I had been having bouts of regular, timeable contractions off and on for a week or two. On Sunday, 8/21, I even had contractions 5 minutes apart for SIX HOURS. This happened sometimes with Caleb; I went to the hospital once with him. So, I felt a little better-equipped this time around. I could tell they weren't yet the real thing, so I just waited them out. Each time they'd eventually fizzle out, rather than increasing in intensity.
I got really emotional on Sunday night. I broke down crying while talking to Pete. We had discussed the option of induction, but we were really hoping I would go into labor on my own. However, that meant I could be waiting it out for another 2 weeks. With my pain and physical limitations, I just didn't think I could make it. So we prayed... We discussed the fact that it was important for Pete to get through work on Monday (for his goals, etc.). And we, yet again, reminded ourselves to trust God's timing and we went to bed.
On Monday, everything seemed normal. I had some irregular contractions in the afternoon... Sometimes 6 minutes apart, sometimes 15 minutes. Still, nothing seemed to be the real thing and they were easing up by the time we were eating dinner, doing bed time, etc. I had actually stopped noticing them throughout the evening while we were watching Angry Birds with Caleb.
After we put Caleb to bed, the contractions started picking up. I didn't pay much attention to them because I had gotten used to having contractions off and on. Around 8:45 PM, I noticed that they were pretty regular and a little more intense than the contractions in the days before. Around 9:30, Pete got dessert and asked if I wanted any. I said no because I was feeling nauseous - that should've been a sign ;) Instead, I got on the yoga ball to bounce (that's how I labored through all of Caleb's labor). We decided to keep watching the movie and see what happened.
I believe it was around 10:15 that I noticed the contractions were longer than a minute and about 4 minutes apart (I was watching the clock on the DVD player haha). I still was doubting if they were the real thing and didn't want to go in to the hospital during false labor like I did with Caleb. I warned my parents (who were supposed to be going to bed) that it could be the real thing, but I wasn't sure.
When the movie ended, Pete put worship music on. That was really helpful because I felt a lot more calm and at peace. I continued to bounce on the yoga ball, while messaging my mom to fill her in on what was happening. I eventually started having more trouble focusing to send those messages - but nothing felt "bad enough" yet. Pete was getting our bags ready and putting in the last minute things.
I listened to this album a lot through my pregnancy,
so it's what we played during labor too!
Eventually Pete told me we needed to call the midwife to see what she thought - I didn't think it was necessary yet, but she lives about 30-45 minutes away... So it seemed like a better option than continuing to wait. She suggested we go in to the hospital and get checked by a nurse so that she knew if it was time to come. We later found out she heard me breathing or talking in the background and realized it was the real thing. So, she got herself ready and headed to the hospital.
Pete helping me put my shoes on while I breathed through a contraction!
I let my parents know and they came to our house to watch Caleb. He was sleeping away, with no idea what was happening :) I made my way to the car, stopping for contractions and to put shoes on, etc. While we were walking from the house to the car, I told Pete I just didn't think I could take it if we got there and they told me it wasn't the real thing. He said that he didn't think they would be telling me that.
I didn't get an official belly picture, so this will just have to do ;)
I could hardly handle sitting in the van while we drove to the hospital, which is less than 2 minutes down the road. When I got to the hospital, they were expecting me. They realized I was pretty far along in labor, even though I was still afraid I wouldn't have progressed or anything. They tried to get me in a wheelchair, which I refused. If you've been in labor, you know the last thing you want at that point is to sit down. So, a nurse (or a person from the lab or something) started walking with me to the elevator while Pete checked me in? or filled out paper work or something. He met us at the elevator.
When I got to the delivery room, they had me put on a gown. They wanted to see if I had dilated and to get a monitor on the baby. When the nurse checked me, she told me I was fully dilated! I was in shock, but almost immediately felt like I needed to push. I didn't tell them right away because the midwife wasn't there. I had Pete call my mom to tell her I was fully dilated and the baby would be born soon.
After a couple of contractions, I told the nurse I really felt like I needed to push. She said, "No, you don't." I said, "Yes, I really do!" So, they called the head nurse into the room and she told me, "If you're going to have this baby without your midwife here, then I really need you to listen to me." Finally, someone who was at least going to let me push ;)
As I was pushing, they realized my water hadn't broken yet. Gabriella's amniotic sac was actually still in tact when her head came out! The nurses were all excited because they had never seen that before :) The cord was around her neck, so they broke my water then to unwrap the cord. My midwife arrived around this time. I actually saw my midwife and saw Gabby's face at the same time :) So, that nurse got the excitement of delivering a baby that night!
Our sweet girl <3
The nurse told me that I got to the hospital at midnight and Gabriella was born at 12:23! I was in serious shock for a while that she was born so quickly. My goal had been to go into labor on my own and to spend as much time as possible laboring at home. I'm pretty sure I met that goal ;)
Pretty quickly after delivery, my midwife told me that I can't wait as long with our third baby. I found it pretty funny and gutsy to start discussing a third baby just minutes after the second is born :)
There were 2 other hospitals we could've delivered at for this pregnancy, if circumstances had been a little bit different. One is about half an hour away and the other is about an hour away. I had been really nervous about delivering at our local hospital because I've had better experiences at the others. However, I just love that God knew... I would've been having Gabby on the side of the road if we had to drive to the other hospitals! (Ok, maybe we would've gone sooner, but I don't know because I was really questioning if it was the real thing or not.)
We also ended up being really happy with the care at our local hospital. Gabby was born just after midnight, so officially Tuesday morning. We were discharged 36 hours later, just after noon on Wednesday. It was so nice to be home so quickly!
I went into labor with a lot of concerns due to the SPD (painful pelvic condition I had been dealing with through most of my pregnancy). There were questions about how much pain I would have during delivery, what positions I would be able to use for delivery, if I would experience any permanent damage, etc... But God was so faithful! I didn't even think about that pain while I was pushing. And my pain was significantly better immediately. Within a few hours, I was able to walk without any of the pain I had while I was pregnant. I also was concerned because of the complications I experienced during Caleb's delivery, but I didn't have any of those issues either!
Overall, Gabriella's labor and delivery honestly couldn't have gone better... It was like my best case scenario. Looking back, I am amazed. God is good and I see His hand all over this situation!
