And first yawn!
Theo_first yawn
Before too many days pass, and the details become blurry, here is Theo’s birth story…
My water broke around 1:30pm on Monday, September 6th. So, I called the birth center to talk to the midwife on call. Andrea called me back and because I hadn’t had any contractions yet she told me to wait a bit and see if anything happened. She asked us to meet her at the birth center at 7pm. That would give us some time to see if contractions would start on their own. We needed to be checked to make sure in fact that my water did break and the midwife could tell us what the next steps would be.
I felt nothing. We saw Andrea at the birth center at 7pm that evening. She checked to confirm that my water broke… and it had. Everything was looking good. His heartbeat was fine, my blood pressure, etc. She gave us the lowdown of what my water breaking meant, without having started any contractions. About 80% of women go into labor naturally after their water breaks. However, if I didn’t within 24 hours, I would have to be induced. This was not good news to me because it would mean being in the hospital (not to mention being induced). So, the plan was to take castor oil (yuck!) at 9am if I hadn’t felt any contractions yet. I was not pleased about this option. Castor oil is known for getting labor started, though, so that was the last resort plan. Jay and I went home and figured we would just relax and watch a movie. Honestly, I started to feel a bit nervous because I didn’t want the hospital induction. Either way, the good news was that one way or another baby was coming and would be with us very soon.
I was on the couch relaxing and I felt a unique pain around 10:30pm. I knew right away it was a contraction because it came in a wave and did not feel good! I told Jay and he started to document the times and how long they lasted. They were coming every five minutes like clockwork, right from the start. We waited until this was consistent for one hour and called the midwife. She told us to get in a cab and meet her at the birthing center. We talked to our doula, who happened to be our neighborhood. She met us outside our apartment after midnight and Jay got us a car service. By now, the contractions were definitely getting more intense and closer together. Riding in the cab was not pleasant and it took adjusting to how I could sit, cope with the contractions, etc. Luckily the driver was quick and we got there pretty fast. He caught on to what was going on in the backseat and drove accordingly.
When we got to the birthing center, things picked up even more. Contractions were coming one right after another and we headed straight to the birthing room. Once Andrea checked me, she found that I was already 10cm dilated and I definitely felt ready to push! It was such an intense whirlwind. The birthing assistant wasn’t even there yet. It was just our midwife, the doula, me and Jay. And so I began pushing. The birthing assistant showed up at the tail end. She was a woman I know and it was so great to have her there for the birth. Next thing I knew, Theo was laying on my chest and the worst was over. He was so warm! It was amazing. He was born at 1:45am. Only 3 hours 15 minutes after my first contraction. I got to hang out with him on my chest for quite some time. Jay cut the cord and we all just spent some time bonding. Everyone was healthy. A little later, he was cleaned up and checked out. Theo weighed in at 7lbs and was 20.5 inches. Daddy got to put on his first diaper and outfit!
All in all, it could not have been a more perfect experience. We had our natural birth at the birthing center and it was just us. We got to sleep in the bed with our new baby and get some rest. Come morning we were checked again for vital signs and cleared to go home. After paperwork and eating and relaxing a bit as a new family, we hit the road back home. We were safe and sound back home by noon.
Theo is a little sweetie and we are continuing to get to know each other. Stay tuned for many more pics to come! XOXO
