“In the middle of the night on Friday, February 16th, I went into early labor. With my first pregnancy, early labor naturally progressed into active labor so I thought the same would happen this time around. We got all our ducks in a row…Grandma Bacon was going to take care of little David and we put those final items in the hospital bags (that’s right, plural). Well that early labor took its sweet time. I basically had very mild, intermittent contractions at home for 12 hours, which completely stalled out around dinner time and I was getting discouraged. I wasn’t sure if baby Caleb was going to arrive soon or if it was just false labor. I found it comical that we had everything taken care of for this time when I thought I’d be progressing into full blown labor any minute. There I found myself on the couch, vegging out, and watching The Bachelor. Hmmmm…apparently God thought I needed some time to relax, so relax I did. Contractions stopped that evening, so we had Grandma and Little David return to house and we all had dinner. I took a relaxing bath, listened to worship music, and was calling it a night early…or so I thought…
I attempted to go to bed at 9pm, which is exactly when my contractions started kicking it up a notch…the frequency and intensity of them progressively increasing. I texted my labor team (on-call, awesome sister-in-law, Cholla) around 10:30pm letting her know it was go time and she could come to our house. My plan was for a natural, unmedicated birth this time around, so I was planning to labor at home with my hubby and Cholla as long as possible. Well, by 11:30pm my contractions were every 2-3 minutes and increasing in intensity. It was time to head to the to hospital to allow for check-in process, etc. So Cholla met us there instead and we got to OB triage. They monitored baby Caleb for awhile and he was “sleepy.” I was dilated to five centimeters and having contractions every 2-3 minutes…sure sounded and felt like active labor (to me). At the time, they didn’t tell me there were no OB labor beds available but instead said, “We will have you walk around for an hour and see how you progress.” I’m thinking to myself, “See if I progress?!”…this is happening…no denying it! But the thought of being stuck on a bed, laying down for monitoring, while I have no pain medications or anesthesia on board…”walking” sounded like a better option.
I could only have one family member with me in triage so it was Cholla’s turn (she’s been there, done that). Well, we didn’t make it much passed the bedside in triage due to my intense, constant contractions. I couldn’t walk leisurely in hallways! It took everything in me to get through each contraction and feeling Caleb moving like a maniac in there (Cholla swears he was doing flips in there when she was pressing on my back. Ha!). My water broke and the intensity of my contractions and labor told me…”This is enough of laboring in triage…I need my husband, midwife, and a room!” The nurse examined me again and said, “I think you are complete.” In that 45-60 minutes I went from five centimeters to 10! Then, all of a sudden, the staff was rushing to get a make-shift labor room thrown together for my delivery…they were now kicking it into high gear! I just didn’t want to deliver on that triage stretcher bed…I couldn’t wait to get on a labor bed, with my husband, sister-in-law, and midwife by my side. My midwife was finishing up a delivery with another patient (only had to wait a few minutes, but felt like an eternity, of course)…now I had my husband holding my hand on a labor bed. Yes! This natural, unmedicated birth thing is no joke!
The last hour of labor and pushing was the most intense part. Pushing was painful, I felt like it lasted forever, but it actually took six contractions or so. Baby Caleb tolerated the entire, rapid labor like a champ. At 2:31am, he entered into this world with one cry, went straight to my chest, and then just CHILLED. That’s my boy! Two and a half weeks later, that is still his favorite calming spot…right on Mama’s chest 🙂
Overall, my labor and delivery was quick, intense, beautiful…one of the hardest and best things I have ever done in my life. I am so grateful for the experience and support through the process. Our healthy, precious Caleb is here to join our family. Absolutely nothing better than that. God is good and never fails!”
Jaclyn and David, I am in tears reading through your story. Your calmness, grace, and strength is simply incredible! I have loved serving your family over the last two years. Little David and Caleb are too cute for words and they are so lucky to have you as their mommy and daddy!
Brenna
Jaclyn’s dress is from Lulu’s.
