Mia’s Birth story
Mia Grace Taylor
Thursday June 19, 2014
8:35 am
7 pounds 9 ounces, 20 inches long
A lot of this post is going to be TMI.. but I will try to
keep it not super gross, but informative! And my mind was kind of not paying
attention to time, so things may not be EXACT!
DISCLAIMER.... You may want to skip this post if you are uncomfortable with birthing pictures. You will not see anything, but you will obviously be able to tell I was hanging out naked in a tub for 5 hours! :) I look a little like a beached whale in a few pictures!
Wednesday June 18th I started spotting and
loosing my mucus plug that morning. I new it could still be a few days before
anything happened. But I was in full nesting and cleaning mode. My mom
was wise and left the house for a few hours that day. Haha! I should have gone to bed early Wednesday
night, but I never did.. At midnight, I started to feel a little crampy and a
little sick to my stomach. (I had been crampy for weeks now, but these were a
little different). I finally got in the bath tub. (I got in the birthing tub later) Jarom was asleep at this time. The
tub felt amazing, but once I came back to bed, I started to feel worse. So I
woke Jarom up mostly cause I just needed him, and to start timing my
contractions. I think we started timing them at 1:48 am. Within about an hour,
they went from seven to three minutes apart.. Don’t you worry the whole time I
made sure the house was cleaned and all the laundry was folded before the
midwives came. AND I really wanted us to have a family prayer before anything
happened.. SO we had to hurry between contractions to say a family prayer (our
last with just the two of us). Then I really wanted Jarom to give me a
priesthood blessing. By this point, they were about every three minutes and I
had to keep going to the bathroom, my body was obviously pushing everything out
of the way! In between my contractions
while I was on the toilet I finally just said hurry and give me a blessing
right now. Haha It was perfect!
Birthing Tub
BY 3:00 am I finally felt like this is it, I kept telling
Jarom I want to wait to wake up my mom and call the midwives just to make sure
this was for real. Jarom I think would have called sooner! We woke my mom up and called Melissa. By 3:50 am, my first
Midwife arrived (Melissa). Then just before 7:00 am the second one arrived
(Laura), just before 8:00 am the last one arrived (Heidi). Seriously guys I had
3 midwives, my mom, and my amazing husband as my support team. I will always
ALWAYS have such a special place in my heart for all of them.
My constant support through all of this
Okay back to the time line.. Just an FYI Labor-land is a
real place, and forgetting is for real. I remember emotionally how I felt
afterwards, but during labor, you are just kind of out of it. So I will do my
best with describing everything and the time line. I would say active labor
started at 3:00 am and I had Mia at 8:35 am. So I was in active labor for five in
half hours. Which is SUPER fast for a first time mom, and this also made it
CRAZY intense. I believe with my whole heart that our bodies can give birth
beautifully (I know there are other circumstances and everyone is different, but
for the most part I believe all women’s bodies can and will do this!) But
seriously, this was hard. I was not calm like all the documentaries I watched.
In the end I made noises that after a few weeks Jarom finally told me he was a
little taken aback by them.(he was SUPER loving and kind when he said this,
haha) Obviously he would never say something during the birth and would let me
do whatever I needed to do. Okay sorry I keep getting off. So Melissa got
there. By this point, I was pacing, and as soon as a contraction would start, I
would want Jarom right by me telling me to breathe and helping me visualizing “my
place.” (“my place” was a beach in Hawaii)
(I could never get to “my place,” the pain was too intense). He would also put
pressure on my lower back, which helped. My mom and he would take turns doing
this, my mom helped a lot especially while Jarom was getting the room ready. I
got to one point where I didn’t want to be around ANYONE so I went into Mia’s
room and just breathed through each contraction alone. I also got irritated with how my mom and Jarom and how they were talking
to me during contractions. Haha I got to the point where I hated the word waves
and relax. (I must have been so much fun to be around). They seriously were
amazing the whole time I was so high maintenance. I loved what Melissa said
during contractions. She was telling me how to breathe and telling me what each
contraction was doing and helping me visualize my body opening, (at least I
think that is what she said.. oh man I don’t remember, I just remember I liked
what she said). But between all three of them, someone would be talking to me,
putting pressure on my back, or just being there. I needed Jarom to always just
be there. I needed him constantly; mostly just his presence was enough! (Trust me he did a lot, especially at the
end). Okay so right after Melissa got there we got the 100-gallon birthing tub
all ready to go. (I HATE wearing wet clothes, I asked if I could just be naked, that was when both Jarom and Melissa said as long as we can.. haha, ummm no just the women pushing a baby out of her gets to be naked!) OH MY GOODNESS that was AMAZING. I only got out of the tub to
go to the bathroom. And I HATED getting out of the tub. BY the end, they just
kept telling me to go pee in the water! The worse part was having a contraction
on the toilet, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe as loud because we share
walls with our neighbors and you can hear through the walls most in the bathroom!! SO much
fun.
I was so tired, between contractions this was the most comfortable way to sleep.
