Birth Story of McKenzie Jane

Disclaimer: The below story is for me to remember and Iwill be frank, honest and open. I think birth is the greatest thing not gross or too graphic. So don't read further if you dont want! Ha!

So, that is what our house and yard looked like on the morning that McKenzie decided to make her debut. My birth with Mckenzie was completely different from the my birth with Bailey and ironically so was the weather. Bailey was born on a record setting warm December day and McKenzie was born on one of the coldest, snowiest February days!

I really desired for things to be different with McKenzie's birth. The first was that it would be shorter and the second was that active labor would be during waking hours and not during sleeping hours. I really had no regrets with the way that Bailey's birth had gone. I wanted a natural birth but after hours of intense labor and little progress I bought me a epidural off the cart. HA! I really think birth should have very little intervention and I know that choosing an epidural can send you down the intervention highway so I knew that going as natural as possible is the best option.

On Thursday evening I had some chili for dinner, spent too long on the phone with some at&t guy, and went to bed and stayed up talking to Trever until around midnight. I told him my stomach felt a littel upset and that I thought I ate too much chili and cake! HA! My friend Daysha had predicted I would give birth on 2/4 at 4:04 am so we joked that we had a few hours to get that done! HA! Anyway, we went to sleep and I woke up around 12:30 with what felt like contractions or perhaps it was just the chili and gas. I also had been having contractions for the last 2 or 3 weeks on and off so I went back to sleep and didn't give it much more thought. At 1:30 am Bailey was in our room at my bedside so I took her back to her room to get her settled and laid down on her floor. Sure enough there were the contractions again. They were not intense, more like menstral cramps, but something told me that this was probably the real deal and I better go and get some sleep. I went back to bed and slept on and off (with a few trips to the bathroom) until about 5:30 am. At 5:30 contractions were pretty painful but still pretty short and somewhat far apart. I decided I should probably get up and have something to eat. I came downstairs and could see all of the snow that had fallen! Holy cow that was more than the one or two inches they had predicted! I had a bowl of cereal and got on Facebook. Everyone was talking about all of the snow and I thought about posting that I thought the day was going to bring to me more than a bunch of snow...like possibly a baby but I decided not to. At 6 I went up stairs and woke up Trev and told him that I was pretty sure McKenzie was trying to make her debut and that it had snowed A LOT. He asked me, "So does this mean I need to get up?" HA! Just like a man! Anyway, he got up and started getting ready and I got into the shower. While in the shower the contractions were still pretty painful but short. I could easily breathe through them. I stayed in the shower for about 30 minutes or so just enjoying the warm water hitting my back. I wanted to stay more but knew there were a few more things I wanted to do before labor got so bad I couldn't think straight. When I got out of the shower I called my midwife and told her that I was in labor with short contractions close together. I told her I wasn't ready to go the hospital but was just giving her a heads up. She told me to call back when I was ready to go and we would both head that way.

Bailey got up a little after 7 and that is when I noticed that contractions were bringing me to my knees and that to get through them I needed to really stop and lean over and concentrate. They again were close together but relatively short. Trev was downstairs packing the car so I got the last few things in Bailey's bag and got her dressed between contractions. She was quite funny and would tell me "I'm sorry mama" with each contraction. I told Trev that I thought we should get her on her way over to the sitters house. He left to take her around 7:30 am. I put on some clothes and went downstairs to turn on the news. The contractions at this point were starting to get longer and were becoming really hard to get through. I saw that the roads were pretty bad and decided that when Trev got home we needed to leave.

