Birth story
One week before the birth (05.10.23)
First contraction at Costco. I couldn’t walk and felt like I had to pee really badly. Santi thought we should go home, but after a couple of minutes, the feeling went away completely.
Sunday (05.14.23)
J and D slept over Saturday. Sunday morning we went to Retiro to hang out with Melida. The kids came back to the apartment after for lunch. I cooked and chilled.
6 pm: peed a little bit of brown blood. 7 pm: started to feel period cramps (finally understood that comparison) and knew that labor was starting. S prepped the bolsa de agua and I took a nap. 8 pm: asked S to send the kids home. 9 pm: contractions started feeling more painful. 10 pm: took a hot shower, which made me feel so much better. 11:30 pm: contractions started hurting more again, texted the team and went to bed
Monday (05.15.23) Sleeping was hard, contractions were intense, like pelvis was paralyzed, but I was able to sleep in between them. Moving pelvis and rocking back and forth in child’s pose was helpful. Was awake from 4:30 am - 8:30 am. At 6 am, contractions slowed down. Pooped and felt better after, went back to sleep. We woke up at 1 pm and I was definitely tired from the pain. The team said that the process was just beginning and I should go about my day like normal. We went to Pink’s for lunch and brought back two burgers for dinner. Had some contractions on the motorcycle and at the restaurant but was able to breathe through them. The contractions continued and at almost midnight, saw a lot more blood on toilet paper. Feeling overall better with learning how to move through each wave, using the swing and rebozo with Santi.
Tuesday 6 am: mucus plug came out, peed out a huge glob of jelly. 9:30 am: felt the contractions a lot closer and more intense. They had slowed down between 6 and 8, but rapidly increased again. SO tired. 11 am: texted the team because contractions were now every few minutes. Rocio called and decided to come over. 1 pm: Rocio arrived and observed, let us know that we were definitely in labor. She decided to leave to let the labor progress… and the contractions slowed down. 3 pm: two guys came to install the curtains. 7 pm: texted the team and they reminded me that I should go inwards, avoid lots of calls/vists/bright lights/screens, and focus on feeling cozy and being in movement.
Wednesday 2:30 am: peed and there was blood. Felt like a UTI was coming on. 3:30 am: contractions intensified, stopped being able to sleep, only was able to take naps. 4:30 am: was desperately texting team that the contractions were getting way intense. 5 am: “they feel like too much… when will it be time to push?” Maria says she’s on her way. 5:40 am: Maria arrives. She massages me & uses the rebozo. At some point I cry to her that it’s too much and I ask when it’s going to be over.
A while later, while I’m napping (ish) and having contractions, Rocio comes. Things feel a little more serious when she comes. She massages me, talks to me, asks me how I am. She must be timing my contractions and eventually asks me to get into bed to do a check. This is not comfortable. She checks my cervix and tells me I’m 9 cm dilated.
9:30 am: I get into the pool. I relax so much more, the contractions are way more bearable, and eventually they ask me to start pushing with the contractions. In between contractions, I’m laughing and making jokes. We at some point even put yonaguni on, until I realize that is NOT the vibe and we turn off everything. I continue to try to push with contractions and 3 hours pass. I’m not really progressing at all. Rocio checks me a bunch. She tells me she wants me to get out of the pool and change positions. I dread getting out of the pool.
1 pm: I get out of the pool. I walk with Santi around the apartment. Rocio holds me and asks me to push standing. I try holding Santi. I try squatting.
1:30 pm: I move to the toilet. I must be in there for 2 hours, screaming per Rocio’s instructions, in sooo much pain and getting SO tired. Baby keeps crowning here, but I can’t muster the energy/strength to push him out and I get exhausted here. During all these pushes, they keep telling me they see the baby and I just need one more big one and the baby will come out. I get so tired and can’t. I start to feel like I’m never going to get the baby out and Rocio and Maria start to whisper among themselves - making me feel nervous and like I might need intervention. I keep calling Rocio over to me and ask her to help me continue, because I need assurance that it’s ok.
3 pm: it must be around this time that they tell me I’m going to change positions. They have me against the wall and rebozo me, which is SO uncomfortable at this point because contractions are coming on heavy and super close together… every 30 seconds or so. Maybe a minute. Standing sucks. Rocio tries to rebozo me and shake baby into a good position… nothing. Maria then suggests I move to the couch and I freak because I know contractions hurt the most lying down. I lay down on the couch (head towards windows) and try to lift my knee to my face, pushing. Again with the crowning and “one more big push!” and still nothing. They tell me to switch to the other side of the couch (legs towards window) and I’m dying. The thought of getting up kills me. I finally do it and Santi helps me bring my knee to my vag. I push and I push and hear, they tell me baby is REALLY crowning and I can do it. I can’t. They tell me to take a break and that we’ll try to find another position. Here I’m so desperate and worried I’m going to have to go to the emergency room that I finally say something like, please, just give me one more chance, because literally I can’t fathom moving again. THEN, I try 3 more times the whole pushing process (each round with 3 pushes… the first to prepare my body, the second to push hard, and the third to move momentum along and get baby out). First try, doesn’t work. Second try, doesn’t work. Third try, I do my first push and prepare. Second breathe, I breathe with everything I have, and I push baby to crown. Third breath, with all the animo they give me and strength I have and I finally feel the ring of fire. I know I’ve succeeded and they say one more big push for the baby’s body to come out…
3:43 pm: Ollie is born.