Guest Post- Whitney Part 2

If you missed part 1 you can read it here

Labor & Birth of Baby Max

The next 2 months flew by, and my Husband and I prepared as best as we could. We wanted to take a Bradley class but being an hour away from the closest one made it hard so we decided to do it on our own. Kellie helped me a lot,  her and Beau took the class and she shared encouragement and tips freely.

  My “due date” (which I had come to hate) came and went. The flood of text and calls came in asking “Baby yet?”,  I wanted to scream NO!  So frustrating.  Even worse was when people said, “oh wow, I can not believe they are letting you go over this long”- I was literally only 2 days past.  A whole week went by, and I shed so many tears out of frustration. I had a 2 week window to get this labor started. I walked, I ran, did my stretches, bounced on my ball, bounced everywhere I went. Nothing.

On Saturday we decided to go to out for the evening. Our friends’ band was playing, and I thought maybe some loud music would make this baby want to come out! I did start to feel tension in my belly. Contractions!!!! YAY! I didn’t tell a soul for fear of scaring them away. When we got home I went straight to bed. The contractions had died down, apparently a false alarm. At 2am I woke with the same tension, but a little harder so I woke up the husband. Our excitement was short lived because at 5 am I was not feeling any contractions anymore. DARN! 

Sunday we went to church, a little tired and defeated. Sunday night was an early night for us, and again at 2am I wake with contractions and this time they don’t go away, Oh baby! This is the real deal. By 6am on Monday we were still able to time the contractions regularly to about 15 minutes apart. I called the doctors office as soon as they opened and let them know we were on our way!!  Before we left we went to our favorite breakfast spot to get some doughnuts, I thought it would be awesome to have a yummy sugary treat after I birth this baby! Everyone asked how we were, and I casually told them “oh, just having contractions right now.” Every single one of them freaked out. Come on people it’s not like the movies! This baby is not going to just shoot out of me (but that would be nice, could that happen please?).

I went in at 10am and no joke, we pulled up and the contractions STOPPED. Are you kidding me!? We were supposed to do the stress test and see how baby boy handles himself during the contractions, and I am not having any contractions! For the 45 minutes I sat there only having one faint contraction, and one a little stronger. Obviously we were sent home. On the way back home my labor starts again. Thank you! Excitement picks up again. I'll never forget the best advice I received that day when I texted Kellie to ask, “should I go out and walk him down?” She said, “TAKE A NAP!” So I listened. Little did I know how much I would need that precious nap!

I awoke with the labor getting stronger and more rhythmic. I just relaxed around the house and watched a little TV.  Evening rolled around and I noticed I wasnt able to focus on the show during the contractions, which were about 7-8 minutes apart.  My parents came over to bring us dinner but I didn’t have much of an appetite.

The Doctor told me to call when the contractions were about 5 minutes apart and were good and strong. I worried if that would give us enough time to drive the hour to the hospital, HA! I could’ve waited till he was crowning and made it on time, lol!  Around 8pm we decide to head out.  The ride there was awful, so uncomfortable!  My husband (being the good citizen that he is) just could not bring himself to speed so we arrived there around 10pm. I settled in and was still able to speak between contractions and laugh or relax. By the time we made it to our room my parents arrived as well as and my husband's family. After about 5 minutes of them being in our room I chased everyone out. I needed to focus and their laughing and talking was getting in my way.

Then there were two. My wonderful husband sat with me all night. He showered me, he rubbed my back, my feet, my hands. He took the heat when he wasn't quick to give me another ice cube or wipe my sweat off. As the morning rolled around I wanted to give up, I was so tired. The hubby kept pushing me, never losing sight of our goal..... So I kept on trucking. About 5am I wanted to push. I was still a 9 so they told me to go with it but just let my breath out as I did a half push. I did this for an hour. At 6 it was time to really dig in. It hurt so good to push. My actual OB was there at this time and she never left. I have heard so many stories of the Doctor coming in at the last second to deliver but not mine, she coached me the whole way, and I was so thankful for this coaching. As much preparing as we did at home it was nothing like the real thing. The pure adrenaline and drive that goes through your body during this time is like nothing I have ever felt and she helped me channel it.

After pushing for an hour and a half my contractions started getting further apart. My bag of waters had not ruptured yet so I told her to do it and then we got back on track! Thirty minutes later he was crowning! YES! The moment I had been thinking about for 9 months, finally I get  to meet this little person God has put in my care. God, I am scared.  Back to reality, Okay,  another contraction, deep breath. HOLD IT. 1-2-3-4 I start grunting. 5-6-7 I start screaming all the way through 8-9-10. She says he is almost here.... one last push, I hear, “open your eyes, Whitney!” The most beautiful precious baby is lying on my chest. All the pain is gone and I am in euphoria. At that moment I shed the first tear throughout this whole process, and then the waterfall started. My husband was crying and holding on to both of us, and we prayed.  I looked back down at our baby, and he was so peaceful. He looked right into my eyes, and I never wanted that moment to end. After about 3 minutes we cut the cord and he attempted to latch. Being the photographer I am,  I tell the Hubs to grab my camera so I can start photographing. Meanwhile grandparents (who had been waiting all night) are busting the door down to see our little miracle.  The only thought going through my head was, Thank you, Lord! How did I deserve this?

Faske Photography

God gives us so many blessings. As women, we get to carry, grow and birth a human being! WOW – take a bow, ladies.  Yes labor is painful; God brings us things we think we can’t handle, but He also brings us through it..... and at the end of 28 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing I never felt better and more alive in my life. So trust that God has given you the body that will get you through this. He did not fail and neither will you. ~Whitney

Amanda Gail Photography

Whitney Faske is a very talented photographer , you can see her work at  www.faskephotography.com.  I am very excited that she will be photographing the birth of my son when he makes his arrival!  Book in the month of March she will give you 10% off!

Tomorrow's post I will talk about my friend Whitney behind her back...just kidding!  I want to discuss why she is an inspiration to me and what we can all take away from her story!

~Kellie