Three months after moving to Japan on December 16, 2011, Travis and I found out I was pregnant. We were both scared and excited, but it was the start of something amazing, our beautiful baby girl Iris. Our due date was August 20th, but two nights later around 11 pm, I started having contractions. They were irregular until 8am. I started having contractions 5 minutes apart starting at 8:23. They were starting to get pretty intense to where I had to take a deep breath and focus, so I emailed Travis at work to tell him he needed to come home. My mom and I got everything ready and shortly after Travis got home, we drove to the hospital.
I was terrified the nurses were going to tell me I was in false labor. When I got there, they had me sit in the waiting room because there was someone in triage, but after about 10 minutes they decided to just put me in a regular room and check me. I was a "loose" 5cm, so the nurse called the Dr. to see what he wanted to do. They decided to have me stay and when the Dr. arrived he checked me again. I was 6cm, and they decided it would be best to break my water. My contractions instantly became more painful. During every contraction, I would focus on where I could feel the air from each breath and repeatedly thought "I am woman, hear me roar". As cheesy as it sounds, it helped me deal with the pain. I had told the nurses I didn't want to be asked for pain meds, and not once did I even think to ask for medicine to help alleviate the pain. Around 1pm Travis, my mom, and I all guessed what times we thought Iris would arrive. I guessed 3-something, Travis guessed 4:20pm, and my mom guessed 4:23pm. I labored using the birthing ball for awhile, but soon my contractions were too painful to make myself sit up and bounce on a ball. So I decided to get in the bed. Around 315-330 I started feeling pressure, but the doctor wasn't there so they made me wait to push, which is very hard to do by the way. Every fiber of your being is telling you to push, and it takes everything in you to disobey your own body. Finally the doctor showed up and around 340 I was able to start pushing. It was amazing to be able to feel my body's natural process of delivering a baby. I pushed for about 40 minutes and Iris was finally born. Her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice, but they were able to unravel it and delayed cutting the cord. Her cry was the most beautiful sound in the whole world, and I will never forget it. They handed her right to me and I cannot possibly express the abundance of emotions I was feeling at the time. She was born at 4:23pm 8lbs 2oz and 21.5" long.
After things started calming down the nurses told me they didn't believe I was in labor when I walked in, and they thought they'd be sending me home. Every time they came in and I was having a contraction, they would ask "are you having a contraction right now" just to be sure. They were quite emotional about our experience and said they normally don't cry, but seeing our family come together and the love we had, they couldn't help it. Overall, I had an amazing birthing experience, and I'm so glad I chose to not have any medications and go all natural. Pregnancy and birth are such amazing and beautiful experiences, and I am extremely blessed to have them both go so well. I wouldn't have been able to have the birth that I did without the support of both Travis and my mom.
I want to add that it is so hard being away from our loved ones during this special time in our lives. We would be home right now if we could, and enjoying introducing Iris to the people we love and made us who we are today. We know we have your love and support from 9,000+ miles away and it means so much to us. We look forward to sharing our beautiful daughter and the love we have for her with all of you very soon.
I was terrified the nurses were going to tell me I was in false labor. When I got there, they had me sit in the waiting room because there was someone in triage, but after about 10 minutes they decided to just put me in a regular room and check me. I was a "loose" 5cm, so the nurse called the Dr. to see what he wanted to do. They decided to have me stay and when the Dr. arrived he checked me again. I was 6cm, and they decided it would be best to break my water. My contractions instantly became more painful. During every contraction, I would focus on where I could feel the air from each breath and repeatedly thought "I am woman, hear me roar". As cheesy as it sounds, it helped me deal with the pain. I had told the nurses I didn't want to be asked for pain meds, and not once did I even think to ask for medicine to help alleviate the pain. Around 1pm Travis, my mom, and I all guessed what times we thought Iris would arrive. I guessed 3-something, Travis guessed 4:20pm, and my mom guessed 4:23pm. I labored using the birthing ball for awhile, but soon my contractions were too painful to make myself sit up and bounce on a ball. So I decided to get in the bed. Around 315-330 I started feeling pressure, but the doctor wasn't there so they made me wait to push, which is very hard to do by the way. Every fiber of your being is telling you to push, and it takes everything in you to disobey your own body. Finally the doctor showed up and around 340 I was able to start pushing. It was amazing to be able to feel my body's natural process of delivering a baby. I pushed for about 40 minutes and Iris was finally born. Her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice, but they were able to unravel it and delayed cutting the cord. Her cry was the most beautiful sound in the whole world, and I will never forget it. They handed her right to me and I cannot possibly express the abundance of emotions I was feeling at the time. She was born at 4:23pm 8lbs 2oz and 21.5" long.
After things started calming down the nurses told me they didn't believe I was in labor when I walked in, and they thought they'd be sending me home. Every time they came in and I was having a contraction, they would ask "are you having a contraction right now" just to be sure. They were quite emotional about our experience and said they normally don't cry, but seeing our family come together and the love we had, they couldn't help it. Overall, I had an amazing birthing experience, and I'm so glad I chose to not have any medications and go all natural. Pregnancy and birth are such amazing and beautiful experiences, and I am extremely blessed to have them both go so well. I wouldn't have been able to have the birth that I did without the support of both Travis and my mom.
I want to add that it is so hard being away from our loved ones during this special time in our lives. We would be home right now if we could, and enjoying introducing Iris to the people we love and made us who we are today. We know we have your love and support from 9,000+ miles away and it means so much to us. We look forward to sharing our beautiful daughter and the love we have for her with all of you very soon.
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