Hotel Birth Story

Today is 29C feels like 36C, I feel bad for my husband who does labour work outside in navy blue coveralls. Blah! I played outside this afternoon with my daughter but we were playing in the kid pool and with the hose!

I figured I really need to write out my birth story since I actually have a chance to do it right now.

On May 31st (one day after my due date and my dad’s birthday) we went over to my inlaws house to hang out with all the family. I had mild menstrual type cramping for a few days on and off but nothing else was happening. We had brought all the camera gear because I wanted to take maternity photos on my inlaws acreage since we had been putting it off since 35 weeks. We go to their house around noon and I was having pretty regular cramping but didn’t wasn’t really too concerned. It wasn’t bothering me too much and there was no blood or mucus or anything else. After hangout out for awhile I said we should probably go take the photos while the lighting was good and I figured we should go home just in case I went into labour (we needed to clean the kitchen and finish packing just in case)I mentioned this around 2:30 but didn’t say why. We didn’t end up leaving until almost 5 because my daughter’s cousins showed up and she really badly wanted to play with them.

We finally left and got home around 530. My husband ordered pizza because we had no food in the house and I started cleaning up and making my daughter some dinner. The cramping was becoming a lot more frequent and I decided to finished packing my bag and tell my husband to pack his. After racinng around and the cramping picking up pace I said I thought we should probably take our daughter back to her grandparents house and head to the city (a 3 1/2 hour drive) because I was pretty positive labour was starting. The pizza showed up just in time, we packed up the kid and the car and headed out.
We got to my inlaws around 8 to drop my daughter off. I called my midwife who said we probably didn’t need to head down to the city but to do it anyways if we wanted to. My contractions were around 6 minutes apart and lastng about 45 seconds. I got on the computer and booked a hotel,, we said goodbye and were on the road about 830.
It was a good drive, we joked and chatted the whole way (when I probably shouldve slept a bit) and I followed my contractions on an app I had on my phone. They stayed around 5 minutes apart and 45 seconds to a minute long the whole ride. They were not intense and not in my back, just early labour contractions/cramps. I had many herbs and vitmains I was taking for pain management that I had taken through my previous labour so they tend to cut the pain enough that it’s quite difficult to tell what stage of labour I am in.
We got to the hotel at midnight and checked in, set up the bed and got everything organized. My sister had wanted to come out to be my doula but even with her last minute try to get on a flight she didn’t make it.
My husband went to bed and I stayed up texting my sister, timing contractions and ding things online.
I finally went to bed and woke up around 4am because the contractions got strong enough that being in bed was very uncomfortable. I decided to wait until 6am to call my midwife so I didn’t wake her super early. I called and chatted with her at 6, she said I wasnt in active labour and to take a bath and call her if I needed or wanted her to show up. I got my husband to run a bath but there was no hot water (supposedly someone would fix it at 8am…)
My contractions picked up not long after I called the midwife, they were very intense, in my back and started up everytime I moved at all. I got my husband to call the midwife at 730 and tell her to come. At 8 we finally got hot water and I got in the bath. It felt good but the contractions were extremely intense by this time and I could feel baby wriggling down with every one. Midwife showed up around 830 and didn’t seem to think I was too close to having the baby. (I asked for no cervical checks at anytime in pregnancy or labour so there never were any)
Every contraction was searing through my back and hips and I felt like I would break my husbands hand. I breathed yoga breaths and made deep guttural sounds (I was silent with myy first labour and if weirded my midwife out, haha) Now I could feel baby’s head moving down and the contractions were forcing my body to push.Baby also moved, kicked and wiggled the entire labour. My husband and midwife said they could see her wiggling as I pushed her out. Midwife came in and saw my water had broken and asked if I wanted to get in bed or stay in the bath. I said I wanted to go to the bed but I couldnt get out of the tub.She asked me what I was feeling and I said burning. My husband took one arm and the midwife took the other and I stepped over the tub onto the bathmat and a contraction hit me. I crouched on the floor holding onto the door handle, my husband holding my other side I said I couldn’t move because the head was coming. My midwife looked shocked and ran to get gloves. I was right her head was coming and holy crap that was by far the most painful part, it burned so badly, I remember thinking there is no way this head is ever coming out. After a couple pushes my little girl was born at 9:15am 7lbs 9oz, 19 3/4 inches long. My midwife put her on my chest and walked me to the bed to wait for the placenta. She said I was bleeding a lot and to take whatever I had to stop the bleeding (I declined the use of oxytocin). I took the herbs I had ad the bleeding slowed within a couple minutes. We left the cord unclamped until the placenta was out and it definitely makes for a super pink baby 🙂
All in all I was super satisfied with this birth, it wasnt home birth like I wanted but the next best thing. My midwives were awesome and I was not traumatized by it like with the first birth. It was also much less painful and 10 hours shorter.
I have a lot more to write but there’s a sleeping baby on my lap that is getting fussy.