Happy Birth Day Jonas!

Our son was born at home December 28th at 10:15 AM weighing 6 lb 12 oz. Our journey to parenthood has been a long one, but thankfully the labor was relatively short. If you're interested in the full details, here's how it all went down.

Saturday around 5 PM our midwife came to the house to check my cervix and strip my membranes. I had also been to acupuncture to "fluff my kidney qi" in hopes for a smooth labor and had started evening primrose oil to get my cervix ready. I had also been taking longer more strenuous walks the past few days. MM was a little nervous about the whole stripping the membranes thing, but she assured us that she does this for almost all her clients (if they're GBS negative) and only once has it put them into labor within 24 hours. Well, I'm not sure if it was the walk, the acupuncture, the oil, or if Jonas was just ready, but at 1:30 AM on Sunday I lost my mucus plug and about 15 minutes later, my water broke. Thankfully it was clear/pinkish with no meconium. I called my midwife and let her know. She said to try and rest and see if my contractions picked up. I called less than an hour later when the contractions were getting pretty strong and closer together, every 5-6 minutes. I had hopes of making banana bread during the early labor stages, but I couldn't get past gathering the ingredients. I was beginning to doubt my ability to do this whole thing unmedicated at home. MM started putting the AquaDoula together and helped me through the tougher contractions. My midwife and the nurse got to the house around 5 AM, followed shortly by our housemate Nena who had just arrived from her Christmas vacation, and Jules, a great friend and natural nurturer. They kept us all fed and hydrated throughout the process and acted as our photographers. I can't thank them enough.

The midwife didn't want to check me at first because my water had broken, but when I said I was having the urge to bear down and my contractions kept getting stronger they checked. I was 7 cm at around 5:30. Finally the AquaDoula was hot and ready, so I got in to help me through transition. It was a really nice change and helped keep me a little more comfortable. Before too long I was completely dilated and ready to push. I think it was around 7:30. I wanted to get out of the tub and move to the bedroom, so that's what we did.

I pushed for what seemed like forever, but was really about 2 1/2 hrs. I begged the midwife to just take him out, but she assured me I was going to push him out myself. I felt his head coming out and finally MM and I delivered our son. It was one of those truly amazing moments in life. To bring life into the world, to see this child who has grown inside of me from just a few cells--it's indescribable. Thanks for joining me on this journey. Hope you like the snapshot.