I woke at 8:30 am Sunday May 12th with mild cramping. Being 41.5 weeks pregnant I was sure I was going to be pregnant forever, so I dismissed the idea that labor had started. Tony had been home from work for several days and was returning that morning. I got up and made breakfast while Tony got ready. At 10:30 am, just before Tony was to leave I started to notice that the cramping did not go away... in fact it had become a little stronger and more regular. I timed a few. Sure enough they were coming every 5 minutes. Tony made a quick call to work to let them know he would not be coming in, then got to work filling the birth tub. We had a feeling it would take quite awhile and we were right!
I labored throughout the day, spending most of my time on the birth ball or sitting on our rocking loveseat. The contractions started getting pretty strong at about 2:00. I tried to nap a little but was only comfortable for a half hour or so. I really wanted to be in the water but the tub was still filling. We would fill until the hot water ran out, then wait an hour, then fill again. It was a slow process. Finally at aproximately 3 pm I moved to the birth tub. It felt great even though it wasn't quite as warm as I would have liked. After spending an hour or so there I decided to move to our bath tub so we could cover the birth tub and let the heater heat the water a little. We had planned a water birth and I wanted to make sure the water was warm enough for Baby.
It was around the time that I moved to the bath tub that we decided to give our midwives a call. They arrived at 5:35 pm. I was in laborland at this point, working very hard to stay on top of each contraction. After a quick blood pressure check and a listen to Baby they started boiling and microwaving big pots of water to pour into the birth tub. It was funny to me that they were actually boiling water for my birth! Isn't that what they always tell someone to do in the movies! When the water was nice and warm I gladly moved from the bath room back to the birth tub. I spent the next hour or so kneeling and leaning on the side of the tub.
I was having long contractions close together, most of them double peeking. My membranes had still not ruptured and I remember thinking that if my water would break that my Baby would be right there! I was just getting ready to ask one of the midwives to please just break my water when POP! ruptured membranes! I immediately felt the Baby move down. The next contraction I was pushing~ finally! I started pushing at 7:40 pm and his head was out within 4 or 5 pushes. My midwife checked for the cord around Baby's neck. The cord was indeed there but she could not unwrap it. She had me push a little but baby did not move. She had me get onto my hands and knees and push while she helped him out. At 7:59 pm our beautiful Baby was born! I immediately turned to see my Baby and saw a BOY! I was so surprised and happy at the same time!
We weighed our little guy about 2 hours after the birth~ 9 pounds 8 ounces! Not so little after all! He is a happy, gorgeous boy. He nurses like a champ, sleeps great, and loves to snuggle! We are truely blessed to have little Harper in our lives, and can't wait to watch him grow!
We love you Harper!
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