I started having light contractions in the middle of the night on Thursday. I let the MDO teachers know what was up just in case things progressed but of course they did not. Contractions off and on all day Thursday and then all morning Friday with no real advancement is kind of annoying. Around noon, I decided to take a nap because I was tired and the grandparents were in town and Austin was home "just in case" so I could without worrying about children destroying the house.
I woke up around 3.30 with harder contractions. Nothing I couldn't handle, just uncomfortable and frequent, about 4 minutes apart. We waited until they'd continued for a half hour before informing people. Carol, the midwife, came at 4.30 and checked me and said we had a while to go (I was 3 cm) and to call her before they got really bad. We rearranged our dinner plans to eat here, called and texted everyone, and kept on timing the contractions.
Mom showed up with food around 5.30 and by 6 I was in the bedroom with hard contractions that hurt a whole whole lot. We debated calling Carol but figured I had a while yet. I decided that I'd wait until after dinner to call everyone because surely we had time.
At 6.30 the contractions were almost unbearable so Mom checked me. I was at a 6 so we decided to call Carol and text/call everyone else to come on. I probably still had a couple of hours.
Probably 2 minutes later (not exaggerating) I felt the urge to push with every single contraction, which were now pretty much on top of each other. I was still laying down and it took a lot of strength and two people to help me get into my preferred position. I had wanted to change into something else to wear but there was literally no time. I could feel her crowning, Austin and Mom could see it, there were just a few pushes on a couple contractions and Eden fell out into her daddy's hands. It was less than 15 minutes since Mom checked me at 6.30.
We attempted to get an audio of her first cry but I'm actually not sure if we did or not. Austin will have to check his phone. I remember pushing a button to start but not sure about stopping. She got wrapped up in a flannel blanket her great-grandmother made and handed to me. My and Austin's clothes were covered in blood and goop and she was too but she was otherwise beautiful and perfect. Still is, to be honest.
I seriously never know what to expect with delivery. I suppose this is the most normal of my three, but it was still crazy. She was taking her time, then all of a sudden changed her mind and wanted out right. now.
No one was present for her actual birth but her parents and her grandmother, who, thank god, knew what to do while we waited the few minutes for Carol to arrive. Her other grandparents and her brothers were in the house but I'm not sure what they heard. The boys don't seem traumatized this morning, so I'm betting they're ok. Her grandfathers went out and got her a birthday cake, because why not? Her aunts and uncle came to see her, as did two surrogate aunts and a cousin. She hasn't cried much (granted, she's less than 24 hours old) and has taken to nursing like a champ except when it means getting taken away from Daddy. Apparently she's already chosen him as her favorite. Maybe because he's the first face she saw, maybe because his body temp is higher than mine so skin to skin with him is warmer. Either way, she sleeps REALLY well on Daddy's chest.
So, thank you to everyone who was here and who helped and supported our decision to have a home birth. Thank you to Mom and Austin for catching her and helping me with that last insane 15 minutes. Thank you to Mom for making dinner and taking over the rest of the guests. Thank you to Bob and Allen for getting cake and the two of them and Beth for keeping the boys preoccupied. Thank you to Carol for being our midwife and for doing the important stuff that needs to be done after the birth. Thank you to Amy for being the rock star soulmate and doing things she never thought she'd do and seeing things she never thought she'd see. I love you! Thank you to John for coming and taking pictures and to Kristen and Brandon for coming and bringing Gatorade and flowers. Thank you to Cari and Stephanie and Victoria for just coming and celebrating our baby with us (and for Cari getting us some groceries and lunch today). It's been an intense 24 hours and we couldn't have done it as easily without you.
Fast asleep on Daddy's chest.
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