The Birth of Charlee

After 2 weeks of on and off contractions, they finally started to pick up and not slow down like they had been doing. On Saturday afternoon, I called my mom to drive down from Kentucky because our little girl was on her way! I was very excited when the contractions started to become more consistent and I had NO idea that the next 20 hours would be the hardest, most intense 20 hours of my life. When the contractions increasingly became more intense to the point that I didn't want to walk or talk, I got in my bathtub. The warm water was soothing, but the contractions kept coming stronger and stronger. I attempted to relax and breath through them the best I could. At this point I was in denial that this was "real labor". I kept telling myself that they would stop like they had been doing for the past couple of weeks. I did NOT want to call Jennifer and her team and have it be a false alarm... again. At around midnight (I was unaware of time but I'm assuming it was around this time), my mom called my birth team against my wishes and they headed on over. I'm glad they did because when they got there I was 4cm! I was so excited that our baby girl was finally going to come that day. I labored hard all through the night! My sweet husband was told to go get some sleep and my midwife assistants stayed with me. I am so incredibly grateful for them. They were so calming and encouraging and dealt with my consistent birth noises and my whining too. There were several points throughout this time that I just wanted to give up! If someone had offered me a way out of this *extremely intense pain that wasn't stopping... I would have taken it without hesitation! (This is one of the many reasons that I'm glad I birthed at home... Because I got the natural birth I wanted because I didn't really have a choice in the moment). When the sun finally came up, I was positive that the end had to be near. I asked to be checked again and I was only 6cm.I had labored all night and only progressed 2cm!! I was so frustrated, heartbroken, and tired that I threw a temper tantrum like a 2 year old. It was then that Jennifer began to set up the birth pool for me. That gave me a sliver of hope so I pressed on. Around 10am and I had reached 9 cm. I was entering transition and felt that strange sensation to push. However, my water had yet to break and my cervix had a lip that just couldn't make it around my daughter's head. For the next three very long, miserable hours, I labored through the most intense contractions I had felt yet. I was so exhausted by this point that I literally fell asleep between contractions. I was full on dreaming for the 1 minute rests between them. My sweet husband was by my side the entire time. He would walk with me when I needed it. Poor water on my back and massage it when I was in the pool. We tried everything to get that lip to slip over her head... Including walking up and down stairs! We finally decided to break my water and within a couple more contractions, my daughter's head dropped and I was ready to push! When Jennifer told me this, I literally giggled with joy that it was almost over and I was gonna hold my sweet girl soon. At this point I was over it, so when I felt the urge to push... I PUSHED!!! Jennifer and her assistants were so reassuring and helpful during this intense time. In only 8 minutes, my Charlee was born and in my arms with no tearing! She weighed 7lbs 5oz and was 19.5 inches long. After the cord had stopped pulsating, my husband cut it and we made our way to the bed to deliver the placenta. It came out easily and my husband and I were cuddling our sweet baby girl. Everything was fine and dandy until all of the sudden I started hemorrhaging. I didn't realize what was going on because it all happened so quickly. Jennifer stayed very calm, yet I could tell in her eyes that she was worried. She gave me a shot of pitocin in my leg and massaged my uterus. Then she gave me some other medicine but the bleeding continued. I received another shot of pitocin. She told my husband to take the baby and told her assistants to call the ambulance. It was then that I knew something was wrong. Jennifer worked tirelessly to get the bleeding to stop while her assistants prepared for my transport and met the paramedics downstairs. I didn't realize until later how serious my condition was. I never thought that things would end in the worst case scenario, which is good because it helped me to remain calm. When the paramedics arrived, I had already stopped hemorrhaging and was nursing Charlee. They checked my vitals and I was stable. So I chose to stay home. I am forever grateful to Jennifer and her team for saving my life and keeping me calm. We now have a very happy and healthy baby girl and I feel back to my normal self after a few short weeks of recovery. If we ever have another baby, it will definitely be delivered at home!