Here is the story of the day Kingston joined our life on the outside. This has been our personal journal of our journey into parenthood, so the details are going to be a little personal. Consider that your warning ;) When I look back next week, next month, and throughout his life I don’t want to have forgotten a detail.

It all started about 2:30 a.m on Friday, June 11th, 2010. I woke up to use the bathroom and was feeling crampy. Thinking that the castor oil was still somehow working its way through my system, I crawled back in bed, but could not get comfortable. After an hour of tossing and turning, I woke up Jeremy and told him I thought I might be having contractions. For the next hour I sat on the edge of our bed, because laying down was too uncomfortable, and we timed the contractions as Jeremy rubbed my back. At 4:30 a.m. the contractions were coming on every 2-3 minutes and lasting a minute. As I sat on the edge of our tub, Jeremy called Michelle (our midwife) to let her know we thought this was it and she said she’d meet us at the birth center in 30 minutes. Jeremy threw our stuff in the car and we’re pretty sure we made it to the BC in less than 5 minutes (normally a 10 minute drive).

We arrived at H2H and were walked back to room #1. Laying on the bed was still really uncomfortable for me, but I had to lay down for Michelle to see how dilated I was. Only 2 cms! I was thinking, HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE!!! She suggested we go home, try to rest, and then come back. The idea of making that drive again was the last thing I wanted to do and I think she must have seen that in my face because she followed it up with, “or you can stay here and rest”, To which I eagerly agreed.

She left us to get some rest, but I could not get relaxed. We moved from the bed to the rocking chair and Jeremy sat facing me. He rubbed my arms and tried to help me focus on my breathing to make it through each contraction. He repeatedly had to push down my shoulders and arms and tell me in a soft tone to relax my body. (So much easier said than done.) The contractions felt like they just kept getting stronger and at certain points I found myself chanting, “I can do this, I can do this, I can do this” over and over and over again. During this time we made a few trips to the bathroom and back again, on one of these trips Michelle came in to check on us and decided to see how far along I had come. It was about 7 a.m at this point and I had only progressed to 4 cms. In my head I was thinking, “oh dear Lord, why is my body not moving faster?!”

I had heard before that once you are in labor you don’t care what you are wearing and who’s in the room. Being a super modest person, this thought was just so foreign to me, and I couldn’t imagine me being comfortable with that. After the last check, Michelle asked if I wanted to lay on the bed again or try the tub to see if we couldn’t get things moving a little bit faster. I jumped at the idea of the tub and ripped my clothes off faster than if I had just joined a nudist colony. All I wanted was something that was going to help me relax!

I labored in the tub for a little while, but wasn’t finding quite the relief I had been hoping for and the jets were irritating me so I made Jeremy turn them off. I also became very thirsty at this point. Unfortunately, our drinks were in the car and the thought of Jeremy leaving my side for a mere second was more than I could handle. I’m not clear on exactly when he did make the trip, but Gatorade has never tasted so good. Michelle came in to check on me again and told me I needed to eat something. One of the last things I wanted to do at that moment was eat, but Jeremy being the awesome support person he was, would stick some grapes in my mouth every few minutes and make me chew. A few times while in the tub I felt the need to use the bathroom. We would make our way to the toilet, I would pee, and then I would almost collapse over in a dry heave sort of way. The feeling would pass and we would make our way back to the tub.

Again, Michelle came in to check and suggested we get out of the tub and see how far I was. It was about 9 a.m now and I was 7 cms! Finally getting somewhere. About this time I started second guessing my decision to go natural and thinking that epidural sounded pretty good about now. Michelle wanted me to go for a walk around the building to see if we couldn’t get to our final stage. Jeremy said that I hid my pain well and didn’t think Michelle knew how much pain I really was in. I put on my dress, took a couple steps and bent over at the end of the bed in a convulsion kind of way. Took another few steps and repeat. I remember saying “Oh Dear God!” during one of these surges. I decide making it around the building is just not going to happen and that perhaps I can make it around the room.

So for about the next 30 minutes or so, I would take a couple steps, then bend over in pain, take a couple steps and bend over in pain. I decided to lay on the bed again and Michelle came in to check on me in the middle of one of these surges and asked if I was feeling the need to push, “YES!” I said. She did a quick check … COMPLETE! Thank you sweet Jesus! Michelle sat down indian style at the end of the bed and started yelling for Jessica (the receptionist) to grab the water, the rags, the mats, and the olive oil. It was 9:30 a.m. at this point and you see I thought we were close to the end. Just a couple good pushes and I would be holding our firstborn. Kingston had other plans. Although he had been in the perfect position for birth the day before, he had shifted and was now trying to exit sunny side up instead of face down.

