Maggie’s Unmedicated Induction Birth Story

In case you missed part 1 or part 2, read part 1 here or part 2 here before continuing.

So, I laid down and she came back in to check me.

7 cm and very soft

Not going to lie, my heart sank a little. I thought for sure I had already gone through transition and I really didn’t think I could last a few more hours without pain meds and still be able to have the energy to push baby out.

That’s when Amanda, my rockstar nurse, killed it. She grabbed my hand and said “you got this! you are amazing and incredible! your body is made to do this and you are so close! you are strong!” I just remember getting the biggest pep talk from her and thinking “I do got this!”

Amanda, if you’re reading this, you’re freaking awesome!! Thank you so much for being an amazing nurse and support and caring for your patients!

Amanda told us she was just going to start preparing the delivery table so it would be ready and she was going to give Molly a heads up on where I was at.

Both Amanda and Molly kept saying you’re so close but no one would tell me what that meant. I had it in my head that 7 cm and “close” meant another hour or two. I was so devasted but after Amanda’s pep talk I decided to give it another go at things and just focus on breathing through contractions and taking them one at a time. Molly said she’d be waiting out in the hall charting whenever we were ready.

Within 5 minutes…BAM!

All of a sudden I had to push and it came on fast and furious!! The next few minutes were all a blur as Amanda quickly got on her phone to call for immediate delivery assistance to room 324 and grabbed Molly from the hall. Molly raced in and I could see in her face she knew it was go time.

Without realizing what was going on I found myself pushing through the next few contractions and trying to slow things down. Since I tore bad with my first, my midwife had been preparing me for months by saying I needed to be very purposeful when it came pushing time and to not let my body take over too much if I didn’t want to tear bad again.

Much easier said than done.

I am so thankful for Justin and knowing me and what I needed. He’s learned to just stay near and if I need him I know he’s there. Through 95% of labor he was just around while I do my own thing. In that last 10 minutes though it was so comforting knowing he was there and I wasn’t in it alone.

I remember laughing to myself that I couldn’t believe this frantic birth was happening again just like it did with the first. Poor Molly didn’t even have time to find delivery gloves and just threw on exam gloves. They didn’t even have time to get the bed put together for delivery so in between contractions and pushing they managed to get stirups up.

At 2:42 I got the first urge to push and 8 minutes later, at 2:50pm, Margaret Grace (Maggie) entered our world!

It was such a relief and I was so happy to finally hold her in my arms! It had been such a stressful few weeks that I was just so glad she was out and healthy.

As we met our sweet girl she let out a tiny little cry and then settled down immediately. She was so content and has stayed that way since she was born.

One fun fact — Maggie had the fattest cord anyone in the room had seen. It was so thick and gelatinous the nurses and our midwife were all fascinated by it. So fascinated that they forgot to draw cord blood to find out Maggie’s blood type since I’m Rh negative or clamp the cord.

Our little Maggie Grace was finally in my arms and I couldn’t be happier! Even though Maggie was tiny, that girl can do some damage.

I had another third degree tear and they mentioned the best guy at the hospital happened to be on the floor that day and could come stitch me up if I was okay with it. After a long, hard recovery with my first, I was all for anything that would help me heal quicker this time around.

While he stitched me up I laid there and snuggled this cutie.

Our fabulous birth team, Molly in the pink, and Amanda in the blue. I was bummed my actual midwife wasn’t on call but those ladies were awesome and the perfect people to be there!

And now for the baby details…Maggie weighed 6 lbs 15 oz and 20 inches long. Her fingers and toes are long just like momma’s and she has the perfect little button nose.

While we waited for Clara to wake up from her nap to come meet little sister first we just hung out, snuggled baby, and I ate some late lunch.

I am so thankful for Nakalan who was able to be there and photograph this whole experience for me! Thanks friend! You’re amazing!!

As family gathered in the waiting room, Clara finally arrived and Justin brought her back first. Poor girl was so overwhelmed though and couldn’t figure out what was going on so this is the best picture we got. Oh well. Maybe with the next baby…

And then the troops came. I love having pictures from family meeting baby for the first time and the wave of emotions as they hold the tiny babe.

No one knew baby’s name, except my little sister, so Clara held up the onesie I had made Maggie announcing what her name was to our family. Margaret Grace was my great aunt’s name who we lived with when we got married and then died shortly thereafter. That spunky old lady was fierce, knew what she wanted, and had such a zest for life.

And that was it. The beginning of our life with little Maggie Grace. Although I never wanted an induction, it turned out amazing and I’m so thankful for the care we received. Unbeknownst to me, it is possible to have an unmedicated induction and I’m so grateful for the nurses and midwives that supported my decision.

Thank you so much to Nakalan McKay Photography for so perfectly capturing the day and being such a great friend!