Birthing Shiloh
After weeks of prodromal labor, at 10:45 PM on a Wednesday, I had a contraction that I couldn't sleep through. I rolled over and told my husband that I wasn't going to be able to sleep anymore. In efforts to make labor stop, I got in our bathtub and my water broke a few seconds later. It escalated quickly. Contractions came in waves every 2-3 minutes. My husband called the midwife and she told us to head to the birth center and she would start filling the tub. We arrived just before midnight at 4 cm dilated.
My husband and I labored in the tub together with the support of our midwife and doula. I moaned through the contractions and swayed my hips in the tub while my husband applied counter pressure. By 2:30 AM I had dilated to 9.5 cm. By 3:30 AM I wanted to die. Our baby was posterior. I stayed at 9.5 cm for hours. We tried getting out of the tub, laboring on the bed, shifting positions.... but still 9.5. The back labor was excruciating.
My mother arrived around 5 AM after a 5 hour drive, everyone thought the baby was "waiting" for her. But still, I stayed at 9.5 cm. Our midwife kept suggesting that I needed to empty my bladder for the baby to come, but I ignored her. I even lied. I told her I had been peeing, which was a bold faced lie. My body couldn't handle another sensation. Eventually around 7 AM, I decided to actually try to use the toilet (I was desperate for it to be over). I waddled to the bathroom in between contractions, sat backwards on the toilet, and focused hard on urinating. Eventually I was able to pee and I felt the baby turn anterior and move down. That intense back pain subsided almost instantly. I could see and feel her hair. I told our midwife that I feel her hair and that she was going to come out. Our midwife said "well you should get up, unless you want to have her on the toilet".
I stood up and walked over to the tub. A few moments later I could feel the burn of her head crowning. I focused all of my energy on my baby. I moaned. I roared. I screamed get her out. My midwife helped me stand, and at 7:21 AM Shiloh burst into the world straight into my husband's hands and all of the pain was gone.
Our rainbow baby, Shiloh
Born at 40 weeks, 4 days
7lbs 7oz & 20.75 inches
