It’s been a while since I last posted. I thought I’d share our (now 4
year old) Bear’s birth story. Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday he came earth-side, other days it feels like a lifetime ago. I’ll never forget the day he made me a mommy.
I woke up two days before my Due Date, feeling like I could finally breathe. Hug Nugget (that was what we called him) had been up in my lungs for the better part of two trimesters, kicking the air right out of me. That night I’d slept 16 hours, the longest stretch of sleep, without waking up, in quite some time. I wondered, like I did every morning at that point, would today be the day? I cleaned up around the house, readied my birth center bag one more time, prepped a meal for the freezer and laid down on the sofa to rest. I fell asleep (when you’re pregnant, any amount of sleep is amazing) my body was definitely gearing up for something. John came home from work to me asleep on the sofa. We had dinner and watched the news. At around 7pm I started feeling light contractions. We timed them, they were every two to four minutes. We called the midwife and let her know I was possibly in early labor.
We continued to time the contractions, which felt like nothing more than my belly getting firm every few minutes, until about 8pm when we decided to go to bed. I figured, they’d wake me up once they were strong enough. It had started snowing right around the time we went to bed. We joked that our boy picked a great night to be ready. We put our bags right by the door for easy access if we needed to leave quickly and went to bed.
Sometime between midnight and 1am my contractions picked up. They woke me from a dead sleep. Not painful, but they felt like they were coming on every minute. We timed them and of course it was every one to two minutes. We called the midwife again and she suggested waiting a little longer, I was still not in any pain, so I decided to make the bed, vacuum one more time, do some dishes and bounce on my exercise ball. After an hour we called again, contractions were slightly stronger and still every one to two minutes. She suggested we come to the birth center, so that’s just what we did.
We drove through nearly blinding snow for what seemed like forever. The normal 20 minute drive took us almost an hour. We were so relieved to be at the birth center! I had nightmares about delivering the baby in the car while trying to get there. Thankfully
, that nightmare was never a reality. We warmed ourselves up in the cozy birth suite and since I was only between 5 and 6cm, my midwife encouraged me to get more rest, “Things will be rocking and rolling when you wake up in the morning.”
I laid down on the soft bed and closed my eyes. Then it hit, the pressure of a hard contraction. I was completely caught off guard. Around 4am, I asked to get in the birthing tub. The water felt amazing, the pressure was cut in half. John sat on the ledge of the tub behind me and rubbed my neck and shoulders. I ate some food and drank coconut water. It was refreshing. Not long after I got in the tub, I felt the need to push. The midwife checked me again, and I was only at an 8. We waited, my midwife and the birth assista
nt continued to encourage me. They spoke softly and kindly. They helped me get to positions to ease the pressure and John would rub my lower back to ease discomfort.
I prayed. I prayed for strength through each contraction. I prayed for wisdom to know when the right time to push would happen. I prayed for my midwife. God answered my prayers. He reminded me, this life about to be born was in His hands. Billions of women had given birth since the dawn of time. Then my midwife whispered, “Let the wave fall over you, don’t fight the contraction, let it wash over you and relax every muscle in your body after it peeks.” That was honestly the best advice anyone could give a laboring woman. Within moments transition hit and I was ready to push. There was no control. I just had to push. The pain melted away with each p
ush, and I was getting closer and closer to seeing our little Hug Nugget earth-side.
We hopped out of the birthing tub so I could plant my feet on the ground. It was a little after 7am. Light was coming in the windows from outside. The snow was coming to an end. At 7:48am on November 19th, 2014 (the day before his due date) our little Hug Nugget came into the world. He cried, John cried, “You’re here!” I exclaimed as I looked into his big brown eyes. I held our baby and kissed his pouty lips. We got off the floor and onto the big bed for snuggles and recovery. A few hours later, we were home in our own bed, snuggling the day away.
Now, 4 years later, he’s still a snuggle bug. He’s kind and loving. He loves cooking, baking and cleaning. He reads and enjoys all kinds of games. He loves animals and obstacle courses. He’s our Bear and he’s so, so loved. Thank you for making me a mommy 4 years ago buddy.
Photo credits: Megan