When you least expect it, suddenly the birth announces itself. After a nerve-wracking pregnancy, I was absolutely sure that the baby girl would now take extra time and would definitely not come before or on the expected delivery date. Not at all, because I had promised her uncle that she would stay in the womb until he was back from vacation. Babies have already in the belly the scepter in the hand, so be curious when and how she finally made her way.
The anticipation of the birth is growing
It was a very cold but sunny morning on a weekend in late summer. Like every day I was out walking the dog in the fields. The little dog lady was my personal companion during the pregnancy and did not leave my side. Through her I came to a small round of sports every day, which did me really good.
Surprisingly, I was still walking very well, even though I was already in my 40s.When Charlotte was in the first week of pregnancy and the belly was already pressing quite uncomfortably in one place or the other. The long, warm summer had left its mark on nature and I watched from a distance a family of deer grazing in the morning. I was happy that after this long and exhausting journey only a few days separated us before we would finally meet each other. I was still thinking and enjoying the peace and quiet around me, without realizing that the birth would not be long in coming.
4 weeks before the natural birth
The delivery date is getting closer
As ET was approaching, I was also asked more frequently in the past few days if it was starting to get going, if the belly was already sinking, or if any signs of me were being noticed. However, I was of the rock-solid conviction that the baby girl would still be a very long time coming.
My pregnancy was not without complications. So set with me from the 26. During the first week of pregnancy I went into premature labor, which led to a shortening of the cervix, and I fought with the doctors for many weeks to prevent a threatened premature birth. At this point I was glad for every day that she could still spend in my belly. No one would have thought it possible that we would actually get through this together until the end. Now that I was longing for her, she would then probably take all the time in the world. Yes, babies have minds of their own even before they are born&
The evening before the birth
We were invited to dinner at the neighbors that day. Shortly before leaving, I went to the toilet (nothing unusual for pregnant women, especially at this stage) and discovered a light red mucus secretion in my underpants, which was interspersed with thin bloody streaks. I identified this as the mucus plug going off. Normally, this is a sign that the birth is about to start, but it can still be days from leaving to the first contractions.
Since I was so sure that I would have all the time in the world until delivery, even that didn’t faze me. I didn’t tell my husband about this observation at first, because he had already had to worry enough about me and our baby during the pregnancy, so I didn’t want to unsettle him unnecessarily here. Therefore, we went to our neighbors in a good mood.
We had a wonderful evening and I felt just wonderful. I completely forgot that my body was obviously already getting ready in the background. The lease for the baby’s move out was virtually already canceled& At this point I would never have thought possible that it would start a few hours later then already.
2 o’clock in the night – the contractions started
We had then said goodbye to home sometime around midnight and I also fell straight into my bed from tiredness. I remember that, to my surprise, I was able to fall asleep relatively quickly, which has been a rarity lately. Around 2 a.m. I suddenly woke up and realized that something was happening in my body. A strong pulling began to spread in my back and led down to the uterus. It was a rolling contraction that had woken me up. I felt that this time it was not practice contractions, but my body wanted to signal me with it: Here we go.
This was the moment I had been working towards for so long. The marathon at the end of a long journey. A wave of happiness flowed through me and I was already looking forward to the last stage until I met my baby girl.
I rested completely in myself and breathed myself from wave to wave for the next few hours. The contractions were still irregular and easy to bear, but I felt that the intensity was steadily increasing and the intervals were slowly getting shorter. Despite the short period of sleep, I was full of energy and focused on the waves coming and going through my body.
8 a.m. – the last preparations before the birth
Around 8 o’clock in the morning I woke up my husband, who was still lying next to me asleep and unsuspecting. I was surprised that he had not noticed anything until then. At first he didn’t really want to wake up when I said the three magic words to him: "Here we go.
He jumped up with a sharp jerk and looked at me with wide open eyes. Are you sure, so really go…, now….? After he had digested the first shock, he got up and asked what to do now. I noticed his nervousness and tried to calm him down as best I could. Since we had hopes of a family room where we could all spend the first few days in the hospital together, our dog had to find shelter with his parents in the meantime. So we quickly packed up a few more things for her and he went on his way with her.
