Again, if you are facing any confusion at the title. This is a birth story. I’m not graphic, but it’s a story about giving birth. If you are male, a child, or just grossed out by birth, then please read my other post for the day instead.
At about 37 weeks, I was thinking to myself, I really don’t mind if this one waits a while. I’m doing OK, and I’m not sure I’m ready for another little baby yet. Then, a few days later, I was awakened by contractions around 2 am. They were 5 minutes apart and kept coming even though they weren’t extremely painful. So, early in the morning, we called Bryan’s parents to come and watch Emma. We went for a walk for a while, and then went in. They said that although I was having contractions, I wasn’t really in labor. And, I still feel some animosity towards the doctor for this. Really, there was no sympathy, no kindness, just go home. So, we tried walking a bit more, but Emma was upset at home, so we left, went home, Bryan’s parents left, and eventually the contractions went away.
And then they came back. Every night for the next week. Thankfully, my mom was able to come up and help me stay somewhat sane while I was waiting. Finally, I had contractions that seemed to be going somewhere. However, by this point I was still irritated at the hospital and unwilling to be sent home again. So, I decided to labor as long as possible at home.
Once Bryan woke up, I sent him to work so he could get a few things done. I told him I would call when I was ready to go in. After breakfast, Emma, my mom, and I walked to the park. While, I was there, things picked up pretty good, and it was a longer walk home since I had to pause for contractions. We got home, and I called Bryan to tell him he should probably head home soon. He came home, got the garbages out and the car packed up. We called the hospital and headed out.
When I got there, I was 6 cm, and it was lunchtime, so the nurse left us to sit at her station and the doctor took off. I took a shower to relax, and afterwards, I sat down and had 3 contractions that made my eyes roll back in my head, super intense. After that, I really wanted to push, so I told Bryan to call the nurse. She came in, and delivered Hannah who really was just coming out on her own without my help. The doctor was still in the building and came back to finish things up, but when it was the same doc that sent me home last week, I was secretly delighted that she hadn’t actually delivered the baby.
Around 24 hours later, Hannah and I went home, and it was great. I slept more after she was born than before. I had a lot to learn because she was very different from her sister, but she was a sweet baby for sure.
