Elijah Steven

Announcing Elijah Steven!

What a precious blessing he is! And his birth was many prayers answered. It was a weird week before he was born. I had contractions on and off for a week. Then Saturday May 3rd I was praying NOT to go into labor since my son had a hockey game and my step-daughter had prom and I didn't want anything to take away from that. Plus Steve was driving her to prom and then hanging at a restaurant with some buddies until he had to go pick her up.

After Steve picked her up from prom and they got home and he checked on me (I was laying in bed) and then he went to sit in the living room with Savanna and her boyfriend while they watched a movie. All of the sudden I felt a huge kick and then knew my water had broken. I have never had it fully rupture so that was new. It was about 11:45 pm and I think my hubby had everything in the car and instructions given to the kids in about 5 minutes flat. LOL. He said he didn't want to have to deliver the baby. So we were off pretty quick. We arrived at the hospital around 12:30 am. Of course they don't admit until they know you are in labor so here I am contracting and trying to answer the zillion questions. She checked me and I was 5 cm and 50%. 

So the nurse went to update the midwife. It felt like it was taking her forever but I'm sure in reality it wasn't that long. Meanwhile labor was getting harder and harder to focus through. All of the sudden I felt my legs start to shake and I knew I was in transition. I told DH that and then said I was ready for the water. (We had planned on doing another waterbirth which is why we use this particular hospital.) My sister went to ask the nurse if we could get moving towards the water and so the nurse came back in and took one look at me and said she didn't think they were going to officially move me to the room with the birthing tub but instead asked if we would walk down. I didn't mind as long as we could get to the water asap! 

So she quickly got the tub starting to fill and then came back to check on me. Shortly there after she said to come down the hall. It was a little hard to stand up while contracting but I remembered how nice the water felt and just wanted it now. So down the hall we went. As soon as I got in the contractions didn't feel nearly as tough. Steve and my sister both remarked how much of a difference it seemed to make. It wasn't long before I started to feel the urge to push. This is a first for me and something I had prayed for. I told DH I felt like I wanted to push. The nurse checked and said to go ahead as I felt I wanted since I was complete. Then she went to get the midwife.

I love that they pretty much left me alone. I naturally started to push a little and then stop and relax and then do it again. I could feel him moving down and it was so neat! Then I felt his head crown and I just wanted him out so I pushed and pushed. (The nurse listed my pushing stage at only 5 minutes.) My hubby says he shot out like a torpedo at this point because I was pushing so hard. Meanwhile the midwife had come in and for some reason thought I wasn't ready so she walked back out. The nurse said she was nervous SHE would have to deliver Elijah because the midwife wouldn't make it in time. Another nurse ran to tell her that his head was crowning. The midwife managed to just put her gloves on and reach in right as I reached down and grabbed him as he came out. She unwrapped his cord (it was wrapped twice around his neck and was still the longest cord I've ever seen!) And then she put him on my chest.

I must have said how glad I was that he was here at least 20 times. He was 7 lbs 4 oz 19 inches. Born at 2:23 am on Star Wars Day, May 4th. This too was an answer to prayer since my last baby was 9 lbs 4 ozs. It was the best labor and birth.

We managed to avoid a jaundice re-admittance to the hospital by a mere 1 point but again that was another answer to prayer. This is my first baby NOT to go under the bili lights. Everyone here is so in love with him and he barely ever gets put down. Other than hating to get his diaper changed, he is a very laid back baby.

So now my stats are:

#1 born at 37 + 3 at 7 lbs 6 ozs
#2 born at 38 + 4 at 8 lbs 13 ozs
#3 born at 37 + 1 at 7 lbs 9 ozs
#4 born at 38 + 1 at 9 lbs 4 ozs
#5 Born at 37 + 5 at 7 lbs 4 ozs

Hayden's Birth part 3

Part one is here.

Part two is here.

After getting in the bed and having my water broken there was a huge gush of fluid. The midwife made a comment about there was sometimes more and did something. Another gush, and another, and another! Tons of fluid explains why I felt so huge! It was funny to see so much fluid and we all got another good laugh. Thus far I was very comfortable and not in much pain at all.

Within minutes of standing up from getting my water broken I could tell that this was going to get a lot harder fast! I was trying to make sure I didn’t get into the birthing tub too soon so I told them to wait. It didn’t seem long though and all I wanted was the warmth and comfort I had heard the water brings. I was so thrilled that I was finally going to be able to have a water birth.

