My Home Birth - Updates On My Labor And Delivery

February 19, 2014

Midwife appointment day. I am hoping she will say "Yay, your due Friday and it looks like the baby is coming on time..." But what I heard instead was..."It looks like everything is going great. I am not sure if you will be on time. It seems as though you could possibly be a bit late, which is totally normal, especially for first time moms....OH and I will be leaving tomorrow, out of town for a family emergency. I will be back Monday the 24th. I have a back up Midwife for you...blah blah." A back up Midwife?! What, wait...I sat and thought to myself quietly, while my heart dropped. I immediately felt a sense of sadness and confusion. I mean NO, she's my Midwife and she's not allowed to have a life after all. Shes here for me, and has a priority to be there!! Oh how selfishness hits at the worst of times haha.

I held back my fear and softly said "Well, I hope you can be there........" As I wanted to say NOOOOOOOO!!! WHHHYYYY?!!

I called my Mother after I left and told her what had happened. I kept calm, as I didnt want to make my Mom nervous. I've always tried to be that strong, stay cool and understanding type, but than it happened. "Chelsey, are you ok?" My Mom asked me. Ahhhh Moms, they seem to know that voice of "There's something wrong. I just don't want to talk about it because I might cry." voice. Little cracks in my voice, I started to weep and said "I know she has a life, and I understand....I guess I'm just disappointed." We agreed that life happens, and lets focus on the positive. We can only hope she is able to be there, but if not I will still have baby Ali in my arms, and that is what is important. AlhumdulAllah.

February 21, 2014

My DUE DATE! Its finally here! Yay, but no baby. And honestly, I was ok with it. I kept talking to Ali in my belly saying "AlhumdulAllah if you come, I love you, but try and hold out just a couple more days."

February 23, 2014

I text messaged my Midwife just to confirm when she would be back. AlhumdulAllah its Sunday. We just have to make it one more day. She confirmed her arrival for Monday the 24th at 5:30pm.

February 25, 2014

I had an ultrasound to confirm that everything was okay. Ali measured to exact size of due date, which made them actually change my due date from the 21st to the 24th. Not that it made a huge difference. Ali is safe and in position. I guess hes just a bit more comfy than Id thought.
Momma loves you Ali, but Momma would rather you not be 9 lbs coming out haha. Oh the images in my head of that scenario...

February 26, 2014

Midwife appointment. Hoping its my last. My Midwife said the ultrasound was great and there is nothing to worry about. She than decided to check me and alhumdulAllah I am 3 centimeters dilated, but I have a little problem down there, that my Midwife insists needs to me treated before labor. She wants my recovery to be as comfortable as possible, and my little issue could cause some irritation. (No need to get into details. If you are a woman, I'm sure you can think of a few ideas.) But sex was not an option, as it helps to induce. So I had to stick to walking, pineapple (old wives tale) and Allah swt.

February 27, 2014

Today, I decided to try dancing, relaxing and swirling on my birthing ball. I turned on some Bachata music, turned the lights out and just moved. Man I forgot how much I missed dancing. I just feel so silly with this big belly haha. Spanish music involves a lot of hip movement, so I thought it would be perfect to move baby down. Than I turned on some softer music, sat on my birthing ball and rolled my hips in a spiral position.

This day is my late Grandfathers birthday. My Grandmother had hoped that Ali would be born in February so that we had another February birthday in our family. Since my Grandfather passed, a year before I was born, our family lacked a February birthday. If there was a perfect day to give birth for my Grandma, today would have been that day. How crazy that would be, but still no baby. Sorry Grandma...

February 28, 2014

Last day to have a February baby....Guess it wasn't in Allah's plan...

March 3, 2014

6:00am
I woke up to pee, and noticed droplets of blood in the toilet. I decided to call my Midwife just to give her a heads up. I knew everything was probably okay, and just got a little rush of "OMGeesh...it might be time." My Midwife was happy to hear my progress and just said to relax and let her know if I stat to feel contractions. I than called my Mom, just to give her a heads up as well.

I can only imagine her sitting at work right now, with her phone attached to her face anticipating my call haha.

