my birth story.

I've never considered myself a "crunchy" mom so when I discovered I was pregnant I never in a million years pictured myself having an all natural, unmedicated birth at a birth center. I spent the first two trimesters of my pregnancy attending a typical OB's office and even toured the hospital where I was going to have my baby. The plan to have our baby was all very routine until my husband and I attended Bradley Classes. The main objective for signing up for these classes was for my husband and me to prepare for what my body was going to go through.  Little did we know that this class and our amazing teacher, Nichole, were going to challenge everything we thought about child birth. We grew more and more confident in my body's ability to carry and birth this baby. One day our teacher just looked at us and asked "Why aren't you going to the birth center?" We were very taken aback by the question and we spent that weekend praying and deeply discussing the possibility of using the birth center. We toured the birth center that Monday and we knew right away that was the place we needed to be. At 28 weeks I transferred to the birth center and the plan to have our baby at the birth center was set into place. 

It was September 8th and I worked a normal day watching my nephews. I was feeling pretty tired but I just figured it was from running around and trying to entertain my oldest nephew.  After work I convinced my husband to go out on a little date with me to Target and to go get ice cream (every girls dream).  During this time I noticed I was having light contractions that were irregular and not very demanding. They were like the Braxton Hicks contractions I had been experiencing all week so I vowed to pay them no attention. We continued to walk around and window shop at a couple stores and all of the sudden I got a feeling that I really wanted to go home.  As we headed home I had a feeling that something was different so I started to time my contractions.  They were still irregular and not demanding. We went for a walk around the neighborhood to help us determine if this was real labor, but as we walked my contractions petered out. We stayed up a little too late that night and just curled up on the couch as a family of two and watched tv together for the last time. We headed to bed around ten o'clock and I was feeling a little restless. It was around 10:30 pm that I felt this super odd sensation very much like a "pop" and by the time I walked halfway around our bed my water broke (sort of). 

Excitement ran all though my body as I screamed to Adam from the bathroom to call the midwife. My contractions weren't constant so I knew it was very important to eat something small and for us to head back to bed and get some rest.  My body had different plans.  Within an hour my contractions escalated in intensity and regularity and I was unable to keep any food in my stomach.   

Adam and I labored together until my contractions were consistently four minutes apart (this took about an hour) before we decided it was a good time to call our doula, Kate.  

Kate arrived and helped us labor at home for another couple hours. She suggested a few different positions and helped me get settled on the birth ball, but I really hated sitting down.   The pressure on my hips was intense and uncomfortable while I was sitting so we labored in a hands-and-knees position for most of the time.

I knew it was time to call the midwife around 2:00 am because things were really intense and I wanted to be settled at the birth center. We were told she needed an hour to get ready and I remember being hyper aware of the clock because I wanted to head out. 

It was two forty in the morning and I told Adam I was ready to go. I don't remember much about the car ride except that I hated sitting down.

We arrived at the birth center just as the midwife pulled up. I was ushered inside and I laid down right away. I was measured at 5cm and I rejoiced in the fact that I was "half way" there.

I labored in various different positions.  Side-lying and sitting were too intense so with stayed with the hands-and-knees positions.   I labored in the shower for a short period of time, but the contractions were so intense that I couldn't really get comfortable or relaxed.  From my Bradley training I knew how important it was for me to relax and to let myself recover between contractions. 

I asked for the birth pool to be set up in hopes that I could better handle my contractions there. It was around 5:30 am when I got into the birth pool. 

 I really loved the birth pool and was able to manage my contractions so much better. 

While in labor I lost track of time and it was only when I noticed the sun coming up that I realized how much time had passed. 

My midwife and nurse changed shifts in the morning and I think I wouldn't have even noticed except for the fact that they measured my dilation differently and I desperately wanted my first midwife back. My new midwife measured my dilation half a centimeter smaller. A half a centimeter is a big deal to a laboring woman. 

One thing I really liked about the birth center is they just left me to labor. They came in when they needed to monitor the baby and do the dreaded dilation checks, but for the most part they left my birth team and me to ourselves. 

