The story of Mia’s birth begins on Friday, May 22. It started out like any other Friday — Parker and I ate breakfast, played in his playroom, read books, and went for a walk. I kept the walk short, though, because I didn’t want to tempt the baby to come. As much as I was over being pregnant, I wanted her to wait until Sunday, since my doula Janet had another birth to attend on Saturday. Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan.

I canceled my music therapy session that afternoon, because I knew there was no way I could sit on the floor at this point in time nor exert the amount of energy needed to be an effective therapist. I did, however, teach two lessons, since they were shorter and I could sit in a chair. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy for being at work that day, and I pretty much agreed with them.

Zach brought me dinner that night and took Parker over to his parents’ house so that I could eat and relax. I was feeling a little crampy laying on the couch, but I didn’t think much of it. I was just glad to have made it through the day without going into labor. Ha!

Later that night, Zach met up with his friend for a drink just down the street, which was fine since I was exhausted and ready for bed. I fell asleep almost immediately, but that didn’t last long. I woke up when I felt a strange popping sensation. Lo and behold, my water had broken.

This was when reality started to stray from my plan. First of all, Mia wasn’t supposed to come until Sunday! And secondly, my water wasn’t supposed to break until I was ready to push, like it had with Parker. But apparently she had plans of her own. I called Janet to let her know what was happening, and she said she would meet me at the hospital. I called my mother-in-law, who then called Zach to tell him to get home and headed over to stay with Parker.

All the way to the hospital, I thought out loud about how the night might play out. Since I wasn’t feeling any contractions whatsoever, I was super nervous I would have to have pitocin to speed things up, and then would probably have to end up getting an epidural for the pain. On top of that, I was physically exhausted after spending the entire day with Parker and then teaching those lessons.

After they had confirmed that my water had broken, they hooked me up to a contraction monitor and told me I was having contractions five minutes apart. I couldn’t feel them at all, but I was hopeful that would change soon.

Janet arrived, and they admitted me to my room. I rested for a little bit, and then we started walking the halls just like we had when I was in labor with Parker. As we were walking, I began to feel the contractions which was very encouraging.

We walked for a long time, and then went back to the room where I sat on the birthing ball for a while. I was in pain by now, and after awhile, the resident wanted to check to see if I was making any progress. I was only 3-4 centimeters dilated, which was discouraging, but he was confident at that point I wouldn’t need any pitocin. So that was good news. Janet and I walked some more, hoping to move things along.

After awhile, I started to get chills and feel super nauseous. The resident wanted to check me again in case I was close, but I was afraid I would be disappointed again. I was right — only 5 centimeters dilated and already in so much pain. A few more hours passed, which I spent going back and forth between the birthing ball and my bed. My dad and stepmom got to the hospital around 5 and came in to say hi, but headed to the waiting room pretty quickly after watching me experience a particularly awful contraction :)

At about 8 am, my doctor arrived. I was so happy to see her and thrilled she would be delivering Mia, just like she delivered Parker. She checked me again and told me I was at a 6, and also that Mia was transverse. I pretty much FLIPPED OUT at that point. I was so scared I was going to need a c-section, not to mention that I was completely exhausted.

Janet calmed me down and they put me in a new position to help Mia turn the right way on her own. It was not comfortable, but I did actually feel her turning with each contraction. My doctor came back about 45 minutes later and checked me — I was at a 9 and she was in position! I felt ready to push, but she had me wait for a few more contractions.

When it finally came time, I had another little meltdown, mostly out of pure exhaustion. Again, Janet brought me back to reality; I shut my eyes, held (more like crushed) her hand and my nurse Kat’s, and did everything they told me to do. I pushed for about 25 minutes or so, and then everyone told me how much hair the baby had. I was almost there. A few more pushes and she was out!

Mia Belle Rambach was born at 9:29 am, weighing 6 lb 13 oz and measuring 20 inches in length. I couldn’t believe how much she looked like her brother, and how beautiful she was.

After an hour or so, Parker got to come in and meet his new sister, and it was the most wonderful feeling ever having both of my babies there with me.

If you’ve read Parker’s birth story, then you know just how lucky I was the first time around. Labor and delivery lasted only 3 hours from start to finish with no epidural or complications, so naturally I just assumed the same would be true this time. Mia’s birth was almost 4 times as long and way more painful since my water broke right away, though I was able to avoid an epidural as planned. In both cases, the end result was the same: a healthy baby and love at first sight.

Almost two weeks have passed in the blink of an eye, and I know from experience time will only speed up from here. We are loving life as a family of 4 and getting to know our sweet Mia Belle.