A quick birth center birth…

I started timing contractions at 6am Sunday morning and stopped recording them at 7pm since they were getting more intense. (I don’t know how many times I called Kristy Hammack throughout the day to give her updates but she was very patient with me. I felt bad for calling and texting her so much, especially on Mother’s Day.) Around 7pm she said to meet her at the birth center so she could check on me and baby.

We got there close to 8 and after doing an exam she found that I was only 2cm dilated and that Nesi hadn’t dropped close enough to the birth canal. I left disappointed but Travis and I took advantage of the opportunity of being alone and had a mini date at Subway.

When we got home we sent our friends (who were with the boys) away and tried to relax and get rest. But strong contractions wouldn’t let that happen….I couldn’t sit or even lie through them. The only relief I got was to stand through them. I was told when my contractions were 4 minutes apart, 1 minute long for 1 hour then I would need to come in, so believe me when I say I was timing away.

It wasn’t until 1am that the contractions were so strong and frequent (but irregular) that I contemplated rushing to a nearby hospital to be admitted to deliver. I thought to myself if this is how they feel now how are they going to feel in full blown labor. Because you see I chose to deliver without meds, there was no way around this once I got to the birth center because they have no drugs, no epidural, nothing. So the hospital idea was the best thing….I thought I was a genius LOL! The contractions were lasting a minute but were not coming regularly at 4 minutes apart. So I made up my mind that if I called my midwife and was told “not yet”… we would skip the birth center and to the hospital we would go.

Once I called and got the “meet me at the birth center” we were off.

We called our friends just before 2am to come stay with the boys. We made the 40 minute drive in 20, running stop lights as we went. With contractions so strong that I couldn’t sit in my seat, Travis sped on. We beat the midwife there which scared me! When she drove by I was squatting on the ground through a strong contraction.

I rushed inside, updated her on what happened since the last time we spoke. She asked if I wanted to do a water birth and because I wasn’t sure she started to fill the tub anyway. Emily the assistant had run to her car to get items needed for the delivery. I sat to get a check on how dilated I was when I had a strong contraction and had to stand. Kristy was checking Nesi’s heart beat during the contraction when things got real. I had a hold of Trav’s arms when I told Kristy that I needed to push. She calmly told me to go ahead.

Contraction….one small push. Rest. Contraction…….big push…..baby’s head was out. Rest. Contraction…….big push……baby’s body was coming out.

Kristy tells Travis to catch his baby, I panic for a second and then baby was out in Trav’s hands! I don’t think Emily made it back in the birth center while I was pushing. We were there for about 20 minutes and BAM Nesia was born! Travis Powell was the first person to hold our little girl. I was so proud of him for catching her. And everything happened so quickly that the tub wasn’t even filled, so no water birth for us!

And while all this sounds crazy and chaotic I would do it all over again! This was one of the most amazing things I have ever done. I was able to listen to my body and allow it to do its job. There was no cussing, screaming, no broken bones for Travis, no threats against his life…none of that stuff you see on TV or hear about from friends, family and strangers. I prayed for months to be able to deliver naturally and unmedicated and it happened with minimal pain. God is just so awesome!