We were approaching close to my due date, 3rd November 2020. Hospital bags were packed, parents were home for help, baby’s clothes, accessories etc. was all set. Our nest was ready to receive the little one. Towards the last week of October my energy levels started dropping, fatigue started setting in and I just felt the need to eat more and take rest. I took my body’s lead and did the same. On 1st November I felt a need to take a BCST session and I got one from a dear friend which I strongly believe gave me strength and also helped in initiating the process of labor.
2nd Nov’2020
Evening I started getting contractions. My husband kept noting down the time and duration of each contraction throughout the night. I rolled on the ball, took warm showers, meditated, took foot massages from my husband which really helped me to manage the strong emerging contractions. Chetna, Cofounder TBH and Lactation Consultant was our point of contact. I kept messaging her the chart throughout the night and she was on her toes and promptly called me the next day morning around 5.30 am and told me that it’s time and they are ready to receive us at the center.
Around 7 am, my husband and me were at the center. We were taken to our birth room, which felt so warm and welcoming. The team had put my bed and pillow covers, which I handed over to them few days prior to the due date, which gave us a feel our own room back home. We made ourselves comfortable post which Sneha did my first internal checkup and mentioned that I was 4 cm dilated. It felt like a big achievement! I thought probably by evening we will have baby in our hand 😊
I kept moving around, munching, exercising and taking rest from time to time. Both Sneha and Chetna took turns to monitor and prepare the contraction chart. After a point of time the graph of my contractions became stagnant. The frequency & intensity of contractions remained same throughout the day and then I realized that the mighty and higher powers above have some other plans for us and we won’t be delivering that day.
On being checked we found that I had hardly dilated more than a cm during the whole day! Augustine suggested we could either stay back and wait for the process to progress, which she accessed was going to be very slow or we can head back home, and start again fresh the next morning. We opted for the first suggestion and decided to stay back in the center. The contractions kept getting frequent and lasted long throughout the night. I was in pain.
Both Chetna and Sneha kept taking turns throughout the night to monitor my contractions. I still remember Chetna sitting through the night giving me massages, and hot fermentation on my back and how I kept blessing her in my thoughts as I could barely speak while experiencing the pain! That night was indeed a test of my endurance, patience and will power.
4th Nov’2020
After a long night, the next day morning I felt it could be anytime now. But I guess, we had to learn more on our lesson of patience. Despite frequent contractions and pain, I was still not dilated enough. On being checked, Augustine mentioned that my cervix was quite posterior and baby’s head was in front of it rather being below the cervix. So, our quick and witty midwife, suggested Foley bulb induction.
A Foley bulb induction is a procedure where your doctor/midwife insets a catheter into your cervix. One side of the catheter is deflated. Once inside the womb, the balloon is inflated with a saline solution. This puts pressure on the cervix and encourages dilation. In my situation it was even to bring the cervix to anterior position.
I was still walking, exercising and swaying with my husband, with the catheter fixed inside my cervix. I surrendered and waited patiently for the process to unfold. Though slow, but there was progress, the intensity of pain and frequency of my contractions kept increasing. Around 3.30 pm, after an internal check we discovered that I was 9 cm dilated, with an anterior cervix and baby’s head down. We finally had the perfect position for baby’s birth!
Augustine suggested to break the water bag manually, and not wait further as both cervix and baby were perfectly positioned for birth to take place. We agreed, and she did the needful and I could feel a gush of warm water trickling down my legs. The pain magnified multi-folds. My husband and I, were then shifted to the water tub, as we opted for water birthing. My husband sat right behind me massaging my back, supporting and encouraging me throughout the process. It was in the tub, where we completed our last cycle of labor which was approximately for another 1 hour or so. The last cycle of labor felt so different from first two cycles of labor. The pain was acute, there was an urgency to push with each contraction. I felt an ignition of fire within my body with every push. I remember how the team kept putting cold towels on my face, chest and belly to help me feel cool and relaxed. When it was almost the time, the lights were dimmed and I could just see array of light coming from the torch light held by Augustine to keep a check on the baby. She held a mirror right in front of my cervix for me to see my baby, crowning. I kept breathing and pushing, and when it was the time for the final push, I roared like a lion and she glided into the water, in Augustine’s hand. She was immediately placed on my chest. My husband and I, took a sigh of joy and relief! We were in water for some more time, catching on some breath ,while the team was checking our vital statistics and waiting for the placenta to come out. I had one final contraction and the placenta slipped out easily, post which we were transferred to the room.
I was getting sutured by Augustine while baby was on my chest trying to latch; her cord intact and attached to placenta. Sneha on the other end was feeding me energy bars, caressing my head, comforting me in each possible way. We waited for the blood to divert from the umbilical cord and placenta completely into the baby and once, the cord stopped pulsating, my husband and I were given the opportunity to cut the umbilical cord. The placenta, reminded me of the Tree of Life. So beautifully precise are the ways of God! I am so thankful that I could have a glimpse of the placenta, which I couldn’t during my first one’s birth. Another big difference between natural birth and caesarean, I witnessed. I was in my senses and not sedated to be able to offer a small prayer, thanking the divine sheath to take care and nourish my baby for 9 long months.
The team, then, left three of us alone for a while, giving us some private time, to bond with each other. We hugged, snuggled and had ample skin to skin time with the baby. After a while, Meghna and Chetna helped me and my baby to get ready for our trip back home. Yes, I was back home that very night, in a matter of few hours!
Augustine gave us some postpartum instructions and we were scheduled for the postpartum visits and check-ups with the team for coming month. My baby was born around 5.30 pm and we were ready for the discharge by 9 pm! No, staying in the hospital for 3-5 days. We were told, healing would be expedited in our natural home surroundings. Which was actually true.
I was elated with joy and my oxytocin levels kept me happy, energetic and somehow, I did not experience pain for that night. We were back home along with our baby, with our loved ones, who patiently waited for us back home.
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