Myles' Birth Story - Part 2

WARNING: This post contains a few more graphic photos than what we've ever published before.  I omitted some of the really "colorful" ones (i.e. too much skin, my placenta in a tub for us to examine a few hours after delivery, etc.), but this gives a pretty good picture of the events that occurred from about 9:30 PM until 12:38 AM.

Once my contractions started picking up steam, 

I decided to try laboring in the tub.

Phil and Sarah took turns getting their hands squeezed.

  

Phil found a perfect balance of humor, seriousness, and tenderness.  He knew exactly what I needed, when I needed it, and how long I needed it.
Here is a glimpse of Funny Phil.

While still intense, the contractions were definitely more bearable in the water.

 Here is Serious Phil

 Here is Tender Phil

Unfortunately, my contractions really slowed down once I relaxed in the tub.  I decided to get out for a while in order to move closer to the finish line...knowing that I could get back in the water when the end was in sight.

I had intense contractions for about two hours, and I was able to labor in several different positions: on the bed, standing up, on the floor, etc.

Our little acrobat had been in the wrong position for a few weeks.  That was one of my biggest anxieties going into labor.  I knew that he was Sunny Side Up at one point, and I knew that was "not optimal" for delivery.  The midwife suggested that I try doing lunges in the middle of each contraction, and that is when my labor went from barely tolerable to unbearable.

Phil was my ROCK!  I absolutely could NOT have done it without him.  This picture brings tears to my eyes because there are so many emotions captured in that moment.  All of his little whispers, words of encouragement, and moments of tenderness are perfectly expressed in that picture.  

(Thank you, Photographer Mom.)

Once we were at the "unbearable" stage, it was back in the tub!  I had been hoping for our bundle to arrive before midnight because I thought it would have been fun to have a baby on the 11th (since I'm an 11th birthday and my dad is an 11th birthday), but he wanted to hang on until the 12th.   

 Once I was back in the tub, it was time to start pushing.  Even though I've delivered two other babies naturally, I still felt like a stranger in my own body when it came time to actually push the baby OUT.  There is no way to describe the pain associated with "transition" and pushing, but I've always said that it is MIND OVER MATTER...just like running a marathon!   

 The only way to cross the finish line of a marathon is to take the next step, and then the next one, and then the next one...until you're finally standing at the end with arms in the air and triumphing a well-earned victory! 

The same is true with labor and delivery!

 Here...at 12:38 AM, in the wee hours of the morning on October 12th,

I crossed the finish line!!!

Our SON was born, and Phil got to "catch" him and place him on my chest.

I think this picture beautifully represents the birthing center, Labor of Love.  Look at all of the hands wrapped around our baby.  From the very first moment that we walked in the door at Labor of Love, we knew that we were part of their family.  We knew that they were out for OUR best interest.  We knew that we were in the best care possible.  We knew that our baby would be welcomed into the world in the most perfectly loving way.

Myles Patrick Hillary
"Merciful and Gracious"

Another thing that we LOVE(D) about the birthing center was their baby-centered focus.  They don't cut the umbilical cord until it is done pulsing.  In our case, that was about 40 minutes.  For Myles' first 40 minutes of life, we were still attached.  He received all of his own cord blood, and there are so many healthful benefits of that.  This was when Phil cut the cord.

Our sweet little man exercising his lungs!

 Myles was a 10/10 Apgar baby.

I write that not to boast of our perfect little baby (I'm not partial at all), rather to have it stored somewhere other than my foggy memory.  We remember Clare's Apgar score, but we have NO IDEA if Isaac even had one.  (Oh, I can hear the protests of the middle child syndrome already.)

Before being discharged, I had to do three things: Eat a meal with protein (How does a giant bowl of chili at 2:30 AM sound?), go to the bathroom by myself, and take a shower.  Check, Check, Check!

Even after only a few hours, it was impossible to imagine life without him.

Daddy wore the same green shirt that he wore for the birth of Clare and Isaac.

Daddy with MYLES

Daddy with ISAAC

Daddy with CLARE

 At 5:00 AM (after being awake through the night), we had to go through all of our discharge instructions.  The boys slept.

By 5:45 AM, we were all packed up and ready to head home with our son who was only five hours old.  Absolutely surreal!!!

 We noticed a few specific things on our drive home:

- Gas was $3.11 per gallon.
-  We gently rode over the railroad tracks (rather than trying to catch some air like we do when the big kids are in the car...the  infamous "Wooo"), we gingerly eased into every stop, and we carefully made our way around intersections and turns...
just like when we were first time parents.

- We felt a surge of adrenaline that kept us awake/alive on the 45 minute drive home.

- Labor and delivery amnesia had already started making the pain of the process foggy and forgettable.

- We were absolutely overcome with love.

The birth of every child is unique and special.  This was no exception.  We absolutely LOVED the birthing center.  We loved our midwife and those who assisted in the birth of Myles.  We feel like our family is complete, and we feel incredibly BLESSED!