Sydney’s Birth Story {September 11, 2016}

Sweet little Sydney decided to hang out in the womb a little longer than her siblings. She was due September 10, 2016 and in the week prior to her due date I was getting anxious for her to arrive. My mom arrived on Tuesday (her due date was Saturday) so I wanted to make sure I had this baby before my mom left! I was also getting increasingly more uncomfortable although I feel like I can’t complain too much because I felt much better throughout this whole pregnancy compared to most women.

Saturday we went into Seattle. We went on the Seattle Ferris Wheel and walked through Pike’s Place Market stopping at the French bakery to get some delicious almond croissants and macaroons, then had some fish and chips on the pier. Despite all the walking around I really felt fine and wasn’t having any contractions or anything. It wasn’t feeling like baby girl was going to come any time soon.

That night I woke up a couple times with a contraction and thought I could be in labor but then again I had thought that  few nights before and the contractions always went away. Sure enough, when I woke up the next morning, they were gone.

Church was at 11:00am and during the second hour of church I started to feel a contraction here and there that felt a little more painful than braxton hicks but they weren’t consistent and I didn’t want to get my hopes up. After church around 3:00pm I decided to lay down just in case I did go into labor, I wanted to make sure I was well rested. However, when I laid down I couldn’t sleep because the contractions started being regular and painful. I decided to start keeping track and they were 8 minutes apart. I figured since they were consistent that I probably was in labor. I finished packing my hospital bag and tried to get in natural labor mode and practiced relaxing through contractions.

At about 4:15pm I told Bryce that I was going to call the midwives. I had decided that I wanted to go natural for this baby and if I was going to go natural I wanted to do it in an environment more conducive to natural births so I had decided to deliver at a birthing center. This is the birth center I chose: http://www.eastsidebirthcenter.com/ (Warning! There is a mostly naked pregnant woman when you click on the link : ) It was close to home and I just had a good feeling about it. I honestly thought I would never in a million years deliver a baby outside of the hospital but with Avery’s and Dallin’s births going so smoothly it just seemed like a safe and good choice for this baby. Bryce was also on board as he doesn’t love sleeping in the hospital. Another appeal was that you can go home just hours after having the baby and the prenatal appointments are heavenly—quick and comfortable with only one appointment at a time instead of a waiting room full of pregnant women like what I was used to. I wouldn’t say I’ve had negative experiences with OBs, I just really loved this experience with midwives in a small quiet birth center. Okay back to the birth story.

So I called my midwife and told her that I was in labor. My contractions were 5 minutes apart and becoming more painful. While I was on the phone I had  a contraction and I was able to talk through it just fine so she said once I got to the point where I was really having to work through the contraction to call her back. Less than a half hour later I told Bryce to call her back. My contractions were 2 minutes apart and VERY painful. I was now moaning through the contractions and needed Bryce to offer some counter pressure and help me relax. Bryce said “Are you sure you want to go in now? The more you can do here the better” and I said “YES! CALL THEM BACK! I want to get in the tub!” I had heard the the tub can really help as a sort of natural epidural when the contractions get painful during transition. He called my midwife Chris back and she asked that Bryce put me on the phone. I had a contraction while I was talking to her so I had to pause and she could hear me attempting to breath through the contraction which was more of a moan. I got back on the phone and she asked a couple more questions then said “Okay let’s meet at the birth center in 20 minutes”. When I hung up the phone it was 4:51pm. We only live about 10 minutes from the birth center so I asked Bryce to give me a priesthood blessing before we left. He wanted to put his church clothes on and I said “Is that really necessary?!” He was trying to stall a bit too I think. He gave me a blessing and changed back into his clothes. At this point my contractions were coming quickly and I said “I feel like I need to push”

We started heading to the car and I had to kneel down next to the car because I was having another contraction. People saw me going to the car laboring—I was being very vocal too. The drive over there was intense. Having contractions in the car is no fun. We arrived at the birth center at about 5:15pm. The main door was locked and Chris called Bryce and told us to come to the side door. Chris was filling up the tub with nice warm water, thank goodness. I told her I felt like I needed to push and she told me to pant through the contractions kind of like a dog. This really helped me resist the urge to push. She didn’t want me to push until I was in the tub and she could check the baby’s heart rate. I got right in the tub, she checked the baby’s heart rate. I said “ I really feel like I need to push” and she said “Go for it, Go ahead and push!” So I did. Then she said, put your hands down here and I felt baby girl’s head! Next contraction and she was out. I literally pushed for like 5 minutes and she was born about 9 minutes from the time we arrived at the birthing center. It was crazy. She never even checked me to see if I was fully dilated. Obviously I was but I kept thinking—doesn’t she need to check me?! So baby girl was born in the tub. I hadn’t planned on a water birth but I definitely wasn’t opposed to it and it worked out great. I got to snuggle my baby girl in the warm water for a bit. Then I realized that I couldn’t remember my water every breaking. My midwife said it broke just after I got into the tub and started pushing. 

Afterwards I showered, got stitched up, nursed baby girl then my mom, Avery and Dallin came to visit. They were so excited to see their new baby sister. The midwife gave us some information then we headed home at just before 9:00pm. We were almost laughing on the way home because we just couldn’t believe how fast it all happened.

We named her Sydney Gaile Pinder. Gaile was Bryce’s grandmother’s name who passed away while he was on his mission. We sure love this cute girl!

      

I guess Bryce thought I didn’t look very good because he cut my face out of this picture. This was just moments after she was born and we were still in the tub. Sorry for the scandalous photo.

 

Getting measured and weighed: 8lbs 11 oz 19 1/2 inches long.

Meeting their new sibling.

 

Headed home!