We had the lights dimmed way down, and candles lit. Jarom had set up the room so we had surrond sound of ocean waves going as well! So relaxing! (okay to be truthful I didn't even know about the candles that my amazing mom lit until after Mia was born. haha)
Okay so I think just a little after 5 I started feeling like
I was done (yes I know I sound like a baby).. Melissa checked me and I had hit
transition! This means you are at about a seven. I knew enough to know that I
was getting close. But that didn’t make it easier.. I also knew this was the
point most women start feeling like they can’t do this. Which I said
repeatedly. My mom was so great at this point, I remember a couple of times she
would look right at me and say HEIDI, you CAN do this!! And Melissa would say
you ARE doing this, and that I was the little engine that could! Haha. Jarom
was there, he literally was ALWAYS right by me. I know he went to the bathroom,
but I don’t ever remember him being away from me. BY this point, I think I had
thrown up maybe a couple of times. Which again I knew meant things are getting
closer! And I know you can go up another centimeter when you throw up! The nice
thing too is the whole time I was able to have as much food and water as I
wanted. Also, they would put ice-cold washcloths on my forward and neck that
felt heavenly!
I married such an amazing man
I think this might be the only picture of my face that I don't look like I'm dying!
Just as a side note my midwives don’t check me during
pregnancy and they don’t check you during labor that much either. (I was only
checked once, that was when I hit transition) After all my reading and
obviously talking with the midwives, it really doesn’t tell you anything before
pregnancy how far dilated you are. You can be at 3 or 4 for weeks. Or you can
be like my friend that was NOTHING and the very next day had her baby 2 weeks
early.
Okay back to the birth. I’m not sure when I started pushing.
I think someone said around 7:30 a.m. ish, so I pushed for about an hour. I
swear everyone said this part felt good, because you had such a strong desire to
push. Ya this part was the worst. (I’m really sorry my birth story is not very
warm and fuzzy, but for anyone reading this, just know I’m going to do it at
home with my next one too!)
I literally felt those 2 butt bones (you know the ones that
kill after riding a bike forever) move apart, and I felt like I had a
watermelon stuck that just wouldn’t come out. By this point, all three midwives
were there. I had to hold onto someone during every single contraction. The
most helpful was the during a contraction, having them tell me exactly
how to breathe. I started having really bad Charlie horses at this point. Oh my
gosh this was awful. My mom got me some liquid calcium and magnesium that
helped. But mostly I had to keep changing positions and they had to massage my
whole leg, both legs. It went through both my legs.
Everyone kept saying I was so close, and that I could feel
her head, and feel the water sac bulging over her head. So I felt it.. and all
I could say (in a whiny crying voice) “She is still so far up there”.
Oh also I was hanging onto one of the midwives (Laura), and she was checking
the babies heart rate at one point, Jarom said I almost pulled her into the
birthing tub, because I was pulling on
her so hard. Haha I think this was why the day after Mia was born EVERY single muscle
in my body hurt.
Okay so this is where it gets good. I guess Mia had her hand
up by her head, so I was trying to push out a head and an arm.. Melissa helped
get Mia’s head and hand out and with one more contraction the rest of her body
came. The whole time I had five people holding my hand, massaging me, holding
me up, and telling me I can do this. I remember Laura came in at the perfect
time, hearing her voice was so calming, and then right before Mia came out
Heidi got there and she grabbed my hand at the perfect time. Literally all five
people did things that feel so huge and monumental to me. My support team is
why I was a success! (I know I’m a broken record with saying how amazing they
all are)
She is out!!!!. This is where it gets MAGICAL. Seriously, oh my goodness it was so surreal. I was holding my daughter. Melissa brought her right to me. Mia’s cord was pretty short, but I was still able to have her come right up on my chest. (I was totally in awe so I didn’t realize this, but they almost went and got the neonatal air puffer thingy because she wasn’t breathing very well on her own, but as soon as they went to go get it, she let out a big cry and was good to go). I was crying and Jarom and I just kept looking at her. It felt amazing I mean so amazing to be done with the hardest workout of my life. But mostly I just kept looking at her thinking my goodness she is so perfect and so beautiful, and why isn’t everyone just staring at her like I am. Haha. I wanted the whole world to stop and look at her. She was just incredible. They did check her heart rate and did some of the normal testing while she was on my chest. Mia was so amazing and latched right on and started nursing. This whole time the placenta is still in me and the cord is still attached to Mia.(we were doing delayed cord cutting) I was still in the tub. It was about 10 to 15 minutes before we cut the cord. This whole time I had 4 women taking care of things, getting me juice and food, charting, cleaning up, and taking care of me, Jarom was right behind me holding me up while I was holding Mia. We were both just in awe at this perfect little baby girl. Jarom decided he wanted to cut the cord! He cut the cord and then he took Mia while I pushed the Placenta out in one contraction. Nursing helped get contractions going again, which I think helped the placenta come out so easily. Using those pushing muscles didn’t feel awesome. At this point, I had a couple people helping me out of the tub to go to the bathroom, and then help back to my bed where they get to check out the damage from birthing this perfect baby girl.
I love how alert she was!
