Ezra’s birth story
It was Sunday, April 10th, 2011. 11 days before my due date. I was really feeling I was going to go past my due date and I was fine with that. We had a good weekend and that Saturday Mark and I had deep cleaned the house. Sunday morning I woke up and felt the need to find all my nursing bras, and tanks and throw them in the wash. Which proved to be a good move! Mark made us a delicious breakfast, and I had some orange juice with it. One of my constant cravings throughout my pregnancy. As I was finishing I began to feel some terrible indigestion coming on. I had some awful heartburn/reflux issues early on so I assumed it was returning at this late stage. So I took to the couch to rest and try to settle my stomach. Mark kept Emerson busy while I watched some tv. I had little appetite at all, and in fact didn’t eat that afternoon. I had started Doc Hollywood on Netflix, an oldie but goodie. I was laying on my side around 4:30 and heard a pop with some force behind it. Thought it was weird but kind of ignored it. About 15 minutes later I get up and as I’m talking to Mark I feel some fluid trickle. I said, “Uh oh,” and ran to the bathroom. After all of my practice of staying calm I freaked a bit as I had a feeling my water had broken. I paged the midwife on call and when she called me back I told her I thought my water had broken but I wasn’t sure. As we were chatting I felt a huge gush, which completely soaked my pants. Then I told her it definitely broke. Ha! She laughed and told me the drill. Since contractions hadn’t started I could just wait it out until morning and take my temperature to ensure I wasn’t getting an infection. I could also take a bath to help me relax. Whoa! I couldn’t believe it. He could be here very soon! Nothing was happening other than my clothes were drenched so I continued to watch Doc Hollywood. Mark played with E. outside and around 6:30 I started to feel menstrual type cramping. Nothing major at all, and nothing that I had not felt in the last month anyways. But, I decided to time these cramps and they were 7 minutes apart. Since my sheet had said second time moms need to come in at 4 to 5 minutes apart I called my midwife again. She told me 6-7 minutes apart, and just cramps was no biggie. Call when they are 4 minutes and they stop me from doing what I’m doing. So I decide to take a shower and change clothes for the third time. Mark throws some chicken on the grill and fixes dinner. I don’t eat due to the stomach issues, which appears were my hormones getting ready for labor. We start discussing what to do with Emerson. At this point we didn’t think anything was happening before morning but didn’t want a big rush in the middle of the night. After we figure out logistics I begin packing Emerson’s bag around 9 while she gets washed up. I felt a few contractions but I was still walking around getting things done. Mark’s parents arrive to pick up Emerson so he tells me to go lay down. I put on one of my hypnobabies tracks around 9:30 or 10 while he gets her out the door. Things start to get intense all of the sudden where I cannot lay there relaxing. I freaked out and texted Mark to see where he was. I timed my contractions and they were 4 minutes apart! When he comes back in I tell him to call Sarah, our midwife. She asks if we want to come in and get situated. We plan to meet at 11. Mark starts getting our bags together and by that point it feels very intense. We head the car and Mark tells me he has to take the dog out. At this point I think he is coming any minute so I told him to have someone else do it! Gotta love labor. :) We head to the birth center and I listen to one of my hypnobabies scripts. It was extremely difficult to be still and not flip out in the car. I honestly wanted to jump out of my skin. We arrived right around 11pm and they are so close together at this point I have to wait to have one before I can get out of the car so I won’t have another one in the parking lot. I walk in feeling terrible. I go to our room and we decide to check my status. I have another contraction before I get in the door. 3 minutes apart at this point. Sarah tells me I’m 3 centimeters and I’m so bummed. I really thought I was further along. Even though I had learned that numbers don’t mean much about progress in hypnobabies I definitely let it get to me. I was 4 centimeters with Emerson for about 20 hours and I was not prepared to feel like this for that long. I immediately say I want to get in the tub. I needed some relief! Thank goodness we have access to a tub this time around. I get in and I feel like it’s just one constant contraction. I start envisioning 10 more hours of this and I freak out. I begged them to take me to the hospital because I couldn’t do it. The birthing time I had envisioned of calm and peaceful was out the window. I was an angry woman in labor. I threw things, yelled, cried, the whole works. Mark can attest I said some insane things. At this point I really felt like I was being tortured and I just wanted him out! To be honest I felt like I had been crazy for have wanting a natural birth and I was angry for being stuck. Ha! After two hours Sarah says it’s a good time to check. It really didn’t feel like it had been 2 hours. Felt like 30 minutes or so. I was 7 centimeters. I was relieved that I was moving forward. I asked her when I could give birth realistically. She said probably around