Aiden's Birth Story

I can't believe Aiden is already a week old! It flew by so fast! I figured that this was a good time to sit down and write out his birth story, before I forget any of it. :)

It all started on a saturday morning...

I lost my mucous plug around 11 am (sorry if that's TMI). Now, I wasn't quite sure what that meant so I gave my midwife a call. She told me that it meant I was dilating (I was at 1 1/2cm earlier that week) and that labor could start within 24-36 hours. We didn't want to get everybody all excited, so we only told our parents and a friend, Sarah Cornett, who was going to take pictures of the birth for us.

Contractions started just a few hours later but they weren't very strong or consistent until late afternoon. Now, the timing of everything was just perfect. Eli's cousin was getting married that day and a bunch of his relatives were in town. Everyone (and I mean everyone!) kept telling us to wait to have the baby until after the wedding but before they left! We went to the wedding and then the reception and had a wonderful time. We left the reception at about 9pm, by that point the contractions were pretty strong and were coming 10 minutes apart. Came home and took a bath to see if that would help any. And it did! I didn't have any contractions while in the tub but once I got out they started coming stronger and closer. By 12am they were averaging 4-5 minutes apart. We left for the birthing shortly after that! My midwife checked me when I got there and I was almost at 5cm! At this point I decided to take a shower 'cause my back was killing me. It was wonderful! A little while later I transfered to the hot tub and labored there for 2-ish hours. And ended up getting sick! This is Eli's favorite part to tell. :) The midwife gave me a bowl and I threw up in it, so she went to clean it out. While she was away I threw up again and since I didn't have a bowl, Eli caught it in his hands. What a great husband I have! After that, I was checked again and was at 7cm and my water had still not broken. So she broke it for me and boy, did those contractions get more painful! I kept telling Eli that it hurt and he kept holding my hand and telling me I was doing great. He was wonderful and so supportive! At around 3am, I got out of the tub and labored in bed because my back hurt so bad and none of the positions in the tub were helping it. By 3:30am I was ready to push! That was probably one of the most painful things I have ever experienced. But less than 2 hours later, Aiden was here! The official stats are: born at 5:19am, weighing 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 20 inches long.

It was one of the most amazing experiences when he came out and was put up on my chest. I was in shock, just couldn't believe he was actually here! And Eli was all teary eyed. :) Aiden was so calm, barely cried and just laid there, looking around with his gorgeous little baby eyes.

Now, I won't lie and tell you it was easy. It was definitely hard, but so worth it. While I was in labor all kinds of thoughts ran through my head about how I couldn't do this, it hurt so bad and now I understand why people get the drugs and c-sections! Looking back, it wasn't that bad and went by very quickly. I'm so glad I made the decision to have an all natural birth. Now I feel like superwoman! It's just an amazing feeling knowing that I gave birth to this child! I feel so accomplished!

Here are some of the pictures Sarah Cornett took!