The Down and Dirty

Both of my girls arrived fast and furious, labors from start to finish in under 4 hours.

Boys are different, so I've been told, and oh boy this one started mucho different.

I won't start with the distinct differences during pregnancy, or the months of cramping and contractions (you call them "practice" all you want, this time around they hurt). Nor will I go into the false labor I experienced for the first time. I will begin this story with Labor...kinda.

I have a wonderful midwife. I met her in 2007 at one of my SIL births and I said then "If I ever get remarried and have more children I want her." No one else would do. And so when I got re-married and found out I was having another child I called her right up. She was unable to attend Jubilee's birth due to a series of unfortunate events, including but not limited to: I went into

labor early, I was at my SIL's house which is an additional 30 min from mine (she already lives close to 2 hours away) and she had never been there, it was snowing heavily, and she wasn't called till about an hour before Jubilee came.

6 months later I am calling her again, I told you no one else will do. Truly, I'd rather have her there after the birth then a different midwife during.

Now we'll get to the labor...Sunday night I was once again experiencing cramping, I was tired and so finished. Frustrated with all the pain and discomfort with seemingly nothing to show for it. Everyone kept saying "It's doing something." but I couldn't see what it was doing and had no idea how long my body would just keep doing something. I figured I should call my midwife, before it got too late that night and let her know what was going on. She assured me she was staying in town, which means less the 30 mins away, and to not hesitate to call her.

Isaiah stayed home from work the next morning and our big hic-up was Jubilee happily bathing my phone in the toilet, the result was a completely dead phone and all contacts lost. Meanwhile my concerned midwife was trying to reach my now trashed phone and just getting voice mail. Around 1 or 2 that afternoon as I was trying to get some rest she stopped by and asked if I wanted her to check me. When she did she exclaimed I was at a 4-5! Boy did that put a smile on my face and filled me with renewed energy, nearly halfway there, the easy half granted, but on my way. I jumped up ready to walk the baby out.

We walked and I got tired, came home and rested, walked some more, rested. Slowly others

began showing up. Besides my midwife, her assistant, and an extra midwife that was getting certified and needed another birth, I had invited 3 of my SILs, 6 neices, and my mom who was staying with us.

Throughout the day I was having contractions, but it didn't seem to be really moving. I walked, rested, rolled around on a yoga ball, and did it all over again. Finally around 10pm I was ready to try to get some sleep, midwife checked me again, easily stretched to a 7. Yes. Really. And I was ready to go to sleep! So I did, for about 5 hours. As for the full house, some went home and some settled down to sleep.

On Tuesday morning I woke up around 3am with cramping again, the morning was more of the

same, moving and resting. Around 10-10:30 the 3 midwife ladies said they would leave to give some space but not be too far. I asked if I could take some castor oil at this point, my midwife didn't have a problem with it. She even had a recipe to make a milkshake, saying that it binds with the dairy, with less cramping. The recipe called for 4oz, we did half that. The shake wasn't bad tasting, just a little funky aftertaste. Thankfully, I didn't get any crazy cramping, about two hours later I went to the bathroom once. I came out and told Isaiah to call the midwife back.

I quickly moved into some real and HARD contractions, as I quietly worked through them, tears fell off my face. "I did NOT want to do this", I said over and over, even though I knew it was a little late, I just wanted it to be done. When I began involuntarily pushing everyone quietly arranged themselves in my bedroom (16 bodies, not counting my own) and I sat on a birth stool in the corner with Isaiah behind me. As I sat on the stool I remember saying "Get this baby OUT!" It

seemed mere moments before my body began convulsively pushing again. Providence who had wanted to catch baby was pushed up to the front as my water bags emerged, slight pause and it broke as head came, another slight pause and body came out. As baby was handed to me I announced "It's a boy."

My reward: Asaph - 11lbs - 23 3/4in - born March 15th