birth story of no. 02

I remember soaking in a sitz bath a couple days after we were home and having some time to record this story. I used voice to text and have taken little moments to go through and edit and add photos. Birth was my favorite part of entering motherhood with Ruby, and this time around wasn’t any different. Though, thankfully, I enjoyed pregnancy and postpartum a little more this time, which was nice.

I forgot about this post but tidied it up today to share with you.

birth story | margot
born 03 december 2017

I was hoping our little no. 02 would wait until her due date, 28 November, to make her appearance. We had a lovely and quiet Thanksgiving after a busy season the weekend before she was due. So, when 40 weeks came after the holiday, I felt rested, mostly caught up and ready.

And then the 28th November arrived…

At my 40 week OB appointment on my due date, I was 3 cm dilated.  My doctor did a membrane sweep and we set up an induction date for that Sunday at 5. I was medically induced with Ruby, so I was really hoping to go into labor naturally. We set it up as late as we could while still being able to maximize the vacation Jordan had planned beforehand. There was still a chance and I was hopeful that I would go into labor before then. 

The following night, I had contractions all night long. They kept me up and I couldn’t sleep. At one point they were so regular I went ahead, got up, and finished packing my bag, made sure everything was ready, and read up on my breastfeeding books. I was so excited, it was real! but, unfortunately, they ended in the morning. 

and the days continued…

I was feeling great for the most part and nesting like a madwoman. I stayed up late cleaning every night, repacking my hospital bag, and making sure someone was on-call for Ruby. It was exhausting continually being on guard. By the end of the week, I had decorated every inch of my home for the holidays. In the evenings Ruby and I would sit on the porch and make garland and wreaths as we waited on papa to get home. While the wait was long, it was sweet to feel fully present with my first girl. 

Friday night, my doctor texted us asking if we could move the induction date earlier. She would be away from the hospital on Monday and needed to move it up and I was actually relieved and over waiting for labor to start. I was so ready to meet this little girl and to begin our days as a family of four.  We decided to move it to the following evening, a Saturday. 

It’s a little strange having an entire day to prepare and get ready before heading to the hospital to have a baby. I probably should have rested, or tried to take a nap, but I couldn’t. I repacked my hospital bag for the last time making sure to have everything I needed and then some. I took a long shower and curled my hair well, hoping that it would last the entire hospital stay (it did!).

I savored the last moments of being a mama to just one little girl.

My parents arrived that evening to watch Ruby. She knew exactly what was going on, “you’re going to the doctor?” she asked. We told her that she’d be able to visit us the next day. It was so strange leaving her and the house and knowing how different her world would be when we came home.

Jordan and I had a little time and grabbed dinner before heading to the hospital. Over dinner, we talked through name ideas, because we hadn’t quite settled on one yet. We were deciding between Frances and Margot. When we discovered that Margot means pearl, we were leaning more that way, but wanted to get to know her first.

We arrived at the hospital around 8 o’clock, but we didn’t start the induction into around 1030. We did a lot of checking in, waiting around, and then getting the dreadful IV. The IV is two for two my least favorite part of giving birth. 

I started out at about three to 4 cm dilated and labor took a while to start, so Jordan and I played the Harry Potter game while waiting for the contractions to get stronger. 

We could have kept playing, we were having so much fun spending time together. It felt like our own little date night and getaway. We decided it was best to try to get some rest before the contractions got too bad.

Around 3 o’clock the nurse came in to check on me. I had not progressed hardly at all and was very disappointed. I was having contractions, but they didn’t seem to be doing anything productive. I settled back in bed thinking that I’d at least get a full nights sleep.

An hour or two later I started to experience some really intense contractions. They were mostly in my back and very painful. At this point, it hadn’t been too long since I was last checked and so I assumed I probably hadn’t progressed too much.  I was hoping to go as far as I could, hoping that my body would take over. I didn’t necessarily want to use any forms of medication, but knew that it was likely since I was getting induced. 

I didn’t want to be as stubborn as I was with Ruby. With her I let the contractions get too unbearable until I asked for an epidural. This time around I wanted to be smart and wait long enough, but not too long. I was a little conflicted because I the pain was terrible, but I was thinking I probably still had a while to go. I wanted to wait until I was much farther along.

