The birthing of Henley Jane

So, at around 8pm, my water broke but it was just a trickle so I figured I had days. I didn't.

For about an hour, I hung out and tried to rest and watched TV and played around online. And then, contractions started. OUCH!!! They went from 10 minutes, to 7, to 4 and then I called the midwives and said "Okay, now you could come." Of course, I STILL was in deep denial.

We moved upstairs and I pooped everything I had eaten for days and days. Good lord, that might have been the worst part! My back hurt SO much, so I could only manage the contractions on my knees hugging the birthing ball with CT rubbing my hips. We were still waiting for the midwives when transition hit and I was puking in a trashcan. I was stunned that it was happening so fast, contractions were on top of one another.

When the midwife's assistant finally came, I was on the toilet again...pushing. She heard me and shouted "get back in this bed, that is a baby, not a poop!!" I hadn't even been checked at this point. LOL! My actual midwife came in as I was pushing on my side in bed, I was supposed to breathe through them until she got there but I couldn't, not in a million years!! Pushing with no epidural is amazing and powerful and without control. I kept screaming that my clit was ripping. Seriously...(ETA: it didn't, but a cute name like "ring of fire" doesn't begin to describe it)

My mom and sister got there about 5 minutes before HJ was born. I made them sit in the hall because I was too far gone in labor land. At 11:22pm, after less than 4 hours of labor, and only 30 minutes of pushing, Henley Jane came sliding into the world. She was at a slant, with her fist by her face and a cord around her neck and all at once. There was no head then shoulders, it was all of her all at once.

I couldn't tell if she was a girl at first cause she had SO much vernix on her. I announced she was a girl, and then immediately thought, woa, wait, there could be a penis buried under there! I held her immediately though and for about an hour until I had to be stitched up (midwife did a MUCH better job than the OB btw). I tore through my epi scar, fucking episitomy....she is bigger and stronger than Oliver, 8lbs 20inches, and she has no early feed signs, just screaming. HA!

She has quite the tongue tie, which we are getting fixed on Friday, but she nurses just fine, has pooped twice and peed a bucket. I feel no pain! (ETA: I don't care about the pain I do feel would be more like it.) Oh, and I am 3lbs away from my pre-preg weight already!!