My Third and Most Perfect Birth
A BRIEF RECAP OF MY PREVIOUS LABORS
My first birth was pretty normal, but postpartum I found gauze that was left inside of me at about 4 weeks postpartum. It was a startling experience, but I was lucky there were no related complications.
With my second birth, I had a very traumatizing postpartum hemorrhage experience.
And here I was, going into labor willingly for the third time. A lot of people look at birth as scary or traumatizing, but it is what you make of it and the best part is the human you brought into this world — half you, half the person you love. So here I was, two daughters down and finally about to have our baby boy!
THE MOST PERFECT LABOR
Honestly, my third birth was the easiest, most perfect labor and I’m so grateful that I had this experience birthing my son, Aiden. My contractions began in the night (again). A familiar scene, as it had been with both of my previous labors. I timed my contractions all night into the morning. Around 10am I called my OB/GYN, who was different from the previous two that delivered my daughters. She suggested I come in so she could examine me in her office rather than in the hospital. When I got there she assessed and realized I was already 8cm dilated, so she sent me directly across to the hospital.
Once I got there, they told me to walk around the hall for a little. Unfortunately, it was 2021 so with COVID-19 still on the rise, I had to wear a mask for my entire delivery and I could only have one support person present. It was a little different from my previous two in that way, and I definitely would not ever recommend covering your airway during active labor! But here we are.
My OB/GYN finally arrived to the Labor & Delivery unit and shortly after, I began pushing. With Aiden, I felt the ring of fire for the first time! He was here at 1:23pm. He was my smoothest delivery by far; literally no problems at all, but I guess after the first two I was a pro at this point. I also feel that because my third doctor was a high-risk OB/GYN things went especially smooth. I also appreciated that she saw me for an assessment in her office rather than sending me to L&D to be assessed by their nurses and whichever OB/GYN was on call.