Milo was due on January 3rd, 2013. That day came
and went… I’d been eating dates (shown to promote labor!), taking red raspberry
leaf tea, evening primrose oil, long walks, I even proactively tried
acupuncture, chiropractor, and lots and lots of hip opening yoga. Nothing. It
was a strange sense of déjà vu. Every night we would go to bed and look at each other
and say “ok, tonight is the night”. And every morning we’d wake up with a
little bit of disappointment with a growing to-do list. Maybe just maybe he was
waiting for us to mop the kitchen? Or wait, we needed to finish packing our
hospital bag? We finished our 1000 piece puzzle from Christmas, Grammy and
Boden were pros with each other and daycare drop off, and all my work was
totally wrapped up.
Another week came and went. Still waiting. Early on in the
pregnancy I switched from an OB group to our local Midwives group. This was
probably the best decision we made. The great thing (among so many things) with
the midwives is that they don’t really push you until you hit the 42 week mark
for induction. That means, as time was ticking by, I felt slightly less
pressure to induce than I did when Boden was born (The doctor started talking
induction at 5 days overdue with Boden, and we finally induced at about 10 days
over due).
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| Boden helping me relax |
Heading into two weeks overdue with all the signs of
impending labor I finally started having contractions on Tuesday Morning
(January 15th) at about 4am. Whoo hoo! Labor had started, and none
too soon either (officially 12 days past due). Throughout the morning and early
afternoon the contractions stayed between 45 seconds and a minute long every
6-8 minutes. Totally manageable, but I kept waiting for them to get closer
together. Even though there was a cold front that came through, Steve and I went
out for long walks in the 15 degree snow. Ironically, on facebook we would see
the status of friends and family in California complaining about their “cold
front”. You know, because they would be in 40 – 50 degree temps. We even saw a
wiener dog wearing a coat on our walk. Definitely put things in perspective and
offered a good laugh.
Evening came, we ate light and just knew we’d be at the
hospital soon. I loved using my office chair/ exercise ball for the
contractions and Boden even enjoyed helping me work through them. Steve and I
slept on the couch (Steve slept, I labored through the contractions and tried
to rest). We let my Mom sleep in
our bed in case we bolted to the hospital. But, by morning we were still at
home and both a little frustrated that the contractions weren’t really getting
closer together, though the intensity was picking up. So, we made a midwife
appointment and kept in touch with our Doula (Lisa). The Midwife checked and I
was about 80% effaced and dilated to 6 cm. Oye! At least we were making
progress. We also made an acupuncture appointment for noon to see if that could
speed things up. After the acupuncture I was feeling totally depleted, a little
nauseous and ready to just get things moving (I’d already been in early labor
for already 24+ hours). So we called our Doula Lisa and decided to check into
the hospital and let our Midwife, Shanti, break my water to get things started.
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| View from our laboring suite at the hospital (we live one mile West). |
I felt relieved to finally be checked into the hospital, and
make a cozy little spot for us. The views were amazing (we got a mountain view
suite!), and immediately I felt comfortable and prepared to labor. Shanti broke
my water at 1pm and my Mom was able to come walk the stairs with us and Lisa
after dropping off Boden at daycare.
The first part of labor continued to progress well. I enjoyed bantering
with Lisa, Steve and our nurse Nicollete. I quickly dilated to an 8 and
everyone felt confident that I’d have Milo in a few hours. But then, things got
intense. I stayed at about a 9, and as the contractions intensified I had a lot
of doubts about a natural unmedicated birth. The tub was amazing, but I was
still nervous about relaxing (every time I relaxed at home I would slow the
contractions). A few hours passed and I was still at a 9. My cervix has swollen
a little bit and I was emotionally at that “rock and a hard place”. I started
asking about my options for an epidural and drugs. We finally settled on a
placebo. I requested two Tylenol. (insert laughter here). But apparently that gave me the help I needed.
And with Lisa (again, worth her weight in gold as a birth coach, and helping
Steve be amazing). I kept thanking my “team” and what great work they did.
Finally it got to the point that I just screamed – “Oh, I know he’s coming, I
HAVE TO PUSH”. We quickly waddled over to the bed and 1 and a half pushes later
little Milo Edward Fezler entered the world at 7:10pm. Shanti said “Take your
Baby Sarah”, and he immediately grabbed my necklace, strong and screaming from
the start.
The whole birth experience compared to the pitocin induction
with Boden was totally different. I immediately felt fantastic after Milo was born.
Strong and confident and proud at having a natural baby. I didn’t run the low
grade fever that I got with Boden, nor did I get the chills or shakes. I felt
really physically fantastic. The midwives don’t even take your baby for almost
an hour to weigh or document the birth. Almost immediately Boden and my Mom
came into the birth room and got to meet our new son. Boden was so excited to
see me and come sit next to Mommy, and give his new brother a kiss. He kept
saying “Milo came out!”. Boden and I shared some graham crackers and as I
walked and got cleaned up Steve and Boden watched as Milo finally was weighed
and measured. 21 ½ inches long, and 8 pounds 2 oz. Milo is absolutely perfect.
He looks very much like Boden did with only a little bit more chub on his face,
and no noticeable clef in his chin.
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| Boden holding his brother for the first time. |
Boden and Milo sat on my lap as we rode in the wheelchair to
our recovery room. Steve and I are still over the moon with our new addition,
and so thankful that he finally arrived and we were able to have the birth that
we dreamed of.
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| In our hospital room the next day, Boden getting to know Milo. |
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| The whole Fezler Family |
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| Milo's first smile at One week. |
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| Boden still loving his little brother Milo. |
