We welcomed our sixth sweet babe on June 1. I don't know why I have waited so long to write out her birth story, but the details still feel pretty vivid, so here goes.
Contractions started on the evening of Wednesday, May 29. They were coming close together, but weren't very strong. Even so, after a few hours of this we decided it was probably the beginning of the real deal and Ben got the children settled in at his parents' house (besides Katie, who was to be there for the birth).
I had contractions through the night and into the morning but they spaced out more and more. Ben was home and the kids were gone, so we had some quality time with Katie. We went for walks, went to the chiropractor and a midwife appointment, had Chipotle for dinner and played Mario Kart just the three of us. After dinner things felt like they were picking back up but by the time we went to bed, my contractions had all but stopped. This stressed me out because with the kids under someone else's care, I felt strongly the pressure to "perform" so I wasn't wasting anyone's time.
In the morning still nothing was happening, so I had Ben get the kids. I decided to have a normal day and go along as though I wasn't "supposed" to be having contractions. It ended up being balm for my soul to have one last day with just my five children. We went out and bought coloring stuff, got Chick-Fil-A for lunch, and spent the afternoon coloring. I had contractions here and there throughout the day, and finally in the evening I had one stronger contraction and finally had bloody show, the piece I knew was missing with all the contractions I'd had up to this point. Now I knew things were going to finally pick up for real.
We went to bed and I started having contractions in earnest during the night. In the wee hours of the morning Ben started cleaning the house and getting things set up for the birth. My sister-in-law, Hannah, came to get up with the children and get them fed and back to their grandparents' house. I alternated between resting and walking. When I would walk contractions were steadier and they would slow down when I would rest.
Things went on like that for several hours. My mom showed up around noon, and at 1:20 I had a very long, intense contraction. I texted my midwife and asked that she go ahead and come.
Contractions were coming steadily, but as soon as I got in the water they slowed back down to almost a complete stop. This felt so discouraging.
At this point, my midwife checked my cervix to see what was going on. I was progressing, but Riley was posterior and not putting direct pressure on my cervix. This is why labor was starting and stopping. This was so deflating since it is what happened with Calvin, and my labor ended up being really long and exhausting.
We decided to try the rebozo and some spinning babies techniques. The thing that finally got things moving was when Ben did the rebozo. Ohmygoodness. I had some contractions while he was rebozo-ing and they were so incredibly painful, perhaps the most painful contractions of my entire childbearing career. But after that we were in business and my contractions became very transitional. I was having back labor and also developed a cervical lip, so the next 45 minutes *hurt*. We used the same herbal concoction we used when I was in labor with Josephine and that helped the lip. I got back into the water and was pushing within minutes. Gratefully, as with all my babies, pushing was very quick and fairly easy. Riley Jean was out in just a few pushes over the course of about 2 minutes. She was 9lbs., 2oz., our second smallest baby.
She was perfectly beautiful and perfectly healthy, and has brought immeasurable joy to our home for the past 8 months.
My main takeaway from her birth is that resting was the right thing to do until I couldn't rest any more. I always have long, slow early labors and wear myself completely out walking, doing stairs, etc. trying to stimulate labor. This time I listened to my body and even though it took labor a long time to pick up as it usually does, I was so much less exhausted at the end this time than I usually am.
I love having my babies at home. Leslie and Dorcas have been with me for all five of my home births. They know me so well. They know exactly what I need to hear and do. I was 20 when I first met them, with one one year-old. Now I'm 30, with 6 children. At this point, they're more than just healthcare providers.
I didn't feel ready to be pregnant when we found out Riley was on the way, but I thank God daily that His plans are better than ours and we have our Riley-girl.
