I woke up Saturday morning around 6:30am with some pressure in my lower stomach and back. I didn’t think much of it, because I had been experiencing similar symptoms over the past few days so I went on with my morning. Around 8am, I realized the pressure was a little more noticeable and a bit different than usual. I was starting to get light contractions at this point, but they were super inconsistent. I had a ton of Braxton hicks with Noah, so I assumed it must just be the same thing. They continued so I texted my doula, Jenny. I was 40 weeks and 6 days so I was just praying everyday that this baby would come. Then, I couldn’t stop going to the bathroom (sorry if that’s TMI), but apparently that can be a normal labor symptom since your body is getting rid of everything to make room for the baby to come out. Shortly after that, I guess I lost my mucus plug because I experienced the “bloody show”. The joys of birth! I was texting my doula through all of this and she was confirming these things, but we hadn’t said I was in labor yet. Because honestly who really knows and sometimes you can have labor symptoms for days so I didn’t have my hopes up. She told me to go ahead and have my mom come get T, since she was the one who was going to watch him while we were in the hospital! She had quarantined herself for us to prepare for taking T, which was a relief!

So my mom came and got T around 10:30am and I was still having contractions. They were definitely stronger, but I could still sway and just easily breath and talk through them. They were also still very inconsistent. I hadn’t told anyone else what was happening yet (except my sister), because I felt like it could be a false alarm and I didn’t want to get my hopes up or anyone else’s! After my mom and T left, I took a long hot shower. Then Thomas and I laid on the couch and watched a movie, folded laundry, and just hung out. It was honestly really relaxing, and I was still having contractions, but things slowed down at this point. I was disappointed, because I thought maybe it was false labor. We ate some lunch, and I kind of started moving around the house making sure things were clean and packed anyway. Around 1pm they started coming back stronger and more consistently. Even when I was just sitting down which is a good sign of labor progressing. Finally I realized I was definitely in labor, so I told my sister she could tell friends and family haha!

My contractions were getting more intense, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Thomas would apply pressure to my back through them and I would bend over on the couch or lay on my side on the bed and just focus on slow breathing. They definitely weren’t comfortable, but they weren’t intense yet. I experienced a nice break and a lot of relief between the contractions which made them much more bearable. This went on for about an hour but still nothing too crazy. At 2pm, we called my doula to check in with her. I just want to throw in the perspective that Noah was born at 3:04pm so the next hour gets wild! Our plan was to labor at home as long as possible, and have my doula come assist when the time was right, and then all head to the hospital together. I used the same doula last time with T, and she is absolutely incredible. She’s basically like a birth coach and just brings a whole different kind of calm to pregnancy/ labor/ birth/ postpartum/ everything. Everyone needs a Jenny haha. She’s been a doula for about 10 years and has attended so many births which made us feel so much more confident prior to both of the boys births. Thankfully, our hospital was still allowing both her and Thomas to attend the birth so we all still planned to go. So very incredibly grateful for that.

Anyway, we gave her a call and she wanted to hear me through a few contractions. It helped give her an idea of how far I was depending on how I handled them. She listened to me through a few of them while Thomas applied pressure to my lower back. I had a ton of back pain at the end of my pregnancy (the chiropractor was life changing), and experienced a lot of back labor for both T and Noah. The counter pressure on my lower back was so helpful through contractions as well as a heating pad! After Jenny heard me through a few contractions, we basically felt like we could go a little longer before she came to labor with us. I still felt comfortable with just Thomas, and at this point in labor with T, I still had about 5 hours to go. We agreed we’d check back in with her in 30 minutes unless I needed her sooner. She told me to put a heating pad on my back and do some of my contractions on the exercise ball. I did it, and I hated it haha. The heat felt good until it didn’t. I literally ripped it off my back at one point and told Thomas to get that thing away from me. Between 2 and 2:30pm, things really started to ramp up. It was starting to get more intense, and I was starting to really feel it. My contractions were strong and consistent at this point. Around 2:30ish, I told Thomas to call Jenny and tell her I needed her to come. He did and she started to head our way. As soon as he hung up, I had a few really rough ones and I starting crying. I told Thomas I wanted the epidural ASAP and needed to go to the hospital. We called her back to tell her we wanted to go, but she was 2 minutes from our house so she said to just let her get there first and then we could go. Thank goodness she told us not to go at this point, because Noah would have come in the car and that would have been messy!

