Tucker's Story

For those of you who regularly follow this blog, you know that I tend to be about a week behind in my updates... this post is no exception! Tucker is here :) He made it one week ago, June 27, 2011 at 10:19 pm.  He weighed 7 lb, 15 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long.  And he is perfect :)  If you're looking for "the story," read on! 

My midwife called me last Monday morning because I was quickly approaching the 42-week mark where she has to refer me to an OB.  I was praying hard that this would not happen because I had been so enjoying/looking forward to the non-hospital experience.  I was really hoping I would be the one to be calling her telling her I was in labor! Anyway, she called me and asked if I would come in and we would see what we could do to help "move things along."  So, we went in at noon on Monday and she asked if I would mind having my membranes stripped.  I told her I would much prefer it over pitocin & a hospital bed :) I was already "almost a 4" which made me feel better... at least my body had been doing SOMETHING! So, after having my membranes stripped and being sent home with a vial of black cohosh and a vial of blue cohosh (to take alternately every 30 minutes... WOW), we were hoping we would be meeting Tucker before Wednesday.  

Long story short, it worked!  By 6:30 that night I was pretty sure I was having pretty regular contractions every couple minutes, lasting a minute or so.  I wasn't positive because I was feeling everything in my back and my legs... I had back labor with Westin but also felt the contractions in the front and never in my legs.  We called our midwife around 7:00 to let her know we were pretty sure things were moving in the right direction and she said that was great & to let her know when things started "getting more intense."  I was over at my parents' house eating pizza and my mom suggested I might want to head home because in her opinion I was probably closer than I thought.  So, we did & I'm glad we did!  I had imagined myself taking a shower and doing my hair & makeup once I decided I was really in labor.  I did get in the shower which was nice... and I sort of did my hair & makeup but at that point I wasn't really interested in doing so.  Things definitely picked up & we called our midwife around 8:00 and she got to our house around 8:30.  I loved being able to just walk up and down my hallway, rock on my knees, sit in my nursery.  I stayed upright through the whole process except for about 40 minutes when I laid down to do my "Hypnobabies" track-- which I totally recommend!  If I had known how quickly things would go, I would have started earlier with it, but I was still very pleased with how well it helped me relax and stay comfortable.  I ended up using it the second time from 9:40 to 10:00.  When I finished it, I told Kreg that I needed to find a different position to try to stay comfortable.  My midwife suggested I try the tub & I'm SO glad I did!  He was born 19 minutes later after 4 more contractions.  It was AWESOME! I never felt out of control, or like I just couldn't do it.  We have pictures that prove I was still smiling even in that last 19 minutes :) 

I was SO thrilled to be able to just sit there in the tub & hold my baby as long as I wanted! He was instantly alert & calm & comfortable, which was such a great feeling for me! When I decided to get up & shower (also, very nice!) he went straight to Kreg (still attached to the placenta so he could get the very last of all the good stuff!).  He pooped twice during this time, yummy baby tar! Our midwife checked him out on our bed once I got dressed & into bed & he was just perfect! 7 lb 15 oz after pooping twice, which I think is great! We were in bed by midnight, which was my goal!

I just can't say enough how thankful I am that everything went so well! I told Kreg my ideal birth would be 4 hours long, I would wait to get in the water until about transition, and that I would keep my water until the very end-- and I got it all! Thank you, God! :) 

For the picture version of the story, check out my facebook album: Meeting Tucker