PHOEBE'S BIRTH STORY
This all happened around 2. I decided to bounce on my yoga ball like I'd been told, to get our baby in position. My pants were tight and uncomfortable so I just set there in my underwear. Matilda went down for a nap and I had a small glass of wine to relax. It made my face really hot so I switched to water. My mom put on "Something Borrowed" and I continued to time my contractions. I texted my doula, Cynthya, to let her know what was going on. I kept timing my contractions... 8 minutes, 14 minutes. They started to become regular so I bravely sent out a text to a few friends that I thought I could be in labor. I also texted Sam to say, "I think this could be it!" He ended up leaving work and heading over around 3:30.
Close to 4 I was having a more intense contraction on my mom's bed when I felt a "pop!" inside of me and an immediate presence of fluid. I literally gasped because it was such a wild feeling. Sam ran and grabbed a towel and I headed for the bathroom. Sure enough my water had certainly broken! I wasn't in the grocery store or carpool, it happened in such a perfect way.
After my water broke we called the midwives and Cynthya and my contractions went from sporadic to 3 minutes apart. Instantly. Per Cynthya's advice we headed to the hospital. Matilda was very concerned as we were leaving, she had just woken up and that made me really sad. I didn't want her to worry. In the car I focused on the Bradley Method techniques that I had learned: I relaxed my whole body, pictured my cervix opening for Phoebe, and focused on my breathing.
We determined that there wasn't a room available and that we were waiting for one. Sam brought the nurses brownies and cookies and they told him we were on a 2-3 hour wait for a room. My response was that there was no way this baby was waiting that long.
Sam and Rachel hung back and tried to help, but I really just wanted to be alone. I was having some back labor and Sam rubbed my lower back with some tools that Cynthya gave him. It really helped. Per Cynthya's recommendation I went into the bathroom to try laboring on the toilet. Sitting down really hurt so I just rocked back and forth and breathed deeply. I started to feel some pressure in my bottom so I told Cynthya I wanted the midwife to come. I knew she was coming soon.
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