I didn’t tear like a normal birth, it was more like a few
little tears that went more towards my pee hole. And then it felt like a LOT of paper cuts down the birth canal. They could only
sew up a couple. I’m SUPER grateful I didn’t tear badly. But guys peeing stung
SOOOOOOOOOOOO bad. I guess that is better than tearing the other way! Jarom was in Mia’s room
rocking her while two midwives (Melissa and Heidi) were getting me all put back
together! (Jarom LOVED having this one
on one time with his baby girl, he got to be alone with her for about 45
minutes. Just talking and getting to know each other)! Then the third midwife
(Laura) was inspecting my placenta making sure everything was good! And my mom
was up by my head calming me down while I was being stitched up. Everyone just
played such a huge part during this whole thing! After I was all-good to go and
had my awesome mommy diaper on, Jarom brought Mia back in to get her all
weighed and do all the testing stuff they do. This was so great cause I got to
see everything, they did it all on our bed! And Jarom was able to be a part of
all of it! He weighed her and was right there while they were doing all of the
measurements! They then brought her back
to me and we were able to have LOADS of skin-to-skin and nursing time. I just
can’t repeat enough how magical this all was. I will forever cherish these moments. I
could not stop looking at Mia and thinking how amazingly perfect she was and I
could not believe she was mine. How is that even possible? I was so beyond
tired, but I could not even think about sleeping. I had the BEST new toy to
play with.
The midwives stayed for a few hours. When they left I
totally cried. UMMMMM why can’t they just live with us Jarom??? Haha. They
prepped my mom and Jarom perfectly and told them exactly what to look for and
instructions of what isn’t normal. They came to check on Mia and me the very next day at home!
(side note: I read on a blog how someone had
thank you gifts for the nurses, well I thought that was amazing, so beforehand
I got $5 gift cards to sweet tooth fairy and a small bottle of sparkling cider
and put a little note saying thanks for being a part of this special day with
us as a thank you to my birth team).
I loved that this all happened while I was holding her in my arms
My mom and Jarom seriously were the BEST nurses ever. If you
guys even knew how my husband was with cleanliness and germs you would be so SO
proud of him! Between him and my mom, I seriously didn’t change a diaper for
about 5 days! . (which was awesome cause
I could barely move)
Mia Grace Taylor was born Thursday June 19, 2014 at 8:35 am.
She weighed 7 pounds 9 ounces, and was 20 inches long. I was 41 weeks and 4 days (I think I was 40
weeks and 4 days, due dates are dumb). She has hair, but a crazy hairline (kind
of like a bald old man) She has the most beautiful lips, the longest tiniest
legs, SUPER long feet, CRAZY long fingers (perfect for my future piano player).
REALLY long nails, we had to cut them that night. She had a little mark on her
right leg we thought was a bruise turns out it is a birthmark. Her head looked
little big, but wasn’t coned shaped at all. Honestly, Jarom and I could not
stop saying to each other how beautiful she was.
We chose her name out about 6 years ago. We added a few
more girl names we like, but in the end, we knew she was our Mia Grace!
Man I love her
Oxygen tank ready to go just in case!
I loved that Jarom was a part of everything! Here he is weighing Mia!
Our bedroom doesn't normally look like this!
Jarom loves his Mia so much.
Mia's fist pump is awesome! This soft brown blanket was a gift from Jarom last Christmas. It was meant to wrap me and our new baby up! Love him.
My AMAZING tribe of women that helped me!
L to R: Melissa, Me and Mia, Heidi, Laura, and my momma
That Evening we had our first family prayer of three, and
Jarom then gave Mia her first priesthood blessing and gave me one as well. I
get teary just thinking about how amazing this moment was in our little family.
And thinking about how amazing Jarom is and was. He is my Jarom, he is my rock.
Mia is so lucky to have him as a daddy!
All bundled up ready to sleep between mom and dad, 1st night here on Earth! BEST DAY EVER!
This was taking the day after Mia was born, I finally was able to shower! Look how beautiful that baby girl is.. Yes she looks like an old man, but a beautiful old man! haha
Because I needed help getting out of bed and going to the
bathroom, my mom was awesome and slept on the couch in our bedroom. Between her
and Jarom, Mia and I were taking care of so amazingly!
Giving birth un medicated was by far the hardest thing I
have ever done. But I know there were heavenly and earthly angels that were
literally there holding me up and making this possible. Leading up to this
birth I always imagined My heavenly Mother, Eve, and Mary being right by my
side. I also imagined my grandma and all of my women relatives that are on the
other side of the veil. I new I had a heavenly support team. It is amazing how
close you feel to God, and your savior during pregnancy, birth, and being in
the presence of a newborn.
I never felt scared for my life or Mia’s life, near the end
I thought I could see why people want drugs, and if I knew it wasn’t too late
and actually felt like I could move I might have said let’s head to the
hospital.. haha. (and I’m writing this a month after, which helps me say good
things about it) I will never run a marathon, or probably even a 5k for that
matter. This was my marathon, and I am SOOOOO glad I did it. Pregnancy and recovery were way harder than the actually giving birth itself. It took months for me to recover. I had some pretty hardcore deep tissue bruising. And yes, I will do
it this way the next time around.
Mia Grace Taylor
