Archie’s Birth Story

I’d been trying to get myself to go into labor for days and had tried every wife’s tale you could think of. Sunday (22SEP) Brady and I took a long walk, ate spicy salsa, sat on my yoga ball forever and then we decided to check out the new virtual golf place down the street from our house. Not a big surprise, I was horrible at golf and because of that I did a million squats to get the golf ball in the right spot. Golfing is really difficult when you have a massive pregnant belly. When we got home, I cut up a pineapple and attempted to eat the entire thing while Brady and I watched tv. Brady was hanging out with the dogs and noticed a bump on Tacos head. I went over to help brady see what the bump was, sat down on the floor and felt a pop and a large amount of fluid. It was such a large amount of fluid that I thought for sure that my water had broke (it was just the mucus plug ). I ran upstairs, showered and we packed our bags.

Around midnight contractions were every 2-3 minutes and getting a little more difficult to get through so we decided to head to the hospital. Of course once we got to the hospital the contractions slowed down and I started to feel a little better. I was dilated to a 2 and told to come back when contractions started back up again. I tried really hard to get some sleep but between contractions and adrenaline sleeping felt like an impossible task. I spent most of the night in the tub because it was the only place that helped ease the back pain. I really wanted to stay home as long as possible because my goal was to go as unmedicated as possible but the anxiety of driving to the hospital and the back pain got the best of me. Around 6AM I woke brady up and told him that we needed to get ready to go back to the hospital. I notified my doula Gina and my photographer Cassy that we were on our way again. This time I was dilated to a 6, had a bulging bag and got admitted.

Gina and Brady really helped me relax and get through contractions. The TENS unit, hip squeezed, essential oils (helped with nausea), and shower were amazing. Shout out to Brady for being the most amazing, selfless birth partner. Around 1430 I became so exhausted and felt myself mentally lose it. After 16ish hours of contractions I felt like I was going insane and just wanted a nap. After talking to Gina I decided to get checked and get my water broke in hopes of progressing faster. I was dilated to a 7.5 at this point. Oh boy.. after 20 minutes of those intense contractions I got checked again and was at an 8. At this point I decided I was going to tap out- get an epidural and take a freaking nap. Everyone in the room was very caring and wanted to ensure that I would not be disappointed or have regret about getting an epidural. I knew that I wouldn’t and I would feel a million times better if I could just get a 30 minute nap.

With the epidural in place I was able to take the most wonderful nap. I was checked at 445 PM and ready to push by 5 PM. Archie wasn’t a fan of me being on my back to we had to try a bunch of different pushing positions. Gina was so helpful with pushing positions and we were able to find a spot where Archie was happy. At 810 PM, Archie FINALLY entered this world- weighing 8lbs even and 22.5 inches long. Waiting to hear him cry seemed like the longest few seconds of my life and was the happiest sound when he started to cry. He was so alert and just stared at me for over an hour while on my chest. Meeting the tiny little human that has been growing and wiggling inside of me for the past 9 months was a surreal experience and it is a moment I will never forget.

Thank you to Brady, Gina, Cassy, my amazing nurses, midwife and doctor for helping me get Archie here safe and sound.

Beautiful photos by the wonderful Cassandra Sue Ann Photography

For the best Doula in North Carolina or if you need great information on childbirth and fitness check out Mamastefit