Part I

November 12th, 2022 —
Marleigh woke up at 12:30am, so I went in to lay down with her & nursed her back to sleep. Around 1:00am, I started to have contractions. They were a little uncomfortable, but I also had a very full bladder & assumed that was why. I honestly didn’t think much of them since I had been getting very consistent braxton hicks for the past 3 days.

Once I was able to sneak away, I went to the bathroom & returned to bed, but the contractions didn’t stop nor did they feel any less intense after going to the bathroom. These contractions also felt different. Instead of a general tightening & release like braxton hicks, these contractions slowly built up & came back down like a wave.

After a while & out of curiosity, I started to time them. They were all about 40 seconds long, but only coming once every 5-20 minutes. I knew these were true contractions, but also knew that they could take awhile to turn into something more productive & attention-worthy. I decided I would try to sleep.

Unfortunately, sleep didn’t happen. As soon as I would drift off, another contraction would come. To be honest, I wasn’t upset. At 41 weeks + 3 days, I knew we could end up waiting even longer, but everything in me believed this baby would come sooner than Marleigh did. Once we passed up that day, I started to get a little antsy. I was actually excited & welcomed these contractions, so I’m sure my adrenaline didn’t help my attempt to fall back asleep.

Around 3am, Cameron briefly woke up. I told him I was having consistent contractions, but they hadn’t developed a solid pattern yet & that he didn’t need to stay up. He went back to sleep & told me to wake him if I needed. I continued to lay there & tried to rest as well.

Part II

Marleigh woke up at 6am, so we all got out of bed & started our day. Contractions still consistent, a little stronger, & becoming more frequent. We made breakfast & ate, then I started doing silly little things around the house that “just had” to be done before baby came - made the bed, started laundry, tidy up the dining room, etc. Cameron told me to stop, go sit down, & relax. He finished up the dishes, cleaned up the living room, & blew up the birth pool for me.

After a little while, I told Cameron if he wanted a shower or anything now would be a good time. While waiting, I began feeling every contraction in my lower back, so I got on the exercise ball & started getting into various positions to alleviate the discomfort/promote good positioning for baby. I was still able to relax & be fully present in between contractions, but at this point it was becoming a little difficult to focus on breathing through the contractions & Mar at the same time.

Even though he hadn’t been in the shower long, I thought to myself, “I wish Cameron would hurry up.” I went into the bathroom to check & see if he was almost done. While I was in there, I randomly decided to brush my teeth, stopping halfway through because of a contraction, then finishing when it was over. (Anyone else just get the urge to brush their teeth mid-labor?)

Once he was out of the shower, we all sat in the living room & I continued to work through the contractions on the exercise ball. I was having a hard time deciding if I should have Mar picked up now or wait. Again, I was having to focus & breathe through each contraction, but was still able to move, talk, interact, & be present in between.

That was not something I had during my labor with Mar, I was completely non-vocal & focused - very inward the entire time. So, because of the major difference, I just didn’t think I was in active labor yet. I thought we still had quite a bit of time to go & didn’t want my grandma to have to come pick her up too early.

It was when I was on my hands & knees that Mar started climbing on me & crawling through my legs during contractions. It was super distracting - that’s when I decided to call Honey & Garebear to pick her up.

Part III

I called grandma to pick up Marleigh around 8:45am. Even if we did have a while to go yet, at least I would be able to focus & not become wrongly irritated with her. Shortly after the call, I told Cameron I was going to go into our room until she was picked up.

Cameron already had the twinkle lights on, I turned on the diffuser (loaded with lavender, frankincense, & clary sage), & I played a soft worship music playlist. I decided to get back in bed, laying on my side with the opposite leg elevated, rotating every few contractions. I was actually able to rest, the contractions were still there, but had slowed down quite a bit. I remember thinking to myself, “I hope labor doesn’t stall or stop.” The break was kind of nice though! I took this time to just be with the Lord - praising, praying, & thanking Him.

Around 9:30am, my grandma got to the house. Before she left, she came in to check on me — asked how I was doing, see if I needed anything, & prayed with me. Once they left, Cameron laid next to me & massaged my back + applied counter pressure. Out of nowhere, I became incredibly emotional & started crying. I didn’t know why — maybe relief or nervousness. I really didn’t feel anxious though, I was ready & had been waiting. I was so happy this day was finally here!

After a couple more contractions, I decided I wanted to sit up. I sat on the edge of the bed while Cameron sat on the exercise ball & hugged me + rubbed my back through a couple of contractions. While we were sitting there together, we were talking, smiling, & laughing. Cameron even took a very short video of us - the timestamp was 10:17am. I then felt the need to stand up, so I got up & leaned over a chest of drawers, swaying back & forth each time a contraction came.

Cameron got the tripod set up near the birth pool because my goal was to record the birth of baby. Once he got it all set up, he said he had to go to the bathroom. Right after he left, I had a very strong contraction. I knew it would take a while to fill the birth pool & thought I might like to get in it soon, so I asked Cameron if he would turn on the water to the hose while he was in the bathroom.