Our due date of Tuesday, June 26th had come and gone, with no sign of our little Junebug's arrival. Though I'd been having contractions every evening for about a week, they were never regular and always faded as I went to sleep. At my scheduled OB appointment, the nurse who I routinely saw at each visit flippantly said, "Now you are having a C-section, right?" I quickly corrected her and reminded her of our preference for a natural, unmedicated birth. My doctor then offered to strip my membranes and offered induction (since she would be leaving on vacation soon) as a routine option that she often provided for women who are still pregnant on their due date. However, I graciously declined all of her offers, explaining that my body had gone into labor naturally and spontaneously twice before (here and here), and that I was prepared to wait for God's perfect timing. I allowed her to perform an exam, and she seemed a little skeptical that I was only dilated to 2cm (barely) and 30% effaced. "Well, it could be worse..." she said... I smiled and then reminded her that with my previous labor, I was hardly dilated at all on my due date, and yet I had spontaneously gone into labor that night, delivering a healthy baby girl only 6 hours later.
My husband and I had created a document that spelled out our "Birth Preferences" and included information on our desire to go into labor spontaneously and have an unmedicated birth with as few interventions as possible. We listed things such as our desire to have freedom of movement and birthing positions, and my husband's desire to cut the umbilical cord only after it had finished pulsing. We provided this document for our OB an appointment, and packed a copy in our hospital bag to provide our medical team upon admission. We had learned from our previous birth experiences that this document served as a very powerful communication tool and left nothing up for assumption.
"You know you won't make it to your due date, right?! 3rd child? No way..." many people said, but I was mentally prepared that she would arrive in her own time. Nevertheless, the waiting is always hard. I tried my best to pass the next couple of days by soaking up precious moments with my two big girls, knowing how my focus would need to shift once their baby sister arrived. I even made it to vote in our local primary elections (on our due date) and was able to attend a College of Pharmacy event to accept an award - two outings I hadn't counted on being able to attend previously! J.J. and I took advantage of these few extra date nights, and we were grateful for the quality time together as we dreamed about what the coming days would hold...
Finally, on Friday evening, June 29th, I began feeling consistent contractions that increased in intensity while J.J. and I watched the newest Star Wars movie on our couch. Graciously, my parents had already planned to keep Charlotte and Adeline overnight, as we had all anticipated that their baby sister was coming literally any time. Around 11pm, J.J. decided to go to bed to get as much rest as possible, though I was too excited to sleep. I paced around the house, making sure things were in order (full on nesting mode!) before we would need to leave for the hospital. I could only stand to wait about an hour before waking J.J. and letting him know we should start our 30 minute trek to the hospital (due to our birth experience with Adeline, I didn't want to risk waiting too long to get there!)
Upon arrival, the nurse determined that I was only about 3.5 cm dilated, which did not qualify for hospital admission, though my contractions were regular and increasingly intense. We were given the option to go home and come back or walk for an hour and be rechecked. There was no way we were leaving now (!) so we opted to walk... and walk... and walk. After being rechecked and found to still only be 4cm dilated, we walked for a 2nd hour... and let me just tell you that I was pretty determined at this point - so we walked flights of stairs - up to the 10th floor and back down- twice... At last, I was approved for admission to the hospital!
While discussing our birth preferences with the triage nurse, we asked if it was possible to have a labor nurse who was supportive and knowledgeable about unmedicated births. She happily agreed and intentionally paired us with a labor and delivery nurse who had given birth to her own children naturally and has a passion for supporting unmedicated mothers in labor! It never hurts to ask, right?!
Additionally, although she is not currently practicing midwifery at the hospital, our former midwife Leanna graciously had agreed to come to our birth as extra support. Our phone call to her at 4:30am awakened her, and she arrived 30 minutes later - looking perfectly put together, baby gift in hand, and a smile on her face! This woman brings a sense of peace and calm wherever she goes, and we were so relieved to see her at this point. Upon admission to our labor and delivery room, Leanna busied herself requesting a birthing ball from the nurse, pouring me a warm bath (complete with soothing lavender essential oils), and even making up the couch bed for J.J. to be able to rest when able. She knew from our previous 2 births how J.J. and I worked as a team during labor with him as my coach, and how exhausting the day would be for him also!
