Birth Story of Jesse Seth - Part One

Every time I start to write the story of Jesse's birth, I can't think of where to start.  (Or else someone or some thing needs me and I am interrupted!) I have to confess that the last six months of life have been very difficult for me. Between moving and the stress pregnancy always takes on my body and then the general stress of life in a busy, growing family, I was more overwhelmed than ever.  There were times I struggled to see Gods hand working in our life and even a few times when I questioned every thing if know to be true.  I worried about the details surrounding the upcoming birth and being so far from a hospital when the time came (even though we were birthing at home) and the unpredictable road conditions out of the canyon and the winter weather... Looking back now, I can clearly see Gods hand working and orchestrating the very details I was worrying about and so much more!  A reminder I didn't know I needed that we truly can trust Him for all things -large and very small.  He truly cares.

Some background info/details...

My longest labor until now was Austin -6 hours.  With the exception of Cole (my csection), all of my other labors were between 3 and 4 hours long.  Labor length is measured from the time active labor begins (5 cm dilation usually) until birth. 

My midwife lives about 2-1/2 hours from McCall. 

My early labor lasts for weeks, literally.  Getting to the point of no return tipping of active labor is a long and actually annoying process for me. 

We rented a house in McCall so that we could be closer to the hospital in case that was necessary.  The house is less than a two minute drive to the hospital entrance and the ambulance garage is even closer.

So with that background, I had been in early labor for a while when I woke Saturday morning to things being a bit 'different'.  Contractions were staying regular -though still not terribly strong; Bloody show and lots of mucous passing were the biggest clues things were about to change at some point.  I called my midwife to let her know I thought it was getting closer.  She and her assistant packed up and arrived at the house around 11:30am.  (Yes, I was really worried that everything would stop again and they would have to make the trip two more times!) I am so thankful there was no need to worry about her making it in time.  God definitely gave us enough warning that they made it with time to spare.  Plenty of time...

One of the things that always bugged me about hospital births was the frequent cervical checks.  They don't tell you a whole lot in the early stages and can cause more problems than information they provide.  I was super excited that my midwife was totally fine with not doing them unless there was a reason or I was curious.  So when they arrived, all we knew was that last we had checked, I was about 3 cm and 10-15% and that was about a week before.  Since I had been having lots of contractions in the week since, we knew something had to have changed but I really wasn't worried about how much of a change.  I just assumed that things would progress as all my other labors had and within a few hours, we would have our sweet new baby.  

We spent the early afternoon chatting, setting up the room (pool, stool, etc), crocheting and just generally relaxing.  Contractions were regular and definitely getting stronger but also definitely not moving very fast!  Around 5:00 Saturday afternoon/evening, I finally decided I was curious enough to be checked and knew that by doing so, we could also stir things a bit by stripping the membranes.  I was surprised to find I was a 5 that she was able to stretch to a 7 (which she did while stripping the membranes) and about 60% with baby around station -1. All definitely progress and though seemingly slow, I had just then reached active labor!  

Sure enough things picked up. Contractions harder and more frequent and all the other signs more clear.  Our friend arrived to help watch the other children so that Dale could be more available for me and it was a nice distraction to chat with her between contractions in the tub!  Though it was clearly labor, the atmosphere was so relaxed and calm.  Contractions were easy to manage and it felt like things would be over soon based on my past experiences.  I even made the -silly- comment that it seemed so easy.  That it was my easiest labor yet! Hmm...

As the evening wore on, the contractions continued to I be intense but there were long pauses between them where I had total mental clarity and almost like it had all stopped.  Some will remember my comment that this must be transition.  I have experience that twice before where all of a sudden, things feel different and between contractions there is no pain and a feeling of calmness.  It had to be transition! Well, I was wrong about that.  After another stretch of time I asked to be checked again.  At this point I don't remember time frames but probably an hour or so later (so about 4 hours into active labor), I was 7-almost-8 cm and fully effaced with baby at station 0.  Again, all great progress but much slower than in the past!  But at this point I thought, ok...  Now we are there.   Baby is almost in the birth canal and 8 to 10 usually goes really fast!  Yet again, I had no idea what was coming! 

To be continued...