April 24 came and went. (due dates are so disappointing!) I took off from school on the 20th and Benjamin was my sub. I spent that week with Allison enjoying her and trying to get a few last minute things done.
Tuesday night we went to Life Group since it would hopefully be the last time for the semester. We went home afterwards and went to bed. I woke up around 2am with contractions. I had a contraction timer on my phone so I started using it. They were about 10 min apart. They continued for about an hour. I was hot and then cold so I went downstairs on the couch. (I didn't wake up Jason at this point since I wasn't sure if it was real labor or not and contractions weren't too strong) The contractions spread out to about one every twenty minutes. I slept downstairs for a while but then went upstairs until morning. When Jason woke up I told him I had been having contractions. So he called in to work (I mean called my Dad) and stayed home with me on Wednesday. I continued having contractions every twenty minutes or so all day long. I was nauseous, lethargic, and just ready to get the show on the road! Jason finished decorating the house (since it had been on our list of things to do for months and all of a sudden there was a real deadline!) and was on hand in case things got going. A few little things happened that said labor was continuing, but it was still dragging. Allison went over to my parents for the night. We let the midwife know what was going on and made sure things were set up for Caleb's arrival.
We went to bed Wednesday night a little disappointed. At around 2am the contractions started getting stronger and a little closer. I went down stairs and with a renewed sense of energy I started walking around the house trying to move things along. Jason joined me downstairs and he napped while I worked. :) Around 4am we called Ann (our midwife) to let her know we were close to needing her help. I was having a bit of a hard time deciding if I wanted them to come yet. I was afraid that things would be like last time and I didn't want them sitting here all day. But we decided at 5am to have them come to our house. Ann, her apprentice and Cindy all arrived around 6am. Contractions were still about 10min apart but they were definitely stronger and I needed some encouragement to get through them.
Ann checked my and said I was at a 5, but then said she thought I was only at a 3. NOT what I wanted to hear. So I got in the bathtub for a little bit, then labored on our bed, then decided to get on the birthing ball. The contractions started double peaking but were still 6-7 minutes apart. I was getting really worried at this point. I was having a harder time staying ahead of the contractions and I starting wondering how far it was to the hospital and thinking that maybe it wasn't so bad last time. I didn't know how much longer I could do this! Cindy started giving me some hip resistance through some of the contractions and I started to feel Caleb move down to a different part of my pelvis.
Cindy suggested I try and empty my bladder so I went to the bathroom. I had a contraction and my water broke! (all over her new shoes, sorry Cindy! :) ) Right away I had another contraction and the urge to push came. Ann came and checked me and I was complete! I said, "Praise Jesus!" (she also said there was a bit of a cervical lip but it disappeared when she checked me. This was also something I was afraid of since this is what prevented Allison from coming last time) I was sooo relieved and we made our way back to our bed.
My water broke around 9:15am and Caleb was born at 9:43am. I only pushed for 15 minutes!! It was fantastic. (well maybe not in the middle of it but now that's how I remember it) It didn't really feel fantastic but the fact that I pushed him out in 3 contractions and it was at home in our bed and it was over was fantastic. Jason got to catch him, although he almost didn't make it! Once his head was out and they said one more push and I would be done I wasn't stopping for anything! But since I was holding Jason's hand he had to run around the bed and get in the middle of them to catch Caleb. But he made it and then handed our son to me. I was so overwhelmed and relieved.
The first thing I noticed were his eyelashes, they were so long, just like his dad! After about 5 minutes he decided he was hungry so I fed him while Jason called the family. Mom, Dad, and Allison headed over right away to come see our newest little Jacobs. Jason cut the cord after the placenta was delivered. Everything happened so fast they hadn't gotten my herbs ready for my bath so we relaxed with Caleb and Cindy got my bath ready. Allison was very excited to meet her little brother and started pointing out all his little features. It was so cute.
I got in the bath with Caleb but he didn't seem to like it very much, he just wanted to eat! So I fed him and relaxed in the bath. Allison was running around showing everyone Caleb's room and playing with the birthing ball. She was so excited. After the bath Ann did the newborn exam checking all his little parts and joints. He was perfect! Jason dressed him and we all relaxed.
I know on that day I said how hard it all was, but I truly believe that part of natural childbirth are the hormones that help you forget all the pain and toil so you are willing to do it all again. Today I do remember it being tough, but the memories are mostly good and while I'm not ready to have another child just yet, I will do it again at home in a heartbeat.
