My Birth At 37 Weeks Pregnant, An Unexpected But Positive Story

Preparing For Birth

The preparations I did for the labor and delivery of our baby girl are a huge part of my birth story. 

About halfway through my pregnancy, I realized how quickly things were happening. Wasn’t it just yesterday we were telling our family and friends the happy news? Now, all of a sudden we were gearing up for the anatomy scan and waist-deep in planning the nursery. Then, next up was the baby shower and the final stretch of pregnancy! It was going soo fast! In the back of my mind, I constantly wondered what my labor and delivery experience would be. I started desperately feeling the need to prepare myself. I wanted it to be a positive experience and I felt in my bones it could be a magical one. 

One day I came across this video that explained how it was possible to give birth with -practically- No Pain. I was intrigued but thought surely they don’t mean naturally give birth with practically no pain?! Richie and I watched the video, and I felt invigorated. My nerves dissipated and I felt excited about going into labor and giving birth! After doing the experiment in the video with Richie and seeing how well it worked, I knew this was the route I wanted to take to help me prepare. I went on to take the course and it taught me the ins and outs of how to give birth with practically no pain. I didn’t even know that was possible without medicinal intervention. This course changed everything for me. It helped me feel so much more prepared, less anxious, and like my birth was something I could be in control of, to an extent. 

I went through the entire course and took all of their advice on how to prepare and things to do in certain situations. I highly recommend it to any new or seasoned pregnant Mamas out there, even if you’ve previously had a c-section, and even if you still want to have an epidural! There are so many traumatic birth experiences that happen. Of course, it’s out of our control how our labor will happen and how our bodies respond. But, it’s possible; if you prepare and you’re educated about your options it’s totally possible to have a positive and magical experience! 

If you’re interested, here is the link to a free virtual class Richie and I first watched before deciding to sign up for the course: 

Free Virtual Class

Or if you’d like to go ahead and sign up for the course, here is the link for that (they’re having a flash sale!):

Go To The Course

Not only did this play a huge role in my labor and birth but I couldn’t keep this gem all to myself! 

Okay, now on to my birth story!

A Few Days Before Labor Began

A week earlier it was Thanksgiving. We had just been to the doctor the day before, on Wednesday for our 36-week appointment which included our last ultrasound. I was so excited we got to see our baby girl for the last time in my womb. I’ll never forget seeing her sweet face for the first time during that ultrasound and watching her make sucking motions with her mouth. I remember at that point intuitively knowing she would do well with breastfeeding which I had hoped so deeply for! The ultrasound tech said she was facing forward and her head was so far down that it was hard to get a visual of it.

When getting checked by my nurse midwife I let her know I had been feeling this sucking/ finger tap sensation on my cervix for several days. She seemed to know what I was talking about and decided to check me for dilation. She said I was a “fingertip” which is about half a centimeter dilated. I knew that wasn’t a lot but I was surprised to be dilated at all at this point in my first pregnancy! It had me so excited knowing my body was getting ready and all the preparations I did, (thanks to the course), were working! I knew that being 36 weeks I could stay half a centimeter for another month still. Little did I know just over a week later we would be holding our bundle of joy! 

We went about our Thanksgiving holiday weekend. We traveled to two different family dinners. I was extremely uncomfortable sitting in the car at that point. I knew she wasn’t in the “ideal” position being faced forward and this was contributing to it. The most comfortable position I could be in was on my hands and knees. 

The following Tuesday morning I went to the bathroom and noticed some of my mucus plug. Thanks to the course I took I knew exactly what this was. I also knew this could mean I may go into labor within hours or days, or it could regenerate and it could still be weeks. Only time would tell!

The next day I had my 37-week appointment. I was soo curious to see if I was dilated anymore. I let my midwife know I started losing some of my mucus plug. We decided not to check my cervix that day for dilation in case it were to disturb what was left of the mucus plug. FYI, the mucus plug is what keeps the amniotic fluid from leaking out. I knew we needed to try and keep her in as close to 39 weeks as possible so this was the right call. The next day, on Thursday right before my chiropractic appointment I saw that I had lost more of my mucus plug! I knew losing so much of it at this point there was a good chance I could go into labor sooner rather than later. The anticipation was rising!

Last Day Pregnant

That Friday I turned 37 weeks and had a day like any other. I remember feeling like I was running out of time to get things done. So strange because with this being my first pregnancy I fully expected to go full term, or even past that. I had planned to share more content for my blog and also for memories of how El’s nursery came together, my third-trimester wrap-up, and what was in my hospital bag. I had scheduled for our house to be deep cleaned the following week. And, I still had other little tasks I wanted to get done. Luckily, that day I finalized my hospital suitcase. 

