Bronson was born Feb 8th 2023 at 11:57. He was born at home in a birthing pool, weighing 8.7 pounds, 21 inches long, and got a 9.9 on the APGAR test.
His actual due date was Feb 2nd and I really thought he was going to come early and quick (like his sister) but he decided to do things his own way. His due date came and went and I was here thinking… I am still pregnant and there are no signs that this little boy has any intention on coming soon. So I practiced patience and acceptance for this little one to come they way he was suppose too. I had some days where contractions came and went but nothing consistent. I went to my 40 week appointment and the midwives said, if we get to 41 weeks, then we will do an ultrasound to make sure everything is ok and go over some options.
Well the 41 week (actually 40 weeks and 6 days because that is when it worked out to get the ultra sound) was here and Ben and Blakely came with me to the appointment. The ultrasound looked awesome and we even got a 4D smile picture out of him! I was feeling good all day and had a good feeling about the 8th! One thing different with this pregnancy, I felt a surge of oxytocin after the contractions.
I went about doing a puzzle, playing with B, or cleaning up a bit around the house. I was having contractions that afternoon that seemed to be picking up but again, nothing consistent. Ben took Blakely to gymnastics and I sat down to rest, which made my contractions disappear. A friend volunteered to take Blakely for the night and I am so glad she did! We said goodbye around 5:30 and went to go get some food. We decided on Chipoltle and I ate the whole burrito. I guess my body knew I was in for a long night.
We got out of the car and walking back to the house I felt my water break. It filled up one of my shoes! I think I had a little rupture earlier that day but this was for sure a break. A little while later I lost my mucus plug and things really started rolling.
After we ate dinner, we went on a short walk and had some good contractions. They starting feeling out of hand like I couldn’t focus on anything and would call for Ben for help when they started. I called the midwives and they headed over. I am not sure what time they actually got there but I think between 7-8. I remember just hanging out on the floor with the exercise ball calling for Ben whenever a contraction came around.
They filled up the birthing tub and I think I got in around 9:45. The contractions instantly felt better, but they also died down. I remember feeling bad for the midwives and that they had to wait around. I know it is what they do but my previous experience was so fast. Ben sat by the pool in the kitchen and just rubbed my back and told me how good I was doing. I did my best to relax and let things expand as they needed to.
Around 11pm I remember I started grunting and feeling the urge to bear down. I moved positions a bit but every time I moved the next contractions was really intense so I opted to just stay in one place. Not sure if that made labor longer… anyway. I remember calling out to the midwives and asking if I was doing it right and they just called from the other room “you’re doing it! “
I got into a squat position with Ben behind me, and really started feeling it. It was rough… I am not going to lie. The contractions were all about 4 minutes apart and I didn’t really have time to recover. I would get over one, and think, I got through this one… only to feel the next one start to ramp up. It was really rough. I remember saying I was scared and I wasn’t sure I could do this. But I also knew that I didn’t really have a choice at that time. I had to do this.
I also remember thinking “please let this happen before midnight”. Mainly because I didn’t want to keep doing this into the morning. The grunting, pushing, yelling everything increased. I kept telling myself that it’s ok to slowly progress.
Eventually I moved my hips around a little bit and the next contraction, Bronson shot out of my body like a rocket! I think everyone was surprised, including me! I didn’t feel any indication that I was almost done. He just shot out. He was for sure bigger than I had imagined in my mind. The midwife told us to be careful when he came out because he would be submerged and we wanted to be intentional lifting him out of the water and being careful not to get him close to the water line as I was exhausted.
We brought him up slowly and I held him in my arms. I was for sure relieved he was finally here. I saw his neck and shoulder rolls and new he was a healthy baby.
They got a towel over him and poured water on the towel to keep him warm. When the towel got cold was the only time he cried. The midwives commented on his blonde hair which is for sure thicker and lighter than his sisters when she came out.
Looking at the cord, it had a double knot in it! That is fairly rare and happened while he was a little guy swimming around in my uterus. It’s actually a beautiful picture.
Ben cut the cord and they helped me into my own bed. You always forget about “the second birth” which is passing the placenta. I would push down but nothing was happening. The midwives didn’t pressure me and didn’t seem like it was a big deal but I really also wanted to be done. They suggested standing up or sitting on the toilet to see if gravity would help. I sat there and pushed a bit. I told her I felt like I had a bowel movement, and the midwife said, that is probably the placenta. So I pushed a little harder and the placenta shot out of me like a rocket (again) into the toilet. I was shocked as it felt like a whole other baby was in there! I didn’t see it but they said it was a pretty average size.
I got back into bed and they had a needle out for me. I asked “what is that for?!” And they said, we are only going to use this if you don’t stop bleeding. They didn’t have to but I do wonder if me not getting the placenta out sooner was stressing them out.
I got an exam and found I did tear a bit. She used these Japanese sutures which were really painful and was instructed not to sit flat on my bottom for a few days. Easier said than done, but we are getting through it. They weighed Bronson at the end of the bed and found out he was bigger than we all expected at 8.7. Crazy! But he is a healthy strong baby boy.
Ben and I fell asleep and the midwives packed up and left. They did a great job and were super helpful.
Bronson caught onto breast feeding quickly and has had a bunch of bowel movements. He is opening up his eyes and cooing when he wants more milk or needs a diaper change. Blakely is in love and doing everything she can to help. There is lots of assisted holding and kisses for Bronson from this little girl.
Dad has been a champ and a rock this whole time. He has been super helpful and I couldn’t do this, or have done this without him.
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