Aidan Jeremiah: Part Two

I was trying to let nature take its course. I very much believe in allowing labor to happen naturally. I had learned a lot with my previous experience with Liam about trusting in the Lord and in His timing. However, I was getting more and more desperate with each passing day. It didn't help that I was 4cm dilated, or that I had been having consistent contractions on and off for several weeks, or that baby was at a super low +2 station. All of these factors combined said birth was imminent, but the way I saw it labor was still weeks away.

After Friday night's football game I decided to take a little more proactive approach. After some research and some help from an awesome friend who's sister is a midwife I bought some homeopathics and essential oils. I began a regimin of slathering my tummy with yucky smelling oils, taking homeopathics every couple hours. I was even waking up in the middle of the night to do so....by morning NOTHING. Not one contraction. It was Saturday, 2 days till my husband left for Louisiana for the week. 6 days before the move. I felt so defeated. I cried. I cried a lot. I called my midwife and cried some more. Then I decided to go ahead and do something I was dreading....

I.drank.castor.oil.

Yep. I did it. At around 12:30pm on Saturday, Sept 25, I drank the nastiest, most disgusting thing EVER. I drank nearly 8 oz. of the stuff mixed in with root beer. It was awful. It was so bad that I can't even look at the bottle without feeling sick to my stomach. OMGosh I can't even explain it!!!!!! BLEECCCHHHHHHH! (I did this with Liam too but did not drink enough and it didn't do anything to me or for me.)

Do you know what castor oil does? It purges your bowels and purge it did.

By 5pm, the effects of the castor oil had reached their peak and by 7pm they pretty much tapered off. I spoke with my midwife once again, upset, still desperate, feeling sick but not really much closer to labor. I was 10 days past my estimated due date!! I was angry, I was frustrated, I was depressed. I couldn't imagine not having my husband right by my side as I delivered our little boy. I had no one if I didn't have him. I missed my mother so incredibly much at that moment. I wished with all my might that she were alive to hold me, cry with me, be there with me. I was so mad that she died. I was so mad that Jeremiah had to go on his stupid business trip and that we had to move so freaking far away just days after I had a baby and that the baby just wasn't coming out! I WAS SO MAD! I prayed for help. I prayed for guidance. I prayed for strength.

I spoke with my midwife once again and she suggested our very last resort, she could break my water and see if that got labor rolling. There are a couple of concerns with breaking the water:

1. Cord Prolapse, where the cord slips out before the baby and then as the baby descends it puts pressure on the cord. It's rare but still a consideration.
2. What if she broke my water and after 24 hours I still didn't have a baby?
3. What about letting nature take its course? It pretty much went against everything that I felt was right as far as natural birth goes.

I discussed it with Jeremiah, we said a prayer together and we felt like it was the right thing to do. I contacted my midwife once again and let her know that we were ready to take that step. She said she'd be over in an hour and a half and I breathed a sigh of relief, this would all be over soon. However, I was still nervous and having some second thoughts about what I was about to do. I decided to take a warm shower before she arrived. While there I awkwardly lowered my very pregnant body down on to my knees in the bath tub. I clasped my hands, closed my eyes and prayed once more. Heavenly Father am I doing the right thing?? And I heard a voice distinctly say, "Yes," and I knew that in just a few hours I would be holding my little boy.

{Part Three Tomorrow}