Welcome to our World, Mason!

On August 21 at 1:24am, our 7lb 12 oz, 19 inch baby BOY, Mason Alexander Kinlaw, joined our little world! This is Mason's birth story. As I write this, he's snoozing on my chest and it just makes my heart burst with joy! 

He was just a couple hours old here! I love this picture and I love that Josh was able to snuggle in the bed with us!

It's a bit long, so bear with me. 

Leading up to the big day!

Mason's estimated due date was August 8, 2016, but he decided he wasn't quite ready to join us at that time. The midwives at our birthing center would allow us to go up to 2 weeks late as long as it remained safe. I went to my 40 week appointment and at that point, I hadn't had any noticeable contractions. We talked about the next steps we would take to try to naturally induce labor. I had been drinking red raspberry leaf tea and using evening primrose oil for a few weeks at this point (these things are not supposed to induce labor, but there are some believed benefits during labor - I have no idea if they helped since this was my only labor and I have no baseline). We asked if it would be OK to see an acupuncturist at some point (this is supposed to induce labor) and our midwife said yes. We decided if I didn't have any signs of labor over the weekend, I would try to make an appointment for the following Monday,when I was 41 weeks pregnant. I did just that. During my acupuncture appointment, I felt lots of movement from Baby K! For the time of day I was there, this was not normal. I was instructed to move around a lot and have Josh rub my pressure points. I felt a fair amount of pressure after my appointment. I ended up going for one more appointment on Wednesday and I experienced the same feelings. I'm confident that if nothing else, my acupuncture treatments helped our little guy move down. In the meantime, I was testing out all those old wives tales and eating all the spicy food I could tolerate, lots of pineapple, eggplant parm, green papaya...all of the foods. We tried the other things that are supposed to induce labor - walking, exercise ball, sex...yep, we did all those too. There were only 2 things left to try - a membrane sweep and drug induced induction (which we were trying to avoid if at all possible, as this would have been a cause to opt out of our birthing center birth and have to go to the hospital).

We had an appointment on Friday (I was 41 weeks and 4 days pregnant at that point). The nonstress test went well, but my blood pressure was high. We stopped to check it on the way home and it was fine then, so it was just because I was nervous about the appointment. I was 3cm dilated and 50% effaced at the appointment and I accepted a membrane sweep. 

The Beginning

Around 3am on Saturday morning (yep, after staying up until after midnight), I started having contractions that were too strong to sleep through. They were about 30 minutes apart and I was tired, so I was able to nap in between them for the first hour or so. These were the first consistent contractions I had, so I was optimistic, but also not totally convinced that this was the real deal. I thought they may still stop. I thought I may want to eat some muffins during labor, so I decided to go make some. While I waited on them to bake, I got a snack and sat on the exercise ball to do some exercises we learned in our birthing class to help the baby move down. Bailey came downstairs and hung out with me. I continued to have contractions through all of this. They started to get a little closer together. Now, I was convinced that this was labor. It was early labor, but hey, labor is labor! The earlier contractions were not super intense. They were similar to strong period cramps and I was totally fine in between them. During them, I could talk and even continue to do what I was doing. I decided not to wake Josh up. I wanted to try to get some more sleep myself once I finished the muffins and I wanted him to be as rested as possible. It was going to be a long day and I needed him to be alert. I finally got back upstairs around 7am and he was awake. I showed him my contraction timer to let him know things were getting started! We decided to try to get some more rest and to call the midwife a little later to update her. I wasn't able to go back to sleep, but I did relax a little. Josh called her around 8:30. I think contractions were about 12-15 minutes apart by then. She told him to have me relax as much as possible and try to get some rest. Make sure I'm staying hydrated and drink between every contraction. She suggested either having some red wine or taking some Tylenol PM and try to get some sleep if at all possible. Anna brought us breakfast then I took Tylenol PM and soaked in a warm bath (which can slow labor down, but I really needed to rest, so I was OK with this at that point). It was relaxing, but it didn't slow my contractions down. I tried to get some sleep, but it just wasn't happening. After a while of just relaxing in bed, we decided to get dressed and go downstairs. 

Hanging out on the birth ball! This was between contractions.

