie lifting me, I made it out of the tub. Susan said I could just deliver while standing, but I kept saying that I DIDN’T. LIKE. THIS. POSITION. (Yes, I was very dramatic at this point!) But I also couldn’t get on my hands and knees…I was stuck standing. Thankfully, Julie finally pulled me down to the floor.

4:00am….Now that I was in a good position, baby was in a good position, and I didn’t have a lip anymore, I really felt like I could focus on relaxing and getting the baby out. I didn’t feel frantic anymore…everything felt right. It still hurt a lot, but unlike with Joel, I didn’t really need to push hard to feel her head move down. So I was able to talk to her and just breathe through contractions: “Come on baby…it’s time to come out….I want to meet you….I’m so excited!”

4:12am….She was born! She started screaming the minute her head came out! Susan handed her to me between my legs. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen (except for maybe Joel :) Nate told me she was a girl…but I had to check for myself! Haha. She nursed almost right away….there on the bathroom floor while I leaned against Nate. Not exactly the nicest place, but it worked. After about an hour, the placenta still hadn’t come, and I was having contractions almost as bad as labor. Julie took Selah and weighed her: 8lbs and 1oz. Almost 2 pounds smaller than Joel! I guess going sugar (and most carbs) free during my pregnancy really helped!

5:20am….still waiting for placenta. Contractions were HORRIBLE. Back to the shower. Still not coming. It had taken a long time after Joel was born too, but the after birth pains weren’t so painful after he was born. I was crying…this was worse than labor!

5:45am….Placenta finally out with CCT. EBL was 300.

It was SO nice to be at home already in our own bed. Susan and Julie cleaned up and went home. Kim stayed for a few hours and watched Selah so we could sleep.

Just a couple hours after being born...her head was so perfect!

Joel showing off his new sister the next day.

"Baby! Baby! Baby!"