By Mary Ellen Wells
Your due date (April 28th) came and went, as I expected (your brother was two weeks late). I planned to have you at the Women’s Birth and Wellness Center, which is a midwife practice, one of only two in our state. The Birth Center is low intervention, so I don’t have the option of any pain medications unless I want to be transferred to the hospital. I was a little nervous because my first delivery (with your brother Kai) was long and difficult, and I ended up with an epidural so I could rest before pushing him out. Many seasoned moms told me the second one would be easier, so I trusted I could do it. I really wanted a simple, no-intervention birth, because I felt it was best for you.
On May 9th, I was only dilated to 2 cm, so the midwife did a membrane sweep. It was really painful, but would hopefully get things going. Contractions didn’t start, though. On May 10th, I went in at 10 am for a second membrane sweep (Sarah did this one). I was 4 cm dilated. It was excruciatingly painful, but I started having contractions around 11 am. They were between 3-5 minutes apart and went on all day. I describe them as mild, so I just went about my business. I didn’t think you would come by that night.
I had been frantic getting things ready at work, in prep for maternity leave. At 2 pm, I did a webinar for my new students. I sat outside on the deck at our house and actually had my contraction timer going and took a pause every few minutes for one to pass. My students probably had no idea, and I really didn’t take the contractions seriously either. I still thought it would be another day or so, and I was dreading the thought of induction, so I blew them off. After the webinar, I had a conference call for work that lasted until around 4 pm. After I got off the call, I told your Dad that I had been having contractions regularly, and he said, “You might want to call the Birth Center.” I called and talked to Emily. She said to get in the tub and see if they eased up. And, to call back in an hour either way. I got in the tub and they didn’t ease up. I called back at 6 pm and she said to come on in and get checked. She was calm and she made me feel better and not panic.
We asked our neighbor Karen to come over and watch your big brother Kai. Everything was calm, and we said goodbye to Kai, made a few phone calls, and left for the birth center. It was only seven miles away. Once we got there, we got set up in the blue room. Sarah checked me and I was still only a “loose four, tight five”. I was surprised I had hardly dilated any more since that morning’s sweep. She said for us to go get dinner and come back around 8:30 or 9 pm. She did say that she thought I would turn the corner quickly. I was still in doubt, and reality just didn’t set in. I really thought it would be a few more days. So, Johnny and I went to the Mellow Mushroom on Franklin Street. We sat outside and the contractions actually started getting stronger. I told the waitress to bring our pizza in a to-go box. Within five minutes, I started having really strong contractions. I could barely breathe through them. Johnny gave me the keys and said he would wait for the food and I started walking to the car. I couldn’t even make it to the car. I hung on for dear life to the dumpster behind the building, about 30 feet from the car. Johnny got our food and found me back there. I told him I couldn’t walk to the car, so he pulled up and I crawled in. I couldn’t sit down. I was on my knees facing backward in the passenger seat, hugging the headrest and moaning loud through each contraction. I called the birth center and said “get the tub ready, I’m on my way”.
Johnny raced to the birth center with the flashers on. Thankfully it was only a mile or two away. We got there and I felt paralyzed with each contraction. I had to have help getting out of the car, but I walked into the birth center. I felt like I had to go to the bathroom and sat down on the toilet. Sarah checked me right there and said I was at seven centimeters. All of a sudden, I had an overwhelming feeling of distress come over me because I remember that it took hours to get from seven to ten last time. Each contraction was excruciating, and I didn’t think I would be able to make it for “hours”. Johnny, Sarah, and Lorraine helped me get in the tub. I couldn’t even make myself lie down because the contractions were so intense. Sarah used the Doppler and said your heartbeat dropped and she wanted me to get on all fours on the bed. Johnny helped me out of the tub and I did like she said. Within a minute, I felt an enormous urge to push and said “I have to push”. I didn’t know what was going to happen since I was only at seven centimeters a few minutes before, but my body just took over and started pushing. I let out a primal yell and to my disbelief, Sarah said “the head is out”. After another push or two, you were actually here. Sarah was great. She was so calm and knew just what to do.
I was just so overcome with emotion. All I could do was fall on the bed and lie there. I saw you lying there beside me and they were wiping you off. You looked so still and weren’t crying (just like your brother). And, I asked “is he alive?”. It’s funny because I asked the same thing with your brother. Shortly after, we cuddled and you started nursing like a champ! You came out so perfect and I was amazed. Your head wasn’t even mis-shapen. I guess because you were only in the birth canal for a few minutes. You were born at 8:47pm, only 11 minutes after we arrived at the birth center. You were truly an amazing delivery. I could not have asked for any better. Oh, and we still got to eat our pizza just a bit after you were born!
Thanks so much to your dad (Johnny Wells www.johnnywellsphotography.com) for taking some amazing photos to document your arrival.