Birthing Little Baby Otis

I had my baby and today he is actually 6 weeks old! I had him 2 weeks early and he was 7 pounds 10 oz and 22 inches long. My biggest baby by a lot!! We kind of wondered if I calculated the due date wrong with such a big baby so early. But I just think he has the most Cook side in him. He has the dark complexion like the Cooks, a mini Weston Cook nose, weighed a lot at birth like the Cook babies. Weston was just under 9 pounds when he was born. I will share my birth story. Something inside of me actually knew he was coming early. Everyone kept telling me I had more time because both of my other babies were born pretty much on time. Sage was born at 39 weeks + 6 days and Reuben was born right smack dab on his due date at 40 weeks exactly. But I was in serious nesting mode and felt in a hurry to get everything done that I needed to get done and checked off my to do list. I usually clean out my car within a couple days of my baby being born and my car was clean, haha! The weekend Otis was born, Weston's Dad invited Weston to come to Fountain Green and go hunting with him. This of course made me nervous, but with everyone assuring me the baby was not going to come early, I decided at moments to believe them and I told Weston he could go, but luckily, probably out of inspiration, Weston decided to stay home. I had also gotten highly discounted tickets to a pumpkln patch called Cornbelly's up in Lehi, Utah and I wanted to use them before the baby was born because I knew they would go to waste if we didn't use them before he was born and plus we have been living with my parents and really needed some time with just our little family. So on Saturday October 21st, we packed up our family and we went to Cornbelly's. Since I had a few things left to get on the list of homebirth items my Midwife gave to me, we also took the opportunity to get the last few things which made me really happy that it was all checked off! We live in a rather rural area and so anytime we make it up to the city, we have to take advantage in getting the things we need. We had a really nice day at the Pumpkin Patch, playing lots of games they had there, going through a corn maze, and just having family time. We left probably around 6 in the evening and started to head home which would be around a 3 hour trip. When it hit around 7pm on our trip home, I started to feel contractions that were pushing my baby right into my colon which was SUPER uncomfortable. I just figured it was just the baby dancing on my colon mixed with Braxton Hicks contractions. I had been having Braxton hicks contractions pretty much every single night for the last month or 2 which actually was a blessing in my mind because I used them as an opportunity to practice my hynobirthing breathing exercises. So anyway, once we got home from our trip, I felt exhausted from the day and I was so glad to be out of the car from feeling so uncomfortable for the last 2 hours. I went right to my room and locked myself in there because I wasn't in the mood to see anyone. Weston had been sleeping in a different room anyway because when I am pregnant I snore, and he can't sleep through the snoring. I just laid in bed and was getting annoyed because the "Braxton hicks" still hadn't gone away, when it suddenly hit me, maybe these aren't Braxton hicks, maybe I am in real labor. I then googled the difference between false labor and real labor (I know I know, this is my third baby, but yes, every single time I have a baby I end up doing this, lol). It said braxton hicks will usually go away when you go to the bathroom or change activity, and that braxton hicks didn't get stronger over time and real contractions did. Well these were getting stronger and I had definitely been to the bathroom and changed activity. So I believe it was now around 11pm and I decided to text my midwife and tell Weston that I might be in labor. I woke him up and he was pretty exhausted. I just told him that I wasn't sure, but was possibly in labor and asked him if he was up for giving me a blessing, but also letting him know that my Dad was still awake so I could ask him too. Weston was pretty out of it and told me I better ask my Dad. I went upstairs and told my Dad and my Dad gave me a blessing which made me think that I wasn't really in labor. I went back to bed to try and get some sleep and continued to have contractions or "waves" as we call it in hynobirthing. I was listening to my hypnobirthing CD and doing the breathing and relaxation I had been practicing which helped a ton and took away any discomfort. My Dad later told me that he felt to say different things then he told me, but felt weird saying them and so he didn't. At 1AM I decided that this was the real thing and I went to wake Weston up again and asked for another blessing. This time Weston was full awake and his blessing blessed me that I would know the baby was fine, everything would go smoothly with no complications, the Lord was with me and very happy with my choice to bring this sweet spirit into the world and raise him. He also blessed me with a pain free comfortable labor which made me really excited because even though I had a pain free labor with my previous hypnobirthing experience, I was a little nervous that it wouldn't be. I just wasn't having as successful practices with my braxton hicks as I did with my previous labor. Next time I am definitely going to take the class again. For whatever reason, I need the classes to feel the most confident and not just go by my memory. After the blessing I got really really excited because this time I knew