Active labor starts!

I continued to have contractions and Josh was just great during them. He made sure I was drinking and staying focused on my breathing. Contractions were more intense at this point. I didn't want to talk during them and I had to stop what I was doing. I had to stay focused on not letting my body tense up. Josh asked if I would want some company to help distract me. I thought that might be a good idea. Anna had asked if I wanted them to bring me anything for lunch. I just wanted muffins and a smoothie, so they brought some spinach for us to put in smoothies. They hung out for a bit and we chatted between contractions. I had an herbal supplement that I got from my midwife that was supposed to help bring on contractions. I had been taking that and I took it once while the Martins were here. It was SO gross. This time, the taste of it made me get sick. I threw up everything. Contractions were closer (I think around 6 minutes apart) at this point and I couldn't get comfortable at all in between them. The Martins left and took Bailey with them. Contractions continued to progress and were getting closer and stronger. Josh called the midwife to update her and she said to have me try to rest and continue to labor at home. We were getting close and we would be coming in tonight, but not just yet. It was really hard to rest because I had to pee SO much. I was peeing every 2-3 contractions. I would always have a strong contraction right after I peed, so I almost dreaded going, but my bladder was killing me, so I had to make myself. I had a couple contractions that were 10-11 minutes apart around this time. I caught a very quick nap in between those. The contractions I had after that were the strongest so far. When the contractions were 4 minutes apart we called our midwife and she said to come on in. Josh had been getting the car loaded between contractions. We finished getting our stuff together, notified family, and hopped in the car. I took a towel to sit on just in case my water broke on the way (or in case I peed myself - haha). Neither of those things happened. The ride was uncomfortable, but not as bad as I expected. It was painful if Josh hit a pothole or uneven areas of the road during a contraction (there's construction on 40, so there were several opportunities for this to happen). We finally got to the birthing center around 8:30pm.

When we walked in, I was greeted by Mandesa, my favorite midwife!!! I knew she had been on call the night before, so I didn't expect to see her. I told her how glad I was to see her! She checked my vitals and my blood pressure was 128/78 - woohoo! She estimated the baby to be 8lbs (she ended up being much closer than our ultrasound tech). She checked my cervix and I was 100% effaced and 6cm dilated! Looking back, 3 more cm than I was the night before after having contractions for 17 hours straight doesn't seem like good progress, but I was so excited about that 3 cm then. Baby was still high and she thought it may be sunny side up. If this was the case, I may start to have intense back labor. She asked if I wanted to put the tens unit on my back and I said yes. This didn't make the back labor go away, but it did help distract me from it. She tied the rebozo around my belly to help make room for Baby K to turn over, then she told me some positions she wanted me to labor in to help as well. Josh and I were doing really well, so she left us alone to labor for a bit and she would come check in periodically. At this point, I had no more sense of time. Between contractions, Josh would run to grab anything I needed. He was absolutely amazing, massaging my back and applying counter pressure during contractions. He made sure I always had something to drink and reminded me to stay hydrated. He made sure I was as comfortable as possible and was SO encouraging. He told me when I was doing great when I was doing great with my breathing and reminded me to take deeper, longer breaths if I started to lose focus. Contractions kept getting closer and more intense. Mandesa began to spend more time with us and talk about what our next moves were. She wanted me to relax in bed for a while, then she said I could labor in the tub. We got in the bed around 10:00pm Saturday night (I just found Mandesa's labor notes on my maternity portal, so I have times for things now!) She had me labor a bit on each side in bed, with the peanut ball between my legs. That thing was amazing! When Josh was facing me, he talked to me and held my hands through the contractions. When he was behind me, he massaged me. Mandesa put on the diffuser and rubbed some oils on me to help me relax. I don't remember what it was, but it did help. At some point while we were in bed, transition started. Contractions were INTENSE at this point. I got nauseous and I was having some really bad heartburn. Mandesa offered me Zofran. I went my entire pregnancy without taking anything for morning sickness, so I turned it down at first. Then I remembered throwing up through a contraction earlier in the day and I did not want to do that again, so I took it.

Transition!

