The path to motherhood for me began March 22, 2020 with those two little lines. We had been using fertility awareness/cycle charting for birth control until February 2020 and I was thrilled to have a positive test. I was 3 weeks and 5 days when we found out. I immediately woke Chris up to let him know and then continued getting ready for work.
Very soon afterwards everything shut down due to COVID-19. I worked as a bank teller at the time so my daily life did not change except for less traffic on the roads. Chris and I focused on our growing babe and shared the news on social media at 7 weeks. I wanted to share some joy and light in the world and the good news and happiness of our pregnancy.
At week 10 I had my first midwife appointment and got to hear the heartbeat. I was alone due to restrictions, but I recorded a video for Chris and our family to hear. One thing led to another and so I did not have care established until I was 20 weeks along. I was with the fabulous City of Oaks midwives and loved the care I received from them.
At the end of July I was 22 weeks pregnant and went in for my anatomy scan. Once again I was alone, but the technician printed lots of photos for me. Originally we wanted to wait until birth to find out the gender but we changed our minds at the last minute and decided to find out at the scan. As soon as the tech began looking, Luca rolled over and it was clear that we were expecting a sweet boy.
The rest of my pregnancy sailed by and I soaked in every moment I had with my growing bump. Luca was such a unicorn in the womb, I was blessed to not have morning sickness, major heartburn, swelling, gestational diabetes, or anything else. He did love to punch and kick and also stretch his legs and feet into my ribcage but I was grateful to be able to experience it all.
Once I hit 39 weeks, the week of Thanksgiving, I knew I was done working and needed to step away in order to begin preparing mentally and emotionally for the journey I would be taking soon with labor, I was already at 4cm by this point and ready to hunker down in peace. I spent that week drinking lots of red raspberry leaf tea, eating dates, going on walks, and climbing stairs.
My estimated due date was December 1st, and there was a full moon lunar eclipse on November 30th. I had a strong feeling for most of my pregnancy that the full moon would have some sort of effect on my body with regards to labor. The night of the 30th I relaxed on the couch and watched a movie with Chris. He fell asleep and I went to bed as well with some cramping in my stomach. I had pulled a muscle in my belly earlier that evening so I did not think anything of the cramps at the time. I tossed and turned for a couple hours trying to get comfortable before finally drawing a bath around midnight for some relief. It was in the tub that I realized I was most likely in the early stages of labor so I tried to relax my body as much as possible.
My surges were not overpowering but the pulled muscle ached with each surge and after my bath I continued to toss and turn in bed, trying in vain to get some rest. Around 3:15am Chris came to check on me and I let him know that I thought I was in labor. He jumped into action gathering our bags together whiled I called the midwife on call. We headed out the door and got to the hospital around 4:30 in the morning. They checked me and I was already at 6cm so they admitted me into a delivery room.
Our doula, Elisabeth, soon arrived and we used essential oils and the toilet to keep my body moving and relaxed. I enjoyed laboring on my side and Chris would lean over me to block out the tiny bit of light that was in our room while I breathed and moaned through my surges. I began having back labor and Elisabeth provided much needed counter pressure during my surges for pain relief.
After a few hours, my midwife, Karen, checked me again and I was at 10cm but Luca needed to drop just a bit more so she left me alone to labor down, saying she would check on me again in about an hour. There was one nurse in the room checking the monitors and listening to me labor. I was feeling the urge to bear down and began grunting during my surges. Luca was crowning at this point, and it was around 9am or so. The nurse hit the call button, saying that she needed hands and the midwife to come back into the room. They came bustling in, and Karen instructed me to hold up leg up since I was still on my side and to bear down.
I bore down with all my strength but quickly realized it was going to take more than I thought in order for Luca to come out. I had no pain medication and no IV in me. Oxytocin, endorphins, all the good hormones were flooding my body and I was no longer aware of my surges when they happened. Karen told me that Luca would come out with my next surge if I could bear down strong. I told her that they needed to tell me when it was happening, as I could not feel a thing. At the next surge I gave everything I had, then dug down to another level of myself and kept pushing.
His head emerged and the rest of his body came quickly after and he was immediately placed on my belly. Luca cried a few times but as soon as I saw him I said, “Hello” and the sweetest face turned his head to look up at me. He was here, on his due date, at 9:27am. Chris and I were in love and awe of this sweet soul that we had been so eager to meet. He was 7 pounds 1 ounce, 20 inches long, and perfect.
Today he is now a sweet 5,5 month boy who loves to chew his tongue and fingers, roll around, cuddle with mama and daddy, laugh at the dog, go for walks and car rides, take baths and play with the shower head, and smile at everyone he meets.
To be able to have a healthy pregnancy, and an easy and quick labor were my two goals throughout my pregnancy and I credit Hypnobirthing and chiropractic care along with visualization and birth affirmations, with the support of my doula and the love and support of Chris for my positive birth experience.
