The Birth Story of Knox
The first moment we held Knox.
Knox was a sweet surprise to us. After 10 years of waiting and trying for Finnegan, we unexpectedly ended up pregnant with Knox right when we wanted to be. My pregnancy was pretty straight forward except for the exacerbated pain from a previous injury. I couldn't wait to be done being pregnant this time, on top of it, Knox decided to wait until a day and half after his guess date. I know that they are estimates, but it’s a hard thing to remember when your body is in pain.
On the day that was Knox was due (his guess date), my heart was broken when it came and passed. I went to the chiropractor that day, he adjusted me really well. The next day I decided to really hone in on some natural things that can help the body over the hump of starting labor and also, give support during labor. In reality, nothing you do will actually start labor… baby has to be ready.
I juiced papaya and pineapple. The pineapple theory is accurate if you get the Bromelain, but the largest amount is in the core and most don’t get the core. It’s also really hard to eat that much pineapple for most people, so I juiced it. The whole thing… many times. I ate dates all day. I massaged reflexology points with clary sage and rosemary, and my belly, every 15 minutes while bouncing on a ball. I played worship music to get my head in a different space. I played with my toddler. I had a lot of hope that I’d go into labor really soon…
We got Finn to bed that night like normal, and Jason and I decided to crawl into bed and watch a show. At about 11 pm I was sitting in bed and my water broke, out of nowhere. No contractions leading up to it, it just broke. I was really excited and suddenly nervous too, I knew birth was imminent! We called my parents asap because Finn was going to stay at their house. We called the midwife to let her know, she instructed me to walk since contractions had not started yet and we were waiting for my body to catch up. We also called my friend, Jewels, the photographer.
My parents came in a hurry and grabbed Finn, and Jason and I went for a walk in our neighborhood. We didn’t make it very far before the contractions started, and just like my midwife said, they were so intense. Since my water broke right at the beginning, I no longer had that cushion to dilate me, I had Knox’s head.
From here on out everything was fast and furious. We walked back to the house with me stopping often because contractions were less than 5 minutes apart. We called everyone to let them know. The contractions were so intense that I really couldn’t communicate well from the beginning, but I had Jason set up the pool right away. I think Jewels arrived first, then my mom, and finally Yolanda. I wish that I could remember all the details, but everything was so intense and so fast that I really don’t recall a lot from the time we got back from the walk to the time I started pushing.
I remember when Yolanda arrived she corrected the way that I was positioned for a contraction because I was working against gravity. Girls, let gravity help pull that baby down… lol. I remember that Jason wouldn’t fill the pool when I told him to, and that made me really mad. Husbands, fill the dang pool. sideways glances at husband. And I remember that when the water was ready, I was pretty much out of transition, and when I climbed in, it was so perfect and relaxing and Knox dropped into place, and I immediately felt the need to push. The reality is that relaxing and giving in to the process will move it along better than anything else.
Pushing has been difficult for me with both kids, I’m hoping to change that when we have another one. I have a medical history that I know brings fear in here, so tension comes back, and it’s a difficult release for me. I did it better the second time though. With Knox I only pushed for 45 minutes, half the time of Finnegan.
From the time my water broke, to the time I was holding Knox, it was less than 4 hours. Approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes. He was and is so incredibly beautiful. Our sweet little surprise, with a fiery independence and great need for his mama, all at the same time.
September 25, 2019 | 8 lbs even
