Baby Tricycle is here! The Trikester entered the world on Thanksgiving morning at 2:22 AM. He’s a little peanut, only tipping the scales at 5 lbs, 14 ozs. Our new little family of three is so in love. I can’t wait to show photos to Hellobee, but Mr. Tricycle is feeling understandably protective of his new son, so we’re going to wait awhile to share him with the interwebs (it just heightens the anticipation, right?).


I wrote the Trikester’s birth story twice. The first time was a few days ago, when we were only just home from the hospital. It was a very clinical account with a timeline and a play-by-play. Re-reading it just now, I was horrified by the number of times I used the words “painful,” “miserable,” and “awful.” As a whole, my experience was WONDERFUL, and version number one doesn’t do justice to the joy inherent in the process.

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No, I wouldn’t classify the experience as “easy;” False labor started on Monday evening, active labor began Tuesday afternoon – and the baby didn’t arrive until early Thursday morning. I was working on only a few hours of sleep over many days, and couldn’t stomach food other than the Chipotle burrito bowl I’d eaten for dinner on Tuesday.

I felt every contraction in my back, and struggled to deal with the pain (okay, I tried to substitute the word “sensation” just then, but I’ve got to keep it real – even if I am focusing on the positive). Mr. Tricycle and my doula were amazing. I felt like royalty – they were at my beck and call, massaging my hands, trying to feed me tidbits of food, coaxing me into sips of ginger ale, and spending every ounce of their available energy focused on me.  Every woman in labor should be as lucky as I was in the support team department.

I went into the process with The Plan. Basically, it said zero interventions and a natural birth. At some point on Wednesday evening, we threw out the plan. I was mentally and physically exhausted, and labor wasn’t progressing (later in the evening my midwife discovered that I have an abnormal pelvis which was causing the back pain). I worked with a great midwife, even though she’d just started with my practice last week and I hadn’t had a chance to meet her beforehand. She was the definition of flexible when it came to meeting my needs. Ultimately, I ended up with a couple doses of nubain, artificial rupture of my membranes, pitocin and eventually, an epidural. None of it was part of the plan, and now, after the fact, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

I felt in control of the situation the entire time; I was never pressured to make any decisions, and was always offered three or four choices at every crossroad. Making the call to have an epidural wasn’t easy. Mr. Tricycle and I had a few private conversations about it, kicking everyone else out of the room so we could chat. I remember telling my doula, “But I’ll be your only client who ever got an epidural – I’m ruining your perfect streak!”

Ultimately, the epidural was the right decision for us, at that point in the process. My epidural was perfect – I could still lift and move my legs, and feel every contraction, but the vast majority of the pain was gone. This gave me a couple hours to rest and mentally regroup, and allowed me to actually ENJOY giving birth.

When it came time to push, the environment was super chill and relaxed.  The lights were dim, my small group of caregivers were hanging out and chatting, and I felt totally safe and relaxed. No, it wasn’t a home birth, but I can’t have imagined feeling more comfortable in my own bedroom.

Because I could still feel everything, I directed the pushing and just gave the midwife a heads up when I was having a contraction and ready to take another go at things. Mr. Tricycle donned a gown and gloves, and was at the business end when the Trikester arrived – he got to the catch the baby, announce the gender, and place him on my chest.

Giving birth was one of the most mentally and physically demanding things I’ve ever done, but I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world. The prize at the end was worth many long labors, and Mr. Tricycle and I are already looking forward to adding to our little family.

Did your birth experience differ from the plan? Were you happy with it anyway?