3:00pm
Left to pay rent. Seriously, I just want to nap though. Stopped at Walgreen's to grab gallons of water, and some tea candles that smell like vanilla and gardenia. Once everything starts, my room and bathroom will only be lit by candle light. I than took a walk around the pond at my apartment. I'm feeling cramps, but nothing frequent or painful enough to say "contractions". I called my Midwife just to update her. I told her my cramps were hitting my back as well, and she seemed very pleased. With the sign of light blood and mucous, as well as these cramps, she assured me my body was doing exactly what it needs to. My cervix is thinning out and my body is preparing for baby Ali to wiggle his way down.

I braided my hair back in a french braid, so I don't have to fuss later. I decided to take a shower to cool off and clean up....feeling relaxed.

5:00pm
Experiencing mild cramping. I simply stand up and rock my hips back and forth and it seems to sooth it and help it to fade away. Still nothing I'd consider contractions, but I might start timing them soon on my contraction timer app. Feeling super thirsty and hungry. I better get some fuel and hydration in me. I am preparing for the most amazing thing a woman will ever experience....the natural birth process of her first child...inshAllah.

AlhumdulAllah I feel so blessed.

8:30pm
My cramps (and I say cramps because I don't feel that they are strong enough to be classified as contractions) have been getting a bit worse, but still tolerable. The feeling rest in my back primarily. I started timing them at 7:30pm. So far they are anywhere from 38 seconds to 1:03 seconds. being my longest one. My cramps are also spaced out from 5 minutes to 8 minutes apart at the most. I'd say on average I am experiencing 50 second cramps, 6 minutes apart. I have been resting here and there since about 6:00pm. I have a feeling this might be an all nighter, so I want to get some sleep in where I can. Also, when I feel a cramp come I wiggle my hips around. I am not sure if it is lessening the pain at all, but it is keeping me from being tensed up, which is key!

11:00pm
So I think my "cramps" are contractions at this point, they are pre-laboring contractions. Feeling a tad more uncomfortable and varying in length now. Some last 1 minute and some 45 seconds. I'm bouncing on my birthing ball which helps with back pain. Standing seems to be a bit more painful while contractions are happening. I spoke to my Mom to update her. Than called my Midwife. She admitted to being surprised nothing had happened, but was happy to see my progress with contractions, and asked about pain ect. She said I seemed too happy sounding to be in labor yet haha. I told her I was a tough chicka and honestly this being my first, I am not sure what to expect or feel. I am preparing for these to get much worse, so i find myself brushes these off my shoulder haha. She said she would not be surprised to hear from me in the middle of the night. She informed me to hydrate as much a s possible and get as much rest as I can.

I called my Mom back and she decided to head over tonight instead of getting a call in the middle of the night. AlhumdulAllah. Hubbies home and we are just waiting, relaxing...praying for the best and enjoying each others time together.

March 4, 2014

1:00am

My contractions have become more intense. For the past 1.5 hours they have been lasting 1 minute or longer. My most recent was 2 minute, but they are still coming around 5 minutes apart. Mommy is heading over. She should be here in about 30 minutes. My Dad decided to stay home until we give him a call to head over. He may just head over in the morning regardless if I have Ali soon or not. 

AlhumdulAllah for my birthing ball. Since I am getting a lot of back pain, bouncing up and down on it during contractions has helped so much. It is true that they start oult mild and slowly work to a peak level. You start to think... "Oh SHIZ...what dat be?!" but than before you know it, its fading away haha. I can still joke at this point so I've not yet hit the "Cant walk, cant talk, dont wanna joke" phase of my contractions. Although I do hope I can keep a sense of humor through the whole thing. I much rather laugh the pain away.

The boys (my husband and brother) are playing FIFA....contraction................1:11 minutes long....not really a relaxing environment when two guys are betting a whole $1.00 on video games. haha

I might head into my bedroom soon to lay down and get some rest. I just want to wait for my Mom to get here. Getting pretty sleepy. My bodies been on a roller coaster since 6:00am.

Not sure when or if there will be another update once I fall asleep. I figure if I wake up, its for a reason....

Guess we will see. Nighty night for now. contractions....whow 2:39 min. idk how much sleep I will be getting tonight.

Ya Allah keep me strong :)