You see I had wanted a water birth when I was pregnant with Natalia. It was part of what drew me to try a midwife instead of a doctor. But when I developed gestational diabetes I was told I would not be allowed to have a water birth with her. Fast forward to this birth and I was told the standards had changed a bit. As long as I wasn’t on insulin or any medication for the GD then I would be able to have a water birth if the labor progressed normally. Praise God I was able to avoid medications. It wasn’t easy and it was only by God’s grace but part of it I credit to Juice Plus.

Now it felt as if the tub couldn’t fill fast enough! Steve was a great coach and helped me to sway and take each contraction as they came.  Meanwhile my sister searched for my swimsuit top. She tried hard but couldn’t find it. After asking a few times if that shirt was it and my saying no I decided that I was too impatient to look for the shirt and just jumped in the tub. Poor Savanna was shocked! But labor isn’t a modesty thing. It’s messy and sometimes a birthing mama doesn’t care what she wears, if anything.

Now we were getting somewhere! The warm water helped some and it was a comfort but mostly by this point I was too focused on just getting this baby OUT! It felt like forever until they said I could push but in reality it really wasn’t that long. It was just after midnight as I was given the go ahead to start pushing. It was hard to push in this big tub and I ended up sitting sideways in it with Steve basically holding me up some. His arms were getting sore quick but every time he went to move I told him to go back to holding me up. He was awesome and kept at it though. Soon I felt like I was reaching the end of my strength. This baby was big! Steve said a quick prayer in my ear and it helped me to have that last little bit of strength come. And Hayden was born at 12:28am on January 31, 2012. He was 9 pounds 4 ounces. What a big boy! And was 21 ½ inches long.

Hayden's birth story part 2

This is continued from part 1 here.

So there I sat surrounded by my family filled with excitement. I felt a little funny telling THEM to settle down. But it was definitely worth the chuckle. After trying to eat the soup I was ready to head to the hospital.

When we arrived I was hoping that the Holistic Birthing Suite would be empty and that I would be admitted there, but first they had to make sure I was really in labor. We sat around for a while with me on the monitors and nary a contraction happening. I was beginning to doubt the fluid I saw since it wasn’t a huge leaking feeling but just that little bit of fluid. Finally the midwife came in to do a test to see if it was really amniotic fluid.

Ok so I have to stop to tell you a funny thing that happened at this point. One of our many relatives had called to ask for an update on whether this was it or not and when Steve was explaining that we were about to get a test done to see if I was leaking amniotic fluid the question was asked, “So we are waiting to see if she’s leaking antibiotic fluid?” Too funny!

So the midwife does the test and announces that yes it is amniotic fluid. I was so happy to know I was staying and that within the next few hours I would be meeting my little guy! And to top it off the Holistic Birthing Suite was available! I was thrilled! What a beautiful room to give birth in.

The next step was for me to walk around and to see if I would start to contract regularly. At this point there was also some talk of if I had a smaller bag of amniotic fluid surrounding the bigger bag that actually held my son and that maybe only the smaller one had ruptured. But for now they just had me walk and walk. I didn’t mind. I was pretty comfortable and I wanted to get some more progression going. At this point I was only about 4cm and 50 to 60% effaced. My sister was there and she walked with me and got a doctor’s note for missing her college class that night. Then my mom arrived and she got a note too. It was a regular party in the hallways of the hospital! This is one of the things I love about my births. With the arrival of every child my family shows up to support me and to wait excitedly to meet the newest member of the family.

 And by a party I mean a party! This time my dad stopped his work in the next state over and drove a few hours so that he could arrive hopefully on time to meet his new grandson as soon as he was born. My stepmom was there and so were my mom and my sister.  Of course Steve was there and this time Savanna, who was not quite 15. Our older boys, James and Russell, were sitting right outside the room with my dad and my mom’s boyfriend.

After walking around for a little bit it was obvious I wasn’t contracting very much and that my bigger bag of amniotic fluid must have still been intact. So the next step was for the midwife to break my water.

To be continued….

Hayden's birth story

I am obviously very past due in this but I want to tell you about the birth of Hayden Michael Thomas. On January 30, 2012 I was getting ready to take my daughter, Katerina, to her gymnastics makeup class and I told her to get her outfit on and I would use the bathroom and then we would go. As I washed my hands I realized that I was leaking a little bit of some fluid. As I looked at the puddle on the floor it dawned on me that it was probably my water that had broken! I was so excited but also in unbelief that the time was finally here.

