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| Get a load of that bump! And that was a forced smile in between my contractions that were 2-3 minutes apart 😝 |
*I apologize in advance for grammar errors- I'm running on very little sleep! 😁
Firstly, I honestly could not ask for better timing. Although I was past my expected due date everything worked out for the best. If you were following my Instagram I'd been giving daily updates of our labor. A couple of days before he was born I decided that I would unplug a bit and stay off of my social media accounts (Instagram/Twitter since I don't have a Facebook) and take some time to decide what we would do concerning induction. The night before he was born (Saturday 15th) my husband and I had a serious discussion and we decided that I would be calling my OB on Monday morning to discuss my induction. Although I was partially disappointed that I would have to be induced I knew that it was the best decision and that I could not wait any longer. My body had reached the point of full exhaustion. I felt as if my bump weighed so much and I could not handle the pressure any longer. I just couldn't imagine my body stretching any more! That night when I went to bed I was fully at peace and I knew that we were making the right decision. I was fully expecting to be induced and I was very happy with our decision.
On Sunday morning at exactly 5:04 am I woke up with the most intense contraction. It was so strong that I had to grab on to the co-sleeper that we had set up by our bed and I broke the side bar! I waited until I breathed through the worse of it then I woke up my husband (who always sleeps with ear plugs!) and told him I am very sure these were the real deal contractions and that it was time. We began to count the contractions and they were intense at about 10 minutes apart. Once they started to get closer at about 7 minutes apart we called my inlaws for them to arrive and take care of Gabriel. They are about 2 hours away so we knew we had some time to labor at home and get Gabriel all set for his grandparents. It was so cute once Gabriel woke up because he would see me breathe through my contractions and he knew something was happening! By the time they came my contractions were about 5 minutes apart and we decided to call and head to the hospital. We said our see you-laters and it was the hardest thing I had to do that morning. I cried because I would miss our baby boy even though we were very excited to meet our second. It was the second time we would ever leave him with someone taking care of him other than my husband or me! I knew it was the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new one. And as exciting as that was it was also very heartbreaking. I'm sure a lot of my second-time momma reader's can relate to the experience!
We arrived at the hospital at around 9:30 am and once I was all set in labor and delivery my cervix was checked. At that point, I was at 3.5 centimeters and still experiencing very close intense contractions. We both explained my natural labor plan to the nurse and care team and they were all aware and on board. Since it was Sunday my OB was not able to attend the delivery. However, when I met the resident doctor it turned out to be someone my husband worked with during his OB rotation! It was neat but also a bit awkward because instead of meeting her over a Holiday party she would be delivering our baby! But after that initial meeting I felt really comfortable and ready since she was fully capable of doing her job and was very easy to talk to. We were ready to have our baby!
I also could not have asked for a better labor partner and supporter. If it wasn't for my honey bun's support I know it would not have gone as smoothly as it did. As with Gabriel's birth I was overcome with so much emotion with him by my side that at the end of it all I loved him even more intensely than before! During the contractions I began to walk a lot as well. One huge difference between Gabriel's birth and Cristian's was how I handled the contractions. I knew what to expect and I knew it would get worse. I kept my breathing deep and short. I was also unable to sit down. It was very painful to do so and I ended up standing for a lot of the labor. I only laid on the bed for the time they had to monitor both Cristian and my heartbeat. I am so incredibly grateful that throughout the entire labor and delivery both our heartbeats were where they should have been. My contractions then grew stronger but my bag of waters were still in tact. At around 6 cm my nurse came in and asked whether or not I would like to have my water broken to help speed up the process. And I said, yes! haha! At that point they confirmed it with my OB's partner and she was okay with it. The resident doctor came in a little while later and broke my water. It didn't hurt at all but instead relieved a lot of the heaviness I had been feeling. It felt like a ton of warm water came out of me. Once she finished she mentioned that he came down very smoothly and that I would start to feel the pushing pressure shortly.
