At about 1:15 on April 29th I had my first "real" contraction. Only it was like nothing I had ever even heard of! It lasted about 15 minutes! Sean and I were both a little worried, so we called Jade to see if this was normal. She assured us that it was and suggested some Chamomile tea to try to relax my uterus. She also suggested that I get some sleep since this was probably the start of labor. So Sean and I sat and talked while I drank my tea and he rubbed my tummy.

I tried my best to get some rest, but those contractions were just too strong to sleep through and coming about every 5 minutes. I stayed in bed until about 5 a.m. and then decided to get up and walk around. That didn't last long, I really needed Sean to wake up and just be with me. Not too long after I woke him up I got sick. We knew now that this was really labor.

I didn't last very long before I had to call Jade (I'm such a baby!). She told me that it wasn't time to come yet, I had an appointment with her at 10 that morning and she told me to just wait until then. She suggested a warm bath to help me relax. I sat with Sean while he packed the rest of our things in the bag and my mom timed contractions. My grandmother came over from the hotel at around 7:30 and was just chomping at the bit to get me to go to the hospital. When I finally decided to get in the tub she almost went into orbit! My mom came in and told me that she understood that I didn't want to go in too soon, but that maybe we should go ahead and go for mamaw's sake. So I took my time getting ready and we finally left the house at around 8:30. My mom went with us to keep an eye on Caitlin, who wanted to be there for the birth. We stopped to get her some coloring books so she wouldn't be bored, and to get me some things to snack on.

That hour ride to the hospital was awful! I couldn't sit on my bottom because there was so much pressure. Every time I had a contraction I had to push up on my hands to lift my bottom off the seat...I was certain that I had to be at least 5 cms dilated. Imagine my disappointment when we got to the appointment and I was only 3 1/2 cms! But Jade assured us that this baby was going to be born soon. The bag of waters was bulging out of my cervix, which is what was causing all the pressure. She also said that the reason I wasn't dilated any more than that might be due to the fact that 3 1/2 cms was what I was dilated to when Christian was born. It's not uncommon for a person who has had a C-section to get stuck at that same point with their next baby. She told me to just relax and to remember that this wasn't Christian and that things were going to be different. Easier said than done! She told us to try to go eat something because I needed the energy and that I could go to the hospital whenever I felt like it.

We went to Grandma's Pancake Kitchen (or something like that) and I really tried to eat, but my stomach was still pretty upset. I couldn't stand sitting in the chair, but it was kind of fun, all the looks I got when people realized I was in labor. I decided to go for a walk in the parking lot while everyone else finished eating. Sean, my sweetie, got worried and came out and walked with me while my mom and Caitlin finished up. When they got out I was really ready to go to the hospital and get checked. I was sure that I had to have dilated some more.

When we got to the hospital the nurse really gave me a hard time. She was insisting that I be put on a monitor. I politely told her that my midwife said that I didn't have to be put on one and that all I needed was a short strip. She fought with me for a while and thankfully gave up and did the strip. I also refused to get in the bed (which is what she wanted), so I sat in the rocking chair. I was so proud of myself for that! After my strip I the nurse checked me...still 3 1/2 :-( So I got up and moving again. Sean and I must have walked that hospital a million times that day! Anything to stay away from that bed though. We were expecting Jade to come by to check on me, so we headed back to the room. When she got there and checked me I was STILL only 3 1/2!!! I was getting really upset by that point. Jade said that getting upset was the last thing I needed. She said that I could go from 3 1/2 to 6 in no time and that once I got past that point, things would probably go pretty fast. That made me feel so much better! She told me to try and rest in the mean time, so after she left I took a nap while Sean and Caitlin drew me pictures. During that nap I didn't have one contraction! Jade came back in to check on me when I woke up and told me to get out of that bed and get moving again! As soon as I did labor was going again in no time.

Sean was hungry so we went down to the cafeteria so he could get something to eat. I had snacked on some peanuts (probably not the best thing to eat in labor) so I wasn't hungry. I sat there leaning over the back of my chair and laid my head on the table. I couldn't stand sitting still and started rushing Sean to hurry up...poor thing. He finished as quick as he could and we got back to walking again. And after a while I had to really put all my weight on Sean when I was having a contraction (all 153 pounds of me LOL). I decided to try laying down for a while.

When we got back to the room Jade was just stepping in the door to check on me again. She checked me and I was at 4 and very stretchy. Finally some good news! But not for long. We discovered that one of the reasons I had probably stuck was because Chandler was posterior. Jade suggested that we lower the bottom of the bed and that I try to support my stomach on the raised part of the bed and try laying on my stomach during a contraction. That lasted one contraction and I said forget it! I was in tears it hurt so bad! So for a few contractions we tried having Sean get behind me and pull up on my stomach during a contraction. That didn't last very long either. I was worried because Jade said that if the baby didn't turn that it might be a difficult birth. I decided to leave it in God's hands.