Did you know you can labor in the shower/bathtub if one is provided and your labor is progressing without complications? I actually helped educate my OB on this, as she was unaware the labor and delivery rooms at our hospital even had bathtubs...and it's not a request she had ever received! Once she was aware, she was fully supportive, but this would never have been offered as an option otherwise. This also affected the type of montoring we requested, so that I could have freedom of movement and the ability to be in the bathtub.
Since our baby's vital signs were stable I requested only intermittent fetal monitoring, which enabled me to continue walking, laboring in the bath, and moving around freely without being tethered to the monitor/bed. With worship music playing and lights down low, we labored for the next 6 hours this way. As contractions intensified, J.J. continued speaking encouragement over me and applied counter pressure to my back. When I was nauseous, Leanna infused peppermint oils to help calm my stomach. When I began to enter the transition phase - and my mind began to doubt how long I could endure - she and J.J. encouraged me even more. At this point, I was still only dilated to 7cm and my water was still intact. Exhaustion was setting in, as I had not slept in over 24 hours since I hadn't gone to bed the night before. Strangely, though, my contractions gradually began to space out instead of getting closer together. This had never happened to me, and I almost began to panic, not knowing why labor was seeming to slowing down. Leanna encouraged me that I should take advantage of this time to rest, and that it may be exactly what my body needed in order to finish the labor process- this turned out to be the biggest and most unexpected blessing! For the next hour, I was in a sleep-like state, laying in bed and completely able to relax in between contractions. Eventually though, we decided to call in the physician to break my water, although this is something I had not wanted to do previously. I realized that labor contractions would significantly intensify once my water broke, but my hope was that it would speed the process along and that I would be much closer to delivery.
As luck would have it, though, the nurse informed me it would be a significant time before the physician could come in, as he was attending to a twin birth down the hall. But before disappointment could set in, my midwife suggested an alternative. She lowered the bed and requested the "squat bar" that attached to the end. Instructing J.J. to support me from behind, she encouraged me to hold onto the bar and squat into the next contraction...and as I did so, my water spontaneously broke! I immediately felt a change in pressure. As I began squatting into my very next contraction (hey, all those hours in the weight room during pregnancy finally paid off, haha!) my baby began crowning!!!
It is typical for physicians/labor nurses to prefer that delivery take place with the laboring mother laying in bed, flat on her back, feet in stirrups. This makes sense in many cases (when an epidural is involved and/or if there are medical reasons that the physician needs unobstructed access during delivery.) However, while convenient for the baby-catcher, this position is much less than ideal for the mother, especially during unmedicated labor. Gravity does wonders for the process of delivery, and laying on one's back essentially forces you to push "uphill." Have you ever seen an animal in nature give birth while lying on her back? There's a reason why they don't...
With no physician in sight, the nurse was quick on her feet and summoned him urgently. Leanna and J.J. coached me through breathing, trying to stall for a few seconds, though they were prepared to deliver this baby on the floor, themselves... Gravity was working beautifully with my contractions, and there was no slowing down at this point!
The unsuspecting young resident physician entered the room and must have been shocked by what he saw (according to the look on his face). I was not his typical patient (likely with an epidural, situated in bed on her back, feet in stirrups and awaiting his assistance); instead, I was still in a squat position, and he froze momentarily before springing into action. He then asked if I could "get into the bed"...! Not happening at this point. Though Leanna and J.J. were able to help me stand up and lean against the bed, within seconds, the medical resident was catching my baby girl as she literally sprung into this world! I think still in a bit of shock, he laid her right onto the bed instead of handing her to me... and I immediately reached down to pick her up.
There were many tears of joy, loud praises, and the sweetest bundle of joy snuggled to my bare chest. After this long day of intense labor on the last day of June, our little "Junebug" Lillian Cole Peek had arrived - only 4 minutes and 3 contractions after my water had finally broke!
