Saturday, August 8th started like any other post-due-date day. We'd been waiting to meet our little girl for the last 8 days and had geared ourselves up to have to wait for at least 8 more. Marmee Schillinger, who'd been waiting with us at our house for almost 2 weeks decided to take a little vacation to visit the other two grandchildren at my sister's house in Eden. So it was just me and Eric for the day. We decided to head to the bustling metropolis of downtown Mebane to celebrate SunFest, an annual summer festival with music, dancing, face-painting, and a motorcycle show. Little did we know, this would be the last picture we ever took of my Molly belly. While walking around Mebane, I started to have very regular Braxton-Hicks contractions. Eric started timing them and they were all
about 4 minutes apart and 1 minute long. I'd been having B-H contractions for weeks and they'd been very strong for the last 10 days, so we didn't want to get too excited. They felt like all the other B-H contractions except for their extremely regular intervals. We decided to walk to the library and get some books and DVDs to pass the afternoon, in hopes that the walk would also help move things along. We passed the day together watching Citizen Kane, going for a walk in the neighborhood, napping, cooking dinner, and reading. I actually started writing another "waiting for Molly" blog-post which would never be published because the waiting was about to end...Around 8pm, I started to bleed heavily. I knew from all my reading that this was NOT typically h
ow labor was supposed to start. We made a call to the birth center and the midwife on call, Sher, seemed concerned about the bleeding as well. She told us to come in to the birth center where she'd check me and listen to Molly's heart-rate, but she said she'd probably end up sending us home. Still, we wanted to pack the car in case we ended up having to stay...and it was a good thing we did because we never did make it home. We agreed to meet at the birth center at 9pm, which left us only minutes to pack the car. We anticipated having a long time to labor at home, slowly gathering supplies and packing the car over a period of hours. But Eric did a fantastic job getting all the labor essentials packed.
Once at the birth center, Sher hooked me up the monitor and, almost immediately, I started having true active labor contractions every 3 minutes. I knew they weren't Braxton-Hicks because, instead of the tightening sensation I'd felt all day, they felt like really bad cramps, as though someone were wringing my abdomen out like a wet towel. Sher was a bit concerned because Molly's heartrate seemed to be decelerating and our little girl seemed a little distressed over the rapid turn of events that came with my quick-onset labor. After consulting with another midwife, everyone decided it'd be best to check into a labor suite and begin labor at the birth center where they could keep a close 
eye on Molly's heartrate and make a quick switch to UNC hospital if necessary. Well, it's a good thing we chose to stay because, by 10pm, I was in full-blown active labor and dilating quickly. Thankfully, Molly's heartrate steadied and she seemed to handle the rest of the labor like a champ. Praise the Lord!
eye on Molly's heartrate and make a quick switch to UNC hospital if necessary. Well, it's a good thing we chose to stay because, by 10pm, I was in full-blown active labor and dilating quickly. Thankfully, Molly's heartrate steadied and she seemed to handle the rest of the labor like a champ. Praise the Lord! We started playing Phase 10 with our fabulous nurse, Nicole, thinking we'd have some time to pass before labor picked up, but only got through 3 rounds before I needed to put my full concentration into relaxing during and between contractions. Nicole stayed with us the whole time, reassuring me during each contraction that 
Molly was doing just fine and helping Eric to coach me into relaxation. We passed the next 6-7 hours relaxing our way through contractions and trying to catch a few winks of sleep in the 3 minutes between contractions. The Bradley relaxation techniques we learned in class worked wonderfully. My favorite positions were side-lying, hugging my body pillow or sitting cross-legged on the bed, leaning over the birthing ball. Most of the night, I had no idea what time it was, how long contractions lasted or how much time passed in between each one. My only time-keeper was my mantra: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I knew that if I breathed this mantra through each contraction, emphasizing each word slowly in my head with each breath, then it took about 3 repetitions before the contraction would be over. It was the best visualization technique and it was totally of the Lord because I never practiced with it in any of our labor rehearsals. It just came to me when the going got tough.
