The Birth Story

  Recently my daughter, Alayna, turned 6 months old. So now seems like a good time to share the story of her birth. My husband was preparing for a deployment, and we had decided that I, along with our two girls, would move in with my parents for the duration. One month before my due date, we moved out of our home on base, and put our belongings into storage. (Our first daughter was born a week early, so we anticipated another early birth). At the time, it made sense to get the packing and moving done before I had the baby.  In the meantime, we were living in hotels and eating take-out and microwave meals.

                                                                            

just days before my due date, in a hotel

  When my due date came and went, I was feeling a lot of emotional pressure because Alex's deployment date was less than a month away, and I wanted him to have some time with the baby before he left. At 41 weeks, my cervix was still completely closed, and I hadn't experienced any contractions. At that appointment, I had my membranes swept (ouch) and in the days following, I did everything I knew to do to facilitate labor: squats, lunges, walked up and down the hotel stairs, dragged my husband and daughter to the beach for long walks, ate pineapple for 2 meals daily, I even elicited my poor husband's help for some not-so-romantic loving.

                                                                 




My troopers! Walking on the beach for hours trying to get my labor started   

                 
                                   

 

                                                               It Begins
   Our efforts finally paid off, when at 41 weeks and 3 days, I woke up feeling dull contractions deep in my pelvis. I was a bit confused, because I expected to feel them up higher in my tummy, but as the day wore on, they became stronger, and I was sure my labor was finally beginning! That evening, we were invited to a going away party at the bowling alley, and my contractions were growing in strength, but I participated anyway. I hoped all the physical activity would speed up the process. Sure enough, my contractions increased in length and strength, and by the end of the night I had to sit and really focus my breathing every 20 minutes or so to get through them. I didn't sleep very well that night, and the following morning I was in severe pain. I walked when I could but the contractions were becoming so strong that I begged Alex to take me to the hospital. On the ride over, I experienced the worst contraction yet and all I could do was cry. The doctor hooked me up to a machine to be monitored for 30 minutes, and left the room. Wouldn't you know, that for that entire time I never had a single contraction! Not one. The doctor checked my cervix and told me that I was still not dilated, and that I had been experiencing "false labor": very likely, the worst two words I'd ever heard. On the way back to the hotel, I had three contractions...

  When we got back to the hotel, I felt so helpless and defeated. I was in pain, but not enough to be admitted. I didn't want to walk anymore, so I laid down. My mother called, and I explained the situation to her, and she encouraged me to stay active. I didn't want to do it, but I got dressed and my husband and daughter joined me on an hour walk around our hotel. I must have been a sight to see, because a man walking out of a restaurant saw us, and offered to call the ambulance or take me to the hospital, and one of the maids asked if I was okay.

                                                               Dr. Daddy to the Rescue

   That night, I couldn't sleep a wink. The bed was uncomfortable, so I got on the couch. I was hot, I had to use the restroom every 30 minutes, and the contractions were the worst yet. I had been timing them on my "notes" app in my phone and they were extremely close! Just after midnight, I got up to use the restroom for the 100th time that night. When I finished, the pressure on my pelvis was so strong, I couldn't stand back up! I was moaning in pain, and Alex woke up and ran into the bathroom.
                                                                   

screenshot of me timing my contractions
(military time)

   "Is it time to go to the hospital?!" he asked. All I remember saying (or maybe screaming) is "I can't do this!"

 ...A little dramatic, I know. But with my first child, I had an epidural so this was new territory...

   I'm sure by this point I was screaming, meanwhile Alex was grabbing the hospital bag, and getting dressed. He came in again, and put my slippers, and dress on me, and told me he was going to wake up Aniyah, our two-year-old daughter, and then he'd come back to get me. I knew my legs weren't going to stand up. I had already tried, and they were just too weak. On top of that, I was sweating bullets, and couldn't stand the feeling of clothes on my body so I snatched my dress and slippers off. After another contraction, I reached my hand down between my legs, and to my horror, I could feel Alayna's head crowning!

 "I'm not gonna make it to the hospital!"
I told my husband. I remember grabbing his legs and squeezing them with every push. I asked him to call the hospital and tell someone what was happening. Thank God one of us was in our right minds: Alex dialed 911 and asked them to send an ambulance. I could hear the woman on the other end of the line. 

  "Is your wife in labor?"

  "Uh, yeah. I can see the baby's head. Oh sh-t! The baby is almost out!"

  Alex squatted down, and put his hands around her head as her body inched out, and after a few more pushes, she slid right out. Alex wrapped her in some bath towels, and handed her to me. Still on the phone, he noticed that she wasn't breathing. 

  "Is the umbilical cord wrapped around the baby's neck?" the woman asked.

  "Yes! What do I do?"

  "You need to slowly loosen the cord, without stretching it."

Yes. That's what she said. In my mind, I was thinking, how in the world...? But God's grace, guided Alex's hands as he removed the cord, and Alayna coughed, and cried, for the first time. The woman instructed Alex on how to clamp the cord, and minutes later, the police and fire department were in our bathroom! They put me and Alayna onto a gurney and into the ambulance.

  After this entire ordeal, Alex woke up Aniyah, (yes, she slept through it all), and they followed us to the hospital. 

  Alayna and I are both perfectly healthy, and she got to spend five days with her daddy before he deployed. 

May 5, 2015

6lbs 12oz