The Birth of Kaylee

At 39 weeks and two days, on Tuesday, March 28, I thought I would get the ball rolling on this
labor thing by doing things naturally and about every wives’ tale possible. I drank pregnancy tea,
ate an entire box of jalapeno poppers, took a hot bath and took my vitamins that were supposed
to help once labor started. I even went to Turning Point Wellness Center in Burleson to get an
adjustment by chiropractor, Kristen Hosaka. I just wanted to make sure everything was aligned
and if I did go into labor, I would be ready physically as much as possible. But, by the end of the
day, no baby or signs of labor.
It was probably around 5 AM on Wednesday that I went to the bathroom for that usual
pregnancy in the middle of the night pee. I noticed that it seemed more of a rush of liquid, but I
was so tired, I didn’t think anything of it and went right back to bed. My husband, Ryan, woke up
around his usual time of 7:30 AM and it was then that I noticed I was sleeping in a puddle. Did
my water break and I didn’t realize it? I told Ryan and his immediate thought was maybe I had
wet myself in the middle of the night. I went ahead and notified my midwife, Terry, and she
called me and told me to use a swab test that came in my birth kit and test the liquid and see. If
it turned blue that meant my water broke. It didn’t take long for the cotton tip of the swab to
change color, but it was hard to tell the color. Was it blue? Maybe a navy or a dark green? I
definitely wasn’t feeling any contractions so I had no idea what was going on. I sent the picture
to Terry and she asked me to come into her office so she could check. I decided to go in at 10
AM after I would drop Ryan off at work.
Then, I drove down to Cleburne to confirm with Terry that my water had broke. I went to do a
urine test and more amniotic fluid came out, which was gross but useful to be tested again to
confirm that was indeed the liquid coming out of me. Terry even did a sonogram to make sure
there was enough fluid and there was still plenty. She checked on the baby and she was fine,
but she wasn’t quite low enough in my pelvis as Terry would like. There wasn’t a lot to do at that
point because contractions hadn’t started. I was given Gelsemium to help and let Ryan know
what was going on. He said he was going to go ahead and take the rest of the day off. So, I
picked him up and we had lunch at Fuzzy’s. At that point, we had notified our families. I
remember telling Patricia, we still had some errands to run and she was surprised since my
water had broke. I just put on my first sexy Depends diaper and went about my day, getting the
last few things we needed for our home birth.
By 6 PM, nothing had really happened. I bounced on the ball, I was drinking tea, I tried to relax,
but I was getting more anxious and still no contractions. I would have some sharp pain when I
tried to pump, but now looking back that was not that painful at all until we went into active
labor. The most we could do was relax as much as possible until things went into full swing.
On Thursday morning, at 3:15, the baby was moving and I had my last little contraction around
4:25 AM. The only thing that seemed to get my contractions going was when I was pumping or
nipple stimulation. But, as soon as that stopped, contractions seemed to stop too. Throughout
the day I was to keep track of my temperature and make sure I wasn’t running a fever. I know
once your water breaks you’re at risk of infection. But, I did everything I could to prevent that,
such as using a peri bottle to rinse myself every time I went to the bathroom and take showers
instead of a bath. If I had only known my last bath was on Tuesday, I probably would’ve enjoyed
it longer. By 11:30 AM, Terry thought it could be a positional issue with the baby so she
arranged an appointment with Kristen to see if that would help get the baby lower into my pelvis.
Ryan and I went and she gave us tips and positions to try using the Robozo scarf to get the
baby moving down. By this point, Ryan’s mom, Crystal, was on her way because we were
certain that this baby would be here soon.
We went home and I tried pumping again. It would start contractions again, but it was starting to
hurt really bad. I was determined to keep doing it though because it seemed to be the only thing
to get the contractions going. I knew the window of having a natural birth at home was closing
because my water had broke and it had been well over 24 hours. By the end of the night, we
were still without a baby.
Terry called me Friday, March 31 in the morning. She asked how it went last night and I told her
that I only had contractions when I pumped. She said if the baby didn’t come by the end of the
day, we had to go to the hospital. That was something I didn’t want and truly believed if I went
they would rush me into a c-section, which is what I feared more. At this point, I was willing to try
anything and that’s when the dreaded two words were brought up, “castor oil.” I heard so many
things about castor oil. 1) It would speed up labor, 2) it would make you have diarrhea really bad
and 3) it could make the baby poop and then she could possibly inhale the meconium, which is
not good. But, it needed to be done.