Transition is when you dilate from 8-10 cm. This is what I thought would be the hardest part of labor for me. It was very difficult, don't get me wrong. These contractions were longer and WAY more intense than they were when we left our house. It was very quick though. There is almost no break between contractions at this point - they were right on top of each other. We were ready to move to the tub, but I wanted to pee before I got in. I had a strong contraction while I was on the toilet and I felt a HUGE gush. My water broke at 11:25pm! I thought we might still have several hours to go. When I got in the tub, Mandesa checked me and I was at 9 cm (this was 11:46pm), but I did have a little bit of a cervical lip (when you're dilated, but part of the cervix is still in the way of the baby's head getting out), but she said she didn't think it would be a big problem. I still felt great about 9cm though! Wow! Such great progress! Of course, it could have been 10pm on Saturday or 3 am on Sunday and I wouldn't have known. I literally had no sense of time. I knew I had to be nearing the end of transition because of the intensity of my contractions. At this point, I had taken absolutely nothing for pain and I was tired. I asked Mandesa for the Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas) during a contraction. She said I didn't need it, that she knew I could do it, but we could talk about it after this contraction. We talked about this during our birthing class. I knew these decisions were not made during contractions, but between them. I also knew I would never ask for it between the contractions, especially after making it so far without anything. I don't know if I felt like I needed it during that contraction or if I was just curious, I just remember asking for it. In the end, I didn't get any and I'm glad (although I'm still a little curious - I've read that it doesn't take away the pain, it just relaxes you and makes you not care that you're feeling pain). It seemed like I was only in the tub for about 5 minutes before I felt the urge to push, but it was actually about 35 minutes (thank you, notes). I was fully dilated at 12:19am. 

Push it!!!

Mandesa knew I was getting tired at this point. She said I could wait for my body to push, but this would take forever, or I could push on my own between contractions as well. I was tired and I knew this next part could take a while, so I decided I would push in between contractions as well. I started pushing at 12:22am. Pushing is exhausting to say the least. I was under no impression that it would be easy, but it was harder than I thought. I thought I would get some sort of supernatural adrenaline that would make me forget how tired I was. No, I was SO exhausted, I just knew I had to get through it and we could meet our baby. It was a lot of work for both of us. Josh had to support the majority of my weight in some of the positions I was in while in the tub.  I pushed for a while in the tub, but I was not making enough progress and I was getting more and more tired, so I had to get out. I resisted, but I knew Mandesa knew what she was doing and she wanted me to try the birthing stool. We compromised and she let me try one more position in the tub. It took me a few contractions to make it out of the tub and to the stool, even though the stool was literally just outside the tub. I started pushing on the birthing stool and it was actually a lot better than I expected. It got me in a squatting position without me having teh support my weight. Squatting is great, but I definitely didn't have the energy to support all my weight AND push at this point. Mandesa had Josh sit behind the stool on the bed. At first, I was leaning forward on the stool and Josh was massaging me or applying counter pressure while I held on to the stool as I pushed. I was making much better progress here! The baby's heart rate was dropping, so I knew I had to focus and push like crazy. Next, Mandesa had me lean back onto Josh while I was still on the stool. Josh was amazing at this time and I really don't know how I would have gotten through it without him. I don't know how long I pushed, but at one point, Mandesa told us we could feel the baby's head if we would like to. Of course, we did. I still had lots of work to do, but this gave me some new motivation. The contractions were long at this point. I was able to get 3 good pushes and a 4th less strong push during most contractions. Pushing was different than I expected. I would take in a deep breath and push as hard as I could until I needed to catch my breath, then I would just repeat. I remember thinking that if my eyes were open, they would probably pop out of my head. I'm not sure if pushing would have been this intense if we weren't in "get baby out ASAP" mode, but I've never felt that much pressure in my head. I had read about the ring of fire and yep - that's a real thing. Talk about a burn! I never did scream though! I thought I would so I was pretty pleased with myself here. I kept my head straight and I knew screaming wouldn't help anything. I did cry and moan thought - I'm pretty sure I sounded like a dying cow. I remember feeling Mandesa stretch me, but I didn't even care that it hurt, because I knew it was helping to get the baby out. We had planned on Josh catching the baby and announcing the gender, but this didn't work out since he was in distress. Mason's heart rate dropped to 80 at 1:14am and I was given oxygen. I did not remember getting oxygen, but after reading Mandesa's notes, it all came back to me. That was a little scary, but they told us not to worry and I trusted them. Based on the number of times Mandesa had me change positions, we estimated that I pushed for probably an hour - hour and a half. After finding the notes, I saw that I pushed for an hour and 2 minutes. Once I pushed Mason's head out, the rest of him came relatively easy.