sunrise. Compared to Emerson’s 26 hour labor that sounded amazing! It was around 1 am. I even asked if I could push yet. Haha. That was hormones talking because seriously who pushes at 7cm? I had renewed strength to have an end in sight. After an hour of being the most uncomfortable I have ever been in my life I reached down and felt a head. I told Mark to go get Sarah. This kid was coming out! So clearly I was fully dilated and he was almost completely out. What a surprise! After 9 minutes of pushing, Ezra was born into a warm tub of water. It was the most the amazing feeling to hold him. She laid him on my chest and I said, “ You don’t look anything like your sister!” Mark pulled out the iphone to snap a pictures as we forgot the camera. After about 5 minutes Mark holds Ezra to warm him up so that I can get out and get cleaned up. I get to lay on the bed and Ezra nurses pretty much immediately and perfectly. He was so alert because of the lack of drugs it was amazing to see. He just stared at us with his big eyes and the last few hours disappeared from my memory. After his birth my personality swiched immediatley. I went from crazy to completely energized and estactic. I heard of the endorphin rush after a baby is born naturally and it’s no joke. I felt like I could go for a 10 mile run. It was nuts! I was elated and really couldn’t not believe I did it. I refueled with a burrito we had brought from Trader Joes and some gatorade. Mark is exhausted and falls asleep with Ezra on his chest around 4. I’m too full of adrenalin to sleep and lay there looking at my boys while I hear birds chirping as the sun started to rise. It was a special moment. We discuss when we wanted to go home, and I decide I want food first. So Mark gets us some of the best bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits from Sunrise. They are huge and delicious! I take a much needed shower and we get Ezra dressed in his onesie and the hate I had made him. We head home around 10:30 and stop at the mall to pick up our laptop. We’re home around 11 and I couldn’t have felt better. Oh and did I mention we didn’t name Ezra until 9:00 am or so. He was just baby boy for awhile. We just stared at him trying to decide what he looked like. I even asked the midwife if she had any suggestions. I have to say natural labor and delivery is of course much harder. But, the recovery was 10x easier and I was so happy not to have any drugs in mine or Ezra’s system. It is amazing what the body can do! I also felt much more emotionally present after his birth and could really take in the moment. I’m thankful to have had the experience and to have brought home a wonderful healthy boy.
It was Sunday, April 10th, 2011. 11 days before my due date. I was really feeling I was going to go past my due date and I was fine with that. We had a good weekend and that Saturday Mark and I had deep cleaned the house. Sunday morning I woke up and felt the need to find all my nursing bras, and tanks and throw them in the wash. Which proved to be a good move! Mark made us a delicious breakfast, and I had some orange juice with it. One of my constant cravings throughout my pregnancy. As I was finishing I began to feel some terrible indigestion coming on. I had some awful heartburn/reflux issues early on so I assumed it was returning at this late stage. So I took to the couch to rest and try to settle my stomach. Mark kept Emerson busy while I watched some tv. I had little appetite at all, and in fact didn’t eat that afternoon. I had started Doc Hollywood on Netflix, an oldie but goodie. I was laying on my side around 4:30 and heard a pop with some force behind it. Thought it was weird but kind of ignored it. About 15 minutes later I get up and as I’m talking to Mark I feel some fluid trickle. I said, “Uh oh,” and ran to the bathroom. After all of my practice of staying calm I freaked a bit as I had a feeling my water had broken. I paged the midwife on call and when she called me back I told her I thought my water had broken but I wasn’t sure. As we were chatting I felt a huge gush, which completely soaked my pants. Then I told her it definitely broke. Ha! She laughed and told me the drill. Since contractions hadn’t started I could just wait it out until morning and take my temperature to ensure I wasn’t getting an infection. I could also take a bath to help me relax. Whoa! I couldn’t believe it. He could be here very soon! Nothing was happening other than my clothes were drenched so I continued to watch Doc Hollywood. Mark played with E. outside and around 6:30 I started to feel menstrual type cramping. Nothing major at all, and nothing that I had not felt in the last month anyways. But, I decided to time these cramps and they were 7 minutes apart. Since my sheet had said second time moms need to come in at 4 to 5 minutes apart I called my midwife again. She told me 6-7 minutes apart, and just cramps was no biggie. Call when they are 4 minutes and they stop me from doing what I’m doing. So I decide to take a shower and change clothes for the third time. Mark throws some chicken on the grill and fixes dinner. I don’t eat due to the stomach issues, which appears were my hormones getting ready for labor. We start discussing what to do with Emerson. At this point we didn’t think anything was happening before morning but didn’t want a big rush in the middle of the night. After we figure out logistics I begin packing