For those that haven’t heard it, here’s Charlotte’s birth story…enjoy! 🙂

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In the weeks leading up to April 27, I had three rounds of what doctors and pregnant women lovingly refer to as “false labor.” Contractions would start in the middle of the night – strong enough to wake me up and keep me up – but they’d never progress in intensity. Sounds like fun, right?  It was especially frustrating mixed with the anticipation that Charlotte would be arriving early, like her sister did.  Lizzie was born at 38 weeks – and I’d heard that second babies often follow suit, so by 37 weeks I was mentally prepared for labor.

Technically, Charlotte did arrive early – two days early.  However, the three weeks leading up to her birth seemed like forever!  I did lots of walking, had two prenatal massages, and ate spicy food – all in an attempt to jumpstart labor.  On the day I had real contractions, I had my first prenatal chiropractic adjustment.  The chiropractor warned that sometimes an adjustment can ‘get things going’ at the end of a pregnancy.  Boy, was he right!

After dinner on April 26 I noticed some very light contractions, but they were short and hardly caused any discomfort – and like my false labor before – they weren’t coming with any consistency.  I hardly paid them any mind as I was getting used to this whole “start-stop” game.  JR and I got Lizzie to bed that night and when I finally found a comfy spot on the couch, I felt another pang, but this time much more uncomfortable.  I took notice, but still wasn’t convinced this was the real thing.  JR and I watched a little TV and got ready for bed.  I did take the time to text my mom what was happening so she could be ready…just in case.  Around 10:45 pm I laid down to sleep and told JR that if this was true labor then the contractions would definitely wake me up.

About an hour later I woke up and called my mom.  “I think it’s time!,” I told her.  My dad and her quickly headed over to our house (my mom was going to be my labor coach again and my dad stayed at our house with Lizzie).  My contractions with Lizzie weren’t textbook at all, and here they were again without a consistent rhythm, but the pain was escalating and that was enough to convince me we should head to the hospital.  I texted my OB, Quyen – who also happens to be my good friend – and told her we were on our way to Winnie Palmer.

If there was any doubt in my mind that I was in labor, it was quickly erased once we were in the car.  Sitting down made the contractions even more intense and now they were consistently coming every 3 to 5 minutes.  My mom coached me on breathing through the contractions, while JR raced us to the hospital.  In the breaks between contractions, I prayed that we would make it there in time.  I didn’t want to have this baby in the car!

We made it to triage, but had to wait as there were other laboring mothers ahead of me that had to be checked in first.  However, no one appeared to be having difficulty with their contractions.  The other couples just sat there and stared into space.  Either the moms-to-be were in the very early stage of labor or they were there to be induced, but they definitely didn’t seem to be in active labor.

After about 30 minutes and once they realized I have a history of rapid labor, I was finally admitted into triage and checked by the nurse.  What a relief to find out I was 6 cm dilated! It was gratifying to know that my contractions had been productive.

I didn’t celebrate long because now the contractions were coming so quickly that I didn’t have any time to recover.  We were getting close to “go time” and the triage nurse knew it.  While they worked out the logistics about what delivery room to send me to, I asked if my mom could come back to our triage room (she had had to wait in the triage check-in area because they only allow one support person in with you).  They allowed this and JR quickly ran out to get her.  It was a short-lived visit as about 5 minutes or so later they wheeled me out of triage on a stretcher heading to the delivery room.  Instead of allowing my mom to go with us, the hospital staff insisted she go the visitor’s route to the floor and check-in again (seriously?!)  I might have objected to this, but I was too focused on trying to get through each contraction – or what seemed like one never-ending contraction at that point.

With JR by my side, I was wheeled into our delivery room around 2:15 am.  As soon as I got off the stretcher I felt the overwhelming urge to push.  It was crazy how the feeling overtook my body.  Luckily, Quyen had arrived just in time, and it was in that moment that I knew for sure that I would be having another completely natural birth.  When Quyen asked me if I wanted an epidural, I almost laughed (what a cruel joke!)  While drugs of any sort sounded really good to me, I knew there was no time.  I kept focused on the fact that it would be over soon and I would be meeting my sweet baby girl.  I had done it before and knew I could do it again.

Within minutes, Quyen and the nurses prepped the room as I tried my best to resist the urge to push.  Quyen checked me and confirmed I was complete (fully dilated and effaced).  It was time to push!  At 2:27 am, exactly two pushes later (or 1 1/2 pushes as Quyen would tease me later) Charlotte was delivered, about 15 minutes after we made it to the delivery room.

It’s hard to describe the feeling of a natural birth – I mean, it was definitely unbelievably painful, but it’s also so empowering at the same time.  You feel everything, but in a way the pain is what motivates you – even guides you – to get through it.  I remember right before I started pushing, I consciously steeled myself to the pain, focusing on what was to come right after I delivered the baby…the incredible relief of pressure.  Besides holding your baby in your arms, nothing feels as good in that moment.

JR was a champ and was by my side the entire time, even jumping in to hold my leg during delivery, although that hadn’t been the plan.  My mom was supposed to take on that role, but at that exact moment she was trying to get clearance to get to our room.  As ridiculous as it sounds, my mom missed her second granddaughter’s birth by mere minutes (maybe even seconds) due to the hospital’s red tape.  As she walked to our delivery room, she could hear a baby crying…”That can’t be our baby!” she thought.  Indeed, it was.

All was forgotten in the moment though, as we got to know the precious Charlotte Anne. Like Lizzie, she had a perfectly round head (and still does) and was very alert right after being born.  JR and I both had skin-to-skin time with Charlotte, and she also had two great breastfeeding sessions.  My mom hung around for a few hours and we even Facetimed with my sister so she could see her new niece.  It was a relaxing and perfect way to finish up another whirlwind birth.

Little did we know the “real fun” would start just a few hours later with Charlotte’s visit to the nursery…but in those moments, snuggled up with our girl in the delivery room, all was right in the world.