And was she right! I progressed from 7 to 10 cm in about 30 minutes. However, towards the end my cervix needed to thin out a bit more and she had to manually stretch it while I was contracting. And yes-it was as painful as it sounds! In fact that was probably the most painful part of the entire delivery (aside from the tummy pushing after I delivered the placenta). She did that about 3 times and by the last time I felt the biggest urge to push and I told her. She then checked and I was good to push! I yelled yay! Haha! I was ready to push our baby into the world. I asked everyone to let me know when the contraction was happening so that I could take advantage of the natural push my body was letting out. And once they said it was happening I pushed with all the energy I had! While I was pushing my husband told me I could wait until the next contraction to push again. But I was on an energy high and simply could not wait because the pressure to push still continued even without the contraction. With that same initial push I delivered our baby boy, Cristian Donald Leist. It was 3:20 pm. He came out very quickly (within seconds) and I think the first thing I said was "Hi buddy!" I was so overcome with joy and I could not stop telling Ben how beautiful he was. He was placed on my belly immediately and I was able to see his big brown eyes! And for the second time I was given the absolute gift of becoming a mother.
He was on my chest for a minute or so and they asked if they could take him to help him cry. Since he was born so quickly he ended up with a lot of amniotic fluid still in his system. It took a day or so for all of the fluid to leave and that helped him breastfeed a lot easier. Once they carried him away I delivered my placenta. They weighed him and he was 9 lb 5 oz and 22 inches long! They were all in shock, haha! I was pretty shocked too but it explained why I felt like my body couldn't possibly stretch any more. We had a very big boy in there and I am not the biggest person either at 5'2.5 tall! After that I was able to hold him and breastfeed for a little while and that is always such a sweet experience.
I am so incredibly thankful and blessed to have been able to experience the natural labor I had hoped for. But even more than that, to have a healthy baby boy who continues to grow and thrive. Our faith and our love for each other saw us through another birth and continues to strengthen us as we grow as parents of two littles. Words fall short and I'll just have to live the rest of my life demonstrating my gratefulness while we raise our boys!
My husband was able to snap all of these pictures once Cristian was born and I still cry when I look at them! I'm pretty sure that will not change throughout the years!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read our birth story & if you have any questions about natural labor etc. let me know below! I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Happy, Happy throwback Thursday!
Abrazos,
Keila
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| So much JOY! and Pain, haha! |
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| Gabriel meeting Cristian for the first time! |
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| Our hearts are full! |
So happy for you, so glad you were able to get the natural birth.. Congrats on a beautiful family!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Vero! Xo
DeleteBeautiful birth story! So happy for you & your family <3
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Naeli! Xo
DeleteCongrats on your beautiful baby boy! What a blessing! I'm due in February and hoping to also have a natural birth. What was the hardest part? Any suggestions on how to make the experience more tolerable would be greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteHi Natasha! Thanks so much :) And congratualtions! Between both of our boys birth- I'd say the hardest part was breathing theough the intense pressure to push towards the end. Throughout the contractions I was able to breathe through a lot of the pain. Also hot packs helped a lot! But a few things that helped with Gabriel's birth (like sitting on a birthing ball) did not help with Cristian's birth. So it is all different! I wrote a more detailed post about what helped me before during and after called "Labor Prep" you can find it under my familia tab :) It might help,with more ideas. Wishing you the best labor and rest of your pregnancy! Xo
DeleteI'm 39 weeks and 4 days... Reading your birth story, made me realize it's not that bad and also encouraged me that I can do it.. Am very nervous and freaks out sometimes but at the end I know my body was meant to do this... Thanks for sharing and congrats, beautiful family! Come on baby am so ready for you! team natural yay!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! And best wishes on a great labor & delivery for you! Xo
DeleteBeautiful story Keila, sounded do much like mine.😁 😂 😀 😊 ☺:-)
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful little boy & really, a simple birth story compared to some, but I loved it (who wants complications or inductions anyways?). My second boy came out with one push too but was only 6 lbs 5 oz & 3 weeks early. I ended up getting an epidural headache which was easily the most painful thing I've ever experienced (much worse than contractions)... so you could say I'm definately gearing to do a natural birth with baby 3(due in April). I'm nervous but determined to go natural because that pain is nothing compared to an epidural headache. Never again!
ReplyDeleteWould you reccommend a la maz class if you go all natural?
Thank you so much! I'm so sorry it's taken a while for me to respond. But I absolutely think any birthing class is helpful! I think it provides a great perspective of what to expect and provides some tools to help with the birthing process :) Congratulations to you and wishing you the best labor and delivery experience! Abrazos, Keila
DeleteAlso, the epidural headache sounds so horrible :( I'm sending lots of positive thoughts your way!
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