ANTICIPATION - PART TWO
Our next prenatal appointment was on July 3rd, 2005 and consisted of the entire birth team, my Mom, and our friends Theresa and Ember. We watched a touching and informative video about natural childbirth and homebirth and felt as ease that my Mom and birth supporters were part of this day. After feeling my belly and taking my vitals, all checked out well and I was once again relieved to know Kaia had stayed put in the anterior position. Theresa and Mom asked the birth team some questions and we all laughed and talked about the upcoming event, as I sat on my birthing ball. As I look back at the photos Jason took of this appointment, I can tell I was really tired...and really ready. What I didn’t know is that our daughter would begin her transition into our world in less than 24 hours. That night, I got into the birthing tub and relaxed. I noticed that the Braxton Hicks contractions were quite strong that evening.
Having my Mom in town was such a welcome relief and blessing! We spent time together just talking, planning for the baby. Mom cooked and cleaned and folded laundry like a pro – I was beginning to get really spoiled. Jason and I curled ourselves into bed on that Sunday night and began to talk about Kaia’s birth. We discussed that we really wanted to ensure that only positive and loving energy be allowed during the birth. We talked about who would be there and assured each other that everything would work out just fine. During the conversation, we experienced a renewed sense of joy and peace for our soon-to-occur homebirth. Around 1:00 am, we drifted to sleep. Beginning around 2:00 am, I noticed that I was being awakened by “cramps” in my lower belly. I tossed and turned and fell back asleep. A few hours later, I’d be awakened again and get up and go the restroom. Because I was so tired, I really never considered that these “cramps” would be early contractions. I remember wondering if the dinner I ate wasn’t sitting well with me! Finally, around 7:00 am, I got up to use the restroom and noticed a few drops of pinkish mucous on the toilet. After wiping, I saw more on the toilet paper. I believe I said aloud, quietly and relaxed, “Oh my god – it’s time!” It was then that it hit me – those “cramps” were contractions. I was in early labor. I smiled and gently tiptoed back into bed. I rolled over to Jason and said “Honey, I think Kaia is going to come today!” He looked at me and smiled and I told him about the cramps and that I lost my mucous plug. We hugged and kissed and layed in bed awhile longer and I kept having to get up because I was leaking fluid (Maxi pads to the rescue!). We decided we wouldn’t tell anyone for a few more hours, until labor started to progress. Our excitement couldn’t keep us in bed any longer, so I got up decided to call our midwife Marinah around 8 am to fill her in and let her know I lost my mucous plug. She was quite excited and told me to keep her posted…
Jason and I tried our best to go back to bed, and managed a small nap until around Noon. I had a few small contractions that were very random in pattern. Finally, Jason and I took a shower (and a bath!) together to prepare for what we figured would be an exciting day. I was diligent about shaving my legs, my armpits, and cleaning up really good. If I was gonna have this baby today, I was gonna look good! I put on makeup, did my hair, and even remembered to put on lotion and deodorant. I put on a Maxi pad and sat down for a breakfast of toast and cereal. .
My contractions started to become a bit more intense, although we didn’t time them. I would find myself pausing to lean against the table or lay on the couch. Finally, we called Mom over to visit a little after noon and told her the news. She immediately kicked it into full Mom-gear and starting mopping floors! All morning long I was having to change my Maxi-pad because of the leaking. It didn’t dawn on me until later that my water had probably broken. I was really expecting a “pop” and a gush! While standing in the kitchen with my Mom around 4:00 pm, I suddenly felt something dribble down my legs. I said “Uh, I have to go the bathroom” and sort of waddled quickly into the bathroom, the whole time leaving a trail of fluid on the freshly mopped floor! That was when I officially thought my water broke and came out to tell Jason and Mom. Time to call the birth team! I laughed as I noticed just how much fluid it really was and that it happened right in front of my Mom. It just so happened that I wasn’t wearing underwear at that time, so it really felt funny. In hindsight, I now realize that my water must have broken early in the morning and I was leaking amniotic fluid. I called Marinah, who happened to be at a July 4th car show, and filled her in on the news. It was around this time that I also called my friend Theresa to let her know that today was the day she’d be attending my homebirth. We’d both been waiting so long to share this experience together! It just so happened to work out that we had asked our family (Jason’s Mom and friend John, Shawna, Josh, Liam, Jeremy and friend Monica, and my Mom) to come to Taliesin to watch the 4th of July fireworks. What they didn’t realize is that they’d also get to be part of Kaia’s birth! They were scheduled to arrive around 6:30 pm that night. However, Shawna, Josh, and Liam arrived early and came over to eat a pot roast meal that my Mom had cooked. We all visited for awhile and I stopped occasionally to breathe deeply. At one point, I had to retreat to our room for a bit of rest.
Anyways, back to our phone call to Marinah – she said that she would be sending Mary, her apprentice midwife, out to the house to check on me. It felt so exciting to me that this was really happening – Kaia would be here soon! I remained full of energy and hope and joy and wasn’t scared in the least. In the meantime, Marinah wanted me to try and collect as much fluid as possible so that they could test to see if it was amniotic fluid. Mom scurried to find a small Tupperware jar and I looked hilarious as I tried walking around with it between my legs. Of course, now that I had a reason to collect the fluid hardly any would come out! I remembered that I had at least 3 soaked maxi pads in the trash that Mary could test as a back up. Mom decided to go home until Mary arrived. During this time, my rushes began to occur more frequently and became more powerful. It was then that Jason and I really started to utilize different positions to breathe through them – being on all fours on the couch was a huge help…
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