Finally! As promised, my au natural birth center birth story!!

My water broke at 2 am on Tuesday July 3. SO and I were having sexytimes and it just started gushing out. At first I thought, what in the world...??? And then I knew! I sat on the toilet and freaked out, bawling and scared shitless while SO tried to calm me down. He was thrilled.

When I finally calmed down I called my midwife and doula, they said to let them know when contractions hit 5 minutes apart. I was not contracting at all at this point. SO and I made sure everything was ready for the birth center then went to bed. I did start having contractions around 2.30 or 2.45am, 7-10 minutes a part and 45 seconds long. Around 8 or so I got up and made a pb&j because I was starving. Checked in with midwife and doula, then went back to bed. At maybe 9 or 10 SO and I get up and decide to eat breakfast, just go about a normal routine to get the contractions really going. We go out, enjoy breakfast, I have a few contractions but they’ve spaced way out. Midwife calls me and tells me in order to stay at the birth center since my water broke, I have to be in active labor and at 4 cm by 24 hrs. She said to come in at 2pm and let’s try to get things going again. This was around 11.30am so we decided to go home and nap before heading in, as we live an hr from the center.

At 12.45pm I got up, folded some of Zoe’s clothes that were in the dryer, woke SO up, and we headed in. We stopped to get him coffee and I got a fruit smoothie. I had two contractions in 30 minutes. I was getting annoyed and a little anxious. My entire pregnancy up to this had been textbook, and though I had fully expected to go over my due date I was thrilled I wouldn’t have to wait any longer.

We got to the birth center just after 2pm, our doula met us there. The midwife started me on a black and blue cohosh tincture followed by being on a breast pump for 20 minutes. I took more herbs, took a 20 minute walk, and repeated all that a total of three times. SO and doula gave me a foot rub, working on some pressure points to maybe help contractions start up. During this whole ordeal I contracted maybe four times. My midwife then pulled out the big guns: castor oil.

The deal with castor oil is it gives intense intestinal contractions which, because the intestines lie next to the uterus, give way to uterine contractions. She warned me it would be intense, and not a fun way to go into labor, but necessary to stay out of the hospital. Doula said she’d go home and come back at midnight unless we needed her sooner.

So we bought a 4 oz bottle of the stuff. We went out for a big dinner (Mexican, because the midwife warned against anything I actually really like as I may throw it all up). During dinner I had 4 contractions in about an hour, so I held off taking the castor oil. Midwife, doula, SO and I started getting excited. However, after dinner contractions stopped again. When we got back to the birth center at 7pm I took 2 oz of the oil in tea. It wasn’t too bad, no real taste just oily on my lips. We laid down and rested, and some mild contractions started up. Very mild. I was in a daze, I was pretty tired. At 9pm I took the remaining 2 oz. I lay down, put on the sea bands the doula gave me for nausea. They didn’t work. As soon as I lay down I started getting contractions. These were getting intense, and I was immediately nauseous. I pretty much ran to the bathroom and started vomiting and had diarrhea at the same time.

This went on for awhile. The contractions got so incredibly intense I just stayed on the toilet with diarrhea and vomiting. At some point it was getting dark so my midwife turned on the electric candles, which really helped with the relaxing atmosphere. She kept encouraging me, telling me she knew it was hard but I could do it. This gets a little blurry so I’ll just write down what I remember, no real exact times. When I finally felt able, I got on the bed, wrapped in a towel and just wearing my sports bra. I would intermittently wrap myself up then throw it off. I was able to rest on the bed, and when a contraction would come I got up on elbows and knees, rocking my hips around and moaning. My doula came back sometime around this so it was probably midnight or later. Every few contractions I had to get back on the toilet.

Eventually it felt like I had to pee really bad, but just couldn’t. My doula suggested getting in squat position. SO sat and I squatted, putting my elbows on his legs. I screamed, ow! ow! ow! over and over. After that contraction I leaned forward on the birth ball. What an incredible relief. My doula gently suggested that instead of “ow,” I say “O” as in “open.” The next contraction I tried that and it was so much better. I felt my cervix opening (figuratively) and felt baby moving down (literally). I did this three contractions or so.

Sometime soon after this midwife wanted to check dilation. It must have been 1am or so, as the 24hrs were coming up and I’d have to be at 4cm to stay. She said she’d need to check during a contraction. I said, “No, I can’t do that I can’t stay still.” But I got on the bed anyway between contractions. She put her fingers in and said, “Oh my! Guess what you’re at!” I said, “I don’t know, a million, just tell me!” “8! You’re at 8!” “I want to be in the tub!” I practically yelled (or something like that, remember it’s blurry.)

I finally got in the tub. Oh my gosh, instant relief! It felt incredible. I asked SO to get in with me as this was our plan to give birth in the tub and it was so close. I remember dozing off during contractions. It was such a relief to be in the tub and sleep. Then during contractions I got on hands and knees and rocked, moaning “OH!” over and over. It felt so good to be vocal. My doula was close to the tub, encouraging me, and midwife was a little further back, also encouraging, telling me how great I was doing.

This was transition but I wasn’t fully aware. This is where it got super intense. I started crying during some contractions but every time was able to get a hold of my self by breathing and saying “oh!” I remember my SO trying to touch me and I screamed, “Get your fucking hands off me!” I did NOT want to be touched! It was great leaning back against him, but this whole time I never wanted anyone to touch me.

Again, this was transition, very hard. I threw up. I vaguely remember saying stuff like, someone help me please! It’s too much! Everyone lied to me! I can’t do this!! I asked my doula when transition was, when would it be over? She smiled and said, “Honey, you’re doing it! She’s almost here!” I screamed back at her, “This is so hard! How could you do this six times?!” She laughed. “One at a time,” she said. (she has 6 children) The midwife handed SO a washcloth and told him to put pressure on my perineum. That felt good. Soon it was time to push. It was definitely a fairly uncontrollable urge. I just had to bear down. This really started to hurt. My midwife said it’s possible there was still a lip of cervix, to take the next few contractions, relax my bottom half, and allow myself to open. I was surprised to could suppress the urge to push, but I did it. I just closed my eyes, moaned, and imagined my cervix totally open. After a few more contractions I started to push again, clinging to SO. Oh my gosh how it hurt. I kept reaching down to feel her. I was in such a fog, I wasn’t quite sure if it was her or not, everything felt the same! I just kept pushing. My back was against one side of the tub, my feet up on the other (it’s a huge tub), clinging to SO. Doula had to keep reminding me to spread my legs wide, that will open my pelvis. It felt like forever but I felt the aptly name “ring of fire.” Midwife kept telling me to push through it, that meant she was almost here. SO kept saying, she’s almost here, I can feel her! Finally I just pushed as hard as I could, barely took a breath and kept pushing through the pain. After 28 minutes of pushing Zoe Elizabeth came into the world, into my SO’s hands. He handed her right to me, we were both crying as I held her little wet body close to me. She let out a few loud cries, then worked on opening her new eyes in the dim room. SO was looking over my shoulder and she looked right at him! She was completely alert. I could not believe I was holding my daughter. She was worth every bit of pain! She is here!

Ladies, if you want a natural birth go for it. It is a little scary and it is very hard work but so incredibly worth it. Love you all!