He got home and I told him that I was ready to leave. He asked if I thought we were going to soon and I told him no that I was ready to go and that I was worried about the roads and that things were getting quite painful and that the car ride was going to suck. We left the house around 8 and started the trek to the hospital. As soon as we got into the car the contractions seemed to kick up another knotch in intensity and finding a comfortable position in the car was next to impossible. People asked me how the snowy drive was and to tell you the truth I have no idea. My eyes were closed and the pain was too intense to care that I do believe we were probably driving to fast and going past all of the other cars! Anyway, I mostly leaned over the back of the seat but eventually found laying on my side and moaning seemed to get me through. I begin to tell Trev that I feared it was going to be like with Bailey were I was in agony and got to the hospital to only find out I was exactly the same as I was in the office a few days before. In fact I pretty much convinced myself that was the case and decided that when we got there that I would get my epidural. I begin dreaming of the sweet nectar and for that car ride to be over!

We got to the hospital at 8:55 am in exactly 1 hour. It normally takes about 40-45 minutes on a good day to get there so I am pretty sure that Trev had to have made some risky moves. Anyway, I had several contractions on the way to delivery but was able to squat and moan through them and was so glad to be out of the car. We made it to labor and delivery and some nurse started rubbing my back through contractions. It felt wonderful and she was quite the godsend. The nurses were already telling me that I was doing a great job and asked if I had gone natural with the first. They told me Cecily, my midwife, wasn't there yet but should be there soon. They took a few minutes to have a room together and then we were back there. I got undressed down to my tank top and then the nurse came in to check me. I was 6 cm, 100% effaced and at 0 station. On one hand I was glad I wasn't 2 cm like I was with Bailey but on the other hand I knew that I must keep to my promise of trying to go natural as long as possible. I was already telling Trever though that I couldn't do it anymore and that I was ready for the anestesiologist. When the nurse was checking me, Cecily, my midwife, arrived. I told her too that I was ready for the anestesioogist and she was like, "Janet you are at 6 and I am pretty sure that this baby will be here before 11 am." I tried several ways to get comfortable but standing up was no longer comfortable. I found laying on my left side took the pressure off my back plus there was a side rail on that bed I could grip onto for life. I was Group B strep positive so a nurse got an IV going pretty quickly and I am not sure I saw that nurse ever again.

From this point until McKenzie was born I was in and out of my mind so who knows if my recollection is correct or not! HA! I do know that Trev and Cecily are the ones who talked me through each contraction. I really feel like I went from being able to deeply moan through contractions to being a bit hysterical through them. It seems every 20 minutes or so that I would again doubt my ability to be able to really do this and I think even told Cecily that people who did this were crazy! Cecily seemed to help me find a way to regain my sense of what I really wanted. First there was the was the "I really think this baby is going to be here by 11." Then there was the well if you want an epidural then we have to get through this bag of fluids. Finally she said lets check you once more and then make a decision. So, she checked me and I was 8 cm and she said "Janet you are going to feel the urge to push real soon." I actually started to realize then that I was anxious about pushing. I knew what the pain was like from contractions but was unsure of the pain of actually pushing. I also had in the back of my mind that it was going to take a lot to push the baby out and I was thinking I was done! HA! After that though I think I stopped asking about the epidural during contractions and soon felt the urge to push.

When the urge to push hit I was still laying on my side on the bed. She told me to go ahead and push and not be afraid and that it would likely feel better. I am not sure if better is the word I would put on it but I did now know that the end of was in sight. AFter the first couple of pushes my water broke and then I started to feel like she was already born even though I knew that she wasn't and I felt the emphamis "ring of fire" and then 4 or 5 more pushes and her head was out and then a few short burst pushes and she was.....

Born at 10:19 am! She was perfect!

I was so tired and so glad to see her there!

She was beautiful!

Instant Love!

She looked like Sugie!

I started to feel sort of nauseated so I sent her over to the warmer with dad.

She weighed 7 pounds and 7 ounces and was 20 inches long!

The nausea went away quickly. I think I just needed to sit up more. I had a small tear that Cecily repaied and holy cow I joked and told her I needed an epidural for that! HA!

Soon she was nursing and I was so happy! Even though it was some of the worst pain in my life at this point none of it matters. All is right with the world!

I love you so much already my McKenzie Jane! You are pefect!