How Peter Came

This is the story of how Peter came from here...


to here...


For those who aren't really into birth stories, just look at the pictures. I LOVE birth stories, hence the detail.

On Friday afternoon, I began having some small contractions. For those who know that I am consistently overdue with my babies, this was a big deal. The midwives I had been going to told me about something called "serial sweeping of the membranes" that could keep me from going too overdue. Not that being overdue is bad, but my babies seem to have issues because they are so overdue. Margaret Mary had breathing issues because she had already swallowed meconium in my womb. John Henry had to be induced because my fluid levels were dropping (shown my multiple ultrasounds), which can show that a placenta is just getting too "old" (they are temporary organs). So at 37 weeks pregnant, they began to "irritate" my cervix to help it start doing some work. Serial sweeping of the membranes is shown to help a consistently overdue woman deliver more around her due date. It is also shown that it won't send a woman into labor if her body isn't ready. I trusted my midwives discernment and felt comfortable with this decision. At my first sweeping, I was 50% effaced and totally closed. The midwife wasn't able to sweep me, just irritate my cervix a little. Afterwards I had some period like cramping but nothing too bad. The the second sweeping I was still 50% effaced, about 2 cm dilated at the bottom of my cervix, but still closed up top. The midwife wasn't able to sweep, but irritated my cervix again. I had little cramping, but nothing bad. At 39 weeks, my third sweeping, I was still about 50% effaced but was dilated 1 1/2 cm all the way through. She was able to sweep me, aka, separate the bag of water from the top of the cervix. It didn't hurt at all and I didn't have any cramping afterwards. On Tuesday, I had a little bit of bloody show and lost my mucus plug (again, if you aren't into birth stories, skim). So on Friday afternoon when I started having little contractions, it had been four days since my last sweep. The contractions were little and irregular, so Jason and I practiced labor breathing (deep breaths that fill your gut) and I went to bed. The contractions got stronger (some woke me up), but I was still able to sleep some, as well as a nine month pregnant woman can. :)

Saturday morning, the contractions were gone, but came back slowly as the day progressed. Around 1:45 pm, I gave my midwife the 6-1-1 call, that I had had six contractions within one hour lasting one minute. She told me to call her back when either the contractions were getting hard to breath through or I was going to bed because they had tapered off. Unfortunately, they tapered off and when I called her before going to bed, she told me to take some benedryl (to help me sleep). That night, contractions woke me up around 12ish and I spent the next hour timing them. They were coming about 5-7 minutes apart and were getting stronger. Around 2ish, I called my doula (kind of a "sherpa guide" to labor) and asked her if she could come on over around 3 because the contractions were getting more intense and harder to breathe through. But, then the contractions started to taper off again. I was so confused, called the doula and told her not to come. When I was laying down, the contractions were 10-15 minutes apart, but when I was up vertically, they were about 5-10 minutes apart. The contractions continued to get more intense, but I kept my doula on hold because I didn't want her to come over if I was still in early labor (which is characterized by irregular contraction times). By 5 am, the contractions were so intense I was walking around the house moaning through them (GOSH does that HELP!!!). I couldn't keep still durring them, they were too much, BUT they were still irregular. When I called the midwife around 6:15 am, we talked on the phone for 10 minutes and I didn't have ONE contraction. She said that she thought I was still in early labor and to try to get some rest. I tried to lay down but couldn't because the contractions were so intense; I had to keep moving! At 6:30, I called my doula crying I was so overwhelmed. The contractions were coming on top of each other now, I couldn't keep still, and trying to rest was NOT going to happen. I asked her if it was okay to call the midwife and to ask to come into the birthing center to be checked. There was NO WAY I could go about the day with contractions like these. She said to call them right away and that she would meet me at the birthing center. I called the midwives, asked to be checked, and then told Jason to take me to the birthing center (he had taken the kids out to eat because the noise was too much for me). When I got to the birthing center, they checked me and I was 8 CM!!!! Everyone was shocked. I got into the birthing tub and immediately relaxed. How women birth without birthing tubs is a mystery to me. It REALLY helped me deal with the intensity of the contractions. What amazed me most about labor was how intense the contractions were, and yet how peaceful the breaks where in between them.

