Our Birth Story: Maureya

When I say I was at the hospital for less than an hour before I had her, people might think Maureya's birth was easy. That's not how I would describe it exactly. However, I am so thankful that after much prayer and preparation, this birth story was more of what I was hoping for.

(Quick recap... Maureya is my second child. Ansel was my first. You can read his whole birth story here, but for now, let me go over the highlights. I had back labor for 24 hours from one afternoon to the next. I dealt with contractions by natural pain management methods except for a few hours of morphine to help me rest in the morning. My water broke after that and I pushed for 2 1/2 hours until I delivered Ansel.)

With Maureya, I woke up around 5:30 am with contractions about ten minutes apart. Back labor again! This time around, I had been practicing yoga positions and breathing methods to use, and was able to employ those. I hung out with a friend in the morning since we had that planned and it got my mind off of things. After lunch, I tried to take a nap and got some rest, though I was still feeling the contractions. When I got up and actually timed contractions again around dinner, they were about 5 minutes apart and getting more intense, but I just stayed active. I would pause to squat or do another position to get through. Around 6 pm I was getting rather annoyed the contractions hadn't picked up in time or intensity since it had been going on 12 hours, so I went for a walk (in the drizzling rain). Mentally I was trying to prepare myself or another long night similar to what I labored with Ansel, and emotionally I was feeling worried but trying to trust my body.

I vacillated on calling my friend to take Ansel over to her house in case we needed to go to the hospital. Finally around 8 pm or so I started needing Justin to give me counter pressure in my lower back for the back labor and went ahead and called my friend to get Ansel. They left after 9 pm, and I kept pushing back leaving for the hospital until about 10 pm, trying to labor at home as much as possible and dreading the contractions I would have in the car on the way. It is very difficult to relax or do any type of yoga position in the car!!

We got to Miami Valley at 10:30 pm and parked, and walking in was tough. It was cold but I wasn't sure if I was shaking from that or trying to get through the back labor. We checked and got to our room (#3- same exact room I had Ansel in because we asked if it was open in Family Beginnings). When the nursed checked my and said I was a 5-6 but very effaced, I tried to stay positive. I really felt like I was farther along. Justin continued to give me counter pressure- really, I only felt the contractions in my back-for a half hour or so. I was in child's pose on the floor of the bathroom when my water broke and I HAD TO PUSH. It was basically instantaneous.

The nurse wanted to check me again before I started pushing and said I was only at an 8; but I really could not resist the urge. Missy, the midwife, just said, "Listen to your body." My body was screaming at me so there was no way to ignore it! :) Hands and knees on the bed, I pushed, rather loudly, I'm sure, for a couple of contractions before they told me she was crowning already. (Woah! Ansel took over an hour to crown, then crowned for another hour!) On the next push or two, her head was out. Then, somehow I didn't have an urge to push, but she was so close. So I took a deep breath and tried to focus on pushing again and she slipped out at 11:21 pm. What a relief. There is really nothing like that moment! I had been at the hospital less than an hour.

With her cord still attached, I was able to move back and sit against the headboard and put Maureya skin-to-skin right away. After the cord stopped pulsing, Justin cut it. The placenta came easily after that and I was able to look at it. Fascinating and gross at the same time, but amazing to see the life-force that God made to sustain her those 39 weeks in the womb.

Recovery has been so much easier this time, I think because of the timing of the labor. It ended up being about 18 hours, but since it fell during the day and I pushed for maybe 20 minutes, the exhaustion wasn't as great. I didn't have a tear to the perineum (last time I had a small one but no stitches). The lochia discharge reduced very quickly and I was able to move from a Depends to a large pad the second day postpartum, and it continues to reduce. The after-pains of the uterus returning to normal size are more intense than I remember with Ansel, but compared to labor pains they are manageable. I'm on 800 mg of ibuprofen every 8 hours and that has kept other soreness in check. Maureya  slept well at home last night between her feedings  at 11, 2, and 5:30, and I slept in after that until 8 or so. I got an hour nap this afternoon and will go to bed soon, but it's nowhere near the exhaustion I felt from last time. It will be interesting to see how things continue to play out, but this birth experience was just overall so much better than last time.

I'm so thankful to my husband for being so supportive. He was just perfect, giving me everything I needed to make it through. The yoga really helped too. And of course, I know I had people praying for me throughout pregnancy and I had also prayed that God would give me the strength to make it through. He is good.