Story of a Waterbirth: Happy 3rd Birthday Aidalyn!

This is Aidalyn’s water birth story and a 3 year update! I thought it was appropriate to share on her 3rd birthday. This was the day I became a Mama.

3 Years after my Water Birth Story

Aidalyn is such a joy. She is so full of energy and and spunk. She is so stubborn and will fight you to the death that her dress is actually a shirt (or vise versa depending on her mood). I think she would be a great lawyer.

She loves My little pony and Go Diego Go! oh and don’t forget Disney Princesses!

Her favorite foods are black beans and cheese, almond butter sandwiches, and muffins. Favorite snacks are popcorn, nuts, yogurt, cheese, and fruit.

Her bedtime is 8 pm and we read a book, sing a song, and say a prayer (she will say one too most nights and pray for her friend Charlotte). She wakes up at 8 am usually asking where daddy is.

Sharing My Water Birth Story

This birth story was actually written just a few days after Aidalyn’s birth, so hopefully it is more reliable than me retelling the story now. Enjoy!

Precipitous Labor – Day One

I started having contractions early Wednesday morning around 5:30. At this point, I was 5 days post due date (or only 2 days late given due date based on conception/ovulation and not last menstrual period). I started timing them and noticed they were about 10 mins apart. These contractions had been going on for weeks, so I didn’t want to get too excited. I just stayed in bed, glancing at the clock whenever I’d have a contraction. They weren’t too strong, but they were consistent.

When Adam woke up for work around 6, I told him what was happening and to keep his phone close. I stayed in bed until 8 and then called my midwife, Becca. She told me to get my contractions going by being active. So the rest of the day I went walking for two hours, skipping, squatting, shopping at mall, going to Starbucks. I was doing anything to stay on my feet.

Becca came by the house to check me around 5 or 6 that evening. My contractions were around 7 mins apart, still not strong enough to cause any pain. I was dilated to 3 and 100% effaced, but that was no change since my last appt. My contractions were real, but not painful at all. They just were not progressing to active labor. I had previously had cryosurgery of my cervix when I was 18, and a side effect is for your cervix not to dilate and cause labor to be very drawn out. I had been coached by Becca to be aware of this. So, we all decided to go to bed and try again in morning. Adam decided to stay home from work and help me get this labor going.

Day 2 of Labor

On Thursday, I woke up went walking again. My contractions were weaker than Wednesday. Becca came over around 12. We talked about how my body was trying to go into labor, but my cervix wasn’t cooperating. We decided to strip my membranes, I took homeopathics, used pressure points, and I ate spicy food. Around 3:30, I ended up on my exercise ball to help ease the contractions. My contractions started getting stronger around 4 or so where I couldn’t talk through them. By 4:30 my contractions were in full bloom: harder and getting closer coming less than 5 minutes apart. Becca came over shortly.

Beginning of Natural Labor

Before Becca arrived, I moved into the bedroom. I labored on my hands and knees for about 2 hours. I had some heat on my back at one point. Becca and Adam fixed the bed for me, putting all the waterproofing on. During the contractions I would say “ooooh, ooooh, ooooh” in a low voice. I was in control of them for the most part. If I was prepared for one coming, it wasn’t bad. But If I was talking right up to the contraction, I had a little more difficulty handling the pain.

Transition of Natural Labor

I had three strong contractions back to back and I said “I need a break!” then I got about a three min break. I looked at Becca and said that’s a long break. She said “I know!”  I went through transition right after the break. During transition I got the shakes very badly and I threw up. It was pretty quick though. Becca asked if I wanted her to check me. She checked me and I was at 7 cm. I asked if I could get in tub ( Becca thought “if you make it to the tub!”) I got in the tub and labored there for two more hours. Adam ended up in the tub with me. At first I laid down in the tub, but the contractions didn’t seem like they were very effective in that position. I found some comfort in feeling the water run over my hand during a contraction. Then, I moved into kneeling on my knees and faced Adam. He held me through the contractions. Becca left us in the bathroom to labor by ourselves.

Time to Push

I started feeling the contractions lower in my pelvis. I remembered that these were the pushing contractions. The contractions seemed to be pushing too far back, so I moved into a position where I felt the pushing more towards the middle of my pelvis. I looked at Adam and said “I think she’s coming. I feel her head. Is her head out?” He kept telling me “no, no she’s not coming yet…” Then I finally convinced him that she was, and he called Becca into the bathroom. Becca was on the phone in our bedroom giving the other midwife directions to our house. (I had progressed so quickly she wasn’t going to make it!)

Nuchal Hand

When Becca came into the bathroom, Aidalyn’s whole forehead had emerged already. When Becca looked, she saw that Aidalyn had her hand next to her face which explained why it had taken 2 hours in the tub (So theoretically I could have been in active labor for less than 4 hours, if Aidalyn hadn’t had her hand up!) Becca coached me to raise my leg to give room for her hand. In three pushes, Aidalyn was out at 9:10 PM on Thursday, December the 2nd. Becca passed her threw my legs and I grabbed her and turned around to sit with Adam in the tub.

Aidalyn was in shock from such a quick labor, so we needed to get out of the tub and get her breathing and more responsive. Her APGAR scores were 5 and 6. We moved to the bed where Becca turned Aidalyn on her belly and got her to start crying. I held her and laid in bed with Adam as the midwifes left us alone. The other midwives arrived about 30 minutes after the birth. I nursed her for about an hour.

After Labor Recovery

The midwives came back in the room and started doing all the measurements of Aidalyn: 9 lbs, 20 ½ inches, 14 cm head circumference. She was perfect! My mom arrived about an hour after the birth. I was a little scared for them to check me, because of how big she was. When it was time to check me, I only had first degree tearing and it wasn’t bad at all. Becca said I really didn’t require a stitch, but I would have to be on bed rest for two days for healing. The other midwife and Becca decided to give me one stitch just to be safe.

When we were settled, the midwives left and my mom , Adam, Aidalyn, and I went to bed. It was around 2 or 3 in the morning. It really was perfect and I wouldn’t do it any other way. The adrenaline was so high after the birth that I told Adam I wanted to do it again! I was in active labor for 4.5 hours and in the end had an amazing un-medicated childbirth experience that ended in a perfect miracle, my daughter, Aidalyn Grayce. 

I want to thank Becca Price of Peak Midwifery and all the support and encouragement from my husband, Adam.

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