Sophie Beth: A Birth Story

For those who really want to know, read on.

About 9am on May 28 I noticed lower back pain, different from other back pain I'd had off and on during pregnancy. I thought it was probably an indication that labor would be beginning sooner rather than later. Sophie was due on the 23rd and we were now five days past that. Mom was already on her way over to help out with JJ and Annie so I decided not to say anything to anyone else until I started having regular contractions. I first noticed what I thought could be a "real" contraction (not Braxton-Hicks) around 11am. I gave the Gent a heads up but told him not to come home yet. The contractions were every 10-30 minutes and not at all painful. Mom and the kids and I went grocery shopping and to Old Navy, and Mom cleaned my house (I know, she's awesome).

Around 2:30pm I decided I was in labor but since I didn't have any idea how long it would be until things picked up, I didn't want to tell anyone except the Gent (time for him to come home) and Poppa (who was going to keep up with JJ and Annie). I thought labor could go one of two ways--really fast and I should be prepared (I was dilated to 4 1/2 centimeters at my 40 week appointment) or that I could be in early labor for quite a while and I didn't want the pressure of having everyone sitting around watching me and waiting for the baby to arrive. By 4:30pm contractions were not getting any stronger or closer together, so the Gent and I headed to the mall to walk in the air-conditioning and see if walking made things progress. We brought our hospital bag along just in case.

Walking did make labor progress. After about 30 minutes of walking my contractions were coming every four minutes, though still not painful. We walked a little more, got the Gent dinner at the food court, and bought Father's Day cards at the Hallmark store. At 6pm I decided to call the doctor and find out who was on call, and see if I could get checked for labor progress. My own doctor was actually on call! We ran by her office and she said I was 8 centimeters and to go to the hospital instead of home.

So we calmly headed to the hospital, brought in our bags, and were directed to our room. Mom came to join us as my other labor coach. Contractions were still not causing much pain and I was having a hard time believing I could actually be at 8 centimeters already. I remember contractions with Annie's labor. They got painful very quickly! This time around I focused on staying as relaxed as possible, breathing deeply and slowly, some humming, swaying, and walking, while mentally picturing my body opening up and preparing for birth.

Little did I know what was to come. :)

After about three hours at the hospital (around 9:30pm) I had not made any progress past 8 centimeters. I was starting to get tired (I'm no night owl!) and I decided to have my doctor go ahead and break my water and see if that would speed things up. My contractions continued picking up in intensity and I definitely needed the support of the Gent and my mom at this point! The fetal monitor was driving me crazy and the nurse wasn't getting a good reading on it anyway because I could not stay still (I was supposed to be doing 20 minutes on the monitor every hour), so the nurse got my doctor's permission to do away with that aggravation. I continued dilating--s--l--o--w--l--y. I think I finally made it from 8 to 9 1/2 centimeters about 12:30am.

At that point I started to feel pushing contractions and my nurse suggested we try one push just to see what happened. I was concerned about not being at 10 centimeters yet, but after some persuading (pushing is the part of labor I like least) I was convinced to give it a try. One push had the nurse scrambling to get my doctor in the room and telling me not to push anymore!

The doctor arrived quickly, I pushed two or three more times, and Sophie was born at 1:03am on May 29! I did a lot better controlling my pushing with Sophie's labor, so I only needed a couple of stitches and the baby nurses were able to suction her airways (she had swallowed meconium, like Annie) before she took her first breath. We were able to do skin to skin contact right away and Sophie caught on to nursing very quickly.

Recovery went well, no hemorrhaging this time! I am still amazed by how good I felt after Sophie's birth and how quickly I'm healing. My only complication was getting light-headed the first time I tried to get out of bed. My blood pressure and blood sugar were low. After I ate breakfast the next morning I was fine.

Two things I did during pregnancy that I think really helped with labor and delivery were prenatal yoga and taking evening primrose oil from 37 weeks through birth. The primrose oil helps prepare your cervix for labor and also helps your perineal tissues to stretch and be more elastic. Sophie weighed 1 pound and 8 ounces more than Annie (!!!) and while her labor was harder than Annie's, pushing was actually easier.

I'm glad I was able to have another natural birth. It is so empowering to look back and see what your body can accomplish when you let it work as God intended it to! This time around I feel like I did a better job of staying in control (I started to lose it a couple of times with the last few intense contractions, but the Gent and Mom did a great job of getting me back on track). It was easier in that I knew what to expect, although I also learned that each labor could be very, very different. My two biggest goals were to minimize tearing and to have skin to skin contact with baby right away, and I feel like I accomplished those. Breastfeeding is off to a great start and I look forward to sharing that special bond with Sophie for many months to come.