This will be a story of comparisons.

Freddy’s pregnancy: minimal morning sickness – mostly an aversion to eggs, cravings for extra crispy hashbrowns with ketchup AND brown gravy, stretch marks at 40 weeks on the dot, felt pretty mcdecent

Maggie’s pregnancy: morning sickness all the way into the middle of the second trimester, back to back yeast infections (if that’s tmi, sorry, but it’s real life), SPD, exhausted beyond belief

When I had Freddy, it was magical. One of those ‘breathe the baby out’ situations. Heck, I was even cracking jokes as he was crowning! Not so with miss Maggie.

Prodromal labor with her starting on August 20th. I hadn’t experienced this with Freddy, so I was basically on the alert for labor unnecessarily at all times from that date forward. My water did not break until the morning of September 13th. I had some contractions around dinnertime that faded away, only to return in full force around 11pm. They were still 8-10 minutes apart, but they were very intense, so I made the choice to go into the birthing center.

We arrived at Roots at midnight. Karen, my doula, met us there. I walked up the stairs to the birthing suite and saw Jahan and Holly, my midwives. I was delighted. Holly and Karen were both at Freddy’s birth, so that in itself was special. Jahan was (at the time) a student midwife, and throughout Maggie’s pregnancy we really bonded. Corey and I loved the crap outta her. So essentially, we had our perfect birth team.

We hooked up my labor playlist and I started bopping around the room, singing and stretching and squatting — essentially just doing whatever I thought might feel good. I got into the tub preeeetty early on. I knew what I wanted, and my back was hurting so much already. I felt like the urge to push came pretty quickly as well. Corey said I was pushing for about two hours. I felt like I was giving it my all, but nothing was happening. I felt like she wasn’t moving at all. Holly asked if I wanted Jahan to see if she could feel anything, which I did. As it turns out, I had a lip on my cervix that wasn’t feeling like going away, due to Mags being crooked. Jahan pushed it back through a few contractions. Now, I’ve read several different accounts of this procedure since then, and they all said it’s supposed to be “excruciating” and “worse than the rest of labor.” Man, my back was hurting so. much. that I honestly couldn’t feel what she was doing. Small blessings? Haha.

With Freddy’s labor, I made almost no noise. With Maggie, I was roaring like a cave woman, or perhaps some creature possessed. I mean, at one point I literally yelled, “MAGNOLIA JANE, GET OUT!!!!!” I was having trouble channeling my pushing to the right area of my body (in fact, I was writhing in pain with every contraction re: back pain), so Holly suggested Corey and I play tug of war. They placed suction cup handles on either side of the tub, which I placed my feet on. Then, they rolled up a sheet and gave one end to Corey, and one end to me. With each contraction I pulled on that sheet like my life depended upon it. Like, my face is slightly numb and my eyes are beginning to pop out level physical exertion. Not long after we introduced tug of war, Maggie was born. Not only was she crooked — she decided to cock her head off to the side for crowning. HOWEVER. I did not tear. I started to, but didn’t fully and did not need any stitches. (Thank you Lord, thank you Lord!!)

Throughout the entire process, Corey was my superhero. He was so sweet the whole time. I could see how concerned he was for me in his eyes. He didn’t leave my side. He anticipated my needs. He held my hand. He’s a hell of a partner. And a hell of a daddy. I fall in love with him more every day when I watch him hold Maggie and talk to her.

Anyway, we got there at midnight, and miss Maggie Jane was born on September 14th at 4:06 a.m, 9lbs 5oz, 20 inches. Corey’s parents had driven from WI when my water broke, so they headed to the birthing center right away to meet her. Karen made Corey and I some bacon veggie stir fry, and it was amazing (thanks Karen!). Holly gave me pitocin after the birth to help with my clotting. Maggie latched onto the breast like a champion, I was healthy, and we were able to go home within a few hours. We arrived back at our house at 7:30 a.m.

Some postpartum stuff: Maggie didn’t lose any of her birth weight. She weighed in a week after birth at 10 lbs, and then at two weeks 10 lbs, 9oz. Hooray! She has a lip and tongue tie, but breastfeeding seems to be going just fine despite some initial latching issues. Corey’s parents stayed for almost a week to help us out after the birth (they are possibly actual saints), and returned the following week for two days. My mama also came down to help and visit. My postpartum doula, Diane, has been wonderful lactation support and has provided tons of resources for Corey and I.

This was a very challenging labor for me, but I wouldn’t change a thing. It changed my life, once again. And this time, I really felt like I totally exceeded what I previously thought my physical limitations were. I feel like a warrior.

Here’s some photos for you!