Bringing Home Gray
I have always desired to labor and deliver my children naturally. I had not been able to do that, thus far. Boone was born in a hospital and delivered via cesarean section after a failed induction; an induction that I felt pressured into by our OB from fear of having a "big baby" (how many of us have heard that one before? Boone was 7lb 4oz). I dilated fully and since I did not make any progress after over an hour of pushing, I was wheeled to the operating room. I loathed my hospital birth experience. I was strapped to a bed, which was torturous while trying to survive Pitocin contractions. I also felt that I was completely misled (I will call it false advertising) by the hospital's birth class, which showed videos and handed out books showing moms walking the halls while laboring, getting into bathtubs, etc., none of which I was allowed to do. Boo. Hiss.
This time around I was going to do it differently! Naturally. The way God intended my body to do this. I met a wonderful, sweet, perfectly red-headed midwife, Donnellyn Dominguez, and fell in love with her birth center, All About Babies. This place is amazing, and the midwives are truly gifted. The entire prenatal experience was so pleasant because it was so hands-off and minimally invasive, trusting the Lord to provide health and to grow our baby perfectly (a very Psalm 139:13-14-oriented approach).
On Saturday August 9, we were enjoying Boone's first trip to the movies - a wonderful last family outing for him as an only child. During the movie, at about 2:30pm, I noticed I was having contractions that were pretty close together and pretty regular. This wasn't a huge surprise, as I had plenty of prodromal labor for weeks prior, but it WAS different because this was the closest together they had ever been - consistently 5-6 minutes apart. We went to the grocery store afterwards - contractions holding steady - and afterwards I decided to give my doula and midwife a heads up. Donnellyn suggested I try to slow the contractions by hopping in a warm bath. They slowed down long enough for me to get a good dinner (eggs, bacon and biscuits - oh yeah!) and ship my Booney boy off to Chelle's house for the evening.
Shortly after they left, right around 7:00pm, the contractions returned to a consistent 5-6 minutes apart, and began increasing in intensity. At about 9:00pm, I noticed that I was leaking some of my waters - not a full rupture, but enough to let me know that the party was getting started. I contacted my doula to let her know, and found out that she was attending another birth. We quickly worked to get a back up doula over to our house because it was apparent that my labor was progressing quickly. By 10:00pm, I was not able to talk through contractions. Debbie Van Campen, my rescue doula, arrived at our house right around 11pm, and jumped right in. She was amazing, supportive, and made me realize that anyone who tries to labor naturally without a doula has lost their ever-loving mind!
The contractions were 3-4 minutes apart at about 12:15am, and I lost my tasty dinner (sad face). Debbie and Brent quickly loaded the car after that and it was off to the birth center. We arrived at the birth center just before 1:00am, and Donnellyn met me at the car and whisked me into an exam room to check my dilation, the first of of only two times she would check me during labor (hands off, see?). I was an 8! Woohoo! If I had not been in the throes of transition, I may have done a happy dance. I hopped in the tub immediately afterwards, and loved every minute of my "aquadural" as Donnellyn calls it. Somewhere during the 4 o'clock hour, I was complete, but not ready to start pushing. I was having brutal cramps in my right butt cheek - gross I know, but UGH, they were worse than the contractions. 
After a few rounds of unsuccessful pushing, the fabulous chiropractor, Cindy Haggerton, showed up and began adjusting me. She spent a long time working on me, and this delay in pushing allowed sweet Gray to descend and get into a good, non-posterior (back labor sucks, but Debbie Van Campen is awesome) position. During the 6 o'clock hour, we began pushing.And we pushed, and pushed, and pushed and pushed. It was slow progressing, but once I saw her head in a mirror and saw the each push was bringing her closer to my arms, I was re-energized and began effectively pushing. I was offered a few times by the birth team to reach down and touch her head, but declined each time because SHE WAS MY PRIZE, and I wasn't going to let myself have my prize until I could hold her whole body in my arms!
With Brent at my head, supporting my body, Debbie on one leg, and rotating members of the birth team on the other, Donnellyn delivered my sweet Gray at 10:26am on Sunday August 10, 2014. She was immediately placed on my chest, and I no longer felt the pain or exhaustion from my hours of labor. The endorphins and emotions took over and I began to weep, nay sob, as I held my daughter for the first time.She was heavier than her brother, 7lb 12oz, longer than her brother and had the exact same size ginormous Schwanbeck head, in the 98th percentile. Those facts, in and of themselves, were rewarding, but what's more is I DID IT!
It was a truly beautiful birth experience, and although it was the hardest thing I've ever done and probably will ever do, I would do it this way every single time... if I have another kid, that is. It was a completely rewarding and victorious VBAC that I had to fight for with every fiber of my being. I also know that my heavenly Father strengthened me - the Hillary I know, although stubborn, is not that strong on her own.
It was a truly beautiful birth experience, and although it was the hardest thing I've ever done and probably will ever do, I would do it this way every single time... if I have another kid, that is. It was a completely rewarding and victorious VBAC that I had to fight for with every fiber of my being. I also know that my heavenly Father strengthened me - the Hillary I know, although stubborn, is not that strong on her own.