In the meantime, I had the urge to clean up and tidy up everything once again. So I worked my way through the apartment piece by piece between the waves. From the outside, this endeavor certainly looked fun, but I felt that there was no way I wasn’t going to get this done before driving to the clinic. Probably my husband would not have had so much understanding if he had seen me like this, so I used the time when he was not there.
Not knowing how long this day was going to be, I wanted to jump in the shower quickly just to be on the safe side. The water relaxed me for a short moment, but at the same time the heat showed its effect and the contractions became much stronger. I collected the last things for the clinic bag and was ready to leave one hour later.
9 a.m. – on the way to the maternity hospital
Almost at the same time my husband arrived back home. I didn’t want to go to the clinic too early under any circumstances, and maybe even be sent home again in the worst case scenario. Therefore, I tried to let some time pass by walking up and down the hall. In the meantime, my husband phoned the delivery room to register us and to check whether there was enough capacity to give birth there.
Especially during the busy summer months, the maternity wards are often overcrowded and women have to go to other, more remote hospitals. Since the contractions were already coming every 3-5 minutes and there would be space on site, they told us that we could then slowly get on our way.
My preferred clinic was located ca. 20 minutes by car away, but the roads were clear and we made good progress. I continued to work through the contractions and my husband did not notice that I suddenly had to breathe much more frequently. At the same time the pauses between the contractions became shorter. In the meantime they came in intervals of 2-3 minutes, in between almost without interruption. A real labor storm went through my body when we arrived at the hospital. I think my husband felt that this trip was endless and he was worried that we might not make it in time. I felt, however, that there was no way I was going to have the baby in the car, as my body just wasn’t ready yet.
10 o’clock – the opening phase has begun
Arrived there, the midwife wanted to write a CTG first according to the schedule. She tried to talk to me while I was busy breathing against the next contraction. I was incredibly grateful to my husband that he took over the conversation for me. When she heard that the contractions were already coming every 1-2 minutes, she changed her plan and took us directly to a small room in the delivery room area.
At an initial checkup, the cervix was already open to 4cm, but the position of the baby ensured that the contractions were very strong, but still did not push the labor forward. The reason was that the baby’s head was not lying directly on the cervix, but was already pushing down a little further forward.
Bending forward in a quadruped position, we tried to bring the baby back a bit so that in the next attempt he would be lying with his head directly on the cervix.
So I shimmied from contraction to contraction for the next few hours. Since I hardly had any breaks in between, I slowly but surely reached my limits. My husband supported me actively by massaging my back, kneading and cheering me on.
In the meantime, he not only took care of all the paperwork, but also organized a family room to my delight. This meant that he could stay overnight with us at the clinic for the first few days and not have to go home in between. This gave me an additional boost and I was fully motivated to be able to hold the little lady in my arms on the same day.
14 o’clock – the contractions become stronger
Since I had been working through the contractions for more than 12 hours, my strength was really exhausted at a certain point. I desperately needed a break, even though I had gotten through this phase quite well with my breathing technique. But without interruption you can’t endure such a labor storm for an infinite time. Unfortunately, in the meantime, nothing had changed in the findings of the cervix. To keep the birth going, the midwife offered me an epidural. During the pregnancy I could not imagine to use such a support, but with her explanation that I would also need strength for the pressing phase, I agreed.
I was taken to one of the delivery rooms for the procedure. The contractions came with such force and almost without a break that the anesthesiologist had her work cut out for her. For the placement of the needle I had to sit bent forward and quietly on the edge of the bed, which was hardly manageable with the continuing contractions in this position. She was very empathetic and had the right feeling, because as soon as I could relax for a short moment, the needle was already sitting unerringly.
After about 20 minutes, the medication took full effect and a pleasant calm suddenly set in my body. Since I was very introverted during the contractions and only concentrated on my breathing, I was finally able to see my husband next to me again. He had really given everything in the last few hours to make this phase as pleasant as possible for me, so he was visibly exhausted and happy about this short time out.
