8 am on December 3rd, Ryans 30th birthday...I wake up to what I believe is my water breaking. I was not sure because it was more like sporadic gushes but I was pretty sure labour had begun since I was having regular but mild contractions. I mean, I was 10 days overdue, it had to happen some time! The midwife happened to call around 8 30, and said she would be by later in the day to check in. I called my support sisters to let them know what was going on. They planned on coming over in a few hours. Ryan and I decided to walk to the grocery store, but walking made the contractions much more intense so we came back home. I think I must of looked pretty funny in the isles, hunched over swaying back and forth. It was the first time the contractions felt alittle tough to get through. During the afternoon, the contractions seemed to slow down unless I was moving around. Erin and Nicole came over for a while, but I started to feel like I had to entertain them since not much was happening. They left, as my sister arrived from Victoria. At 4pm the midwife came over and confirmed that things were very early, as I was still 1 cm dilated. But I was 100% thinned which was good. She told me to take a bath and try to sleep as it was going to be a long night. Jen went home and I took a bath but by that time, labour was definitely picking up!
Ryan and I laboured at home by ourselves for many hours. At that point I was in my zone, I was not timing contractions or even paying attention to the time. I sat on my birthing ball. swaying and making deep moaning sounds. Afew times I felt as if I was loosing control, and made Ryan call Kate. She would suggest things like sitting in the shower on my birthing ball. I was annoyed she wasn't rushing over to my aid, but she knew it was still early and it was in the muddle of the night. I would retreat to the shower when I couldn't handle the surges on my own. I tried lying down at one point, because I was starting to feel pretty tired. but that made the contractions totally unbearable. At around 2, we called Kate and she decided it was time for her to come over. When she got to our house, I was 6 cm dilated. Her and Ryan set up the pool, while I laboured with Nicole, Ryans sister. Jen and Erin showed up right after I got into the pool. Selina, the other midwife arrived. I didn't find that the water helped with the contractions but it did help me relax in between. At that point I was 9 cm and feeling a strong urge to push. Wow, I remember thinking, this is it!!! But wait...They had me get out of the pool to check me again, and they realised that her head was pinching the last little but my cervix. Darn, first hick up. and everything was going so well! They tried for what seemed like an eternity to get rid of the lip of the cervix. They had me lying on my back during a contraction, pushing as Kate tryed to push the cervix back. They would check a few contractions later and it would be back! They suggested that I sit on the toilet, in hopes that the gravity of the babes head would cause the last bit of cervix to get pushed back. Well I will tell ya, that there was the worst/longest part of the whole thing! I remember sitting there being so pissed at everyone. As I sat there, fighting the urge to push, feeling a tremendous pressure in my bottom Ryan decided he needed a break! Not cool, I remember thinking. Of course in his defence, he had been by my side for over 12 hours at this point and the poor guy just had to go to the bathroom. The lovely Erin took his place supporting me, but I remember not being happy about that! I could hear everyone else chatting in the kitchen, and every few contraction, Kate or Selina would poke their head into the bathroom and say "Just a few more there, and we will check you", and give me some homoeopathic Cohosh to help strengthen the contractions. It felt like I had a hundred contractions sitting there on the toilet, but that probably isn't the case! And trying not to push when your body is screaming at you to do so, THAT was HORRIBLE! Finally they freed me from the bathroom, and checked me. Damn, same thing, this time my cervix has started to swell. Fuck, I remember thinking, I am either going to be in labour forever, or I am going to end up strapped to a cold table and have my baby cut out of me. Is there a third option, because I am nit thrilled about either of those...One last effort, they had we walking around our kitchen island, and when I had a contraction I would squat in front of the sink and push. At this point, the contractions were becoming more spaced and less intense.
