AUBRIE MYLA JONES
Born September 12, 2012
7lbs 7oz & 21 inches
The morning of September 11th I could tell my contractions
were different. They were feeling more forceful, but I wasn't positive I was in labor until later in the afternoon while running errands. Around 5pm Mitch met me at home at which point the contractions were about 45 sec. long and 5 min. apart. Our friends the Steigers stopped by and brought us popcorn balls and wished us luck.
Things were really starting to move along at this
point. We tried watch a movie, but I couldn’t stay focused and the contractions
were almost a minute long and less than 5 minutes apart. I took a shower and we tried to take a walk around the block, but we barely made it to the
corner outside our building before I realized my contractions were too strong
to get any further. We came back to the apartment and I tried lying down and
resting through contractions; bad idea! I didn’t like holding still through
contractions at all. I had to be moving and vocalizing. It turns out my sound of choice was a long whooooo. Right from the beginning Mitch was my
rock. He never left my side. He did all he could to help me relax during
contractions breathing with me, counting, even letting me
beat on him like a drum. Rhythm and counting were really helpful for me throughout labor. He never stopped encouraging me and reminding me to
relax. Next, I took a bath. Spending time in the water seemed to help a lot. At some point Mitch called the
midwife to tell her I was in active labor and planned to labor at home for
a couple more hours before heading into the hospital. I was delighted to hear
that Mary Bolles was the midwife on call for the night. We started to do contractions in the glider, which was the most relaxing place I labored at home. I was finally able to relax and breathe with each contraction
while Mitch counted. We headed for the Northwest Birth Center at 1am when the contractions were over a minute long and 3 minutes apart (we HIGHLY recommend birthing at the Northwest Hospital). I thought I had moved into
transition because some of the contractions were almost overwhelming and I was
starting to get double whammies. I had about three contractions on
the way to hospital and Mitch continued to coach me through every single one
while driving and talking to the midwife on the phone. My nurse Katie
met us there and started the routine check in. She monitored my tummy for 20
minutes and took my vitals. I hated having the fetal monitor on. Mary told me I was dilated to a six. I was elated! Right after I was done getting checked and we saw that Aubrie was doing fine I
got into the Jacuzzi. That was a huge relief. Mitch poured water over me and
the contractions were so long and often came in doubles. I have never felt such intense seizing of my body. It's indescribable. I remember shouting “this sucks". It was so
intense. Then, my water broke! It was the most exciting part of the night up
til that point. I moved back to the bed and had dilated to a nine and was excited to be so close to pushing. Mitch was continuously fanning me, giving me
water and still counting. He must of have counted to 10 or 20 a thousand times
through the night. Pushing time came and I recall thinking I’d be seeing my
baby in the next thirty minutes. I started pushing with Mitch holding my hands above my head,
but didn’t feel like we were getting anywhere. I started resting for long periods
between pushes and the contractions seemed to get weaker and weaker. The second
pushing position was a bar with a sheet tied to the middle. I’d grab
the sheet and push my feet against the bar. It was so tiring and I felt so
frustrated because I felt like I wasn’t pushing as hard as I needed to. We said a prayer which gave me strength. The
midwife suggested nipple stimulation with an electric pump. This helped a bit,
but the contractions still weren’t strong enough. Eventually after a few hours
of pushing they decided to give me a very light Pitocin drip. I tried pushing
in a variety of other positions and finally made some progress. I could finally feel Aubrie coming
down. It was amazing to finally feel progress. Through it all she was such a trooper. Her heart rate never
dropped once. She was so strong and resilient. I worked really hard for a while longer
to get Aubrie past the pubic bone and then I could tell she was so close. We
said another prayer. I kept telling her you have to come out babe, you just
have to. I couldn’t imagine her staying in there for even one more contraction because of the pressure.
I started to push harder than ever. It was so encouraging when
Mary and all the nurses could finally see her little head coming because I'd now been pushing nearly four hours. When I felt her crown I just went nuts and started pushing without
stopping (which I later regretted). I just wanted to get her all out at once. I remember feeling every part coming out: her head and her shoulders and little body. I have never had such a bizarre and absolutely incredible experience. I got a little nervous
when she first came out because she wasn’t crying and I had been worried for
months the cord would be wrapped around her neck since she’d been so active,
but she was completely fine, in fact she was absolutely content. She made the
transition seamlessly even with the hours of pushing. She just
came right to my chest and relaxed on me with wide open eyes. It was so
surreal. She was absolutely gorgeous. All the pictures and videos I’d seen made
me think she’d be slimy and purple and covered in blood and guck, but she
wasn’t. She just looked lovely. Her head was cone shaped and bruised right at first, but I was surprised
at how quickly it rounded out and the bruise diminished significantly in the
first 24 hours. She received a 9 on the Apgar and everyone that checked her over the next 24 hours said she was absolutely perfect. She nursed right away. It was so nice to hold her for a while
before they cleaned her and wrapped her up. I was overwhelmed with love and a feeling of triumph and absolute bliss. I felt like our family was already such a stupendous team. I've never felt so unified with Mitch and Heavenly Father. Mitch never left my
side for even a minute to use the bathroom or eat or anything. It was by far
the most difficult thing I have ever done and by far the most fulfilling. I wouldn't trade the moment she was born for a Noble Prize, Gold Medal and Oscar combined. It's really unimaginable how much love you can have for another person until you become a parent.
