This is the story of Avia Ocean coming into our lives, and also the most incredible thing I’ve ever experienced.
We went to a long walk/hike on Nov.21, 2020 not even thinking about labour or anything that had to do with it. I was 38 weeks and 4 days so in our mind we still had almost a good 2 weeks left just Jeremiah and I. Just that morning we did a little maternity shoot at home, who knew this would be the last official bump pictures?! We went to bed late on Saturday, past midnight which is very unusual for us (usually I would be wiped by 10 pm). I woke up around 2:35 am feeling like I had to pee, which is nothing new but when i walked to the bathroom liquid was already coming out. I thought to myself, “i didn’t think i had to pee that bad”. I sat down to pee and water kept coming, even when I thought I was “done peeing”. So this is when I realized my waters had broken. I went to grab a pad, then immediately went to Jeremiah, woke him and told him what happened. His reaction: “what time is it” and this is why we know it was exactly 2:45am! We laid together for a few min, he asked what we should do. I didn’t have any contractions yet but the first one started at 3:10 am and this is when we said we should get ready to go to the hospital. We both showered and “got ready for labour” but also folded and put away some laundry and put our bedsheets in the wash so we would have fresh sheets when we bring home bebe. All in all we left to go to the hospital around 4:15am. On the way we called my mom who was so excited! The hospital is just 15 min away from our house so the drive was quick and the contractions kept coming. We timed them and they were pretty regular every 3-5 min or so. I felt bad waking people up at night so we held off calling anyone else just yet. We didn’t know how long this labour would be, from all that I had heard and researched the first labour can be especially long.
We got to the hospital, got an initial exam, then were admitted to triage. I had all the plans to change my outfit, put on cute warm socks, shower to help with pain but there really wasn’t time as the contractions just kept coming. Jeremiah had put together a labour playlist so we listened to that and used the essential oils on my lower back and wrists. I tried using the pregnancy ball or sitting down and it was so uncomfortable so i kept walking and squatting through the contractions until a nurse came and told us I was 4.5 to 5 cm - this was around 5:30am. Shortly after I was moved to the delivery room. Contractions kept coming regularly, i kept logging them in the app. I knew I had to make a decision about pain medication and I ask the nurses “how much worse does the pain get from here?” - I must have been 7 cm at this point. The nurses didn’t give me a definitive answer but ensured I was doing great. I tried the laughing gas, it didn’t do anything to make the situation more comfortable but the breathing distracted a little from the pain of the contractions. It turned out the tank was pretty much empty and we didn’t notice until it was pushing time later on! Essential oils, dim lights and an amazing playlist by Jeremiah really made the labour room feel very spa-like! The contractions kept coming, laying wasn’t an option (so uncomfortable!) so I kept standing, walking, squatting, bending over. Like I said before, I was planning on showering, but there was literally no time. I didn’t even change into my “labour outfit” until the very end and only because Jeremiah reminded me. He said I was in a total zone. I would explain it as a meditative state of breathing deeply, breathing through discomfort and pain but being in control of what is happening while allowing your body to perform a miracle. I read a lot about labour and delivery (I definitely was scared of this whole process) but one thing that stuck with me was “your body knows exactly what to do” and it is so true....
Around 7:30-8 am the contractions were still coming regularly. The nurses were angels just checking on me and Bebe, cheering me on, making me comfortable. I felt it was time to push shortly after. 8:30am we were getting ready, the instruments for the doctor were being laid out, I knew this was go time and we would meet our Avia very soon. The nurses said average pushing time is 2 hrs ... I was getting mentally ready for some hard work. I asked for hot compresses to prevent tearing, and reminded that we wanted to keep the placenta. I felt it was time to push, so we did. During my pregnancy I focused on deeper core engagement and training and thought pushing would be the easy part for me. Damn, it wasn’t and trust it isn’t like the movies! You can’t feel the contractions coming so we relied on the graph on the machines for when to push. Also I had to push for 10 seconds multiple times during one contraction - it was hard to say the least. My legs were shaking the entire time - apparently adrenaline (I mean how else can your body go through this!!).
After pushing and pushing, we welcomed Avia Ocean into the world at 9:32am!!!!! I felt like I could move mountains, move the entire world. I was afraid of this part but actually it was the most liberating experience ever and I would not change a thing about it.
Watch my Birth Vlog here!
Nov 22, 2020
