Lainey's Birth Story
- Jordan Zabawa
- May 28
- 7 min read
It's been over a year now and I'm finally getting around to writing the full story (life with 3 kids, am I right?). I've had the notes sitting in my phone since the days after her birth, so let's get to it!
For starters, I knew in my heart and soul that this baby was NOT going to come early. Based on my first two births, I anticipated going into labor at 40 weeks 6 days. My entire pregnancy whenever I was asked about my "due date", I'd just give a range of days, usually saying something along the lines of "mid to late March, somewhere in the 20's". While this approach tended to annoy people, I knew my body and my baby.
For the entire month of March, my body was preparing and so was Lainey. For several weeks she was low and engaged in my pelvis at zero station. At most of my prenatal visits, she kept moving around from anterior to posterior, left and right, but mostly stayed posterior. I spent a lot of time in the final weeks doing stretches and positions to help encourage her to stay anterior. Per my doula's recommendation, I spent a lot of time crawling around on the floor - easy to do since I'm always playing with kids and picking up toys!
Yet again, my due date (March 16), came and went. Like I said earlier, this was not at all surprising to me. I had my now routine emotional venting and release and went on with my days. I was still so sure that labor would start at 40+6, just like it did with my previous two. Little did I know I was about to learn just how wrong I was....enter Prodromal labor.
It was Friday March 22, I was exactly 40 weeks 6 days. It has been snowing all day but the roads finally cleared so Tim and I went out for on final dinner date by ourselves. As we had dinner, I started to have contractions. I didn't want to get too excited but after an hour, I mentioned them to Tim. We went home and watched some TV while I did some spinning babies then relaxed. Contractions were anywhere from 10-30 minutes apart and mild. As 9:30pm approached, we decided to go to bed like normal since the contractions weren't changing. The entire night they kept at that rate, never increasing in frequency or intensity. Fortunately I was able to sleep between or even through most of them. I woke up around 6am and they completely stopped. I was a little frustrated and let down, so I talked to my doula about it. I decided to spend most of the day resting, taking a walk, and do the Miles Circuit.
My parents stopped by on Saturday and again around 4pm, my contractions started. I silently noticed them as we ate dinner and casually brought it up. My parents asked if they should take the big girls home with them, but I had been praying that labor would start at night so I'd have the baby overnight while they slept in their beds. I wanted them to greet their new baby sister first thing in the morning when they woke up. So my parents left and we put the girls to bed. The contractions followed the same pattern as the night before, only they were a little stronger and longer. I woke up more during them throughout the night. I gave up on trying to sleep anymore at 6am and got out of bed. By 6:30am they had completely stopped again. I was definitely tried and annoyed but I notified my doula and midwives of the second night of prodromal labor then went on with my day.
We went to mass closer to home in case labor started again. I had some sporadic contractions throughout the morning and into the afternoon. I did the Miles Circuit again and napped/rested throughout the day. As 4pm rolled around again, the contractions came back. We went for a walk at 4:30 which seemed to help this time because when we got back and I was making dinner, contractions made themselves more known. I felt the shift in these contractions, they felt stronger than the previous nights. We got the girls into bed a little early and by 7pm, I was in the family room doing hip circles on my birth ball. I just knew this was it, it was different. Contractions were coming every 2-5 minutes but weren't longer than 45 seconds. Tim and I closed up the house and moved all things to our bedroom.
The birth tub was already inflated in our room but Tim was preparing the hose and gathering the last minute supplies to our room. I felt the shift again in contractions, this was definitely it and with the prodromal labor, I had a feeling things would move quickly. At 8:30pm, I called Jenny and my sister to come over. My sister arrived first at around 9:15 and Jenny soon followed at 9:30. My contractions at this point hadn't really changed much and I was trying to rest on my bed.
Jenny and I chatted about where we thought I was (early labor) and the best strategy to get me rest but also progress. We decided to try and have me lay down and relax but I wasn’t comfortable enough. Next we tried to stack pillows so I could lean forward and rest, we also stacked pillows under my butt and I sat on my knees. All I wanted was to get into a comfortable position and relax. I could feel myself tensing. During this time, I looked Tim in the eyes and expressed my doubts. I was so worried about my ability to handle this and what if it wasn't the real deal still? I was afraid of the intensity and how much harder this could get. Tim very kindly reminded me that I trust in the process of birth, and that I could do this. With the reassurances from both Tim and Jenny, it gave me the confidence boost I needed to get my head right and get into my labor zone.
It was around 10:30 when I said "screw it", and stopped trying to rest on the bed, got up to standing and leaning over the bed (my favorite active labor position). I had been fighting my instincts to be more active because I was afraid of tiring myself out too soon. Within the minutes of standing, labor picked up. I got hit with a few big contractions, right on top of each other. One even double peaked! I remember saying "what the hell was that?!" to which Jenny replied "uhhhh, Jordan, you're in labor. You know that is going to happen" HAHA
Now that I was upright and in the right mental space, labor was in full swing, contractions coming every 2-3 minutes and very intense. Jenny and I had taken turns texting my midwives and at 10:45 they were heading my way. I asked Tim to fill the birth pool, I was confident that my labor was well established and I wanted to be in the pool longer than I was for McKinley's birth. As Tim was filling the tub, I really needed Jenny’s physical support and coaching of my breath during contractions.
I got in the tub around 11pm and WOW there is nothing like the immediate relief the warm water provides. Tim and my sister took turns holding my hands and rubbing my shoulders, while Jenny poured water over my back. The contractions were so much more manageable in the water and by the second contraction, I was feeling the pressure at the end.
I asked Jenny to text Celeste and tell her I was feeling pressure with each contraction - she told me to go with the urge to push if I feel it and her ETA was 11:38 - it was 11:18. With each wave, I felt increasing pressure and reached down to feel how far along I was. I barely reached in and could feel her head and the bulging bag of waters. It wasn't long before I started wanting to push with the waves to bring her down and felt the ring of fire 🔥
I heard the front door open as a contraction started and immediately started to go with my body and gently push. I was way more in control and tune with my body this time - no labor land haze, which is one thing I had prayed for. After Celeste started to set up, the next wave came and I pushed more and could feel her crown. I knew if I wanted this to be done, I had to take control and push.
On the next contraction, I felt a pop and gush as I pushed and that allowed her to come down more and I gave bigger pushes to get her out. Her head came out and Tim said she had lots of hair and a hand up by her face. Contractions in the pushing phase had really spaced out and after 2.5 minutes, Celeste told me we needed to intervene and get her out. I was pushing but she also reached in to help assist. Not the most pleasant but it worked and Lainey was here!
She came around right away and I was able to fully soak in those first moments with her and Tim.
I am so grateful for my amazing birth team and the wonderful birth experiences I've had this far! With each pregnancy, labor, and birth I learn something new about myself as a woman and a mother. Each experience is unique in their own ways and this third birth was both humbling and exhilarating.