I was in real labor!! I was going to have my sweet baby in my arms soon! My midwife had not responded to my text message and so I called her letting her know that I was in labor and if it was okay if we came to her home soon. We decided with me living a couple hours away and living with my parents that the best thing to do would be to have the baby at her home instead of my parents. I didn't really want everyone there while I was laboring and she was nervous traveling so far away when there were other babies due right next to mine. I took some final pics of my 38 week pregnant self, and then packed the rest of the things we would need. Weston jumped in the shower and then packed up the car. Once again, each time while I had a WAVE, I let my body go loose and limp and I slowly breathed to relax through each one. Also once Weston got out of the shower, I would lean against him during a wave, and he would push against my hips which believe me when I say, BEST FEELING EVER during labor!!! He learned it from my midwife and her midwife assistant doing it to me each time I had a wave in my last labor. Love that pressure so so so much. We left around 2AM and this time the trip was much more comfortable. We still hadn't decided on a name so we talked about the name on our trip. I grew to love the name Otis over the past year or two from the movie "Kate and Leopold" and from a baby name list article that kept popping up on my FB newsfeed that had a few boy names with one of them being Otis. Otis was Weston's favorite of the names I liked and I finally decided on that one, and Weston really liked the idea of Abraham as his middle name. We got to my Midwife's house around 4AM and they had prepared a tub for me to sit in and labor. I got my swimsuit on, got in, and Weston read to me hypnobirthing scripts which helped me relax. This go around we didn't practice near as much together and he was reading the scripts really really really slow. It was making me laugh and I asked him to read them faster. Oye, next time we need to practice everyday again, we were just much more relaxed with practicing since last time went so perfectly. But it still helped a ton, his voice calms me a lot. As I had more waves, I continued to go loose and limp and breath through them which caused them to not be painful and just feel like pressure. It was kind of weird this time because the other two times I would feel the wave move all the way up over my whole belly and this time I only felt it at the bottom of my stomach and then towards the end of the wave, I would feel the baby's body push against my cervix or colon. I often had the feeling that I needed to go to the bathroom. After a while I wanted to get out of the tub and walk around in hopes that things would move faster!! I was just still so so excited I was in actual labor and I wanted to meet my baby boy so fast. My Midwife could see that I was pretty comfortable and since I was her third birth that week, she asked if she could go take a nap for a little while. I told her yes and she had 2 midwife assistants that were there to stay with me and help me. We had talked about prior to my birth, that I LOVED the hip pressure, so each time a wave came, I relaxed on Weston and they pushed on my hips. One of the midwife assistants actually was there at my previous birth and the other one was brand new in training. If I could change anything, I would have told her to push harder or asked my main Midwife to stay, but I was trying to keep everyone comfortable. But seriously, her pushing against my hip didn't really do anything and I later asked Weston if he would push against my hips because him alone was much better than than the other two, with one of them not really pushing at all. I told my midwive's that it felt like I needed to go number 2 every time I had a contraction. I knew I didn't actually because sometimes the baby's head position just does that, but I did go to the bathroom often and it would feel so good to sit on the toilet so I would just stay there for a while through multiple waves. Also at one point things were slowing down. My midwife's told me that it would be a great time to lay down and rest at that point. Honestly during labor, whether or not things are crazy or not, my mind is going and going and so I can't sleep anyway, but I took their advice and rested. Everyone laid down when I did. I just laid there and then things started to get even stronger and I was having a harder time breathing through them. I didn't know why it wasn't as easy as the time before, but it just wasn't. I woke everyone up except my main midwife who was upstairs and I kneeled down with my arms resting on Weston who was sitting on the bed. One of my Midwife's (the more experienced one) then put pressure on my hips. She also would feel where I would tense up and touch it saying relax which I am so glad she did that!!! I would immediately relax in that area remembering how to relax in each place of my body as I thought about it and the pain would go away. Once my main Midwife joined me again, she told me since it felt like I needed to go to the bathroom during each wave, the baby would have been born hours previously if I had my water broken and wondered if I wanted my water broken. I told her that I didn't because I knew that once your water breaks, the wave's increase in pressure and can cause it to be more painful than it has to be. At that point things were getting pretty strong and I couldn't imagine it getting stronger. I remember just sitting on the bed with no one by me as things were really strong and one wave right on