I first called my husband into the bathroom and asked him what he thought it was because I was in shock that my water had broken. It's never broken on its own before. He said, "what else could it be?" So then I went to the bedroom to make some phone calls. First call was....no not to the midwife. LOL. I called the gymnastics place because if you call before missing a class they let you make it up most times and I knew this would count! So then Steve comes into the bedroom and asks me what the midwife said. It was too funny when I told him I hadn't called her yet. The look on his face was one of questioning my sanity. So I picked up the phone and called the midwife. She asked me some questions and then said that since I wasn't having any contractions yet to go ahead and eat a light dinner and then come on in to the hospital. So I sit down to eat a bowl of soup. I was excited but very calm.

Meanwhile around me there were 5 kids and Steve all rushing around, asking questions, and just in general getting hyped up. I finally looked at them and told them all to calm down. I was fine.

To be continued....

Part 2

Part 3

Announcing....Natalia Joy!

She's here! I know it's been 3 weeks since she was born, but hey it's hard when you have a new little one. So here is her birth story: (written from me to her)

Okay so on Monday I thought my water had broken in a trickle so I called the Midwife, Pat, and she said to come in and get checked. My water had not broken and I was still only about 2cm and not very effaced, but very soft. I asked her if she would strip my membranes and she did. It hurt but I figured that was a good thing. The rest of the day I had contractions off and on. Aunt Vickie and I walked around Walmart in the evening and I had good contractions but by the time we got home and I got settled for the night they were gone. I woke up at about 4am with little tiny twinges but they weren't too bad. By 5am I realized that these might be decent contractions because they were coming regularly. By 6am I realized that they were about 4 minutes apart. I woke your Daddy up and told him that I thought this was it because it felt like my other labors once they were nice and established. So then he showered and by 7am he was off to vote. A few hours later we could tell that this was going to be it so we called Aunt Vickie to come watch the other kids so I could go vote and so that she could be here when the baby was born. By this point labor was starting to get strong so we asked Daddy's cousin across the street, Chrissy, to watch the older kids so that I could vote before we got too far into labor. When we arrived at the polling station the lines were kinda long but everyone was so nice when they saw me and realized I was in labor. I went straight to the front of the line and they let me vote really quickly, then I had a whole gym of people congratulating us! It was great. I started to tear up pretty good and Daddy thought that was cute. So we got home and labored some more. By this point Aunt Vickie was here and her and Daddy did basic things around the house while coaching me during the contractions. (They had spaced out to about 5 minutes but were getting stronger and longer). By about 11am I thought it might be time to go, but Daddy read through the bradley book about emotional signposts again and said he wanted to hold out until 12, maybe 1 o'clock. By this point I was pretty much tuning everyone out during contractions and in between. By noon we thought we should go in so we called the Midwife, Pat, and she said yup come in. (Daddy made the receptionist laugh because when he called she said "can I help you" and he said, "Yes, I'm in labor." She laughed pretty good.) On the way to the hospital with Aunt Vickie, Savanna, Russell, Katerina, Daddy and I, we got a low tire. Daddy pulled over and then announced it wasn't low enough to stop him. ( I think he was worried he'd have to deliver you), then he was talking to family members on the cell and missed our exit to the hospital. Looking back it's pretty funny. During though I was kinda spaced out and didn't care too much. After we arrived Pat said I was 5cm, 80% and nicely established and so we walked, and rocked in a rocking chair and stood. By this time we had Grandpa Clare, Grandma Allison and Aunt Shirley join us at the hospital so it was like a party in the room. While standing I suddenly felt weird so I thought my water was breaking, when the nurse got me on the bed I started trembling really bad. All of the sudden I knew I was in transition and I kicked everyone out of the room (except for Daddy). The nurse checked me and said I was at 8cm and fully effaced. Daddy says that she seemed to panic a little and ran off to call Pat back. It seemed like only a minute and Pat was there. When she checked me she broke my water. Up to this point I was doing great without any pain meds, but once she broke my water it got much harder to tolerate it. She kept asking if I felt like I should push yet and I kept saying I wanted to push, but wasn't sure if I should yet. Finally after throwing up 3 times I felt a tad better and she suggested trying to push. That hurt! (at this point I let Grandma Allison, Aunt Vickie, and Grandma Lila in the room to see you be born) I backed off from it for a second until Daddy and Pat said they could see your head. Then I opened my eyes and 3 more pushes later you were here! You were born at 4:14pm. You weighed in at 7lbs 9ozs. And 19 inches long. You had such a big thick umbilical cord that it was hard for Pat to get the clip on it. Your birth was beautiful! I've never used a Midwife before and I've never gone totally natural before but this time I did both and it was absoutely awesome!