I had to pee so I told Thomas we needed to go to the bathroom before my next one, because they really hurt worse on the toilet haha. I had my next contraction on my hands and knees in the bathroom because I couldn’t fathom another position. Jenny came running in the front door at this point and came right to me. My hair was hanging over my face and I was profusely sweating. I just remember looking up and seeing her and telling her, “I can’t do this”. She was so encouraging and was telling me I could and comforting me. All I wanted to do was to go to the hospital, but at the same time, I couldn’t have imagined moving further than that bathroom floor. Jenny tried to stand me up to get my pants on so we could head out. As soon as I stood up, my water broke. Well, at this point, we weren’t going anywhere. Honestly, for me, everything was happening so fast that I didn’t have time to wrap my head around what was happening. I didn’t have time to think about or wonder what would happen if we didn’t make it to the hospital. Things were just happening to my body and I was the vessel, I had zero control. But I knew God had all the control. 

After my water broke, Jenny had Thomas call the midwife at the hospital to let her know we’d be heading in soon. I remember on the next contraction, that my body was physically pushing and there was nothing I could do to stop it. They tell you not to push until you’re fully dilated, but it was happening and I couldn’t control it. I remember screaming to Jenny, “the baby is coming out!” She responded, “he’s not coming out, it’s okay!”’ Well, on the next contraction, I remember her saying, “we have a baby head!” Thomas quickly handed over the phone with the midwife to help coach us through the rest. Meanwhile, I was still cornered in our tiny bathroom on the floor. I had the bathtub on my left, the toilet and sink on my right, and a tiny little bath mat under me. Jenny told Thomas to call the paramedics so they could be here for when Noah arrived. He went into the kitchen to call them, and the next thing he heard was Noah’s cry. I was in the bathroom and literally after one or two more contractions, Noah just came right out. I don’t even remember trying to push or anything, I just remember it happening and all the sudden he was here and in my arms. It was some of the most intense moments of my entire life and thankfully it happened so fast. As soon as Noah was in my arms, every single pain went away. All I could see was my new little baby. The joy of holding him in my arms for the first time was overwhelming in the most beautiful way, and now I’m crying while writing this.

We immediately put him on my chest and I just held him. I didn’t even let him go until well after we got to the hospital. Thomas ran in and we just both looked at each other and I don’t even know if we said a word. We both started crying. We were amazed, so grateful, and in complete shock of what just happened. Our little Noah had finally arrived. At 3:04pm (at least we think, because no one was looking at the clock) on April 11th at 40 weeks and 6 days. It was the sweetest, most amazing moment, and I can still picture every part of it. They laid blankets in the hall for me so I could birth the placenta and put Noah and I on those (pictured above). The paramedics and firefighters showed up while I was laying on the floor waiting for my placenta haha and they were all cheering and so excited! Meanwhile, I’m laying there naked with my legs wide open and I could have cared less. Birth will do that to you. They were congratulating us and everyone was so sweet! They checked Noah and I and everything looked great, thank the Lord. They transferred me to the hospital so we could make sure all was well with the both of us. We thankfully were in and out of the hospital in 24 hours. It was such a blessing and such a crazy story. I can’t wait to tell T and Noah one day when they are in the bathtub, that Noah was born right on the floor. Birth is the craziest thing. You can plan all you want, but it’s not our story to plan. God had a plan all along, and I’m thankful he used me to be the vessel to bring our precious little boy into this world.