If someone asked me what the hardest part was during this pregnancy, it would be the comparison to the last. It drove me absolutely nuts! I know they say not one pregnancy is the same but I just couldn't help but compare every single detail and of course nothing was similar. With Everly- I didn't get sick at all yet I was incredibly swollen and exhausted towards the end. With Ender- I was sick, I suffered a few months of the worse acne I've ever had but in the end I felt completely normal besides having a large bump. I don't know why I thought their arrivals would be anything alike. Everly came on her own at 38 weeks & 2 days and I was more than prepared for Ender to come at 36 weeks.
I anxiously awaited for labor to begin every single day until finally his due date rolled along (June 30) and there were no signs of labor whatsoever. I couldn't believe it! The whole month of June was gone and no baby in my arms. Bad planning on my part- we had my brother-in-law (Carey) coming into town July 4th to meet Ender because I just thought there was no way I'd carry to 40 weeks…hah! If you know me, I am not a very "go with the flow" type of person and there was no way I could have my birth plan ruined by having family at the house…hah! So I began trying every natural induction technique I could find online. SO much walking, eating pineapple, nipple stimulation, sex, spicy food, red raspberry leaf, evening primrose oil, squats, acupressure (thanks to my friend Jordan), swinging at the park, bouncing on a birth ball every chance, membrane sweep, then on to a homeopathic remedy of taking cimifuga, caulophyllum, and gelsemium. When none of that seemed to help trigger labor…yes, I stooped as low as castor oil and NOTHING.
So there we were at the end of week 40, Carey's already here for the week and now my main objective was to have Ender before Carey left Denver/before I reached 42 weeks to avoid a trip to the hospital. I was determined to get this baby out of me and of course, he was determined to stay inside. On July 6, my midwife (Meridian) and I decided to do another membrane sweep that morning. She said I was dilated to 5cm and after an intense little session of sweeping, contractions were starting! Yay! I thought this was IT so as soon as she left I started walking around the neighborhood. I think I walked a total of 4 miles throughout the whole day until the sun went down. Contractions were still going on, enough for me to time them but they were staying a consistent strength and never getting any stronger. I went about my regular nightly routine. I ate a huge delicious dinner from Olive Garden (hoping it would be my last as a pregnant woman), took a bubble bath with Everly, then laid down and watched Netflix all still throughout contractions. Meridian said if this was the real deal, that the contractions would keep going through the night. Well, next thing I know it's morning and I felt absolutely nothing. UGH! I had passed out and contractions stopped. I was so upset and felt defeated. I remember crying to Cody that morning, wondering why everything I was trying wasn't working. It was now 41 weeks and we were on a countdown...I did NOT want to have to go to the hospital at the end of the week. Then my phone starts ringing and it's Meridian. She said she wanted to come over that morning and bring the other midwife (Gina) to get a second opinion. So on July 7 (a date Cody & I had been rooting for) around 11 o'clock they showed up at my house. Meridian was wearing a shirt that said "MIDWIFE, AT YOUR CERVIX" haha!
Everly was being a tad wild with us having a full house of people so luckily Cody took her downstairs to play with him and Carey. I climbed into bed where Meridian checked my progress and Gina started an olive oil massage on my uterus and then BOOM contractions were starting! I was dilated to 7cm and my water sac was bulging so we decided to go ahead and break it. Let's get this show on the road, I didn't want to wait any longer!
Meridian and Gina made the bed while I went downstairs and told Cody the plan. I came back upstairs and at 11:38 we broke my water - all clear which was good news! I got up to go pee, posted a "last belly" picture on Instagram and decided to have a quick snack. I grabbed a banana, went downstairs to tell Cody that "this was it" then fell to the ground due to an intense contraction. Holy shit, it was a long one. I told Cody I'd call him once I started pushing and to just keep Everly occupied. I wanted to be able to focus 100% and knew if Everly was upstairs I'd be worried about her. I made my way back upstairs to the bed, just finished my banana and fell into another contraction. Woah, these were so strong and happening so fast. Nothing like my last labor where I had 12 hours for contractions to gradually build up and for me to breathe. It turns out because of how far along I was dilated when my water broke, I started labor during "transition". I was having contractions back to back and barely having a chance to catch my breath in between. The familiar feeling of being an animal, more so- a feline was there. I made my way from hands and knees on my yoga mat to leaning on pillows and finally against the birth ball all while moaning/roaring. Before I knew it an hour had passed and they told me it was time to push. So, back to the comparison thing- with Everly I was in a bathtub, I had a hard surface to grip/push off of + warm water to soothe during contractions and crowning. With Ender, I was on the bed leaning on my birth ball and I felt that the softness of these objects kept giving in to me. I was having such a hard time finding a good position to stay in where I felt I could really get some work done. I ended up on my tailbone with one leg pushing against Meridian's shoulder and my hands gripping Cody's. Oh yeah! CODY! He magically appeared…I was so "in the zone" it totally slipped my mind that Cody should, ya know, come upstairs and help me! Haha, oops. Luckily he heard me screaming pretty loud from the basement, decided to come check and made it just in time. When I opened my eyes and saw him, all I could say was "Chapstick". My lips and mouth were so dry from screaming but thanks to Cody he helped put chapstick on my lips and handed me sips of Recharge for the duration of labor.
Next thing I know it's crowning time, already! I couldn't believe how fast this was happening. OUCH…wishing for the bathtub. Ender's head is out now and I start to hear panic in the room. Everyone is telling me to push, push! His shoulders had gotten stuck, and his face was turning purple…so in one fell swoop Meridian, Gina & Cody grabbed a limb and literally flipped me on my hands and knees and I knew something was wrong. Their voices were so serious about pushing him out NOW. So of course with everything I had left in me, I did and out came Ender at 1:47 pm. They gave him some oxygen, he cried and then they handed him to me between my legs as I was still on my hands and knees. I was speechless, in shock at how fast I just delivered this beautiful baby boy.
Just 2 hours later after thinking we were only doing another checkup, and I'm holding my son. I couldn't believe he was finally here, after so much anticipation. I held him covered in vernix and we began to nurse while waiting to deliver my placenta. Cody went to get Everly and bring her up to meet her baby brother. The excitement on her face was adorable and the amount of love she already had for him definitely flooded me with emotions. Everly and I shared a PB&J before I got in the tub to take an herbal bath with Ender. We came back to fresh bedding and then started the newborn exam.
Ender weighed 8 lbs. and 1 oz. and measured out to 20.5".
I am now a mother of two…tears as I'm writing this. It's indescribable... the feeling of having not one but two healthy, beautiful children that you gave birth to naturally. It is amazing how everything worked out in the end and I'm so thankful to everyone who made Ender's arrival exactly how it was meant to be. Thank you Cody, Meridian, Gina & Carey! I feel so blessed and extremely proud of myself.
WE LOVE YOU EVERLY + ENDER.
