I am a self proclaimed control freak who plans everything down to the minute detail. If I could plan my own funeral I would. However when I gave birth to my son Zachary almost 3 years ago I lost that side of myself in all the excitement of decorating the nursery, creating a baby registry, etc.  I should probably mention that I’m also incredibly impatient which is why when pregnant with my son I jumped at the voluntary induction the doctor offered. I had wanted a natural childbirth but being hooked up to Pitocin meant excruciating contractions. As a result I had an epidural and was confined to the hospital bed until I delivered.  My son’s birth went smoothly. I delivered a healthy 6lb. 7oz baby boy with no issues. So why go out and pursue natural childbirth if I had a positive experience the first time? Well…why not? I knew I could do better for myself and my baby.

With this pregnancy I made sure that if I was genuinely sincere about my desire for a natural, drug free birth, I was prepared. I took a hypnobirthing class, hired a doula, wrote a birth plan and read several childbirth books.

I was due to deliver my daughter on April 27th, 2010. I figured this being the second pregnancy I’d have this baby well before the due date. Well…definitely not the case. This baby decided that being an overachiever was not as important as being fashionably late and as a result week 40 came and went.  I started to become nervous when week 40 ended and my doctor started talking “what if’s”.  I had worked so hard to ensure that this would be the experience I wanted and really felt like it was slipping from my fingers. My doctor asked to see me back in the office in a few days when I was 41 weeks.  Tuesday May 4th marked week 41 and much to my surprise I was 5 centimeters dilated. My doctor insisted I had a laboring cervix and sent me over to Kent Hospital. I was 6cm dilated when I got there. Did I feel like I was in labor…nope…but my doctor decided to admit me thinking if I had left I’d be on the news for birthing my baby on Rt. 95!

I phoned the troops: my husband, my sister and my doula. I made sure my son was taken care of as our wonderful daycare provider kept him overnight (which he loved).  By 10pm on May 4th I was 7cm dilated. I was in fact in labor but did I feel like it….no! Morning came and I was still pregnant, still 7cm dilated and exhausted not having slept at all the night before. I consulted my “team” and decided to have my membranes ruptured.  Once my water was broke things moved very fast. I popped in my hypnobirthing cds and walked the halls with my sister Jamie and my doula Shelley. Now I felt like I was in labor! Transition came and I was really uncomfortable. My sister was such a cheerleader insisting I could do it! Each contraction I became unfocused and eventually I begged for an epidural. Unfortunately because I did not have an IV, I would need to wait 30-45minutes before enough IV fluids were in my system to receive the epidural. In the meantime Jamie and Shelley refocused my attention allowing me to breath the baby down further into the birth canal.

My doctor came into the room just as I started to feel the urge to push. I sat up straight in bed with my legs crossed in front of me and began to push. Pushing felt exhilirating! Pushing made the pain go away; pushing meant I could end this! I pushed 3 times and the last push I felt her truly leave my body; head then shoulders until she was entirely born. Because the hospital gown covered my legs nobody knew I had just delivered my baby until the nurse peeked beneath the gown to see if she was crowning. My doctor hadn’t even donned gloves!

Belle Victoria Bradley was born at 10:48am on May 5th, 2010, less than 2 hours after my membranes were ruptured. Her birth was perfect, everything I wanted, everything I worked so hard for. Not only did I immediately walk from labor and delivery to post partum but I asked to be discharged the next morning and drove myself home (because my husband and I both had our cars there)!

I am so grateful to my husband who supported my desire to have a natural birth, my doula Shelley for guidance and coping techniques when things got tough and especially my sister Jamie who never left my side!

Thank you, Melissa!  We’re so happy to hear your experience turned out just how you wanted it!