The Birth Story

We welcomed our beautiful daughter into the world at 2:28p.m. on February 28th, one day before her due date. Kip was very impressed with the timing of my pushes, which allowed Lucy to be born at exactly 2:28 on 2/28!

I always thought I wanted to have a natural, unmedicated birth, and then I got pregnant and was not so sure. We began to do some research, though, and both Kip and I became convinced that having a natural labor was what we both wanted. We took Bradley natural childbirth classes and read a lot. The knowledge gained from the classes proved to be invaluable. We found a midwife who supported our wishes and we developed a pretty detailed birth plan. 

Late on friday night the 27th, I was in bed watching TV when my stomach started cramping a little. I assumed it was Braxton Hicks contractions, so I fell asleep despite the discomfort, but woke up at 2:30 a.m. with significantly stronger pains. I tried to time them, but was not really seeing any consistency. However, they continued. I wanted to make sure something was actually going on before waking Kip, so I waited until 3:45 before I woke him. He immediately got his stopwatch and started helping me time the contractions. They were about 8 minutes apart. I still wasn't convinced I was in labor, but I was concerned that if it was labor I didn't want to bring our baby home to our house as messy as it was. So, around 4:30 a.m. we got up and started cleaning! Kip helped me relax whenever a contraction would hit, and then we would go back to cleaning. Before long the contractions were lasting between 30 seconds and 1 minute, 30 seconds. 

We called our doula to let her know I was in labor and then I took a shower, fixed my hair and put on make up (none of these beauty efforts were evident after the whole thing was over, however). Our doula, Robin, came over at 9:00 a.m. and by that point I was definitely experiencing the serious emotional signpost of labor. There was no longer any cleaning, smiling or small talk between contractions. I continued to labor at home on a birth ball, and at 10:30 a.m. we headed to the hospital. I had three contractions in the car during the less than 10 minute drive to the hospital! We arrived in labor and delivery without having previously called our midwife or the hospital to let them know we were on our way, so we were relieved to arrive and find that our midwife was already at the hospital. She immediately came up to us and asked how things were going and I was relaxed by her calm disposition. She did not make me to into triage without Kip (something I was afraid to do), but took me to the LDRP room and examined me. I was shocked and relieved to find out that I was already 8 cm dilated, 100% effaced, and +1 station!

After receiving antibiotics for group B strep, I was able to get off of the IV and into the tub. I stayed there about an hour, then got out and went back to the birth ball. I went through transition in the tub. During one contraction I said, "I can't do it" and the very next one I said, "I feel like I need to push." I pushed for about an hour and half, and my water broke naturally about an hour before Lucy was born.

Pushing, to put it bluntly, was hellish. In fact, I am convinced that women in hell must endure eternal pushing! I have heard transition is awful but pushing feels good. This was not my experience at all. Transition was not as bad as I anticipated, but I HATED pushing. It was miserable. My doula asked me at one point what I felt like doing and I said, "I feel like lying down and dying!" She took it in stride and simply suggested I try a new position while sticking my gatorade in front of my face and making me drink it. 

I ended up collapsing on the bed on my side and stayed in that position for the next half hour and delivered Lucy in that position. I was experiencing incredible back labor and was thankful for my rice sock (compliments of my Bradley instructor) and for my husband's strong hands that were providing much-needed counter pressure. As the baby got closer, Kip left my side to get ready to catch the baby, and my doula took over the counter pressure. My labor and delivery nurse was awesome and she held my hand and encouraged me to push when I felt ready. During one particular push when I was beginning to think it would never end (despite Kip's earlier yelling that he could see the head full of hair crowning), I looked toward my feet as I pushed and noticed that my midwife and Kip both had their backs turned and were ignoring me and instead focusing on getting dressed for the birth. I did not see this as a good sign that things were about to happen; rather, I was irritated that they were ignoring me and I thought "why am I even pushing? They're not even paying attention to me, so the baby can't be coming!" A couple of pushes later, however, Kip was able to catch our baby and hand her to me, announcing that we were the parents of a little girl. She came out with her hands by her chin, which had contributed greatly to my horrendous back labor, but Kip thought it was great because she dove out (translation: she is a Wilkins and is going to be a diver!)!

In total, my labor was approximately 12 hours long. I am still amazed that I did it naturally, and it is only by God's grace and power that I was able to. Although the agony of pushing has still not left my mind, I loved the labor experience.  I loved feeling every aspect of it - not the pain, but feeling my body working to bring my daughter into the world though the pain. There was some concern that I might not have time to complete the antibiotic treatment for group B, which would have meant sending the baby to the NICU for testing. However, as the baby crowned, I was able to get the last treatment, which prevented the need for the NICU and unpleasant testing. My midwife told me afterwards that I had made the right decision to not let her break my water when I arrived at the hospital, because most likely that would have sped things up and the antibiotics would not have been completed before the birth. 

I have heard that when you write a birth plan it means that whatever you write will not end up happening. This was not our experience at all. Everything on our birth plan happened just the way we wanted it to. However, some things we planned did not happen. I had made a "labor book" with bible verses and other things to focus on and visualize during labor. I never used it. I had put together a "labor playlist" of music. I never listened to it. I had bought honey straws and jello to eat during labor since I wasn't hooked up to an IV. I never ate them. I planned on squatting to deliver the baby. I never once thought about squatting. I was simply too tired. I didn't think I would use a birthing ball, but I loved using it. I also didn't think I would be violent, but apparently at one point during a pushing contraction I bit Kip's finger. I have no recollection of this. The loving husband that he is, though, Kip simply let me bite him and said nothing.

Kip was by my side throughout labor, both at home and the hospital. Without his support, I do not think I could have done it. In fact, my doula later told us that the way we interacted with one another was a testament to the strength of our relationship. When Kip was by my side my contractions were very close together and he helped me through them, but when he was gone (using the bathroom, loading the car, etc) my contractions slowed down and I would not have any while he was gone.  Neither of us realized this, but our doula said it was very noticeable and spoke highly of the kind of relationship we have. As I was preparing for labor, it was my desire to look at it not as something to be dreaded as much as an opportunity to glorify God. I really wanted to approach labor with the thought that, "for this day, I have been called by God to be a woman in labor, so my job is to glorify God through labor." I really wanted my labor experience to be a form of worship to Christ and a witness to others of the love of Christ seen through me. I don't know to what extent that happened. I did not call on the name of Jesus or pray aloud. However, I did trust God throughout the experience and was aware He was my strong tower during the pain. I was not mean to Kip and we treated each other lovingly throughout the day (with maybe the exception of my biting him!) and our joy during the birth was evident.  I think others did notice a difference in us and I hope that through that God was glorified and used us to affect others.

We praise God for the birth of our daughter, Lucy Jane Wilkins. We kept her name a secret, but before she was even conceived we knew what her name would be. We named her Lucy after the character of Lucy Pevensie from the Chronicles of Narnia. Her character is an amazing example of what childlike faith should look like. These books have been a favorite for both of us since we were children, and for anyone who knows our history, you know that the love of good books is what first drew us to one another. It only made sense that our daughter should bear the name of a book character that has influenced us so much. We named her Jane because it means "God is gracious" and "Gift from God." We both believe meanings of names are very important. Our very lives are a testament of God's grace in our lives, and so is the birth of our daughter. We look forward to teaching our beautiful gift from God about the meanings of her names and why we chose to name her Lucy Jane.