I was in bed full time now, holding on to the bed rails and pushing myself up during a contraction and envisioning my cervix opening up like a flower (something they told us to try in Bradley classes). Everyone thought that I was tensing up, I was actually very relaxed. I just couldn't stand sitting on my bottom during the contractions (my water was still bulging). Sean was so great! It didn't matter what he was doing, when he heard me start to breath through a contraction he was right there cheering me on.

Jade checked me and found that I was around 6 cms and I could finally get in the tub! Yea! By that time I had lost all modesty and I just stripped right down and jumped in, I didn't care who was in the room! The water felt so wonderful! I loved it when Sean or Jade would splash water over my belly during a contraction. And Caitlin was so precious! She would put cold wash cloths on my head and tell me "breath mommy, breath!" when I was having a contraction.

Things got intense pretty quick after I got in the tub. Sean and Jade would have to rub me all over during a contraction, my back felt like it was on fire! Jade said that it was probably because the baby was posterior, but it was the same kind of contractions I had with Christian, only worse. She said that she had one more trick up her sleeve to try to take the pressure off my spine. She gave me one, only one, shot of saline in my back. OUCH!!! That hurt worse than labor! I didn't complain about my back again LOL! After that I was sleeping between and sounding out during contractions. Caitlin had to leave for a little bit for that. I was told later that they could hear me all the way down the hall LOL!

At around 10 Jade checked me for the last time, I was 9 1/2 cms and the baby's head was right there and half turned the right way. She asked me if I wanted her to break my water to see if he would come on down and maybe even turn all the way around. I wasn't sure, I had heard how bad the contractions were once the water was broke, but I figured that I was pretty much there so I said yes. It worked, I had only a lip of cervix left and the baby turned the rest of the way. I felt the urge to push in no time, although it felt more like dry heaves than an urge to push. Jade had me turn sideways in the tub so I could push my feet against the side of the tub while I pushed. My mom asked if I wanted her to start taping now, I told her no, that I didn't want it taped at all. I was very intense and didn't want that on camera. I very much regret it now. Sean had his arms under mine, holding me up while I pushed. I pushed maybe 4 times when Jade asked me if I wanted the mirror so I could see my baby's head. Again I said no, and again I regret that. Sean did manage to push my hand down to feel his head, he was so excited! He kept saying "I can see his head! He's almost here!". It came as a real shock and really helped me to concentrate on the job at hand. I really felt that "ring of fire" and Jade said that one more push and his head would be out. So I pushed with all my might, even when Jade told me that I needed to stop, I couldn't! After his head was out it took a while for the next contraction, so Jade told me to try standing up to see if gravity would help. My sweet little angle was born with the next contractions at 10:30 p.m. that night, weighing 6 lbs 12oz and was 18 3/4 inches long. I sat down and Jade handed him to me. He didn't cry, just whimpered a little, but Sean did :-) I heard him catch his breath and I looked back to see tears streaming down his face. It was amazing! I had never held one of my babied when they were still covered with vernix. I don't think I had even seen them like that! I rubbed him all over and nursed him right there in the tub. He was so alert and beautiful! It was a totally different experience than being handed my baby when they were 1/2 an hour old, or even six hours with Caitlin. I could have stayed there all night, but after the placenta was out Jade had me move to the bed because I had a pretty bad tear.

So Jade stitched me up while Sean, Caitlin, and my mom got acquainted with the new baby. I hated being away from him! It took a full 1/2 hour for Jade to stitch me up! I'm certain that it was when I was pushing out Chandler's head and couldn't stop that I tore. Finally she was done and I could hold my baby again. I was famished by this time, so I had a bowl of vegetable soup and a 7up, which is all they had at that time of night. It was the best meal I have ever had LOL!

After I ate I got up walked to my new room. That was great! After having 2 C-sections and being in bed for a few days, this was the best! They didn't allow me to hold Chandler in the halls so I wheeled him to our new room and we all went to sleep. We had all had quite a night :-)

We went home two days later, and Chandler never had to leave my side the whole time. I even went with him when they took his picture. The reason he has that puckered look on his face is because he was hungry when they took his picture, so I stuck my finger in his mouth then pulled it out really quick so they could take the picture.

This birth experience was really healing for me in a lot of ways, but on the same hand it made me realize just how much I really missed with my other two births.