My track of time is a little fuzzy from here on out, but I pushed for what I think was an hour or so on the bed in several positions; in a squatting position, on all fours and laying back, before moving to the tub again. I was instructed to try to relax through the next few surges and not push. (Yeah, I found that impossible.) I literally felt as though I couldn’t not push. I labored inside the tub and squatting for a bit before moving to the toilet, then the birthing stool, then back to the bed. Again, little fuzzy on the time, but I was getting exhausted and remember asking, “Can you see his head? Are we close? How many more pushing do you think?”. Michelle, Jeremy, and Jess all encouraged me telling me I was doing great, his head was close, it was slowly working its way out as it stretched the muscles, but I was really going to have to start bearing down. In between pushes, I would collapse, they would rub my legs to get them to relax, and Michelle would put warm compresses and olive oil below to help prevent any tearing. Sometime around now my water broke and shot out hitting both Michelle and Jeremy (Jeremy says it was like a water balloon exploded). It was clear, thank you Jesus! (This meant that Kingston hadn’t taken a potty break inside the womb, something that can happen with overdue babies and can lead to dangerous infections for them.)

Somewhere around 11 a.m. the intern midwife, Cali, showed up and took over for Jess. I labored in a squatting position with my arms around her and Jeremy’s necks for awhile, collapsing in their arms in between each surge. Finally, Kingston began to crown and they laid me back and had me pull my legs back to my shoulders and bear down as hard and long as I could. I remember a few times Michelle telling me to “bear down harder, okay take a deep breath and do it again, longer” and thinking, how in the world is this kid not out yet. I even remember her saying okay another push and we’ll have a head and I replied back, “how about a whole baby!”. I was asked if I wanted a mirror and I declined. No need for me to pass out at this point ; ) She asked if I wanted to feel his head and I again declined. Michelle and Cali asked if I was sure because it was such a cool experience so I relented and reached down. Jeremy says the look on my face was so cool because as I touched his little head, I opened my eyes wide with a mixture of awe and delight. I was expecting to just feel the tip of his head, but almost half of it was out and I was shocked. It was just the encouragement I needed, I knew I just had a couple more pushes and I would be holding our sweet baby.

A couple more pushes and his head popped out. Jeremy says it was the craziest thing to see his head come out, turn, and open his eyes and stare straight at him. As I pushed his body out, Jeremy reached down and grabbed him along with Michelle and they both laid Kingston’s slippery little body on my tummy at 12:07 p.m. and I said “hi baby!”. His eyes were wide open taking everything in, he didn’t cry, and although he was slippery, he was pretty clean.

I could only see the top of his head because he was laying on my stomach and I couldn’t bring him up closer due to the umbilical cord not being long enough. They don’t cut it until it stops pulsing, and mine took longer than normal, so it felt like forever before I could see his face. Finally, it stopped, they clamped it and Jeremy cut the cord, and I got to see Kingston’s face!

They moved him up to my chest and got him latched on so that I could deliver my placenta. I guess this should usually only take one mild push, but I was so tired, it took me two. Michelle joked that I crowned my placenta too. I passed some blood clots and lost a lot of blood, so I had to receive two shots of pitocin in my leg to stop the bleeding and an oxygen mask for a few minutes. And unfortunately all Michelle’s hard work to prevent me from tearing was lost because Kingston decided to throw his hand up on the way out and the elbow just pushed things over the top. Thankfully it was a tiny tear and just a few stitches got me patched up.

Kingston and I cuddled for an hour before they weighed him and Jeremy took him out to meet his grandparents (my parents) in the waiting room while I tried to eat a meal. I was not hungry and had a hard time getting the food down, took me two hours to eat a chicken sandwich.

Before they discharge you from the birth center you have to eat a meal, use the bathroom, and be able to walk. I got the meal down and used the bathroom, but on the way back I passed out. I usually feel a faint coming on, but with this one I woke up and said “oh I forgot what we were doing” and they laughed at me. In my head I was just having a thought about dinner a couple nights before and didn’t realize I had collapsed, Michelle and Cali caught me and put me on the bed. It was kind of funny. The rest of the day was spent trying to eat a little more to get my energy and blood levels back up, napping, having the newborn exam and just staring at Kingston’s precious face.

About 9 p.m. we were sent home for the first time as a family of three. Surreal.

We got home, Kingston had his first explosive poo while still in his car seat, getting all over his clothes and on daddy and when we went to change him he peed on the wall. Welcome to parenthood. Once we were all cleaned up we ate dinner and went to bed. Long day for us all!

I’d say it was the most incredible experience of my life. It was way harder than I thought it would be, but I feel so blessed to have been able to experience it the way we had hoped for. The team at Heart 2 Heart was the best, and I truly never would have made it through without the best partner in the world, Jeremy. I would have given up without him!