Amelia Mae

As promised, here is Amelia's birth story!

Amelia Mae's Birth Story

June was an interesting month for me. I was ready at any moment for Amelia to be born, but wasn't really sure if my body could do it. For some reason I didn't know if my body could do it. I was fine when Seth was born, I went into labor on my own, so I am not sure why I thought that, but I did.

So on June 12, Stephanie, my sister in law, had her baby. I just knew I would be next. I thought for sure that I would have my baby that week. On the night of the 14th, I was having really regular contractions and they were getting longer, stronger and closer together. These were the hallmarks of labor. So, I called my midwife, Vivian. She was at a birth and sent another midwife, Heather, to come be with me. My doula Heidi came and I was ready. Jeremy had out the video camera, I was in the birth tub, I was ready to go. However ready I was, Amelia wasn't. About 4:00 am, everything just stopped. Everyone was here, I felt really dumb. I sent everyone home and went to bed.

The next week was really long. At the beginning of labor with the other 2 babies, my water broke. So that is what I was expecting. I kept waiting for my water to break. I had it in my mind that I wouldn't call Vivian until my water broke. I didn't want everyone here, just to send them home again. So, I was a bit cautious.

On the 21st I was awake until 3 am with contractions. Then they stopped. The morning of the 22nd, I woke up at 4:00 am with contractions again. I was also having bloody show (which I had the day Seth was born). So, I tried to get as much sleep as I could and at 7, finally got up and told Jeremy what was going on. I went on a walk to try to keep things going. At one point I had a contraction so strong that I wet myself! I went home and Jeremy went and got me some bagels.

At about 9:00 I was tired, so I went back to bed. When I woke up, I decided that I wasn't ready to have the baby during the day. So, I just went about my day and was having lots of contractions. At 3:30, Vivian came over to check on me. I had her strip my membranes, I was dilated 4 cm. After she left, around 4ish, we went to Walmart. I had some contractions that were so strong they stopped me in my tracks. By 6:30, things were really kicking into gear. I called Vivian and told her that I was having a baby tonight. At 7:00, Jeremy took Seth to our friends, the VanWagoner's, house. He came home and cleaned and I labored. At 8:00, Heidi, my doula, got here and Jeremy went to get Seth. We got Seth to bed and I started really laboring.

This labor was so different from Seth's. His was intense, but I had breaks between contractions. When Vivian got here around 8:30 or 9:00, I was ready to have this kiddo. I got into the tub and knew that this was different than my “dress rehearsal” labor the week before.

Things were pretty foggy between the time Vivian got here and when Amelia was born. These contractions were strong and intense and close together. Sometimes my legs would just shake with the energy that was coursing through my body. I just couldn't believe how much energy was in my body. I remember at 10:00 I told Vivian that in an hour I wanted her to check me. I wanted to labor some more before she checked me, I wanted more time to dilate. At around 10:45 or so, she checked me and I was at 6 cm and had an anterior lip on my cervix. So, I decided to get on my knees in the tub. I vocalized a lot during this time and felt SO out of control. At 11:15 my water broke at the peak of a contraction. That felt so good, a huge relief of pressure, but then the contractions got stronger. I remember at one point Vivian, Jeremy and Heidi were all talking to me and I had to hush them!

Transition was so intense and so overwhelming that I really didn't think I could do it anymore. At that point I knew I was almost done!! HOORAY!!!

When I started to feel the pressure of her head coming down I really didn't want to push. I pushed so aggressively with Seth that I tore really badly. I was so scared of doing that again. So, I did what I call, horse lips. It's when you make horse sounds. It really helped me to let her ease her way down. Then I said, “I have to push”. I pushed and her head came out. I asked Vivian, “Is she ok?”. She said, “Yes, she's fine”. However she wasn't even looking! :) She then looked and said, “Oh! There's a head! Hello Baby!”. One more push and Amelia Mae was out!

I was the first to hold my precious daughter. My first thought was how much she looked like Seth! She was never out of my arms or sight. Shortly after the placenta was out, I got out of the tub and onto the couch. Jeremy and I got to sit there and look at Amelia and she sought out the breast. She nursed and was so happy!

We then went to the bedroom and she was weighed and measured – 7 lbs. 15 oz., 21.5 inches long. She is healthy and happy. And now that she is 6 weeks old, I can't imagine my life without her. Jeremy and I often comment on how it feels so normal to have both Seth and Amelia here. I just hope that I can be a good enough Mommy to her and teach her how to honor herself as a woman and to be a kind and compassionate person.