I was so pleased to be Jenny’s doula and witness this beautiful VBAC water birth! Jenny was surrounded by many family members and there was so much love, peace, and joy in the room when her baby was born. It was beautiful!
I woke up at 3 a.m. with some pain on my abdomen. I went to the bathroom and vomited. I then realized that I was in labor. I was having contractions every 10 minutes or less so in the morning I told my husband and he called the midwife. We arrived at the birthing center and my midwife Leah checked to see if I was dilated. I was dilated almost 2cm. I was sent home and was told to sleep as much as possible since I would be having the baby that night or the next day.
I went home and was able to rest for a couple of hours. Fiona and I had been texting regularly to see how I was doing. We were in constant communication. The contractions were getting more intense and I was having trouble relaxing. Fiona came to my house to help me relax. I felt more confident having Fiona with me. Fiona would help me breath and relax during the contractions. She helped me find the position that would make me feel more comfortable. I discovered that standing up while she performed the pelvic press would relieve some of the pressure from the contractions. Also, Fiona suggested that I used the birth ball while she massaged my back with her finger tips. The contractions were getting more intense and closer together so we called Leah and headed to the birthing center. Fiona was there with me every step of the way. I vomited again and she helped by pulling my hair back and suggested that I breathe peppermint oil to help with the nausea.
We arrived at the birthing center but I was only dilated 2cm. We went back home and I told Fiona to go home and rest but she followed me home and was prepared to stay with me all night. I am very grateful she did because contractions were getting more intense and closer together. Fiona helped me get to bed so I could try and sleep. She diffused some essential oils to help me relax. However, I couldn’t stand being in bed. The contractions were getting stronger.
It was 11 p.m. when we began counting the time in between and during contractions. After an hour of having contractions every 5 minutes or less and lasting a minute or longer, we knew that I was in active labor. We called Leah and she told us to head to the birthing center in half an hour. We arrived to the birthing center and I was dilated 8cm. I had decided on a water birth so I changed to my bathing suit and got in the bathtub. The hot water really helped me relax and relieved some pressure from the contractions. At this point I was so tired I was falling asleep during contractions. However, the contractions were so intense it was hard to remember to relax and to breathe. Fiona would coach me during every contraction. She reminded me to relax my face. She would breathe with me. During contractions, we would chant together open, open, open so that I could visualize my cervix opening.
Time went by so quickly. I was so tired I was sleeping between contractions. Suddenly I felt the urge to push. I told Fiona that I wasn’t sure if I needed to go to the bathroom or if it was time for me to push. She told me that the baby was coming. I pushed for 29 minutes and my beautiful baby was born at 5:11 AM on Saturday October 12th.
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