I woke up to pee at 2 in the morning on 4/14. I'd been having cramps all nights and some contractions. I realized that I had bloody show at that time and was really excited because I thought I would have Luke that day. No such luck. The contractions continued on and off for the next few days. On Friday, 4/16 they started to get stronger. Aaron and I took the pups to the park and I had a few there. We went to the grocery store to get a few things since labor seemed imminent. I was having contractions in the bread aisle, by the frozen foods, next to the broccoli. It was happening. We checked out and headed home. My sister's play was opening that night and we were supposed to go. At 6pm I told Aaron to go without me because I was able to time the contractions. They came home a couple of hours later and things had picked up a bit. I was definitely getting uncomfortable. At 10pm we called Erin, our midwife, and told her what was going on. She said to take a bath, have a glass of wine and try to get some sleep. I did none of those things. I lay in bed and moaned through contractions. Aaron was next to me, trying to sleep I'm sure. At 130 am we called Erin because my water broke. I felt it a bit while sleeping between rushes, then I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom when I realized what was happening. I didn't want to have to change the sheets. The rushes really picked up after that. Erin arrived around 3 am and checked on me, then went to sleep on our couch. I have lost track of time at this point. I didn't have my glasses on so I couldn't see the clock for the rest of the day, which was a good thing. I spent a lot of time on the bed on my side just breathing through rushes and sleeping in between them. I took a bath and the rushes got a lot stronger there. They were peaking and not stopping. It was intense. I needed help to get out of the tub and couldn't stand up for a few minutes because they just wouldn't stop. After the bath Erin had me sit on the ball in front of my bed. It helped with the hip pain I was having. I still needed someone to squeeze my hips together during rushes. I felt like they were trying to disconnect from my body. Soon I felt like I had to push, but my body was not ready, I was only 6 centimeters. I had to get on the floor on all fours and pant through each rush so I wouldn't push. That was the hardest part of all, and it lasted for hours! Aaron was trying to feed me through all of this, but I was having none of it. I think I took 10 bites of apple sauce and ate half a banana the whole time. I was constantly urged to drink Recharge and water. I was very afraid of throwing up, and I just didn't feel hungry. Eventually we hit transition. I was FINALLY allowed to push, or just flow with the rushes. Aaron and I walked around our backyard during this time. Every couple of minutes I would hold on to him and "growl". We came back in and I lay in bed for a while so I could rest between rushes. After an hour of that, Erin encouraged me to sit on the toilet for a while. Apparently this is a great position to bring the baby down and boy did it work. But I couldn't have him just yet. I had to wait for the other midwife and the student to arrive. I was back to hands and knees and panting. The doorbell rang and I thought "sweet relief has arrived". It was a guy who wanted to wash our windows. RANDOM! and what timing. When the midwife and student arrived I said "Let's get this party started". I was fully dilated but Luke hadn't come down far enough, so back to the toilet to sit. Soon I felt his head and said "Let's get back to the bed". There was such a sense of urgency in my voice through the whole process if I spoke through rushes. In between I was cool as a cucumber. Aaron and I got on the bed. He sat behind me and I leaned on him. Pushing is such a strange sensation. You are not in charge of anything. Your body does this for you. I liken it to throwing up. You can't stop it, If your body wants something out, it pushes it out. There was no counting to 10, no chin to chest, no "aaand PUSH!", I growled when my body was pushing and I slept when it wasn't. The first couple of pushes I could feel his head, then I would relax and his head would turn and go back in. The 4th round of pushes, I couldn't relax. He just stayed there and my body kept pushing and pushing. I just breathed. Erin was saying "I see his eyebrows, now his nose! There's his sweet little mouth." Then a gush and he was out. I said "That was EASY", Erin said "all the mamas say that." Luke was placed on my chest, Aaron was crying behind me and said "he's perfect." Erin and the other midwives left our room and let us have some time with Luke. He was still attached and the cord was still pulsing. They came back in after 30 minutes and cut it so Aaron could hold him. Luke Tiberius Meyers was born at 605 pm on 4/17, his due date. He weighed 8 pounds, 6 oz and was 22 inches long. He really is perfect.
