Jordyn’s Birth Story
It was the night before my due date and I was feeling quite anxious at the thought of going past 40 weeks pregnant. People would ask me why I was feeling anxious about it. I went into labor with my first daughter, Emma, at 39 weeks, so my entire pregnancy I was certain Jordyn would be born around 39 weeks as well. People say that the second child usually comes sooner than the first, even though that’s not always true. It’s so important to keep in mind that every pregnancy is so different. In hindsight I wish I stopped comparing my second pregnancy to my first pregnancy so much.
During the final week of my pregnancy I spent all of my free time trying to induce labor (now that I type this that sounds silly), but I was just soooo ready to meet baby Jordyn! I did EVERYTHING from eating a million dates and pineapples (known to soften the cervix and shorten the duration of labor), go on longggg walks, lots of squats, sex and foot massages. None of that seemed to do the trick (now looking back I’m sure that all helped). Anyway, the day before I went into labor I got acupuncture and when 24 hours later I wasn’t in labor I had an ‘induction massage’. My doula came to my house and hit all the pressure points to help stimulate the uterus to contract and also did things to open up my hips, making the baby drop lower. It seemed the massage really did the trick! I had the massage at 10am and at 11pm, so only about 12 hours later, my water broke!
It was about 10pm and I was feeling really tired. Other than that, I left completely normal. I crawled into bed, wrapped my leg around my pregnancy pillow and passed out. About an hour later I felt a HUGE gush of water! I knew immediately that my water broke in my sleep. I jumped up, very startled and still half asleep, and ran into the bathroom. I then called for Josh who was still awake and watching TV in the family room. He said when he heard me yelling for him he knew that either my water had just broke or that I saw an unwelcome insect in the bathroom, haha.
I called my OB and asked if I had time to take a quick shower, which I did. During my shower I got my first small contraction and at that moment I knew my labor was progressing. I was surprised to get a contraction so quickly after my water broke. Josh’s dad came over quickly so he could stay with Emma while we went to the hospital. My contractions were quickly progressing, getting closer together and more intense as we drove to the hospital. By the time we checked in and were in our room they were getting pretty painful.
A nurse checked me and told me I was already 3cm dilated. At this point it was almost 1am. I wanted to call my mom, but knew I had a few hours to go, so didn’t want to wake her until I was around 5cm. My mom was in the delivery room for the birth of Emma and I knew I definitely wanted her in the room for this birth as well. It felt SO weird to me that I was in labor and my mom didn’t know! I figured it was best to let her sleep as much as she could and be alert to help me the next day.
I still had not made up my mind whether or not I was going to get an epidural. I knew that I WANTED to have a non-medicated, natural birth, but kept telling myself that it was okay if I needed to get an epidural. I never made a decision prior to going into labor because I wanted to keep all options open. By 3am the contractions were so painful and intense I decided I was going to get an epidural. However, I wanted to wait as long as possible before getting one. I think I just wanted to see how long I could do it for. By 4am I was basically crying in pain and knew it was time for me to give in and get the epidural. At that point I was 5cm. It took about 45 minutes from the time I called for the epidural for it to actually arrive. When the doctor walked in to administer the epidural I almost hugged him I was so happy. I had to have a nurse hold me down while the needle was going into my back because at that point my contractions were 2 – 3 minutes apart and there was no way I could stay still while I was having one.
Almost immediately after getting the epidural I felt numb (but not too numb) and was able to relax. I felt pressure and knew when I was having a contraction, but wasn’t in pain anymore. I then called my mom and told her that I was in labor and to come join Josh and I in the hospital. I knew my labor could go quickly at that point and wanted to make sure she didn’t miss the birth.
The nurse told me to try to close my eyes and get some sleep if possible so I’d have energy when it was time to push. I was exhausted from being up all night and my body felt like it had already been through a lot just from hours of contractions. I eventually nodded off, but was never in a deep sleep. At about 8am I woke up because I felt a lot of pressure and just knew the baby was VERY low and ready to come out VERY soon. At around 9:30am the nurse checked me and told me I was ‘complete’ and 10cm! I started crying (happy tears) and it hit me at that moment that I was finally about to meet baby Jordyn. All through my pregnancy I referred to her as ‘baby Jordyn’ to Emma. I was ready to push, but had to wait for my doctor to arrive. Those final 30 minutes of waiting for my doctor to arrive was surreal because I knew in just a few minutes I’d be holding my baby in my arms.
Once my doctor arrived I pushed three times and out came baby Jordyn! It’s true that the second baby comes out MUCH faster than the first! With the doctors help, we pulled her out together and I placed her immediately on my chest. The moment I saw her face I started crying and couldn’t believe how much I loved her. I couldn’t stop staring at her. I spent the last 9 months wondering what she looked like and now I could finally hold her in my arms and see her. From that moment on I was forever changed. I am now a mom of two girls who I’d do anything for.
So sweet! I always love a good birth story!! Hope you are easing into mother of two!
X,
Kathryn
Hi Leah, Congrats to you. Both of you are looking so cute. I hope you enjoy your time with your little one. Thanks for the sharing your story here. Because I always love to hear a good birth story. Best of luck both of you.