One thing I remember is that I always wanted to hold someone's hand when I had a contraction. At first I was really aware of only wanting to hold Adam's hand. It felt like such an intimate gesture.  On occasion I would reach for a hand and instead of Adam I would feel Kate, my doula.  Her hand was more delicate and small.  I was afraid to squeeze too hard.  I felt embarrassed, but the embarrassment faded.  I was grateful for her dedication to help me labor successfully. I was comforted by Kate in those moments. 

Around 11:30 am I did some self evaluation and determined I was getting really tired. I knew there was danger in getting tired especially since I wasn't able to keep any food down. I didn't want to run out of energy for the pushing stage so I took a moment to talk to my birth team. I suggested that when my midwife, Deb, came in for my next check I was going to ask her to break my water. (Although I was pretty sure my water broke the night before the midwifes said it hadn't which I was okay with because I knew it was a tool I could use to progress labor). We spoke to Deb and she said it was a great idea and that she was proud that we thought of it on our own. I was pretty scared about moving into this next stage of labor so my birth team took a moment to pray together and it really helped me find the courage to mentally prepare for my next phase.

I was measuring at 9.5cm when Deb broke my water and she told me to wait fifteen minutes before I started to push. Those were the longest fifteen minutes of my life. She checked me again and I still had an anterior lip so she just left me to "push" on my own.

I "pushed" on my own for about two hours. I really had no clue what I was doing and it wasn't until Deb got me out of the pool and gave me a very, very intense pushing lesson that I really understood what I needed to do to get this baby out. 

Deb allowed me to get back into the pool and reassured me that I had "minutes" of pushing left. She said it may be sixty minutes but she promised that my baby would be born within the hour.

Back in the pool I went, and happily so. The contractions spaced out and I was actually able to fall asleep in-between them.  My lovely, two-minute cat naps were surrounded by intense contractions. 

I pushed with my newfound skills and the time continued to pass by. At one point I became very aware that it had been longer then an hour and I called Deb a liar. She laughed and didn't seem to mind she just encouraged me and told me my pushes were getting me much closer to meeting my baby. 

Deb helped me find a much better position for pushing that involved my whole birth team. There was leg holding and back support as I pushed with all of my might. A couple times I slapped Deb in the arm and let out out a profanity or two, but I never felt so supported in my life, both physically and emotionally.

I will always remember the moment I was told my baby had hair. I quickly asked what color it was and confessed that I only married Adam in hopes of having red-headed babies. It made everyone laugh and I knew I had to dig deep to be able to meet my little red-headed guy.

I pushed for a total of about five hours and it was, by far, the most intense physical experience I have ever had. 

All the pain, sweat, and tears were all forgotten when I was handed my baby. He fit perfectly in my arms and from that moment on I knew what it meant to give everything I had to my child. 

Nothing could replace the happiness that filled our hearts in that moment.

We were officially a family of three at 4:25 pm on Friday September 9th, 2016.  

They placed him directly in my arms and let me hold him until the umbilical cord stopped pulsing.  They would have let me hold him longer if they didn't need to get me out of the birth pool.  Adam took our child and was able to hold him skin-to-skin while I was helped from the birth pool.  We snuggled together on the bed.  I nursed him and in a surreal moment we named our son.  Albert Conrad Lindley weighed 7 pounds 14 ounces and measured 20.5" long.  In the end I labored for 12 hours (counting early labor) and I pushed for nearly 5.

My birth was an incredible journey and I was able to see more strength in myself then ever before but I know I couldn't have done it without my amazing birth team.

Thank you Kate, Deb and Kendall (left to right).

There is one person who believed in me more then anyone and that is my husband. His presence was so important to me throughout my entire labor and he was always there when I needed him the most. He showed incredible perseverance and strength and his love for our son has impressed me more and more each day. I'm so grateful for all that he has done for our family and I'm so blessed to call him my partner in life. 

Thank you Adam. Albert and I love you very much.