Cora's birth story: Part One

Settle in, this story may take a bit! 

Part One:

Cora was born at 12:14 am on Thursday, June 25, 2015, but her birth story starts the weekend prior. This might be TMI, but you’re reading a birth story, so you must be ok with that! So, I had been dealing with what I thought was pain from being constipated. I’ve never been the most regular person and the third trimester wasn’t helping with that. I was getting to the point of tears regularly, but I was convinced that eventually I would be able to go and it would all be ok. I went to work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and just sat on my knees, leaning over the back of my chair while I worked or I stood until I would leave around noon (I was on half days, heck yea!). Wednesday, I was at work and pretty uncomfortable that morning. I went to the bathroom (just to pee, damn it!) and there was blood. I instantly got very nervous and ran back to the only two women in my shop at the time, one of which had two kids and another with none. My friend Kendal knew exactly what was up, the other was very excited and I explained that I was not full term yet and that this was not exciting. I ran out the door very quickly, shaking the whole way to my car. I got Vic on the phone and told him to get home and then called my doula.

We were supposed to be meeting with our midwives for our home visit to prepare for our home birth, I just needed to stay pregnant for another week to get our peaceful, hypnobirthing home birth, damn it! Christi said exactly what I thought, my pains and the bleeding sounded like the start of labor. She had been there for Ryker’s labor and knew how my body worked and that I’m pretty good at minimizing the impression of pain that I’m in, I internalize it pretty well until it’s unbearable. We decided to wait and see what happened and that I would see her at 6, when we were all meeting at our house for the meeting. Vic paced the house while I laid on my left side and drank water like a good pregnant woman trying to lessen cramps (which I knew were contractions but I was ignoring that). His certification exam for work was the next day, this was not good timing. I tried to tell him that I would be pregnant until the weekend, but I also told him that was crazy to try and predict and it was time to cancel the test and reschedule.

Fast forward to that evening…Christi got to the house first. We sat at the table and chatted about what I was feeling and she had this look on her face, I could tell that she knew this was it, I wasn’t going to be pregnant much longer. We talked about options, since I had really wanted a home birth. The midwives showed up and we went over what I was feeling, they said they thought it was nothing, but that I should take it very easy (bed rest) and that as long as I made it to the following Tuesday they could do the home birth. If I went into active labor before then I would have to go the hospital, where they would not be joining us. I couldn’t have been happier for Vic and I to have Christi by our side. She left for another meeting and the midwives left. The whole time they were there the contractions had stopped. I had been timing them all day and was impressed with how they had just stopped once Ryker got home from school and the midwives got there. Well, once they left shit got real.

The contractions started piling on, they were a minute to a minute and a half long, with about a two minute break in between. Vic and I tried having me lay on the couch, then I got in the shower, then back on the couch, unable to get even remotely comfortable. An hour later, at about 9:15 pm, I had Vic call Christi and tell her to get to the house immediately. I called my brother, an EMT, to ask him what protocol was if he got called to a laboring woman. I wanted to know what would happen if I couldn’t get into the car. I wanted my homebirth, but there was a feeling in my gut that said this is happening now and she has to get out and we have to get to the hospital. Christi got to the house around the same time our good friend Matt showed up to stay at the house with Ryker. I labored in our room on the floor, bent over on all fours or over my birth ball. Then, my stomach decided it was party time. With Ryker, I had to go right before transition, so the fact that my stomach wanted to empty itself already had me terrified. I remember finishing and trying to walk out of the bathroom between contractions and having to bend over the sink. There was a glass of wine that I had started to try and relax and it was in my way and I just pushed it out into the air towards Christi and said “make this go away!” I couldn’t handle the smell. I collapsed on the floor of our room after trying to get comfortable on our bed and looked at Christi and said “when do we go?” She told me whenever I was ready.

I got through a few more piled contractions and told Vic to get a bag together. Within the next 10 minutes or so we were making it towards the car. It took a while to get there, because I had to hang on Vic during a contraction in front of the house. I got in the back seat and held on to the head rest for dear life. That was the worst drive ever. I remember we got to the hospital but were in the wrong parking lot and I wanted to labor laying on the parking lot ground instead of being in the car. I got out at the door of the ER with Christi and Vic parked the car. By the time we made it to the counter I started to get very light headed. I got into a wheelchair and had Vic answer the lady’s questions. I sat there, feeling pale and light headed. I knew the blood had rushed out of my face. I thought for sure I was going to pass out. They wheeled me to L&D pretty quickly, that wheelchair ride felt so trippy! She was going so fast and I couldn’t keep my eyes open, it made me sick. 

Check out Part Two here.