Molly was doing just fine and helping Eric to coach me into relaxation. We passed the next 6-7 hours relaxing our way through contractions and trying to catch a few winks of sleep in the 3 minutes between contractions. The Bradley relaxation techniques we learned in class worked wonderfully. My favorite positions were side-lying, hugging my body pillow or sitting cross-legged on the bed, leaning over the birthing ball. Most of the night, I had no idea what time it was, how long contractions lasted or how much time passed in between each one. My only time-keeper was my mantra: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I knew that if I breathed this mantra through each contraction, emphasizing each word slowly in my head with each breath, then it took about 3 repetitions before the contraction would be over. It was the best visualization technique and it was totally of the Lord because I never practiced with it in any of our labor rehearsals. It just came to me when the going got tough.At 4:30am, Sher said I was 7cm dilated and my bag of waters was "bulging". I was ready for the 
tub. The tub was FANTASTIC! The warm water helped me to relax through some of the hardest contractions yet. Sometime after 5am, my water broke and the road to transitional labor was fast and painful. The contractions seemed to come one after the other, some short and difficult and some longer and easier. Eric was such a great coach through this hardest stage. He constantly encouraged me, telling me what a great job I was doing, reminding me to relax, and supporting me, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
tub. The tub was FANTASTIC! The warm water helped me to relax through some of the hardest contractions yet. Sometime after 5am, my water broke and the road to transitional labor was fast and painful. The contractions seemed to come one after the other, some short and difficult and some longer and easier. Eric was such a great coach through this hardest stage. He constantly encouraged me, telling me what a great job I was doing, reminding me to relax, and supporting me, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Just before 6am, Sher declared me "fully dilated" at 10cm, but said that Molly was making a "crooked entrance" into the birth canal and that it would be best if I delivered on the bed where
she could manipulate Molly into a better position. I wasn't going to argue with someone who'd delivered hundreds of babies, so out of the tub we came. The pushing phase was, by far, the best part of the entire labor. It felt productive and active, like an athletic event. It felt like I was doing something about the pain rather than just enduring it. All of my walking, squats, yoga, Kegals, and labor rehearsals did their job; after just 30 minutes of pushing, Molly Joy Frueh made her grand entrance into this world, pink and screaming. It was 6:29 am. Her face was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen as Sher pulled her up onto my chest. It was like running through the ribbon, across the finish line after a marathon. I remember saying, "She's so beautiful. She's so perfect," and then looking at the midwife and saying, "It is a girl, right?" The midwife replied, "Actually, I never checked!" Once we established that, yes, Molly definitely was a girl, she snuggled into my chest to warm up and Eric cut the cord, the life-line that kept me and Molly connected for the last 9 months. She was her own independent person for the first time ever.
she could manipulate Molly into a better position. I wasn't going to argue with someone who'd delivered hundreds of babies, so out of the tub we came. The pushing phase was, by far, the best part of the entire labor. It felt productive and active, like an athletic event. It felt like I was doing something about the pain rather than just enduring it. All of my walking, squats, yoga, Kegals, and labor rehearsals did their job; after just 30 minutes of pushing, Molly Joy Frueh made her grand entrance into this world, pink and screaming. It was 6:29 am. Her face was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen as Sher pulled her up onto my chest. It was like running through the ribbon, across the finish line after a marathon. I remember saying, "She's so beautiful. She's so perfect," and then looking at the midwife and saying, "It is a girl, right?" The midwife replied, "Actually, I never checked!" Once we established that, yes, Molly definitely was a girl, she snuggled into my chest to warm up and Eric cut the cord, the life-line that kept me and Molly connected for the last 9 months. She was her own independent person for the first time ever.
The next 12 hours passed like a blur. Molly nursed right away and then spent quite a few hours sleeping. Eric and I even caught a few hours of sleep after getting something to eat. I was STARVING after 10 hours of labor and really appreciated the lentil soup my mom had made and packed for our post-birth meal. Molly's first physical confirmed that she's fabulously healthy, weighing in at 7 lbs. 12 oz. and measuring 20.75 inches long. By 5pm, both Molly and Mommy had passed all the right tests to allow us to go home. Molly had eaten and dirtied her first diaper. I was able to walk o
n my own and my blood pressure had returned to normal after falling to 80/40 after birth. Both of our temperatures were normal and we were all anxious to be home in our own house. By 6:30 pm, Molly was home sweet home at 1223 High Ridge Road in her hometown of Mebane, NC. It was crazy to think that less than 24 hours before, Eric and I were sitting in this very same house, wondering if our little girl would ever arrive. And here she is...beautiful, healthy, and a true blessing from God. I wouldn't say the process of getting her here was easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. And I'd do it all over again if it meant having Molly as a part of our family.
n my own and my blood pressure had returned to normal after falling to 80/40 after birth. Both of our temperatures were normal and we were all anxious to be home in our own house. By 6:30 pm, Molly was home sweet home at 1223 High Ridge Road in her hometown of Mebane, NC. It was crazy to think that less than 24 hours before, Eric and I were sitting in this very same house, wondering if our little girl would ever arrive. And here she is...beautiful, healthy, and a true blessing from God. I wouldn't say the process of getting her here was easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. And I'd do it all over again if it meant having Molly as a part of our family.
It's funny how we both preferred the same labor positions. The cross legged hanging over the ball was something I didn't even envision using and just came up with in the heat of the moment. It's funny how your body knows what it needs to do. Also, that verse - Phil 4:13 was also the one I used over and over throughout labor, and I didn't prepare to use it either. It was very helpful! One comment about your short pushing being because of all your hard work during pregnancy...I did all the same stuff and had to push for 1.5 hours! My little guy had a significantly bigger head than Molly. :-)
ReplyDeleteMolly's tiny head was definitely a plus. It must be genetic because Eric and I both have tiny heads...or at least that's what our motorcycle helmet sizes indicate :-)
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