**WARNING–This is a long post!**
I’ve written before about the beauty of a Bradley Birth, but when you are able to couple it with a home birth it’s FABULOUS! This was both a much easier & also a more painful birth than Lil’ Bit’s but it did make recovery MUCH better!
To set the stage, about two & a half weeks prior to having Lil’ Sis, she “dropped” and I started to feel like I wasn’t going to make my due date (which was 11/9). I told my midwife & chiropractor & they both told me that I could be like that for several weeks. All I can say now is that I can no longer be called oblivious!
The week before Lil’ Sis was born, we were up until midnight one night cleaning the whole house, top to bottom–cleaning walls, painting holes, putting furniture together, you name it! Since we had the house done & most of my freezer list finished, I decided to quit working in order to spend some time with Lil’ Bit before the baby came. I hadn’t really thought much about it, but I was feeling some occasional cramping that week.
On Saturday, we decided to go out & have some fun before we ran out of time. We went bowling (I won), took Lil’ Bit ice skating for the first time, and then went to a Halloween party. The next morning, I asked Bones to make breakfast while I tried to determine whether the contractions were real. I went through the list (sleep, shower, eat, drink, walk) and realized this was it. They were about 6 minutes apart at that point.
I called the midwife who had me time both the length of the contraction & the length of the peak and call her back in about an hour. She was having her birth reunion picnic that day and she left to come over. At about noon, she wanted to check me because if I hadn’t progressed she’d go back to the party. I was almost dilated to 7 & fully effaced. I think I’m using those terms right — I only got checked at hospital check-in last time :).
Needless to say, she didn’t leave. By 2pm, the contractions started to get pretty strong & they suggested I get in the tub. In my true stubborn fashion I declined and then later figured they’d take the edge off. I wasn’t in there long before my body (not me!) was pushing. I pushed for 15 minutes and that was WITH the midwife telling me to slow down while she stretched me out. That was extremely painful (compared to last time), but I had no tears & last time I needed stitches!
She was born at 3:16pm & I was right again–we had another girl! I was out of the house 4 days later & back to my normal routine (minus gym) in a week. I was still in jammies two weeks later with Lil’ Bit. Labor went from 18 hours to 9 hours & pushing from 60 minutes to 15. Healing went from 6 weeks to 2 weeks. Woot!!
She is fabulously easy and I’m so grateful for my healthcare providers who helped her come to be. Most of all, I thank God for our new blessing.
Alicia
19 December 2010 at 8:40 PM (13 years ago)Congrats! She is beautiful!
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Kirsten is Comfortably Domestic
17 December 2010 at 9:32 AM (13 years ago)Oh, Jen! She is so beautiful! What a great birth story. It’s amazing what can happen when you listen to your body!
Kirsten is Comfortably Domestic´s last blog post ..Slow Down With Your Slow Cooker Series- Chicken Chili
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