Baby Peter was born at 9:30 am in the birthing tub after two pushing contractions. Everyone was amazed that I pushed him out so fast. All I could think about was pushing him out fast so that I wouldn't have to experience another contraction. Moaning through each contraction, and my doula holding a washcloth on my forehead are what saved me through transition. My doula had to go to the bathroom durring one of the contractions and until she got back, I couldn't get it together. She was such a relaxing, peaceful presence. Margaret Mary watched Madeline in the kid room until it was time to push the baby out and Henry sat in Jason's arms beside the birth tub with me. I wondered how they were doing with them seeing me in labor, but at a birthing center, everything is so calm and normal that they weren't phased as all! Jason's take on the whole labor was "it was so normal!." No big scene when its time to push, it just happens. The baby comes out, they put him on your chest, you move to the bed to deliver the placenta. You nurse and admire your baby. When I pushed Peter out, Margaret Mary ran around the birth center singing "my baby is out! my baby is out!" So sweet. Margaret Mary and Henry both think the baby is so funny, they just watch him and laugh and laugh at all his little faces. When it was time to deliver the placenta, the midwife told me to push and I said "I don't want to push anymore!" I was pushed out. But I did, and guess what, my placenta looked "old!" It already had calcifications all over it. Everyone was in aggreement that the serial sweeping of my membranes had been a good idea. The placenta was ready to be out. Praise the Lord!

When I was in labor, I was so confused the whole time. I texted a friend Lisa constantly. Why were my contractions getting more and more intense if they were so irregular in how often then were coming? Was I still in early labor? If so, why was it taking SO LONG? If I was still in early labor, how was I supposed to function the next day with contractions so intense? I didn't even wake up Jason because I wanted to let him sleep if I still had a lot of laboring in front of me. But looking back at my labor, it was only nine hours once the contractions started getting too intense to sleep though. That's not too bad. Also, this was my first natural labor. I'm too tired to look back through my blog to link to MM's birth story and Henry's birth story. But, both were disappointing, frustrating hospital births. No one tells you how much your labor affects you... I don't know what will happen next birth, but I promise you this, I will NEVER try to labor on my back again (moving saved me) and I will never (unless a medical need) labor without a birthing tub again. A house bath tub can't even compare.

One of my favorite moments of the whole thing was when I was in the birthing center in the birthing tub. I was rocking back and forth on my hands and knees and moaning during a hard contraction. I looked up from the water and saw my husband and Henry looking at me with sweet little smiles on their faces. I couldn't help but take a break from moaning for a second and smile before getting back to business.

A funny moment. When we got home, Jason was pondering aloud at how much my belly had already shrunken up. Margaret Mary looked at me and said "It's still a little big!" How I love a little one's honesty. :)

So that's it for now. It took me three days to write this post things have been so busy around here. I'm doing well. The kids are a little fussy and mischeif-ey (we caught MM pouring milk from her sippy cup all over the carpet), but that's normal for a transition time like this, and they LOVE their little brother. Henry says "ba ba" for baby and all by himself, picked this truck out of his car/truck/train box for his brother.


He brings it to his baby Peter often as if to say "this truck is for you." He is such a sweet older brother.

So I posted a ton of pictures, because like all doting new mothers, I can't pick just one because he is so darn cute. So you pick your favorites to download...


Baby Peter is great. He loves to be swaddled, thank goodness for my swaddling pregnancy obsession! It stops a hard cry in its tracks. He also loves to nurse and only lost 3% of his birth weight before my milk came in. He was 8 pounds 4 ounces and 21 inches long when he was born, but I still think he looks soooo tiny! (I actually thought once he was born, that he looked so tiny he couldn't be over seven pounds! ) He doesn't have a big Craig head, but instead a little Kaman one. Everyone think he looks just like his big brother and sister.

We are so amazed at this little one God knitted together in my womb...