Tess's Birth

I have had a few friends ask me to share the birth story of my sweet little girl, Tess. I was a bit nervous to blog about it because I know that birth can be a sensitive topic among women when they compare their experiences with others. I don't want anyone to minimize their own experience. Each birth experience is unique and special no matter what occurs and what measures are taken during the birth process. The worst part is also when a woman desires to have her birth a certain way and it doesn't go as she would have hoped. I have a sister-in-law who said that either pregnancy, labor, or recovery will be really hard. I found that to be true for me. Pregnancy and labor were easy. Recovery has been hard!! So, even if her birth story sounds blissful, there have been very hard days where both the baby and I have done lots of crying.

On the night of July 25th, I experienced some contractions similar to braxton hicks, but they came with some slight cramping and they came more frequently. I called my mom on Saturday and she told me that some women can experience contractions like that in preparation for the labor, and it can go on for a week or more. So, I told myself that that was what was happening. The next night, the same thing happened but the contractions were even more consistent (about every 15 minutes). I slept through them until the early morning when I could no longer sleep. I woke up around 6am on the 27th and hopped in the shower.

Lee was receiving a new calling in our ward, so we had a high council man coming over that morning at ten. The contractions stopped when he came over. He asked if we were close to having the baby. "Yes," I replied, not knowing that she would come later that night! As soon as he left, the contractions started up again. They were about every 10 minutes. I still wasn't confident that it was labor. I decided to call my midwife and let her know that there was a definite pattern to my contractions. She told me to go about my day and keep her updated. I decided to go ahead and go to church. Our church starts at 1pm. I was sitting in sacrament meeting and the contractions picked up BIG time. I tapped Lee each time to let him know they were happening. We were counting them and they were five minutes apart. By this point, I knew it was definitely labor. They were slightly more intense and I found it really hard to sit at this point. Lee had a Sunday school class he needed to teach. I didn't think I was too far along, so I told him to stay and teach it. I drove back home. I called the midwife and updated her. Those few contractions without Lee were much more intense and I sent Lee a text telling him to hurry home as soon as he was done.

Lee was by my side helping me relax and breathe through each contraction. I had an exercise ball and just hung my upper body over it as I was kneeling on the ground. I stayed that way for a good three hours. Lee knew I was in transition when I started swatting his legs as a signal for him to get out of my way so that I could roll the ball from side to side. He called the midwife to let her know that we wanted her to come. He also prepped a tub of water for me. We rented a large tub that was able to hold and keep heated water. It was pure bliss and I loved that tub! My midwife came and by that point I was saying that I really hurt and I just didn't think I could keep going with the pain. She checked me and told me that I was dilated to an 8 and 60% effaced! I could not believe it!!

That's when I decided to hop in the tub. I had my last few strong contractions. Lee poured more heated water in and I would instantly move to that area to feel the warm water. The assistant to my midwife came. There was also an extra midwife who was able to come. I didn't know this during the labor, but my midwife asked her if she would play the doula role for me since I had thought that my mom was able to attend the birth. Lee and I knew that if my mom needed to be there, the baby would come when my mom was able to come. The baby came before my mom was able to travel to Indiana, so we knew it was right for us to have it be our own experience. Even though I had never met Ann before, Lee noticed that I was responding so well to her during the labor. She sat right next to Lee and would just make small comments when she saw I needed the encouragement.

My water broke and shortly after I got the urge to push. I pushed for forty minutes and then Tess was here! She came at 7:27pm. That was cool because her birthday is 7/27. She is the 27th grandchild on the Jensen side, and my grandma and dad were also born on the 27th (of October). The pain was not unbearable like I had imagined it would be. The water also dulled it a lot. I could tell that the pain would have been a little stronger had I been out of the water. I had not planned on a water birth. My intention was to just labor the last little bit and then get out before pushing. But the urge to push came so fast and I was not going to get out at that point. They listen to the baby's heart rate the whole time. If it gets too low, they tell you to get out of the water. Tess was fine and her heart rate was okay the whole time.

Holding her for the first time was such a spiritual, emotional, and incredible experience. She was very alert and gazed up at me. She coughed a little fluid out and then let out a breath and cry. Lee told me that I said, "Hi, my baby." Lee had tears in his eyes and I know it was special for him to be able to witness her birth. He helped me the whole time! He was quiet the last little bit, but I knew he was there by me the whole time. He spent hours massaging me and reminding me to breathe by simply breathing himself and telling me to do the same. Lee cut her umbilical cord and also held her for a while. We spent some time bonding with her before they checked her and weighed her. She was tiny- 6 lbs 3 oz, 20" long. She had a whole head of dark hair. It's getting lighter now. She has a small birth mark on her left eyelid and I think it is so adorable. They found a tongue and lip tie. Three days after birth, she had to have an oral surgery to fix those problems so that she could nurse well. That was a miserable day, but it needed to be done.

The ladies cleaned up our apartment, fixed me some food, and made sure that all was well with me before leaving. They even gave me a foot massage. My midwife said, "So is this worth the money you paid?" I responded, "Oh Yeah!" I really loved that foot massage.

At 11pm, the birth team left and we were left with our new little bundle of joy. It all feels like a dream at first. The baby quickly teaches you that they are real and they have needs. Tess has been a sweet baby. She's very calm and loves to cuddle and sleep. She is our little grunter. I have had to get used to her noises because she makes plenty of them in her sleep. She gets lots of hiccups and they are adorable too.

Here are some pictures.

My incredible midwife and birth team! I am so grateful for these ladies! They empowered me to believe in myself and to let thing just happen.

I am proud of that exhausted look!

She's an adorable little sleeper. I am afraid she'll not want swaddling... She loves her arms close to her face. They are always by her face or hanging outside of her blankets. This explains all of the arm movement I felt. I never felt hard kicks. But she's not a kicker, she's a puncher, jabber, scratcher... you get it!