The Birth Story of Eva James, 53 hour labor

At 41 weeks I was starting to feel like I’d be pregnant forever. I knew that first time moms go “late” but I couldn’t shake the internalized ticking clock. On Friday my husband Jared and sister Laura suggested we take a trip to the beach to reset. We went to the beach and I’m convinced those ocean waves were the push needed to get things flowing.

I felt my first contraction that night and thought ohhhh okay it’s happening but wanted to wait until morning to let anyone know. I went back to sleep and when I woke up Saturday morning I felt relatively normal. I was definitely in labor but my contractions were far apart enough that Samm wasn’t rushing over. Laura came over and we got some last minute prep out of the way. We went for walks, went to the grocery store for beef stew ingredients (of which I refused to eat any of), and relaxed as much as I could. I am really grateful for the ease of that first full day of labor. I didn’t push myself or try to rush things along. I leaned into the stillness and peace which served me greatly the following two days.

Sunday morning I woke up feeling 100x the amount of pressure in my contractions from the previous day. At 7 am I was on my birth ball with Jared applying counter pressure on my hips (jared is my hero. My goodness I’d have melted into a pathetic puddle without him). Jared is a massage therapist by trade and I don’t exaggerate when I say everyone’s partner should be required to have a massage license.

My mom arrived in the late afternoon as things were really starting to pick up. Things around this point become hazy to me and I fully believe (and thank) my hypnotherapy sessions. The ability to turn inward and allow my body to experience the intensity of labor was invaluable.

My water broke while Laura was applying some pressure on my hips and she thought something horrible happened by the way I screamed. This was sometime between 2 and 4 and happened with such intensity I thought my body had just burst open. It was the craziest feeling (until the sensation of crowning and birth). I heard Laura on the phone with Samm and she asked “how does she sound?” Laura turned the phone to me deeply moaning and Samm was on the way.

Samm, baby Cedar and her assistant Alex arrived in the early evening and from that point on I spent the next 12 hours walking from the bed to the bathroom over and over (and over and over). I cannot express my gratitude enough for all my support people. Jared, Laura, my mom, Samm, Alex. I’m getting emotional thinking about how loved, supported, respected I felt the entire time. I was never rushed, never told to do something I didn’t want to, and never once felt scared.

At around 3 am Monday June 6th I finally felt my baby’s head drop. I felt the urge to push and labored down on the toilet for about an hour before moving to the bed. It was only at this point where I finally said out loud “ I can’t do this anymore”. It was the single hardest thing I have ever done. It was f*ckin godawful. It was all the dreaded ring of fire that everyone had warned me about. Jared, my star, never let me believe that. I came back to my breathe and got back in it.

Looking back at pictures and videos I can see how hard Samm works and how valuable her skills as a midwife are. She effortlessly unwound a nuchal cord while my baby was emerging. This easily would’ve been an “emergency” situation at a hospital but at home with a skilled midwife it was no problem.

This next part of my story is still difficult for me. I have not watched my birth video until very recently and am still very much effected. I consider myself insanely lucky but the trauma is still very real.

At 6:25 am Eva James was born and placed into my arms after a challenging 53 hours of labor. She was grey and floppy and was taken back by Samm to be placed on a resuscitation board.

Alex immediately called 911 while Samm switched to mouth to mouth. This is a moment where I am incredibly grateful for my decision to birth at home. Samm did all this while Eva was still fully attached to her placenta. She never lost oxygen because she was getting it through her cord. After 7 minutes and moments before EMS, firefighters, and police came through the door, Eva finally took a breath. She was given blow by oxygen by a very nice EMT who made sure everyone was okay.

Truly this was terrifying but I never felt scared if that makes sense. Samm was calm the entire time which made me feel like everything would be okay. I still mourn the loss of the golden hour I thought I would have but I am grateful for the way my story ended. In a hospital we never would have received the care provided by Samm.

Eva weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs 10 ounces and 21 inches long. My girl was snug as a bug and born at 41+3. And I had NO TEARS! Like what!!!