On Thursday, October 23, Sam took me out to celebrate my birthday and meet his mother and aunt at a surprise location. That location turned out to be Mitchell’s Fish House, how appropriate I thought! The second we sat down to order dinner, I began feeling a new sensation of light waves of pressure. Since my due date was three days away I thought this must be pre-labor. These contractions were very subtle and lasted throughout the night without any discomfort.
The next day was normal and pre-labor continued. We went to our weekly doctors visit around 3:00 and were told I was 90% effaced and 1” centimeter dilated. We were very excited but I still didn’t think anything would happen yet. That evening while watching television, I felt the contractions getting stronger. I could no longer pay attention to Americas Next Top Model and their trivial pursuits, I mean, I was getting ready for real life stuff! So off went the TV and on went our laboring music that Sam had thoughtfully picked out. We dimmed the lights, got out my laboring ball and began using all the techniques we had learned in our Bradley laboring classes. By 1:00am we knew this was it! We called our doula Robyn and she came over to help. After about 1 1/2 hours I felt like we should head to the hospital and off we went in the pouring rain!
It was about 1:10 am once we got to the hospital and we found out I was only at 2” centimeters dilated. We requested the room with the jacuzzi tub, thankfully it was available. As soon as we were admitted I got in the tub to continue laboring, all modesty was out the door. My doula suggested moving around more and after several hours of walking through the hall and using a birthing ball to help with labor, they checked me and I had not progressed. Our nurse and doula advised that we head back home to continue to labor and try to sleep. We went home, I slept for about 2 hours in and out of strong contractions. Then with Sam’s help, I labored in the shower and even tried to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich he prepared. After laboring in what seemed like every single room in the house, at 11:30am we went back to the hospital. I was getting very strong contractions at this point but an epidural was never a thought. I was focused and knew it was time to meet our son. To our dismay, I was only dilated at 3” centimeters. Boy were we bummed.
Once we were admitted again, my doctor broke my waters in order to help the labor progress, which really worked. Eventhough the contractions were very strong, I still had no thought of accepting an epidural. We were admitted and able to use the same Jacuzzi room, thanks to my doulas conversation with the nurse previously. Back to the tub I went. I really tried to focus on breathing, relaxing and trusting my body. During each contraction my doula told me not to push but that’s all I wanted to do! My body was taking over and pushing, I had no control over it. This was the hardest point for me. Needless to say the ring of fire was difficult but it was so short it didn’t compare to the agony of not being able to push.
Both Sam and Robyn really helped with massage and motivation and within 3 and half hours of strong mental focus and challenging discomfort of a natural birth, I felt the baby move down. I maneuvered to the bed and was told I was at 9 ¾” centimeters. I could finally push. I took a deep breath, grabbed my legs and happily pushed with every ounce of strength I had. After several minutes I reached down and felt the full Mohawk on my baby’s head as he crowned. The Rays hawk was to honor the Rays, our local baseball team which was gearing up to play the World Series that weekend. Once I felt his head, I became overjoyed, energized and invigorated! With Sam helping the doctor and gazing up at me with his amazement, he caught our son and placed him on my belly. The entire pushing lasted less than 45 minutes.
At 3:10pm on Saturday October 25th 2008, Mitchell Miles Irmis was born as a natural unmedicated birth weighing 7 pounds and 15 ounces. This experience was more beautiful than I ever knew it could be. Looking back, I realize how powerful the mind is once you achieve Zen and trust your body.
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