Richie came home from work and we had our usual Friday date night with a yummy dinner and a movie. Little did we know it would be our last one for a while! We went to bed just like any other night. Around 2 AM I woke up from this leaking sensation I was having. I knew right away this was probably my amniotic fluid… a.k.a. my water was breaking. Once I was fully awake I realized I was having contractions. The contractions were very light at this point like mild cramping. Again, thanks to the course I took I knew this was to be expected. I started timing them to make sure they were true contractions. I got up to use the restroom and saw “the bloody show!” So, there I was at 2 AM trying to put all of this together.

“Okay, I’ve had the bloody show which means I’ve lost all of my mucus plug. I’m consistently leaking amniotic fluid and I’m having mild cramping. I think I’m in the beginning stages of labor!” 

It was so strange because I never had a gush of amniotic fluid, and I wasn’t losing a lot of it. It was just enough to dampen my underwear. I timed my contractions for an hour. They were staying consistent at 10 to 7 minutes apart and some at 5 and getting slightly more intense. I knew for sure I was in the beginning stages of labor. It was between 3 and 4 AM that I decided to wake Richie up. 

“Congratulations, You’re In Labor!”

“Richie, I think I’m in labor.” 

He opened his eyes right away, “What?” he said sleepy and confused. 

“I think I’m in the beginning stages of labor.”

“It’s too early,” he said. Lol 

While it was indeed very early in the morning, I knew he was referring to me only being 37 weeks. I decided to wait a few more hours before calling my midwife to make sure contractions were consistently getting stronger. I should have spent that time relaxing and meditating in bed. But, since I was 3 weeks early and not fully prepared for the hospital, I had my mind set on cleaning out a tote bag I wanted to take with us. So, I did just that, took a shower, and packed all my last-minute hospital bag items. All things that kept me on my feet. Although being in the shower helped ease the contractions. 

At about 6 or 7 AM my contractions were staying consistent, getting closer together at about 4-5 minutes apart and more intense. I would have to stop what I was doing and bend over onto the bed or lean on Richie for support. So, I decided to go ahead and call my midwife. It went to voicemail so I left a message and then called the hospital. I talked to a labor and delivery nurse on the phone and she asked me a series of questions. After answering all of her questions she told me;

 “Congratulations, you’re in labor! You can go ahead and come to the hospital!” 

I was in shock! I couldn’t believe I was in true labor and that we would be meeting our baby girl so soon! Richie and I just looked at each other after I hung up the phone with wide eyes and disbelief. I started to cry feeling so many feelings about how much our lives were about to change, in the best way possible. This was the last time we were going to be in our house, just the two of us. I looked at him with tears in my eyes and said, “We’ll be coming back home with our baby girl.” At that moment it started to set in for us both. 

Within the next few minutes, we gathered our things and headed out the door to the hospital which was about 25 minutes away. The whole way there I could tell my contractions were getting more intense and some of them were super close together, like only 3 minutes apart. I was trying to process everything that was happening. I couldn’t get over the shock of being in labor three weeks early and getting to meet our baby girl so much sooner than we expected. I was also trying to relax and not get too much in my head with anticipation of labor and delivery and just be in the moment. But that was hard! 

Labor In Triage – Do We Stay Or Do We Go?

We got to the hospital and it felt like we were checking into a hotel. They told us to go on up, so we went up to labor and delivery and they put us in a triage room. There, they hooked me up to a monitor to keep track of my contractions and the baby‘s heart rate. It was cool to watch each contraction as they happened on the monitor and be able to justify the intensity of each one. They checked my cervix and at that time I was only about 2 to 2 1/2 cm. They wanted us to wait an hour and see if I dilated anymore. I knew she was ready to come out because again every time I was checked a comment was made about how far down her head was. 

After waiting In triage for over an hour the nurse came back in and checked me again this time I was only about 3 cm dilated. She said 

“Let’s wait another hour and see if you dilate anymore because I’d hate to send you home at this point. You’re so close and I know you’re having those contractions!” 

I was confused why they would send me home at this point when I was clearly in labor with intense contractions so close together. I soon found out that 4 cm was the magic number. After waiting at least one more hour the nurse came back in and checked me. Thankfully, at that time I was about 4 cm dilated. I was SO grateful! We were finally able to go back to a labor and delivery room! What a difference the room made! It was such a cozier environment.

