Channing’s birth story

My pregnancy with my second baby was easygoing and uneventful just like my first pregnancy. We had a scare at 31 weeks, thinking my water had broken but thankfully it hadn’t so we were able to resume normal care. I scheduled an elective induction for 39 weeks and 1 day. My reasoning for this was because my first labor was 31 hours of active labor followed by 3 hours and 6 minutes of pushing. I thought that it couldn’t be worse than that and I certainly didn’t want to be pregnant any longer than I had to be! 

On Tuesday October 6th I went to my 38 week OB appointment. I was 3cm and 50% effaced. I was so excited about being that far along already because with my first I didn’t get past 1cm prior to labor. 

On Thursday, October 8th I laid down to nap. around 4:30 pm I started cramping. However, I had been cramping for weeks so I just didn’t think much of it. By 5:30 pm I could tell it was getting more consistent but I still believed it could all stop again at any time. So, my husband Bryan and I went for a walk in our neighborhood. When we got home it went from cramps to no doubt contractions so I began timing them. They were about 5-7 minutes apart lasting about a minute. It was definitely baby time! Bryan got our older children ready to go to grandparents. I have two step sons and my husband and I together have a 16month old boy. Once they were all gone it was just Bryan and I alone at home. Our plan was to labor there for as long as possible. We only live 5 minutes from the hospital. Bryan then texted my OB who is also his partner, to let her know I was officially in labor and we would be seeing her soon! I was also busy texting my doula. The original plan was for her to come over and labor at home with us but because of Covid restrictions at the hospital, she wouldn’t be able to go there with us. 

At this point, it was about 7:30 pm. I decided to take a shower and wash my hair. Before, I thought I would want to maybe labor in our tub because I absolutely love baths. But after the shower, I really didn’t want back into the water at all. The contractions were intense but I was still getting breaks in between. We had the lights in our bedroom turned down, a candle burning, and music playing. I alternated between sitting on the yoga ball and walking around. When a contraction came I would hold on to my husband or lean over our bed and breathe through it…

We continued this until around 9:30pm. I was still getting breaks in between contractions but the actual contraction was getting very painful and I could no longer talk or walk during it. I told Bryan that I think we should go to the hospital soon. I texted my doula and told her that I thought things were moving much faster than we had anticipated so we were going to go ahead to the hospital. I was so sad she couldn’t be there with us. She was there for my first birth and helped so much. 

We got to the hospital around 10 pm. The nurse checked me at 10:30 pm, I was 8cm dilated! I got my IV placed and saline locked. I was placed on the monitors for 20 minutes. Baby girl looked perfect so I was able to take them off after that. We continued laboring in our hospital room. We turned the music on and lights low again. I was surprised with myself at how well I was still coping. The contractions were harsh, I just kept telling myself how close I was to meeting her and it all being over. 

At midnight I was 9cm so my Dr broke my water. After this things really intensified. I was no longer getting breaks in between. The pain was unreal. I was sobbing to my husband telling him I thought I was going to pass out from the pain. My Dr and nurse must have heard me because she came back in to check me again. (No idea what time it was). I was still 9cm. At this point, I no longer had control over the pain. None of the techniques were working, I felt like I couldn’t breathe during the contractions any longer. I began telling my husband I wanted an epidural. He knew I didn’t truly want an epidural, thankfully he knew how bad I wanted to have an unmedicated birth experience. He just kept distracting me, holding me, and putting pressure on my lower back. I was crying at this point, begging him to tell them about the epidural. After a little while, he finally looks at me and says “I will tell them. But I want them to check you first, I really think it’s too late.” He got my nurse, when she checked I was 10cm and the baby was right there she said! 

At 1:22 am I started pushing. The pressure at my bottom was so intense. The “ring of fire” was very real. I was so scared about this part, the pushing but it ended up being nothing compared to what I had been dealing with minutes before. 

After 14 minutes of pushing she was here! Born Friday, October 9th at 1:36 am. Weighing 6 pounds 12 ounces. She let out a big cry instantly and was placed right away on my chest. It was the best feeling. My brand new baby on my skin, seeing her for the first time.