Around the block again

Jessaleigh Andreas Hraban was born at home Saturday February 2nd at 10:49pm.

Stats:
Weight - 8lbs, 4oz (notice she weighs the same as her brother did at birth)
Length - 20 Inches
Head Circumference - 35.5 cm
Apgars 9, 10, and 10

Where do you begin when you don't really know when labor started??? I guess I will start when I know I wasn't in labor and you can decide how many hours you actually think it took for Jessaleigh to make her appearance.

Friday:
We had an appointment with Rosanna (midwife) at 4pm. I had had 3 contractions the previous night about 15 minutes apart, but that was it. We set up a plan for an NST the following Tuesday and then did a cervical check. Nothing much going on, things were soft but not dilating. Rosanna did a bit of cervical massage (which can stimulate labor) and that was that. I got instructions to call if I had any contractions as a result of the exam. Next we went to our Chiropractor for a family adjustment (Scott's neck was acting up and he didn't want to have to deal with labor with a stiff neck.) From there we went out to dinner, walked a couple of blocks to get coffee and then drove home.
Friday Night/Saturday Morning: Around midnight I started having mild contractions about 15 minutes apart. They lasted until about 1:30am when I fell asleep. I woke up at 4am with the same thing and was up for about an hour. These contractions were different than the braxton hicks I had been feeling before, but still not very painful (less than a 1 on a scale of 1-10) and pretty far apart. Chanler woke us up at 8ish as normal.

Saturday Morning: Nothing! No contractions, Nothing. I convinced Scott that I needed to get out of the house, so we went to breakfast, home depot, the camera store, and the mall. All just to kill time and keep us moving. I was hoping that keeping moving and active would bring my contractions back. While we were out I did have a few contractions, but no pattern and still so mild. We had tacos for lunch and I made sure to put lots of hot sauce on them.

Saturday Afternoon: After lunch it was nap time for Chanler. I didn't want to lay down with him like I usually do because I was afraid that would reverse my morning out. Scott got Chanler to sleep (seemed pretty easily to me) and we both worked on quiet projects upstairs. I had a few more contractions, but still no pattern etc. Chanler woke up from his nap at 3:30pm and we headed down stairs for a snack.

Saturday 4pm: Scott suggested that we go out again. Mostly to keep my mind off not being in labor yet. At this point I really wanted to have the baby today and not Sunday, so I was emotional that things weren't picking up. We decided to take Chanler to Talbots Toyworld in San Mateo. I had been there with him a few weeks earlier to get a toy for him to open during labor and ever since we went he had been wanting to bring Daddy to the "push button store" (they have a model train that you can control by pushing a button on the outside of the setup.) I decided to time my contractions while we were driving and they were about 10 minutes apart, but still less than a 1 on the pain scale. Chanler had a great time at the toy store between the model trains, train tables, ride on toys/bikes, and race cars, he did not want to leave. The only problem was the store was closing soon and it was dinner time. We decided to check out down town San Mateo for dinner, but then quickly nixed the idea because it was raining too hard to really find anything (checking to see if places are kid friendly in the rain is no fun.) We ended up at TGI Friday's because they were close by.

Saturday 7pm: I timed some more contractions during dinner and they were 8 minutes apart. Still not painful, but maybe a 1-2ish. When we were done eating I decided to call Rosanna to let her know what was happening. We talked about what I had been feeling and decided I should call her back in 2 hours. We had been planning to stop at Ikea on the way home, but Scott wanted to make sure that I still wanted to. I did, partly because I didn't want to go home, sit down and have the contractions stop completely. So we went to Ikea and walked a bit, sat on some couches, went to the bathroom, found a night stand, etc. At some point during our trip to Ikea my contractions started getting stronger and closer together. I could still talk and walk through them, but they were distracting and I had to sit down after a few. We paid at 8:30 - contractions were between 4 -7 minutes apart.

Saturday 9pm: We got home and decided we needed to set up our bed before Chanler went to sleep. Contractions were about 2-5 minutes apart and getting more intense. By the time Scott and Chanler were in the bed with lights out it was 9:30pm. I called Rosanna, she decided that it was time to come down. I called my doula and asked her to come "right now"! Then I started on the Labor prep list (which was supposed to be things that Scott did while I was in "early labor") I moved our cars so Rosanna could park closer, turned up the water heater, called family, etc. I actually didn't get very far on the list. About 9:45 Fanny (my doula) arrived. I was still able to manage contractions on my own, but I couldn't do anything else. Contractions were mostly 2-3 minutes apart (I think - I was now having a hard time keeping track). Fanny took over the preparations and I concentrated on coping.

Saturday 10pm: At some point Scott finished getting Chanler to sleep and came in to set up. He and Fanny took turns helping me with back pain and finishing the many things that needed to be done (like setting up the labor tub) At this point I lost track of time, and just about everything else. Contractions were intense. Rosanna arrived at 10:15pm (or so I was told later) I knew she was there, but was too busy living through each contraction to acknowledge anything. She and her assistant Treesa started setting up their gear and doing standard checks. I remember Treesa needed to listen to the baby's heartbeat and that meant that I needed to stand up (she tried to do it without my having to move, but it was not working) Since I was already standing someone suggesting trying to use the bathroom to make sure my bladder was empty. So Scott and I went in and I tried to pee. I had to hang onto Scott during contractions. At this point my body started trying to push (and I do mean my body did it - I had NO control over the situation) I got Scott to tell Rosanna what was happening and she came in to try to check my cervix. This position wasn't working again, so I was convinced to move into the bedroom. Rosanna checked me (I remember thinking that if she came back and said you're 4 cm I was going to die) and asked me if I could give a little push with the next contraction. I was complete and ready to push. I ended up on my side on the bed (not how I pictured it, but again i didn't feel like changing position at that point)

I have no idea how long I pushed. I remember literally hanging onto Scott, grabbing him and screaming into his chest with each push. I am surprised that he doesn't have any bruises from me! I think that I may have pushed during maybe 3-7 contractions, but again I have no real idea if this is accurate or not - I was totally engrossed in dealing and not at all interesting in counting or remembering. Finally the baby was crowning, I felt the head and then had to push a few more times. The head came out followed shortly by the shoulders (it is amazing to actually be able to distinguish between which parts are being born) and then everything was over. The baby was on my belly squawking, covered in a blanket, and generally sounding just like a newborn is supposed to. I was curious about the baby's gender, but no one was saying anything, so I moved the blanket to check. I was astounded - we had a girl. I actually did a double take just to make sure. Rosanna asked me what the baby was and I got to tell everyone that we had a girl. I was still stunned (and overjoyed). The rest of the night is a bit of a blur. Here are the highlights that I remember

• My mom cut the cord
• Taking a shower
• Treesa announcing that there was a "new strange man in the house"
• Noticing (about half an hour after Jessaleigh was born) that the bedtime music we play for Chanler was still on
• Jessaleigh getting weighed and being the same weight that Chanler was
• Watching Chanler in awe of his little sister
• Cupcakes, Champagne, and singing happy birthday to Jessaleigh
• Sitting with family, talking, and thanking God for our children and family

I cannot believe that I did a hospital birth the first time. I realize that I wasn't "ready" to think about a home birth when Chanler was born, but having Jessaleigh at home was the best thing ever. I cannot explain how wonderful it is to be in your own home, your own bed, your own comfort zone so to speak. I know that if or when we have another child, we will have another home birth, because I could not go back to the hospital again. Home birth was just to perfect. (not to say that is was easy, but it was so right)