I could not be more grateful for a beautiful labor experience - a perfectly healthy baby girl, an incredible husband who is a phenomenal labor coach, a wonderful and encouraging midwife, and a supportive nurse who was quick on her feet. And as for that OB resident? I'm grateful for him too... that he was present and able to experience the raw power and beauty of a natural birth in it's purest form :)
Every birth story is unique and beautiful in it's own way! There is grace for many different decisions, and things don't always go according to plan. However, we realized once again the importance of making our birth preferences known to our medical team, prior to our birth. By taking an active role as part of our birthing team, we were able to advocate for our wishes... and by God's grace we were able to have the beautiful (though exhilarating) experience we had hoped for!
*Also, in case you are curious to learn why a sane person would choose an unmedicated birth, see my previous post about Labor Day, The Natural Way*
My husband and I had created a document that spelled out our "Birth Preferences" and included information on our desire to go into labor spontaneously and have an unmedicated birth with as few interventions as possible. We listed things such as our desire to have freedom of movement and birthing positions, and my husband's desire to cut the umbilical cord only after it had finished pulsing. We provided this document for our OB an appointment, and packed a copy in our hospital bag to provide our medical team upon admission. We had learned from our previous birth experiences that this document served as a very powerful communication tool and left nothing up for assumption.
"You know you won't make it to your due date, right?! 3rd child? No way..." many people said, but I was mentally prepared that she would arrive in her own time. Nevertheless, the waiting is always hard. I tried my best to pass the next couple of days by soaking up precious moments with my two big girls, knowing how my focus would need to shift once their baby sister arrived. I even made it to vote in our local primary elections (on our due date) and was able to attend a College of Pharmacy event to accept an award - two outings I hadn't counted on being able to attend previously! J.J. and I took advantage of these few extra date nights, and we were grateful for the quality time together as we dreamed about what the coming days would hold...
Upon arrival, the nurse determined that I was only about 3.5 cm dilated, which did not qualify for hospital admission, though my contractions were regular and increasingly intense. We were given the option to go home and come back or walk for an hour and be rechecked. There was no way we were leaving now (!) so we opted to walk... and walk... and walk. After being rechecked and found to still only be 4cm dilated, we walked for a 2nd hour... and let me just tell you that I was pretty determined at this point - so we walked flights of stairs - up to the 10th floor and back down- twice... At last, I was approved for admission to the hospital!
While discussing our birth preferences with the triage nurse, we asked if it was possible to have a labor nurse who was supportive and knowledgeable about unmedicated births. She happily agreed and intentionally paired us with a labor and delivery nurse who had given birth to her own children naturally and has a passion for supporting unmedicated mothers in labor! It never hurts to ask, right?!
Additionally, although she is not currently practicing midwifery at the hospital, our former midwife Leanna graciously had agreed to come to our birth as extra support. Our phone call to her at 4:30am awakened her, and she arrived 30 minutes later - looking perfectly put together, baby gift in hand, and a smile on her face! This woman brings a sense of peace and calm wherever she goes, and we were so relieved to see her at this point. Upon admission to our labor and delivery room, Leanna busied herself requesting a birthing ball from the nurse, pouring me a warm bath (complete with soothing lavender essential oils), and even making up the couch bed for J.J. to be able to rest when able. She knew from our previous 2 births how J.J. and I worked as a team during labor with him as my coach, and how exhausting the day would be for him also!
Did you know you can labor in the shower/bathtub if one is provided and your labor is progressing without complications? I actually helped educate my OB on this, as she was unaware the labor and delivery rooms at our hospital even had bathtubs...and it's not a request she had ever received! Once she was aware, she was fully supportive, but this would never have been offered as an option otherwise. This also affected the type of montoring we requested, so that I could have freedom of movement and the ability to be in the bathtub.
