STEPPING INTO MY OWN BECOMING

I gave birth for the first time in December 2018 to my first son, Strider. I had a very straightforward and beautiful pregnancy. The worst part was probably the nausea in the first trimester, but after that, it was practically textbook.

I really loved being pregnant. There was something so magical and powerful about it. Feeling that little life growing and thriving inside...

At around 38 weeks I went into spontaneous labor. Everyone had told me, “firstborns take their time” and “your first is usually late“. Well, not my child. He decided it was his time to come! I was anxious but so excited to meet him.

My labor started on a Saturday when I had what is referred to as the “bloody show”. I rode out the next several hours with very mild and spread out contractions. My mom stayed with me and we watched Dumplin, just passing the time chatting away and talking about all the magic that would start to unfold once he was here. My husband and I decided to go to the hospital later in the evening that day. When we got there they told me I wasn’t far enough along to be admitted. On my way out, I had asked a nurse what it would take to be admitted so I would know at what point I needed to come back. She told me, “when it hurts really bad”. I would later learn that this was not exactly the most sound advice.

So, I went home. I ate some food, I got in bed and tried my best to go to sleep. In the morning I remember waking up around 5 AM and definitely starting to feel the contractions at that point. I hopped into the shower and let the warm water roll down my back. What I didn’t realize at the time was that being in the nice, warm and glorious shower was accelerating my labor. The contractions had really ramped up in there and when I got out of the shower, they were between three and five minutes apart and becoming increasingly more intense. I breathily told my husband as I bounced on birthing ball, “we need to go now”, so he got the car loaded up and we hopped in to get on our way. I recall very little about the drive there, I think I was truly in and out of consciousness to be honest.

When we arrived at the hospital and parked, I was at about three minutes apart with contractions and having to stop for every single one on the way up to Labor and Delivery. When we arrived, the nurse on duty, which was a completely different shift from the night before, was shocked that I had waited so long to come in. I told her what the nurse had said the night before and so she just looked at me and told me I had done well. My pain tolerance tends to be on the high side, and I had basically gone into a meditative state. In hindsight I am glad to have labored in the comfort of my home for so long. I was 8cm dilated upon arrival and obviously immediately admitted at that point. My water broke shortly after arriving and labor was well and truly underway.

Hours later, just before 3PM after laboring and pushing, my sweet baby boy was in my arms. A tiny angel brought to earth. It was love at first sight. Strider is a little light beam, pure hearted and so, so kind.

We went home a couple days later, healthy, and happy.

Here is where my first postpartum experience began, and I look forward to sharing more about that transition and how it all unfolded for me in another post.

xx

Ashley