He Was Born in Water!

Saturday, December 12th.

It wasn't an average Saturday morning for me. I was 39 weeks & 4 days pregnant. I awoke at three o'clock in the morning to uncomfortable cramps and headed to the bathroom then returned to my bed. Something didn't feel right. I tossed and turned, but nothing I would do would make the cramps go away. They came in waves, approximately 7-10 minutes apart. My mother was out on the couch, so I got up to let her know it might be "time."

Time is what is was.

We packed up the cooler with protein, snacks, and lots of water. Before I knew it we were ready and headed to Gainesville. The anticipation of Landon's birth was so exhilarating the pain of the contraction was merely a whim of what was to come. I smiled in delight as my mother drove like a panicked and excited mother would.

We arrived to Gainesville shortly before five o'clock in the morning. Ashley, one of the midwives waited for our arrival. By the time we got there she had prepped the delivery suite. Everything was going according to what I had envisioned. I secretly longed for a middle of the night water birth. Candle lights, a warm bath, serene music. It all seemed too perfect. Little Landon would arrive in this world just the way I had wished for. My mother cheered for me on the sidelines. She unpacked the car, unloaded the cooler, and ensured that the ambiance was perfected by candlelight.

Soon after, Sarah, the second midwife came into the suite. She checked my cervix to see how dilated I was. My cervix was 6 cm dilated, which put me in the active labor stage. Being only 6 cm, I was in a lot of pain. The transition stage crept in and I feared of what was to come. Transition is when your cervix is 8 - 10 cm dilated, and your contractions are longer and closer together. Needless to say, they are not fun and are extremely mentally challenging to get through.

I labored on the bed through the first half dozen contractions. Ashley had already begun to run the bath tub water. Sarah put on a peaceful, nature CD and filled the room with the scent of lemon grass. The pain increased as the ambiance was complete. I kept telling myself that I could do it. This is what I wanted. I entered the tub, closed my eyes and wished the pain away. Sometimes my mind would fall weak, and I craved for something to cease the pain. Sarah told me to listen to my body. So I listened.

What I heard was to move with the baby. My uterus contracted as the baby made his way down to the birth canal. My body told me to move with the contraction. With my body emerged in water, I tossed and turned and tried to envision the pain away. Ashley made cold compresses for my neck and shoulders. The warmer the water was, the less painful the contractions were. The cold compresses helped cool things down. They helped me to concentrate on the pleasure of childbirth verse the painful side of it.

At some point, I wanted to get out tub for a change of position. The midwives wanted to check me again to see how far I had progressed. Ashley announced that I was 10 cm dilated. At this point my water still hadn't broke, so it was suggested that I squat against the bed and push at the peak of my next contraction. The pressure forced the water to burst on its own. Within seconds I heard the amniotic sac burst on the floor like an inflated balloon being stabbed by a nail.

With my water broken, I was encouraged to finish out my labor strong. I returned to the warm, candlelight bath to deliver baby Landon. For the remainder of the contractions, I was directed to push. Pushing is the most mentally challenging part of the birth process. You have to bear down as hard as you can and take deep breaths in between. With my eyes closed and my mind open, I found myself on my hands and knees pushing with all my might. I was about to be a mother of two beautiful boys.

As the baby crowns, you feel what they call the "ring of fire." It is an excruciating burning sensation around your perineum. Baby Landon crowned at 7:23 AM. I was instructed by the midwives to pause and push slowly to avoid any tearing that may occur. Ashley announced that the shoulders were coming. Then I felt the arms and legs follow suit. Landon had entered the tub, the world, and my arms. I turned around and got in a seated position to embrace my second baby boy. At 7:25 AM, he emerged from the water onto my chest where he laid with a sense of calm amongst him. There was no initial cry. Instead he laid there and gazed up at mommy.

Landon, with the umbilical cord still intact, was covered in vernix. Vernix is a white film covering the baby to prevent skin damage from sitting in water for nine months. They waited ten minutes for the umbilical cord's last pump of oxygen until my mother cut the cord. As this tiny baby boy laid there on my chest, my heart filled with an abundance of happiness and love. The hard part was over. Then it was time to deliver the placenta.

With my next minor contraction (the uterus still contracted, but far less painful), I needed to push out the placenta. Ashley was on the other end of the umbilical cord, moving it up and down. You cannot pull on it; for fear that it can cause major blood loss. It appeared that my placenta had not fully detached itself from my uterine wall. Sarah seemed a bit panicked; as if I had lost a little more blood then she wanted to see. My mom took Landon from me as I crawled out of the tub and lay down on the bed.

At this time Sarah advised me that it would be a good idea to give me a dose of Pitocin (a medicine injected to cause your uterus to contract). It was successful. They delivered my placenta and baby Landon was returned to my chest. I began to nurse him for the first time. We laid there naked on the bed, covered only by a sheet and blanket, and bonded as mother and son.

(Due to the graphic nature of this photo, it will not be posted unless you choose to see it. If you would like to view my placenta after birth, click here.)

The first stage of my labor lasted 3 hours and 45 minutes. The second stage, active labor, lasted 40 minutes. The third and final stage came in most painful, but shortest at 25 minutes. I was at the birth center from admission to discharge 5 hours and 15 minutes.

Baby Landon's birth weight was 7 pounds, 12 ounces. He measured 20 inches in length. His estimated gestational age was 40 weeks old. He had a small birth mark over his right eye, called a "stork bite." He is complete with the little dimple on his chin, otherwise known as a "butt chin." He was as cute as they come and reminded me in so many ways of Leyton when he was a newborn.

Brandon and Leyton arrived at the Birth Center shortly after, to welcome the newest member to the family. Leyton is a proud big brother! The morning ended with both boys in my arms, a bottle of sparkling Perrier, and a new found sense of strength in me. I am so proud to have delivered in the most natural, calm way possible.

Proud Daddy went outside and hung the "It's a Boy" banner on the wrap around front porch of the Birth Center of Gainesville located downtown.

Baby Landon was exhausted from his birth and rested as we headed home from a miraculous morning.

Landon is registered on the "I Was Born in Water" list.

A special thanks to my mother who was there for me when I needed her the most, and for all the photography she captured during that special moment in my life.