3 p.m. – on the way to the delivery room
After I could rest a bit, my spirits came back quickly and I started to joke and laugh with my husband again. The next time the midwife came to check, the cervix was almost completely open. She could even see the head in the pelvis already, which is why she asked me if I would like to take a look at it too. I was handed a mirror and could actually see a dark mop of hair. This spurred me on even more and at this moment I really realized that we would become parents today. Our anticipation increased immeasurably.
Unfortunately, I was not allowed to go into the tub with the epidural, which had been my big wish for the birth beforehand. My left lower half of the body was largely immobilized, so for the time being I could only lie on the delivery room bed.
During the first contraction the midwife checked the CTG and at the same time the water broke. The greenish water signaled that the baby was already quite distressed. At the same time the heart tones suddenly went down and she got a worried expression on her face. She called directly for the senior physician and she looked at the development under the next pressing contraction. The calm, which was radiated by all until then, came to an abrupt end, when she said sharply and firmly: The little one has to come out IMMEDIATELY.
The birth – it gets hectic
Within seconds the room was full of doctors, nurses and midwives. Skillfully and with nimble grips all necessary preparations were made. My husband held my hand and tried to hide his fear for me and the baby. In his look I recognized, however, how it really looked in him. My thoughts were only with the baby and I was focused on the instructions I was about to receive.
In the meantime, the senior physician applied the suction cup, another doctor held my left leg, which I could no longer control myself due to the epidural. Due to the rapid reconstruction work, the contraction recorder no longer showed anything, so that only I could feel when the next contraction was about to begin. Since the epidural was not centered, I could still feel something in my right lower abdomen. I gave the info to the round and was instructed to push. Even though the last hours had been really exhausting, I suddenly developed a strength that I never knew was in me before.
After a short break the next contraction came and with it the head was already born. The third contraction had much less intensity than the other two, but with a little support it was still enough for the little one to come into the world. At the same time it was a real marathon for her through the birth canal. I also had to pause for a moment before I realized that I had done it. We had done it.
4 p.m. – the baby is alive?
Despite the tension of the last few hours, my senses were still sharp and I noticed directly that my baby was not making any sound and was not moving either. She was lying between my legs on the bed, blue and motionless. I felt a fear that I had never felt before. I panicked and tried to get up somehow, but my numb left side of my body prevented that. I could not tell from the look on the doctor’s face if there was a problem, if she was alive at all. I almost fainted for a moment, looked at my husband and he too had fear written all over his face.
Should that be it? All the efforts during the pregnancy, the worries about the unborn child, the efforts during the birth and in the end it would all have been in vain.
The doctor examined my baby in the meantime and gave the all-clear directly. She was breathing and her heart was beating normally. The rapid birth was simply too much for her and she was exhausted because of it. I was still in a fog and could hardly breathe.
After what felt like an eternity, she handed me my baby and I could hold her in my arms for the first time. She was much smaller than expected, but looked at me with big eyes when I held her close to my chest. I was asked what her name was, but at that moment all the tension fell away from me and I just started to cry terribly.
The first hours after the birth
Everything that had accumulated over the last weeks and months suddenly fell away from me. The worries about whether she would be okay, the fears of an impending premature birth, the many visits to the doctor with the uncertainty of whether the findings had worsened again. All this poured out in the form of tears at that moment.
On me lay meanwhile as quiet as a mouse this small delicate creature. I think she was also happy to have finally arrived. After a short recovery phase, she was even able to make her first attempts at the breast. To my relief it worked immediately and I could relax for the first time that day. I looked at my husband, who could no longer take his eyes off the baby. You could clearly see his worries of the last hours. He kissed me tenderly and said: "Thank you for giving me such a wonderful daughter.
Recommendation for your beautiful birth
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Tamara from CleverMom
Hello! I am Tamara, mother and founder of CleverMom.
On my blog and with my unique online course I support you on your individual way to a fulfilling pregnancy and a beautiful birth. An easy start in life for your little miracle and a good start for you as a mom in balance – how it goes? Learn more HERE&