In a year filled with so much anxiety and stress and worry, August 30, 2020 ended up being one of the best days of my life. It’s the day I met my son. I worried for months about who would look after my 2 girls when it was time to go to the hospital, and if my husband could even be in the delivery room with me or if I would have to have a baby alone in another country. There were so many sleepless nights and tears. Deep down I knew it would all work out just as it was meant to be, and as long as baby and I were safe, that’s all that mattered.
I had a doctor appointment the day before my due date and baby was still a little high but measuring big. My doctor was afraid if I went too far past my due date that baby would be too big to have the natural birth I dreamed of. So we did a membrane sweep to hopefully push things along as naturally as we could. After our appointment we went to lunch as a family since we knew once baby arrived we wouldn’t be going out for a while. I was feeling crampy all day but that’s pretty normal after a membrane sweep. I made sure my hospital bag was packed completely before we went to bed just in case.
When I woke up the next morning I thought I was having some mild contractions but I wasn’t sure if it was real contractions or BH so I waited for them to get a little stronger and closer together. We took it easy and labored at home until just after lunch. Luckily a good friend offered to watch the girls for us so my husband could come to the hospital with me. By early afternoon my contractions were about 10-12 minutes apart so we took the girls to our friend’s house and took an Uber to the hospital. Our driver seemed a bit nervous and got us to the hospital quickly. Once we were checked in and settled in our room they checked me and I was 4cm dilated. I kept pacing the room and swaying back and forth to try and help get baby down. We had music playing and the lights low. I was able to keep moving and swaying around which made things a million times more bearable than being tied to the bed.
After about 4 hours I started to get tired from all the time on my feet and the contractions were very close together and I was getting very uncomfortable. My doctor checked and I was 8cm. I’m so lucky I had the most amazing midwife there to talk me through the labor. She knew of my wishes to have a natural delivery and she didn’t leave my side for a second. At this point my doctor broke my water and I went from 8cm to 10cm within the hour. Once I got to 10cm and it was time to push I felt like I was in another world. My body just took over and knew exactly what to do. After 17 minutes of focus and determination pushing I was met with the biggest surprise of my life…. a baby BOY! I never thought in a million years I would have a boy. What a sweet little blessing! I’m so grateful for my amazing midwife who made all my dreams come true and to my doctor who was the one that delivered our baby. I seriously couldn’t have asked for a more perfect delivery.
xoxo