If you followed along during my pregnancy, you know I was determined to give birth naturally. An epidural wasn’t out of the question but I wanted to try to make it as long as I could without one. I loved the idea of being able to walk and move around during labor and possibly even deliver in a different position than laying on my back. As contractions kept getting more intense and closer together, it became so hard to move or do anything without one creeping in. Also, every time my cervix was checked it was so uncomfortable because it always ended up being in the middle of a contraction. It was difficult for me to relax and I knew they would continue to get worse. So, I decided I wanted to go ahead and get the epidural, especially before getting checked again. I waited for at least one to two more hours after getting into our labor and delivery room before getting the epidural. Afterward, they checked me and I was 6 cm dilated at that point. I was in active labor and I was so proud that I made it to this point naturally! 

Labor Stopped Progressing 

Unfortunately, after getting the epidural, labor started to slow down. My contractions became less intense and further apart. My midwife talked to me about my options because at this point we had to continue trying to get labor to progress. She talked to me about going ahead and breaking my water completely. I decided that this was a good idea to try and help labor progress. She came in moments later and broke my water. It was completely painless and I didn’t feel a thing. But, whenever it happened not much water came out. We waited about an hour and labor still wasn’t progressing as we’d hoped. 

My midwife talked to me again about our options, and starting some Pitocin was what we needed to keep labor progressing. She knew how badly I wanted to have a natural birth. So she only wanted to do minimal interventions. We went with the smallest amount of Pitocin possible. It did help to progress labor. Based on the monitor, my contractions began to intensify and get closer together for about an hour. After the Pitocin started to wear off so did my labor progression. She checked me again at that point, and I believe I was only about 8 cm. We decided to administer more Pitocin. After another hour or two, labor continued progressing and contractions were staying super intense. 

It was dinner time and Richie had left the room to grab something to eat in the cafeteria since we hadn’t eaten all day besides some snacks we brought. While he was gone I called my Mom to give her updates. Because of the pandemic, I was limited on how many people could be in the room with me. I decided I wanted it to just be Richie and me until after she was born. After I got off the phone with my mom I started to feel pressure to push! I called Richie right away and told him to come back asap because I was feeling the need to push. He came rushing back! 

Time To Start Pushing!

When the midwife came back I let her know I was feeling pressure to push so she checked me and immediately said: 

“Yep, you’re 10 cm! You’re ready to start pushing!” Ahhh I couldn’t believe it!!

At 5:45 PM I began pushing. For 2 hours and 45 minutes with each contraction, I pushed 4 times, 10 seconds each. I was so thankful for many things during that time. I was thankful that I decided to get the epidural because I don’t know if I could have lasted that long without it. I was thankful that I had been doing exercises while pregnant, preparing my endurance for labor because I was easily able to recover between contractions and pushes.- Lots of good deep breaths in between. – I was so thankful for the midwife and the nurse and Richie all cheering me on, supporting my legs, and helping me get through each pushing sequence. I was thankful for my midwife giving me reassurance that things were progressing and she was getting closer to coming out. She told me she could see her head and hair and that gave me all the more strength to keep going. Although it was hard on me in some other ways I was thankful that our baby girl took her time coming out. Because of this, and because she was so little, I didn’t tear. The whole time I only concentrated on breathing, pushing, and taking sips of water. Richie had a wet washcloth he kept cold and on my forehead. I never used the fan I brought during labor. I honestly forgot about it, and it probably would have been helpful. Feeding my body lots of oxygen during that time was the best thing for me. 

At some point in the last 30 minutes that I was pushing they called in the Delivery Team and got everything prepared around the room for her arrival. I didn’t know this is what normally happened and I remember asking if everything was okay. My midwife said yes they just have the extra nurses to help after the baby comes and make sure everyone is good and healthy. I couldn’t believe there was actually light at the end of this tunnel! 

Elora Entered The World!

At 8:33 PM I gave my last push and Elora Eve was born! Without knowing it was going to be my last, with that final push I saw her come out crying. I was in a state of shock trying to process what had just taken place. I just pushed this baby girl out of me! The fact that I couldn’t feel it happening, thanks to that epidural, added to the shock. 

“Look at those eyelashes!” It was the first thing the midwife said when she came out and to this day it’s a comment everyone makes when they meet her! 