Emerson’s bag around 9 while she gets washed up. I felt a few contractions but I was still walking around getting things done. Mark’s parents arrive to pick up Emerson so he tells me to go lay down. I put on one of my hypnobabies tracks around 9:30 or 10 while he gets her out the door. Things start to get intense all of the sudden where I cannot lay there relaxing. I freaked out and texted Mark to see where he was. I timed my contractions and they were 4 minutes apart! When he comes back in I tell him to call Sarah, our midwife. She asks if we want to come in and get situated. We plan to meet at 11. Mark starts getting our bags together and by that point it feels very intense. We head the car and Mark tells me he has to take the dog out. At this point I think he is coming any minute so I told him to have someone else do it! Gotta love labor. :) We head to the birth center and I listen to one of my hypnobabies scripts. It was extremely difficult to be still and not flip out in the car. I honestly wanted to jump out of my skin. We arrived right around 11pm and they are so close together at this point I have to wait to have one before I can get out of the car so I won’t have another one in the parking lot. I walk in feeling terrible. I go to our room and we decide to check my status. I have another contraction before I get in the door. 3 minutes apart at this point. Sarah tells me I’m 3 centimeters and I’m so bummed. I really thought I was further along. Even though I had learned that numbers don’t mean much about progress in hypnobabies I definitely let it get to me. I was 4 centimeters with Emerson for about 20 hours and I was not prepared to feel like this for that long. I immediately say I want to get in the tub. I needed some relief! Thank goodness we have access to a tub this time around. I get in and I feel like it’s just one constant contraction. I start envisioning 10 more hours of this and I freak out. I begged them to take me to the hospital because I couldn’t do it. The birthing time I had envisioned of calm and peaceful was out the window. I was an angry woman in labor. I threw things, yelled, cried, the whole works. Mark can attest I said some insane things. At this point I really felt like I was being tortured and I just wanted him out! To be honest I felt like I had been crazy for have wanting a natural birth and I was angry for being stuck. Ha! After two hours Sarah says it’s a good time to check. It really didn’t feel like it had been 2 hours. Felt like 30 minutes or so. I was 7 centimeters. I was relieved that I was moving forward. I asked her when I could give birth realistically. She said probably around sunrise. Compared to Emerson’s 26 hour labor that sounded amazing! It was around 1 am. I even asked if I could push yet. Haha. That was hormones talking because seriously who pushes at 7cm? I had renewed strength to have an end in sight. After an hour of being the most uncomfortable I have ever been in my life I reached down and felt a head. I told Mark to go get Sarah. This kid was coming out! So clearly I was fully dilated and he was almost completely out. What a surprise! After 9 minutes of pushing, Ezra was born into a warm tub of water. It was the most the amazing feeling to hold him. She laid him on my chest and I said, “ You don’t look anything like your sister!” Mark pulled out the iphone to snap a pictures as we forgot the camera. After about 5 minutes Mark holds Ezra to warm him up so that I can get out and get cleaned up. I get to lay on the bed and Ezra nurses pretty much immediately and perfectly. He was so alert because of the lack of drugs it was amazing to see. He just stared at us with his big eyes and the last few hours disappeared from my memory. After his birth my personality swiched immediatley. I went from crazy to completely energized and estactic. I heard of the endorphin rush after a baby is born naturally and it’s no joke. I felt like I could go for a 10 mile run. It was nuts! I was elated and really couldn’t not believe I did it. I refueled with a burrito we had brought from Trader Joes and some gatorade. Mark is exhausted and falls asleep with Ezra on his chest around 4. I’m too full of adrenalin to sleep and lay there looking at my boys while I hear birds chirping as the sun started to rise. It was a special moment. We discuss when we wanted to go home, and I decide I want food first. So Mark gets us some of the best bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits from Sunrise. They are huge and delicious! I take a much needed shower and we get Ezra dressed in his onesie and the hate I had made him. We head home around 10:30 and stop at the mall to pick up our laptop. We’re home around 11 and I couldn’t have felt better. Oh and did I mention we didn’t name Ezra until 9:00 am or so. He was just baby boy for awhile. We just stared at him trying to decide what he looked like. I even asked the midwife if she had any suggestions. I have to say natural labor and delivery is of course much harder. But, the recovery was 10x easier and I was so happy not to have any drugs in mine or Ezra’s system. It is amazing what the body can do! I also felt much more emotionally present after his birth and could really take in the moment. I’m thankful to have had the experience and to have brought home a wonderful healthy boy.
6lbs 6oz, 19.5 inches. Born at 2:15am
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