top of the other. I told my Midwive's I was having a hard time doing the hypnibirthing breathing right and relaxing at this point. My Main Midwife assigned one of the other midwife's to help assist me (the less experienced one). She came close to me with each wave and breathed with me. Oh my goodness, she was no good at the hip pressure, but I am forever grateful for her breathing knowledge. That assistance helped so so so much!!! I was able to breath correctly as she helped me. Both of my other kids were born around 9:30AM and I figured this baby would too, but 9:30AM came and went and my Midwife once again talked to me about breaking my water. She told me that my bag of water was pushing against my colon and that the baby's head wasn't able to get into the right position to move things along faster because of all the water between his head and my cervix, but if my water was broken then it would be moved to the right place. I told her No and then went and sat on the toilet to have waves there. I really really liked sitting on the toilet this go around, it just was really relaxing and less pressure. A few minutes after sitting on the toilet, my water broke all by itself!!!! My Midwife guided me to the tub which they had prepared for me once again and made warm and then during each wave at that point my Main Midwife had me do a low hum during my breathing. Oh my goodness, the pain 100% evaporated at the point!!!! I wish I had been doing that hum for the past hour because that helped so so much. None of the Wave's were too bad during my whole labor, but I little pain was always present at the bottom of my uterus which hadn't been there during my last pregnancy. And with the deep hums, the pain completely completely vanished!!! One of my midwife assistants said around the time of me getting into the tub, "I am going to rub your back okay?" I replied, "No, I don't want anyone to touch me." I felt bad after the labor was all done for telling her No, but I always hit a certain point at the end of Labor where I don't want anyone to touch me and I don't want anyone to ask me questions!! Always a sign that the baby is coming so soon!! After my water broke, I only had a few waves, and then I felt the urge to push!!!! You know, having the urge to push during each pregnancy really really really excites me because I know at that point my baby will be in my arms within minutes!!! I had never actually done the hypnobirthing method of breathing the baby down and I really wanted to this time so each time I had a wave, instead of pushing, I would just breath downward and I could feel the baby's head moving down, it was so exciting!!! But then My Midwife checked the baby's heart rate and urgently told me to no longer do the hypnobirthing breathing and that the baby wanted out and I needed to push as hard as I could. It hurt, but I stopped the breathing and pushed the baby as hard as I could. After 2 or 3 hard pushes and I will admit, lots of pain, the babies head popped out really really quick, then I pushed again and his body followed with Weston catching him. Weston pulled him out of the water and I heard his cry. He handed me the baby and I calmed him down almost immediately as I hugged him. He was born at 11:19AM, 7 pounds 10 oz. I can't describe how it feels exactly to have my baby in my arms for the first time. My heart seriously feels like it is growing and growing and growing. I just stared at him and could immediately see a resemblance between him and my other 2 kids, especially Reuben. I just stared at him with such joy, thinking about how sweet he was and I wondered what kind of person he was and also thought how glad I was to finally not be pregnant anymore and have my little baby boy in my arms!! I then started to feel a burning sensation and my midwife pulled on the cord and assisted the birth of the placenta. She told me that the baby first scored an 8 on the apgar test and now was a ten!! They helped me and the baby get out the tub and boy oh boy did he want to suck. So I nursed him for the first time as my midwife pushed on my stomach to help with the after birth contraction pain. They need a whole hypnobirthing class just for those. Those are worse for me than during the labor. I appreciated the pressure she put there a lot while I nursed my baby. This labor wasn't as easy as my previous hypnobirthing experience, but there were also a lot of things I did different and better with my pregnancy with Reuben: I kept up my exercise routine my whole pregnancy, I was able to workout just as hard at the end as I did at the beginning because I never stopped. My nutrition was better. And I took the hypnobirthing classes and practiced every single day with Weston. This time: I fell off my exercise routine and mostly just walked everyday, even though I walked, I was losing my muscles I had and was a lot weaker. I hate horribly, right now I live with my parents and let's face it we eat a frozen pizza every other day with hardly any fruits and veggies in my diet. And I didn't retake the hypnobirthing class, just did the breathing from my memory (3 years ago was the last time I had a baby, I should have retaken the class) and I practiced by myself and rarely practiced with Weston. Oh, and also the pressure on my hips wasn't as great as last time either. But even though, it wasn't as perfect as last time, it really wasn't that bad at all with what I was able to do. And can I just say once again how much I LOVE NATURAL BIRTH!!! Such amazing experiences and each of my births bring a smile to my face each time I think or talk about them. <3 Love, Becky joy