Ireland: The Pregnancy

Jonathan and I wanted to get pregnant pretty quickly after we got married. My periods had been irregular since I had gotten off the depot shot over a year before. Around the time I knew I might miss a period, I started taking pregnancy tests. The first and second test I took within three days of each other. They both came out negative and I was upset about it. Jonathan told me it was okay, though, and we would just keep trying. After a few more days, I still hadn't started me period, so before work I took one more test. To my surprise, it came out a very faint positive. I was so excited and couldn't wait to tell Jonathan and everyone else. Eviana happened to wake up just as I was coming out of the bathroom and I told her to go tell her daddy she was going to be a big sister. She got really excited and ran in our room to tell him. A huge smile formed on his face and he looked at me in complete surprise.

"Really?!" I shook my head yes and he gave me a big hug. We had Eviana call his parents and mine to tell them the same news. Everyone was so happy and excited for us. The girls at work and my boss were happy for us, too. And so, life continued with a new life growing inside me.
At the end of December, we decided to start looking for doctors. JQ wasn't fond of the out of hospital idea at first. So he asked me to check some doctors out before I started looking for a midwife. I called Shannon and Community Hospitals and started asking about doctors and the prices I should expect to pay. The doctor and hospital bills were separate, but on average the cost would be anywhere from $12,00-$21,00. The lowest cost of course being vaginal delivery and the highest being a C-Section. I let them know that I was going to be a VBAC and the answer was always the same.

"Well, we can always try a vaginal delivery, but most likely it will be another C-Section, so that is what you should prepare for."  This wasn't okay with me. The more answers like that we got, the more frustrated we became. It was clear that no doctor was going to be comfortable with monitoring a VBAC. Soon, the idea of a midwife was easier for JQ to handle. He knew it was what I really wanted and would make me happy. I called the closest midwife I could find, but she was based in another town a few hours away. She led me to Kelly Miller, who was a practicing midwife new to San Angelo. I called Kelly a few days later. She answered the few questions I had and gave me a cost of $3,700. The cost was slightly higher because I would be a VBAC. This cost of course did not include the birthing pool and any vitamins I would need to take during the pregnancy. (The birthing pool is not required, but I wanted a water birth.) Kelly and I set up an appointment to meet at my house so that we could get to know her and decide if she was what we were looking for before we started care.

22 Weeks

During our introduction appointment, Kelly informed us all of the appointments would be held at our home and also answered any questions we might have. JQ had a lot more questions than I did, but she laid most of his concerns to rest. We decided that this was the care for us and our baby. We really liked Kelly and everything she had to offer. Kelly gave us several books to read to inform us on natural home births, VBAC's, and other birth stories. She wanted us to be educated and that was very important. She informed us of any risks there might be, but the positives outweighed any of the low percentage risks.

34 weeks

My pregnancy went very well. My job required me to stand, walk, and lean over most of the day, so by the time I got home from work I was exhausted. My legs hurt the most and circulation wasn't at its best, but Kelly gave me some natural pills and lotions to help with my varicose veins. She constantly checked for all the signs of pre-eclampsia and kept me on point with my diet, water intake, and rest. Kelly was always a phone call or text away if I had any questions or concerns. Around my 18-20th week of gestation we had a sonogram done at a college to check on the baby, but mainly to find out the sex. The baby looked beautiful, was growing wonderfully and was a GIRL!!!!! Jonathan decided to name her Ireland Rain Quillin.
Eviana was so excited to be a big sister. She would kiss and hug my belly, talk and sing to it, and asked me almost everyday if sister was coming out of my tummy yet. During our appointments, Eviana wanted to be a part of everything. Kelly let her turn on the heart monitor, took her blood pressure along with mine, and let her listen to the baby with her special stethoscope.

37 Weeks

My due date was August 17, and when that day arrived there was still no baby. I was still working and my co-workers were afraid I was going to explode at any second. I was still only dilated to 1 cm and there were no real contractions, although there were several false labors. Thursday, August 19 was my last day at work. I was still pregnant and everyone said they'd pray it would happen soon. I was so ready for this baby to be born. I was miserable, waddled like a penguin, and felt like I would be pregnant forever! That night JQ and I were talking about the baby and he encouraged me through my disappointment. As I was getting ready in the bathroom, I felt some leakage and was afraid I had peed on myself. Embarrassed I didn't say anything at first, but then realized I kept leaking.
"Jonathan? Um, I think my water broke!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yea, I'm pretty sure."
I called the midwife to let her know and then called the family. I thought I felt a contraction about 15 minutes after my water had broken, but there were no more after that. Kelly advised me to get some sleep before labor started and to call her if there were any changes. I was elated that the time was finally here, but also extremely nervous. What would everything feel like? When would she be born? Could I do this? YES, yes I can. I went to sleep easily, but had no idea what the next few days had in store for me. ......to be continued.....