Our Birth Story - Day 2, Part 3

Wednesday, March 30, 6 p.m. - Thursday, March 31, 10 a.m.

After she left, Dave, the pups and I prepared for our second night of labor . . .first by walking down the street to Woodlawn Park, where Dave and the dogs had been earlier in the morning.

In the last month to six-weeks of pregnancy, we both felt the dogs were being a little neglected, primarily because I became super busy with a number of time-sensitive projects while, at the same time, Courtney's mobility had decreased. Here we were in actual labor and the dogs were actually getting exercised more than they had grown use to . . .

We stayed at Woodlawn for about 20 minutes or so, enough time for the dogs to run around and for me to have a few contractions up against some trees.

Night came on quickly. I tried the chair again then labored in the bed for a while, but was using too much energy moving from resting to contractions so I moved to the kitchen.
Here I bounced on a medicine ball between contractions, and when a contraction came on, I leaned on the table. I did this for well over an hour in the dim glow of the light over the sink.

At this point, I would sit on the ball between contractions, moving continuously because of the back pain. During a contraction I'd immediately stand and lean over the table with Dave pressing on my back. Maji filimed this video of a short contraction. She ducks out from behind the camera, then leaves the room when the contraction starts. After the contraction ends, I tell Dave that I lost more water during the contraction, which is something that happened throughout labor.

I was still having intense back labor, and nothing helped. I thought the birthing tub might help, but with my contractions still fluxuating between 5 and 15 minutes apart, I was afraid the water might slow labor down. Dave called Laurie to check in about this, and she gave the go-ahead to get in. She also said she'd stop in to check on us in a few hours.

Filling the pool was definitely the most work I'd done yet during the labor. Filling it with air and hot tap water was easy enough; the dozen or so five-gallon pots of boiling water was another story. Still I enjoyed the sweat and sudden burst of movement on my part. It definitely kicked in a fourth wind for me, and I knew Courtney would benefit from being in the water.

I felt immediate relief to my back as soon as I got in the tub. For a few contractions, the pain felt really light. Once my body got used to the temperature, however, the pain increased slightly.

I was definitely getting into a steady rhythm, and was surprised by this. This was the only place I wanted to be. During contractions I would lean over the side and hold Dave's hands and arms. The rhythm kept up until Laurie arrived.

After she checked my vitals, I noticed that my contractions began to dwindle, and the rhythm that had been building up suddenly shifted back to the irregular contraction pattern of earlier. I didn't think I'd be someone with "performance anxiety" but that's what it felt like.

I moved out of the water and into the Huxtable chair where I labored and actually slept through a few contractions. After about an hour of this, and with labor continuing to slow, Laurie suggested that we walk. Dave thought of Fernhill Park where I could walk some hills, which would hopefully kick labor back into gear.