Even though I was in such shock and immediate recovery mode, I tried to pay close attention to everything that was being done after she was earthside. I remember the midwife mentioned I had a really long umbilical cord. This was a blessing because Elora had the cord wrapped around her neck twice, and everything was okay thank goodness! As soon as they placed her on me for skin-to-skin she peed! Lol I couldn’t stop staring at this tiny baby girl crying on my chest. I studied every piece of her. I remember trying to get her to nurse to help soothe her. I went straight from a state of shock and recovery to problem-solving and comforting this precious new life. 

The placenta took at least 20 minutes to work its way down and come out. I was amazed at how much pressure was relieved afterward. They said everything looked good with both Elora and me. My blood pressure was a little high in the 130’s/90’s but I’d credit that to spending almost 3 hours pushing a baby out!

Some of the most important parts of my birth plan included what I wanted after she was born. I’m so thankful I educated myself on these details and my options. Such as how long to wait before clamping the cord, how long I wanted to have skin-to-skin with her, etc. This was why I switched to my nurse-midwife at 36 weeks pregnant because she understood and agreed to these and other details in my birth plan. I was so grateful I did this! It allowed me a more relaxing environment knowing she was 100% on my level and in agreeance with what I wanted. 

After Her Birth

Both nights we were in the hospital were anything but restful. Doctors and nurses were coming in every couple of hours to check on us, run tests, give shots, and explain things to us, it was non-stop. I’m extremely grateful for them and all that they do, of course! In between those routine interruptions, we had this brand new baby we were constantly making sure was still breathing, feeding, changing, swaddling, and soothing. Then, after two nights and days, we were sent on our way home.

It’s WILD how all of a sudden you are responsible for this new delicate human life. It really hit us when we left the hospital, she is now solely in our hands!

There are things I’ve thought a lot about after the fact. Like, I’ve wondered if I hadn’t gotten the epidural if labor would have continued to naturally and quickly progress, and if I would have pushed her out quicker. I’ve wondered if she was meant to come 3 weeks early because the cord was wrapped twice around her neck. If she would have kept growing in the womb, it could have caused serious problems during birth. I know it all happened the way it was meant to! 

Looking back there are some things I would have done differently. Especially had I known she was going to come 3 weeks early. I would have prepared everything for the hospital completely by 36 weeks; i.e. the tote bag I cleaned out while in early labor. Then, I would have made it a priority during early labor to stay in bed, relax and meditate through the mild contractions, making it easier for me to do the same as they grew more intense. Also, I would have said YES to getting newborn photos taken in the hospital! So sad we opted not to do this!

As it played out in real-time, my birth felt anything but magical. I was focused, taking one moment at a time, concentrating on getting through each contraction, and each step of my labor journey as it came. Now that I look back on it as a whole, it was completely magical! Everything my body was doing to bring a new life into the world was nothing short of remarkable. It’s such a wildly amazing thing! Things may not have played out exactly as I envisioned but it was all perfect in its own way. I’m so grateful I can say I had a positive first birth experience! 

Q & A

One question I was asked to answer was how Richie handled labor and delivery. I completely understand the curiosity because he can be a bit of a mysterious character on here. I was also very curious how he was going to handle it all.

He was truly a champ during labor and held my hand and rubbed my back during all my contractions. He was right there the whole time holding my right leg as I was pushing for almost 3 hours and keeping a cool washcloth on my forehead. I was nervous he might pass out at some point since he’s not a fan of needles and blood. So, every time the midwife asked if he wanted to look at her head as I was pushing I would always block his eyes and say “No, no he might pass out,” before even giving him a chance to decide for himself. lol I think we were on the same page though. And the same goes for when they asked if he wanted to cut the cord. I may have asked him that time if he wanted to but he opted out still. haha (P.S. I saw someone else mention that their hospital charged them an extra fee for the dad cutting the baby’s cord. Not the same hospital, or state, I was in but just an FYI to keep in mind).

I think he felt the same level of shock I did that now all of a sudden we have this baby in our arms that we made together. It is the sweetest thing to see your soul mate holding your precious baby for the first time.

He was the most supportive those two nights in the hospital. Helping me to the bathroom every time, checking on the baby whenever she made a noise, and getting anything Elora or I needed. He’s our biggest blessing.

If you have any questions you’d like me to answer about my L & D leave them in the comments on this post and I’ll answer them all!

Thank you so much for reading to the end of this long post about my birth story! Since you made it all the way to the end, leave a comment or question you’d like answered below and I’ll choose 2 people at random to gift a Starbucks! Just a way to say Thank You for being here! I’ll let you know if you were chosen by Monday 6/13.

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Love always,

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The exact name and milestone discs I have are no longer available but I linked a couple that are very similar and some other adorable ones as well.