Since our baby's vital signs were stable I requested only intermittent fetal monitoring, which enabled me to continue walking, laboring in the bath, and moving around freely without being tethered to the monitor/bed. With worship music playing and lights down low, we labored for the next 6 hours this way. As contractions intensified, J.J. continued speaking encouragement over me and applied counter pressure to my back. When I was nauseous, Leanna infused peppermint oils to help calm my stomach. When I began to enter the transition phase - and my mind began to doubt how long I could endure - she and J.J. encouraged me even more. At this point, I was still only dilated to 7cm and my water was still intact. Exhaustion was setting in, as I had not slept in over 24 hours since I hadn't gone to bed the night before. Strangely, though, my contractions gradually began to space out instead of getting closer together. This had never happened to me, and I almost began to panic, not knowing why labor was seeming to slowing down. Leanna encouraged me that I should take advantage of this time to rest, and that it may be exactly what my body needed in order to finish the labor process- this turned out to be the biggest and most unexpected blessing! For the next hour, I was in a sleep-like state, laying in bed and completely able to relax in between contractions. Eventually though, we decided to call in the physician to break my water, although this is something I had not wanted to do previously. I realized that labor contractions would significantly intensify once my water broke, but my hope was that it would speed the process along and that I would be much closer to delivery.
As luck would have it, though, the nurse informed me it would be a significant time before the physician could come in, as he was attending to a twin birth down the hall. But before disappointment could set in, my midwife suggested an alternative. She lowered the bed and requested the "squat bar" that attached to the end. Instructing J.J. to support me from behind, she encouraged me to hold onto the bar and squat into the next contraction...and as I did so, my water spontaneously broke! I immediately felt a change in pressure. As I began squatting into my very next contraction (hey, all those hours in the weight room during pregnancy finally paid off, haha!) my baby began crowning!!!
It is typical for physicians/labor nurses to prefer that delivery take place with the laboring mother laying in bed, flat on her back, feet in stirrups. This makes sense in many cases (when an epidural is involved and/or if there are medical reasons that the physician needs unobstructed access during delivery.) However, while convenient for the baby-catcher, this position is much less than ideal for the mother, especially during unmedicated labor. Gravity does wonders for the process of delivery, and laying on one's back essentially forces you to push "uphill." Have you ever seen an animal in nature give birth while lying on her back? There's a reason why they don't...
With no physician in sight, the nurse was quick on her feet and summoned him urgently. Leanna and J.J. coached me through breathing, trying to stall for a few seconds, though they were prepared to deliver this baby on the floor, themselves... Gravity was working beautifully with my contractions, and there was no slowing down at this point!
The unsuspecting young resident physician entered the room and must have been shocked by what he saw (according to the look on his face). I was not his typical patient (likely with an epidural, situated in bed on her back, feet in stirrups and awaiting his assistance); instead, I was still in a squat position, and he froze momentarily before springing into action. He then asked if I could "get into the bed"...! Not happening at this point. Though Leanna and J.J. were able to help me stand up and lean against the bed, within seconds, the medical resident was catching my baby girl as she literally sprung into this world! I think still in a bit of shock, he laid her right onto the bed instead of handing her to me... and I immediately reached down to pick her up.
There were many tears of joy, loud praises, and the sweetest bundle of joy snuggled to my bare chest. After this long day of intense labor on the last day of June, our little "Junebug" Lillian Cole Peek had arrived - only 4 minutes and 3 contractions after my water had finally broke!
I could not be more grateful for a beautiful labor experience - a perfectly healthy baby girl, an incredible husband who is a phenomenal labor coach, a wonderful and encouraging midwife, and a supportive nurse who was quick on her feet. And as for that OB resident? I'm grateful for him too... that he was present and able to experience the raw power and beauty of a natural birth in it's purest form :)
Every birth story is unique and beautiful in it's own way! There is grace for many different decisions, and things don't always go according to plan. However, we realized once again the importance of making our birth preferences known to our medical team, prior to our birth. By taking an active role as part of our birthing team, we were able to advocate for our wishes... and by God's grace we were able to have the beautiful (though exhilarating) experience we had hoped for!
*Also, in case you are curious to learn why a sane person would choose an unmedicated birth, see my previous post about Labor Day, The Natural Way*
Lovely story Leigh! I’m so happy for you.
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