I have been keeping the birth story of our third son tucked away in my heart and mind as I savor every last detail. It seems that with each additional child I want to hold off on sharing their story on how they enter the world. Birth is such a vulnerable and sacred event it’s no wonder why these stories hold so much power.
If you have been following me since the birth of our first son, Jasper, then you know I didn’t get the birth experience I wanted. You may also know, after witnessing my second son’s birth story, all of my babies like to take their sweet time coming Earth side.
This third pregnancy was very different from my first two and I totally thought he was going to come way before his due date. Low and behold, he was right on time!
The Birth Story of Onyx Kane
I’ll start his birth story at 34 weeks gestation. This is when my Braxton Hicks contractions started to get more frequent and more intense. With each passing week I questioned if it was “going to be the day”. But as each week passed I somehow remained pregnant. I had been nursing my second son two to three times a day still so a lot of these contractions I was feeling were brought on by that. That was another reason I thought he was coming early. However, my son weaned himself three weeks before I went into labor!
Fast forward to 38 weeks pregnant I was carrying baby boy even lower than I had been my whole pregnancy. At this point I could feel his head low in my pelvis. Knowing he could make his appearance literally any day, my mom decided it was best to come down and stay with us until he made his arrival. The next two weeks I spent time preparing for postpartum and keeping myself busy.
The week of my due date, I had my 40-week appointment, it was a Monday. I had seen a new doctor and she immediately wanted to schedule me for an ultrasound that Thursday as well as a date for induction the following Monday. I politely declined and told her I wouldn’t be attending the ultrasound. I was down this road before and I knew they would try to induce me that day if I went and received an ultrasound. That evening I ended up slicing my hand open on a glass jar and needed to go to the emergency room. I remember being so nervous they were going to induce me right then and there. Long story short, I made it home still pregnant!
That next day, Tuesday, I felt pretty much the same way I had been feeling the end of this pregnancy. Tuesday night I remember tossing and turning a lot due to some cramping but that wasn’t anything new. I woke up Wednesday morning to what felt like really intense round ligament pain. It never really went away but tapered off as the day went on. My mom and I decided to take Jasper shopping at the outlets that day. I remember not feeling 100% but didn’t want to say anything and jinx myself- ha! It was extremely hot out and we did a lot of walking. We went to lunch and grabbed burgers. Throughout the day I had some very light cramping, but again didn’t over think it. We got home late afternoon and around six o’clock I started to really notice the cramping. The cramps came every thirty minutes. I told myself “if I feel another cramp I will start timing them”. Low and behold I felt another cramp around six thirty. From this point on the contractions were very mild and coming every thirty minutes. We put the boys to bed, ate dinner, and settled in for the evening.
My mom hadn’t seen the new Top Gun movie yet so we all started watching that. Just before eight thirty I noticed the contractions were growing closer together, about every ten minutes now, but still very mild. After about three contractions I decided to lay on my left side to see if anything changed. At this point I still didn’t say anything to my mom or husband because I was not convinced it was the real thing. While I was lying there I had another contraction and felt a popping/dropping sensation. I stood up, walked about three feet, and my water broke! I instantly started crying because I was so happy I was able to go into spontaneously labor, and ON the night of my due date!
Things were kind of a blur from then on out. I cleaned myself up, Mark showered and packed his hospital bag, and gathered all of our belongings for the hospital. The contractions were pretty mild and still only about seven to ten minutes apart, so we finished the movie. Once the movie was over we figured we would head to the hospital. At this point I felt pretty good and contractions were very manageable, but I had a slight fear since my water broke and it was my third baby he was going to come fast. I could have probably stayed home for another hour or two, but I didn’t want to have a baby on the side of the road or being crowning as we got there.
It was perfect timing once we got there. My contractions picked up slow and steady, but also pretty quickly. I had time to settle into our room and set up my diffuser and LED candles. Setting the environment to how I wanted was key and something I really wanted so I was glad the timing worked out. We were also in triage because all of the rooms were occupied- yes, I gave birth in here! Contractions picked up around one to two in the morning. I had my labor playlist playing and was sitting on the birthing ball the majority of the time. This is where I felt the most comfortable.
Somewhere between three and four in the morning I got onto the bed. Baby was low and getting ready to make his arrival. The time between getting on the bed and pushing is definitely a blur.
My contractions were very painful at this point and I was SO hot. I was trying to remain calm and not tense my body. I had Mark hold my fan on me which helped a lot and I also held onto a comb for pain support.
To be continued…
DevonJade 
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