Birth Story: Annabelle Grace

[Tracey's note: I love Caroline's birth story about her daughter Annabelle. Stop and start labor is normal, and Caroline had such amazing patience to let the natural process unfold.]

My labor with Annabelle began at around 35 weeks of pregnancy. For a solid 3 weeks I experienced mild contractions, dilating regularly (about 1 cm each week), and I had an uncomfortable pressure in my pelvis that could not be ignored. Since this was my 2nd pregnancy I knew that these signs did not mean I would have my baby within a couple of days. The only thing I knew for certain was that these were signs that my body was preparing itself for labor; and that every uncomfortable day was one day closer to when I could hold my baby for the 1st time.
By the time I approached my 38th week I had dilated to 4 cm and my mother-in-law joked that the baby would one day just fall out! During this week all those signs of progression disappeared and I had mixed emotions. On one hand, I was happy to not be feeling so uncomfortable! On the other hand, I felt that my body had stalled-out and thought that it would be another few weeks before my baby made her grand arrival. In order to not be so disappointed I told myself that my body needed to rest after working for the last 3 weeks. I also told myself that my body needed to conserve its energy for the big day.
About 5 days into this energy conservation mode I woke one morning with more energy than I'd had in a long time. I remember feeling as if I couldn't stop "doing" around the house. My husband was very curious about my new found energy; but I reassured him that this isn't the real deal because even though I started having contractions again, they were very mild and very sporadic. After all, the 3 weeks prior was a lot more uncomfortable than this! At about 5 that evening I was on the phone with my dad making plans for the evening. When I got off the phone my husband asked me, "So, what are the plans?" At that point my response was, "I don't know because while he was talking I had a contraction and it was so strong I didn't hear what he was saying." My husband was very firm in suggesting that I stay home and I agreed. Throughout the day my husband had been asking me how I was feeling, but now he wanted details; he was beginning to suggest that I was in labor for real. However, I kept telling him that it could still stop and we could still go for another few weeks. He didn't argue, but I knew that he didn't believe me. Three hours later, I was lying on the couch, timing my contractions, and my husband was coaching me through them.
Even though this was my 2nd pregnancy it was my 1st attempt at a natural delivery. I was shocked at how do-able this was. My contractions were strong, but with each break I found new energy and the confidence to move through the next one. I kept telling myself that if I made it through the last one I can make it through the next one. Around 11:30 things were getting difficult and we headed to the hospital. The entire drive to the hospital was so difficult that I was thinking, "I can't do this anymore and as soon as we get to the hospital I'm getting an epidural." When we arrived at the hospital I was fully prepared to tell the nurses to go ahead and get the epidural started. The nurse wanted to check me first and shockingly announced, "Oh my goodness! You've already dilated to a 9!" I was elated and would have done cartwheels down the hall if the nurses would have let me! I though to myself, "if I've made it this far I can make it for another centimeter." I could see the finish line and it was within reach. It gave me enough confidence to deny the epidural and push through to the end.
The last 4 contractions I had were the absolute hardest, I was exhausted, and inside I was begging my body to begin pushing. Although my husband was very encouraging throughout the entire process, this was when he was the most helpful. With each contraction getting stronger he would tell me things like, "you've got this one licked." His confidence in me spilled over and I could see that the end was near. All of a sudden my body began pushing and 20 minutes later I crossed the finish line and held my baby for the 1st time.
I used to think that having a natural childbirth meant learning how to tolerate & ignore pain. I was wrong. I'm not going to lie, there was a lot of pain & hard work involved; but the characteristic that I needed to tap into the most was patience. In order for me to have such a great delivery, I had to be patient through the last uncomfortable month of pregnancy. I realized that I would need this patience throughout my child's life; therefore, I might as well learn how to be patient with Annabelle even before she was born.
Caroline Nixon