Since back labor is no joke and the pain was getting increasingly worse I opted to get some sort of pain medication. And with the next contraction, I decided to go ahead and get an epidural. 

I’m glad I did, because by the time the anesthesiologist got to the room I could hardly sit still during contractions and they were very frequent. The epidural’s not as scary when you’re in the middle of intense contractions.

At this point, it was early morning and the nurse came in and checked me after getting the epidural. I was dilated  8 cm, which was a surprise because it hadn’t been that long. It was reassuring because of all of the pain I was having, no wonder it was so terrible. With the epidural and pain fading, I was able to get some rest and about a couple hours later my doctor arrived and I was fully dilated around 7 o’clock and just kind of waiting for baby to move down a little further.

Jordan is a physician and has delivered many babies in his few years of being a resident (at the very hospital we delivered at) Even though I wanted him to, he wasn’t interested in delivering his own baby, he wanted to be the papa and support me.

He decided last minute that he wanted to help deliver and catch the baby. Everything was going really well, it was a laid-back atmosphere, and my doctor was also very easygoing, so he asked me if that would be fine. I was glad that he decided to, because it made everything a little more special.

I had a few nurses in the room helping along with Jordan and my sweet doctor. I started pushing around 9 o’clock and it took quite a bit of time because Margot wasn’t quite all the way down. She was also sunny side up, which was causing all the back labor. I also continued to feel a little pain even with the epidural because of her position. Sitting on my tailbone was so uncomfortable that it was hard to have to be laying down, I moved around as much as I could. 

We took the pushing really slow, taking breaks every now and then. I had music playing and we were talking in-between pushing and contractions.

I’m not sure if this was the song that was playing when she was born, but it’s the one I had in my head for our first days together. The Girl by City and Colour, especially the lyrics “you don’t ask for no diamond rings, no delicate string of pearls. that’s why I wrote this song to sing, my beautiful girl” I think it’s fitting for our little pearl.

At 11:16 in the morning, our Margot was born.

I had my big camera right next to me from taking photos of Jordan and my doctor when we were getting ready for pushing. I remember clearly thinking that I wanted to remember this moment forever. Jordan delivering our baby girl and seeing her first. And then I realized my camera was right there and I grabbed these shots, and man, I’m so glad. The light, our beautiful girl, her papa, everything was perfect. Forever these will be some of my most cherished photographs.

I’m forever grateful for the sweet nurse that grabbed my camera and took these photos of my first meeting with this little girl. I treasured my time getting to know her movements while I carried her. While it’s so gratifying to meet her for the first time, it also feels like I’ve already known her. It’s hard to eloquently put it into words, but in the end, I was just glad to hold her.

Jordan placed our little girl on me and just in case you were thinking this is all beautiful and perfect (it was) but, she did immediately poop on me. Birth is amazing, but it’s gross, you know?

Jordan cut the cord and even delivered the placenta! ha!

Have you ever wondered what a placenta looks like? Well, there you go. It was kind of fun to be the one to annoy Jordan and remind him that I wanted the cord connected for a long time. I remember being grossed out with Ruby by the placenta, but it’s really incredible when you think that this is what sustained her for 9 months.

This is my favorite, the calm after the chaos. A much-deserved break for our little family. I savored this time of snuggling this sleepy babe, not caring that she didn’t have a name yet.

And then she pooped on me again and our time was cut shorter that I would have liked. They decided to go ahead and clean her up and do everything they needed to do.

She roared like a little lion, she was so fierce.

I was so nervous about nursing, but thankfully she latched immediately. It was such a different experience than with Ruby and I am so thankful.

Tired and happy mama.

I didn’t love everything about the hospital birth the first time around. I was thankful to be somewhere where we received lots of help and care, but it wasn’t comfortable. I was thankful this time that it was much different. I made myself at home and loved the staff that cared for us.

My doctor holding Margot, so thankful for her!

If you made it this far, I am impressed. I wrote this out mostly for myself to remember and for Margot someday. I know I always love hearing other’s birth stories so maybe you do too. I love how unique each one is and how everyone starts with their own story of entering the world.

Margot, I can’t wait to continue to know you and the ways you were created. You are already so unique and special to us exactly as you are.