Maisy's birth story

Yesterday was a great day.  I had an appointment with Elizabeth, where I found out that I was still 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced.  Like I had been for like 3 weeks.  Grrr.  I had acupuncture and took a little nap at Gracefull Birth and then met Brian and Aspen for lunch in Hollywood.  Aspen and I then drove home, ran a quick errand and picked up Landon from school.  I promised the kids that they could play at the McPhie's house after school, so we went over there.  I was so happy to sit and visit with Megan until 5:20, when we went home to bathe and feed my kids.

After baths, Daddy came home and we enjoyed a restful evening.  Oh yea. We all walked Landon to school in the morning (1.5 miles) as we have been doing. Brian, Hunter, Landon, Aspen, me and my belly (along with the 2 dogs). We are quite a scene.  Anyhow, in the evening my friend Louise came over and we walked for an hour and a half! It was about 5 miles, so I walked 6.5 miles total for the day.  I made some fudge brownies and Brian and I snuggled on the couch and watched a tv show. We went to bed at around 10:30 and I CRASHED given that I had been up the night before with contractions.

At 2:30 I woke up and thought I was going to throw up.  After 30 minutes of weird and irregular contractions, I texted my midwife that I was going to take a shower and I didn't think I was in labor but wanted to give her a heads up.  I have very fast labors, so we knew that when it did start, it would happen quickly.  Elizabeth called me shortly thereafter but I was in the shower, so I didn't answer. She freaked out and got in her car and started driving to me.  When she arrived at around 4, I made her breakfast and said I didn't think I was in labor because contractions were irregular and still about 10 minutes apart. They weren't getting stronger, so I didn't really think I was in labor.  We had better just lay down and take a nap. I went upstairs to lay in my bed.

At 5:30, after laying down for about 10 minutes, I decided that I was in labor. Although the contractions were not getting close together, they were getting more intense and I had to breathe through them. Brian and I snuggled for awhile and then I got in the shower. We decided to call Megan (to help with the kids) and Katie (who wanted to watch the birth) at 6:30.  By 6:30 I was fully in labor, although I had very few contractions, each one was productive.  I couldn't figure out why they were spaced so far apart and was getting frustrated because I thought fewer contractions meant a longer birth. Lucky for me, Elizabeth didn't check my progress so I didn't have to deal with the discomfort of being checked.

At 7 I got into the bathtub and at 7:30 I felt the water burst. Evidently I was very calm about it and said "the bag of water burst, please go get the kids." Megan was downstairs with them, feeding them breakfast.  They all came upstairs and I heard Landon right by my head, saw Aspen on Daddy's lap and felt Hunter right behind me.  I had a big big contraction and then Brian and I caught Maisy's head as she came into the tub.  At that point I was supposed to wait for the next contraction to push her out but I was in pain, so I just pushed and out she came! She was born at 7:36 am.

Now, the interesting thing about a woman's body is that our bodies know how to birth our babies. Each baby is different and comes with a different set of issues.  Maisy had wrapped herself up in her cord (going lengthwise around her body.) Elizabeth knew something was going on, based on rapid acceleration and deceleration of her heartbeat.  She was smart enough not to mention it to me because it would have scared me. Anyhow, when Maisy came out she had a very long cord and it was wrapped all around her.  Had we been in a hospital, the staff would have freaked out and probably sent me for a c-section because of the acceleration and decelerations. But because my body was so smart, it spaced the contractions to allow Maisy to recover between each and every contraction.  That is why my labor never sped up and the contractions stayed about 10 minutes apart. When Maisy came out, her Daddy caught her and lifted her. Elizabeth unwrapped her from the cord that was stuck around her body, and handed her to me.  I am so grateful that I was able to birth at home, surrounded by love.

My friend Katie wants to be a doula (birth coach) but had never witnessed a birth (secondary to having her own 2 girls). Today was her first and it was special to have her sweet spirit and love in the room.  Megan is my best girlfriend and it was amazing to have her there with me too! Elizabeth and I have a special bond and she has been at the birth of every one of our babies. Her sweet assistant was there too.

There was nothing that could have made this birth more special, or more complete, than being surrounded by Brian and our other 3 kids.  The kids thought it was the coolest thing they had ever seen and  all 3 are completely in love with Maisy. She is a super calm baby and hasn't said a peep since being born (except once when we took her off the breast so I could get out of the tub). She is exactly 6 lbs, my smallest baby, and 19 1/4 inches long.  I could not be more grateful for this experience.  It was so special to birth my last baby in our tub and to have the kids there.  I felt surrounded by love and am full of happiness.

Interestingly, Maisy's cord was very thin and Elizabeth thought it might only have 2 vessels (it didn't). The placenta was also quite small, but intact so we have no worries now.  She had worried about Maisy's size for awhile but, once I started taking life a little bit easier, Maisy started to grow in my belly a little bit better.  Anyhow, she is a little bit small but she is absolutely perfect. She started nursing within 5 minutes of being born and hasn't really stopped.  She has some growing to do!  She is sleeping on my chest while Brian uploads photos and videos from the birth. March 28, 2014. What an incredible day to have a perfect little Maisy Grace. Pictures to come!