The Birth (Story)!

For those of you who like the details of birth stories as much as I do, I thought I would share the story of Clay’s birth. I considered including the graphic video footage of the actual birth, but since I already got some flack for being on the internet in my underwear (those were BELLY photos ☺), I decided to refrain.

Clay’s due date was February 26th. On the weekend of February 4th, I was in Seattle for a baby shower and to take a social work licensure exam (I passed ☺!). I returned to Vancouver on Wednesday evening, spent Thursday organizing baby things and seeing my midwife, and went to work on Friday. I planned to work all the following week. At one a.m. Saturday morning, February 11th, on one of my frequent trips to the bathroom, my water broke. I excitedly woke Justin to tell him that the baby was coming soon, called my midwife, and had a glass of wine in an effort to sleep. I think I dozed a little between one and six a.m., but mostly I lay awake thinking about what the day might hold. The main things on my mind were anticipation about meeting Clay, fear about the pain of birthing him, hope that my sister could make it from Albuquerque in time for the birth, desire to still make it to the baby shower my friend Christine had planned for me that afternoon, and worry about the work I didn’t finish at my office. I was too wound up to sleep much!

At five a.m., I called my sister, Aubrey, and she arranged to get on a flight that would get her to Vancouver at 7 p.m. As I wasn’t having any contractions yet, we hoped that she would arrive before Clay. At six a.m., I called my dad. My mom was at a Bethany women’s retreat, and he planned to pick her up and make it to Vancouver by the early afternoon. Around 8 a.m., Justin called his parents and I called Dave and Heather. We rallied the troops and they were all en route. I then called Christine, and told her that even though my water had broken and I was leaking amniotic fluid everywhere, I was still hoping to go to the baby shower.

At 11 a.m. Justin and I met with our midwife, and she said I could go to the shower briefly if I felt up to it, but then I needed to meet her at the hospital to get antibiotics through an IV because my water was broken. I was having mild, irregular contractions at this point. At 1:45 p.m., as Justin and I were pulling out to go to the shower, Dave, Heather, Eli, and Ruby arrived, and Heather went to the shower with me. At the shower I was still feeling pretty good physically, and I felt very loved and supported by my community in Vancouver.

Justin, Heather, and I met our midwife, Leanne, and the student midwife, Kate, at St. Paul’s hospital, which was only two blocks from our apartment, at 3:30 p.m. I got the antibiotics through an IV and my contractions started to get more regular and intense. Leanne checked me at 6:30 p.m. and I was 3 centimeters dialated. She recommended that I go home and walk around and meet her back at the hospital in an hour.

At home, the contractions started to get really strong and seemed to come right on top of each other. Justin was an incredible labor coach and stayed by my side through the entire experience, rubbing my back and encouraging me. We headed back to the hospital – pronto! Justin, my mom, and Heather were with me when we arrived at the hospital, and Leanne and Kate met us there soon after. It was 7:30 p.m., and I remember that I actually started to push as we were walking into the hospital. Yikes! I was in some intense pain at this point.

Once in the hospital room, I started wailing and howling (as Justin later called it). I remember feeling overwhelmed and scared and trapped. Leanne encouraged me to get on the bed, and to direct my cries inward, channeling their energy towards pushing. Pushing was a bit of a relief, since I actually got a couple minutes of rest between the contractions and I could feel Clay moving outward. My sister and dad arrived at eight p.m. and Clay’s head was just starting to be visible. I pushed some more, and Clay was born at 8:30 p.m.

My strongest feeling when he was placed on my chest was relief that the birthing ordeal was over. After a few minutes of shock and relief, I felt so happy that our baby was here. He was so beautiful! I loved his reddish hair, and his eyes were so alert. Kate helped him to get latched on within five minutes of him being born, and he sucked happily for over an hour, gazing at me the whole time (see first picture). I was quickly smitten! Seeing the way Clay gazed at Justin, and what obvious delight Justin took in Clay, was one of the highlights of the evening (see second picture). Clay and I both faired well during the birth, and we were all able to go home four hours after he was born.

The midwives, Leanne and Kate, had an amazingly gentle and supportive presence during the birth. I also loved it that Justin, Clay, and I were surrounded by our family during the birth. The presence of Justin, my parents, Justin’s parents, Aubrey, and Heather during the birth was very encouraging to me. We had a meaningful time of prayer soon after he was born. It was truly a holy and sacred experience!