The Story of Jane's Birth

My pregnancy with Jane was by far, hands down, my most difficult pregnancy. On October 29th, at my 38 week appointment with the midwife, my blood pressure, which had been creeping up throughout the last trimester, was getting too high. Additionally, the midwife thought the baby was already over 9 ½ pounds. She suggested we might want to think about getting labor going. I agreed to begin taking an herbal blend which helps prepare the body for labor. The herbs in this blend were commonly used by Native Americans to help prepare for labor and to bring about an easier birth. The herbs began to work immediately; I noticed a big increase in cramping over the next few days.

By Halloween I had not gone into labor yet; I went to bed relieved that we didn’t have a Halloween baby. However, at 1 a.m. that night (Nov. 1) I awoke with real contractions. Ouch. I always forget how much they hurt! They seemed to be 15 minutes apart for about an hour. I woke Mystery Man up and told him. We both went back to sleep. It seemed throughout the next several hours I only woke up a few times, so perhaps I had one contraction per hour or so.

In the morning, I called my friends Stacy and Tabitha to ask if they could each watch 2 of the kids if I actually began real labor. I couldn’t tell if labor was starting or not, which was confusing for me because for all my past births I always started and ended labor in a period of about 2 or 3 hours. This was already over the time limit! I decided since I wasn’t in labor, we could probably still go to church (it was Stake Conference). However during the last hour of church I again had contractions every 15 minutes. We sent Azael and Ephraim home with Stacy; Mystery Man and I took Silas and Lorelai home for a nap. MM and I both took a nap as well. During the nap I had no more contractions.

After our nap I called Stacy and apologized for no “results” and thanked her for watching Azael and Ephraim. Mystery Man went to get them. While he was gone, I called the midwife and told her what was happening. She suggested I come to the clinic and get checked to see if I had dilated further. I called Stacy again and Mystery Man was still at their house. I told him we needed to go to the birth center; Stacy graciously agreed to watch our boys again (in addition to her own 4 kids!). MM and Lorelai came back home and picked me up. At the birth center, the midwife checked me and I was dilated 5 centimeters. She said, “You’re going to have a baby tonight” with a smile. I said warily, “Oh boy. Am I ready for the pain?”

We drove home and found a TV show to keep Lorelai entertained while Mystery Man began filling the birth tub with water. I called Stacy and asked if she’d please keep the boys a bit longer, as it appeared I really was in labor. She graciously agreed. She even decided she would come get Lorelai, and she was at our house in 5 minutes and took Lorelai with her.

The midwife arrived at our home and I settled into bed for some contractions. I had a heating pad on my belly, which was very soothing. After the birth tub was finished filling, I got into the water. The water was very soothing. I stayed in the tub for the rest of the birth. The pain was manageable until it was time to push. Pushing was very painful because it was SO FAST. Jane’s head and body came shooting out in one push at 6:32 p.m. The midwife lifted her out of the water into my arms and I just sat there in shock and pain. I asked, “What is it?” The midwife said, “Take a look, mom.” I couldn’t. I hurt too much to move. So the midwife looked under the umbilical cord and said, “It’s a girl!” I was happy it was a girl and happy birth was over.

I sat in the water holding Jane for a while. We took some pictures and Mystery Man cut the umbilical cord. The midwife commented that the umbilical cord was one of the fattest she had ever seen and the placenta was huge. Jane was very pink and chubby. Mystery Man and I both thought she looked a little like Ephraim and Silas. To our amazement, she weighed 9 lbs and 10 oz, and was 20.5 inches long with a 14” head. How big would she have been if she hadn’t been born 10 days early? We were blessed she came when she did! Thank goodness for a gentle intervention that helped induce labor in a safe way. Midwives are fantastic at what they do!

Today is day 5 since Jane was born. I have thoroughly enjoyed cuddling with her these past few days. I love her chubby pink cheeks and her cute mouth. She is very calm and sweet. I think of her as “Baby Jane, our Sweetheart.” Mystery Man often has a soft smile on his face and a coo on his lips when Jane is near. Life is good. We are so happy she’s here!

Note: this is the short version of Jane's birth story. If you have interest, you can request the more detailed version.