He's here!
The cord had been wrapped around Mason's neck twice. This is what was causing his heart rate to drop. He didn't cry immediately and his breathing wasn't great, so it was a very scary time for us. He was put on my chest immediately and I have no idea if I cried or not. I remember being overcome with happiness when he was first placed on me, then asking if he was going to be OK just a few seconds later. The midwives said he was going to be fine, he just needed a little extra attention. They were able to do just about everything they needed to do with him right on me, which I was very thankful for. I was able to see what was happening and touch him. Josh was able to touch him. Mason's APGAR scores were 5 and 8, so he recovered quickly. Josh was able to clamp and cut the cord. I wish we had pictures of some of this, but most of all, I'm glad we got to share it together. We obviously didn't plan for the issues with Mason's heart rate and breathing, but he ended up being perfectly fine and otherwise, I couldn't have asked for a better labor. Once we were assured that he was perfect in every way, I was just in disbelief that he was here. It was such an amazing feeling! I had always heard that delivering the placenta was very painful, but that wasn't the case for me. Maybe it was painful and I just didn't care because I had this beautiful baby on my chest, but I remember thinking it was actually easy. I delivered the placenta 10 minutes after Mason was born and the maternal side came first (basically, it was inside out) - it's not a good or bad thing, it's just a thing and Mandesa hadn't seen one yet (or maybe she had only seen a couple - I don't remember for sure now). The fundal massages on the other hand were quite painful. I had a bit of bleeding, so I was given a small amount of pitocin to cause my uterus to contract to help stop it. I did end up having a second degree tear that required 3 stitches. I was given a local anesthetic before getting the sutures and Ibuprofen after, but that's all of the pain medication I got during the whole labor.


Mason's first picture!

Us with Mandesa!


Not a flattering picture of me, but these are some of our first snuggles, so I love it anyway!

My loves!

Anna and John brought us food and came to meet baby Mason.

After all was said and done, I felt amazing. I was exhausted and sore, but I was great! If I had to do it over again, I would do it exactly the same, I would just rest more the day before! Of course, I wish Mason didn't have any complications at all, but the midwives handled it perfectly in not freaking me out and taking great care of Mason as soon as he arrived. I don't think the hospital staff would have done any better. Josh was the best birth partner I could have ever hoped for. I hear a lot about women saying mean things to their husband during labor, but I never even thought of saying anything mean to him. He was my rock and I really can't imagine how I would have gotten through labor without him. Especially through the hardest and most painful parts of labor, I was very much aware of that. There were times during pregnancy that I seriously considered hiring a doula, but we didn't need one. Between Josh and Mandesa, I had all the support I needed. I would have liked to have had some pictures, but I'm not sure I would have wanted the distraction of having someone else in the room.

Our little guy just before his first car ride!

The birthing center doesn't require as long a stay as a typical hospital, which is one of the things that was so appealing to us. We were able to come home the same day. Mason was born about 5 hours after we arrived at the birthing center. Once he was born, we were taken care of and our vitals were checked a few times. After Anna and John left, our vitals were checked again and we went over discharge information, then we were left alone to nap uninterrupted for a few hours. Our vitals were checked one more time before we left and we were discharged at 9:20am, about 8 hours after Mason was born. We were able to get a shower and nap before the influx of visitors started. We were so busy, we didn't get many pictures the day Mason was born, but we took some when he was one day old.

We are both so happy with our birthing experience. If you ask Josh, he'll explain it as a fun day. I don't know that I would exactly use that word, but I understand where he's coming from and I don't fault him for using it. It was an amazing, empowering and very exciting experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. Yes, it was very difficult and yes it was incredibly painful, but it was worth it all!