39 weeks…Baby Wilson was not interested in coming soon. Or so I thought. It was Sunday, nice weather, so John and I decided to do some yardwork. I figured it may just help me jumpstart some labor! We were so excited and anxious to meet the new little one. Unfortunately, nothing did the trick. I was contemplating Castor oil, but yet we weren’t yet to 40 weeks, so I resorted to just waiting it out.
Monday morning we had another OB appt and showed a possible sign that labor may be approaching soon. I went to my chiropractor for an adjustment and decided to start some acupuncture for induction since it usually takes about 3-5 treatments. I was supposed to work the night shift later and attempted to take a nap which only amounted to about 1hr. I went to work and started having some contractions around 9:00pm. I continued to work my shift knowing that many times women have a couple bouts of “false labor” before the real thing. The contractions lasted all night and got closer together, somewhat more intense. I finished my shift at 7:30am and they were about 4-5min apart. I had few things to do after work—TB skin test, Simply Well health screen, turn in my Thank You medallions--which bought a little time before the clinic opened and I could get into see a midwife.
I was seen in the clinic by the midwife on call—Kate Scott. I couldn’t have been happier that Kate was on call—as we secretly were hoping she would be when we delivered! Being a NICU nurse I was really worried about every bad scenario possible. Kate checked me and put all of my worries to rest with a few simple tests. She also let me know that with little effort I was already at 4-5cm and 75% effaced. She gave me the option of staying there at the hospital and checking in or going home for a bit knowing that when I return we will be checking in to have the baby! I decided to go home and try to get some rest and food. By the time I left the clinic I already had to breathe through some of the contractions.
I called John to let him know and he left work as soon as he could. I made it home, ate some breakfast, took some Tylenol PM, and took a bath hoping for some relaxation and rest. Not the case. With contractions getting stronger and closer together it was difficult to get any rest, but I did get some broken up rest here and there—about 45min. While I tried to relax, John did the last minute things like get the dogs taken care of, finish packing our bags, put the car seat in the car, etc. Then he was wonderful and got me going with our “roadmap to labor” from our birthing class. We worked at doing many different positions as I tried to drink a lot of fluid and eat a little bit of snacks. The contractions were about 2-3min apart lasting about 1+min. After each contraction John looked at me like we should probably be going to the hospital. Eventually I gave in.
We got to Clarkson at about 4pm and checked in. We were in good spirits, and I was really working at breathing through my contractions. Kate Scott, my midwife, came in to check me. I was at 8-9cm and 100% effaced. I was very surprised and relieved I was that far along! We then were thinking we would have a baby by sundown—boy were we wrong. I felt that the labor portion had been very relaxed and calm--I could DEFINITELY do this naturally. Kate changed, came back and immediately became our birthing coach. I got in the whirlpool tub and tried to relax some more. Kate and John were so wonderful in helping me get into different positions, drink some fluids, eat some snacks, etc. Kate was so involved she even hopped into the tub at one point to help me get into position.
Eventually we settled on that I would start pushing. I was EXHAUSTED by this point. It was Tuesday evening and I really hadn’t slept since Sunday night. I tried many different positions during this time but eventually ended up back in bed. I can tell you that I was not quite prepared for the pushing part. Pushing lasted about 3hours and was quite frustrating. It takes SO much energy and I just didn’t have that anymore. I really just wanted this baby to come out on its own as I went to sleep. I really felt like I couldn’t do it. John, Kate and my nurse were very reassuring and eventually we were near the end. The baby was crowning. John was right there ready to catch our baby with Kate. With quite a bit of effort, I pushed and pushed and our little bundle of joy was here!
At 9:05pm on January 31, 2012, John caught our baby girl and placed her on my chest. It was such an amazing and wonderful experience to go through. I am extremely happy I chose to do it all naturally. Despite exhaustion, we cherished these first moments as a family. We held her skin to skin and adored our new little girl! We decided to name her Jaymeson Rae Wilson. Our new little girl is beautiful and we couldn’t be happier! I truly feel that we could not have given birth naturally without the great childbirth education classes taught by Kristi Wilson at Baby Love Birth Services and our WONDERFUL midwife Kate Scott. I could not have asked for a better birthing experience and Kate had so much to do with that!
We have been blessed with so many friends and family in our lives! Jaymeson has had so many visitors that have come to meet her! We were able to spend some time with Nana and Poppa down at the lake for Jaymeson's first snow storm!