Ryan and I went to CVS, not far from our house. We had to ask where it was. I would have a
little contraction here and there, but it wasn’t too bad. I bought a green tea to mix with it because
my cousin told me it would taste awful. By 1 PM, I had taken three teaspoons because the
second dose I had thrown up. I went for a walk, thinking that would help, but I didn’t go far as
the contractions began to intensify. By 3 PM, I had a friend come by and visit with her kids and
showed them the nursery. I was definitely having more contractions and all on their own at that
point, but they were still spread out. I would just hum it out with each one and on occasion,
Ryan thought about harmonizing.
By 3:40 PM, Ryan, Crystal and I decided to play “Just Desserts” to pass the time. That’s when
the contractions were coming in more and more frequently. About every round, I would have a
really intense contraction and would have to dismiss myself to our bedroom to “hum it out.” I let
Terry know ten minutes later they were coming in at a minute and a half a part. She said that
her and Rachel, were going to grab a bite on the way and would be on their way.
An hour later, labor was in full force. Ryan had already set up the pool and after letting Terry
know she said it was probably time for him to start filling it up with water. We were definitely
having this baby tonight. I did my best to keep everyone updated through text that knew we
were in labor. It was probably crazy doing so, but it kept me busy and gave me something to do
while getting through the pain. The midwives arrived around 5:30 PM, they checked me out in
bed and I was 90% effaced and 7-8 cm dilated. I was very anxious at getting in the pool at that
point. I knew at one point something was wrong and there was a need for extra towels, but
Rachel said not to worry. Later, I would find out that one of our cats knocked the hose out of the
pool and water got everywhere. But, that was cleared up and the contractions just kept coming.
Getting in the pool helped me relax a little more. At one point. Charlie tried to jump in there with
me. Silly cat.
I tried to focus on everything I had learned from my birth class. I would hum in low tones, try to
meditate and focus on my little girl getting here. I would pray, not so much about the pain, but
just that God would allow my body do what it was created to do and that she would come out
healthy and okay. Despite knowing all of this, I still would scream at times. The pain was so
intense and came so often I felt like it was constant and I wasn’t getting a break. Terry was only
able to check me once in the pool because I was laboring on my hand and knees with my belly
fully immersed and every time I flipped over it was unbearable. Rachel would tell me, “You’re
doing great” and Ryan would pour warm water over my back. Terry would talk through my
screams and get me to focus. At one point, I felt like I was ripping in half and expressed that, but
mentally I was thinking, You have to do this, you have nowhere else to go. She will be here
soon.
By 8 PM, Terry told Ryan to get in the pool with me. As soon as he got in there behind me, it
was as though something had shifted. I felt more relaxed and the contractions weren’t as
intense. It was finally time to push. I didn’t feel like screaming anymore, I just wanted to hold my
baby in my arms. With every contraction, I was told to push with every fiber in my being. It was
actually nice because I felt like my body was giving me a little bit of a break between
contractions, but at this point I was just so tired. After one push, Terry told me to reach down
and feel the top of my baby’s head. I didn’t want to. I wasn’t ready. I don’t want to feel the top of
her head, I just want all of her to get here already. Then finally there was one final push and a
burning pain and she came out at 9:05 PM and was placed on my chest.
“You’re okay, you’re okay,” is what I told our baby in my hoarse voice as I heard her crying and I
was crying too. I just couldn’t believe she was finally here. I couldn’t believe she finally came out
of me. Ryan was able to reach around me and stroke that head full of dark brown hair. I wanted
to check to see if she had five fingers, five toes and was indeed a girl, but couldn’t lift her very
far because the umbilical cord was so short. It was in a moment that we became a family of
three in the middle of our living room. It felt like a lifetime that I was in that pool, but it was all
worth it. After a while when the blood stopped pulsing the the cord, Ryan cut it and Terry
wrapped her up and passed her to him. I had to wait a few more contractions to finally birth the
placenta.
I couldn’t believe how awake I was after all of that, but I just wanted to be with Kaylee and Ryan.
Terry had to stitch me up first, then Kaylee and I were able to enjoy an herbal bath in our
bathroom. I couldn’t get over how gorgeous she was and that she was here and not going
anywhere. Afterwards, we got her measured and weighed. She was 20.25” long and weighed
7lbs.4oz. Terry and Rachel checked her out and she was healthy. I put her in her first diaper,
dressed her in a little bee outfit and then was able to get her to feed right away. She was a
hungry girl. Sometime after midnight, the midwives left and it was just the three of us left in our
bedroom. We did it. It was a miracle, Kaylee was finally here and she wasn’t going anywhere.
I’m so happy that everything went according to God’s plan and felt so incredibly blessed that I
was able to have the birth I wanted and that Kaylee arrived safely and in good hands.