April Family Adventure: Having a Baby

First off, I must say that the timing was impeccable. That very day I'd turned to mighty prayer as my last hope of ever having the baby. I begged that if it wouldn't mess up the grand scheme of things somewhere down the road, just please, please let the baby come. And that very morning, there were noticeable and somewhat consistent contractions.

Also, it is crazy that Nate's mom got here when she did. Of all the days and hours and minutes she could've arrived, she picked the perfect moment. Nate and I were able to head out the door like 30 minutes after she got here. After simultaneously being in labor and caring for all the kids all day, I needed that. Really bad.

And I was strep B positive, so had to have penicillin at the hospital. The ideal timing for it is to get the penicillin, have it in your system for four hours, and then have the baby. And it was just about right. He came about four and a half hours after the i.v. And it was on his due date. Seriously, this boy is impressive. That should go on his resume someday.

Dinner was interesting. I tried to keep it pretty light, and took several bathroom breaks at the Chick-fil-a, and had to stop and breathe through quite a few contractions. Now that I think about it, most of my peach milkshake melted in the car, which is a true travesty. And now that I think about that, I'm not sure I ever got it out of the car. Ha. Sorry, Nate.

I really was second-guessing myself as to whether it was actual labor. I'd had contractions all day, but about the time I'd decide, "okay, this is it," they'd stop for half an hour or so. And I'd been dilated to a 2 forever, and really didn't want to go all the way to the hospital and get checked, just so they could confirm that, "yep, you're still at a 2." Even as Nate and I walked around the hospital, and then in the hospital after it started raining, I'd sit down for a minute and then they'd stop. So we went around and around about whether to get checked or just go home. I was really tired (and coming down with a cold, which I didn't realize at the time) and just wanted to go the heck to bed. But after sitting outside the door of labor and delivery for way too long deliberating, we just decided to go in and get checked, because we really didn't want to get home and then just turn around and come back. So that's what we did.

We got into our little shower-curtained section of triage and I got changed and ready for the nurse, when a mom-to-be came in who was really not doing okay. She was very vocal, and sounded a little crazy with pain. It was sort of terrifying, actually. They got her changed and checked, and then her water broke and like ten nurses came running to wheel her down the hall to deliver right then. Wow.

Nate and I were both pleasantly surprised when we found out I was dilated to a 7. And we were glad we hadn't gone home. Nate made sure that we got the sweet room that they have with a tub and lots of space to move around, just for natural deliveries. We were pretty lucky to get it, I think, because labor and delivery was really busy that night, so they told us. (They said it might have been because of the storm.) We headed in, and Nate ran outside to grab our bag from the car while they got things set up. By then it was pouring rain. He got back and the nurse left for a minute. I was pretty nervous and kind of shaken up from the crazy triage environment, and Nate was able to give me a blessing, which was a strength and comfort to me through the whole thing.

My midwife, Mari, showed up pretty soon after we'd gotten settled in to say hello and let me know she was close by. I so appreciated it. I'd been a little nervous that it would go very quickly, which she knew, so she stayed up half the night working in her office just so she could be there when the baby was ready. Also, our nurses were all excellent and very helpful and willing to wait to talk to me or touch me until I'd finish a contraction, which is a big deal. One of them even had this amazing way of applying counter-pressure on my hips and back that made the contractions so much more pleasant.

I don't know what it is about labor that makes me have to go to the bathroom. You'd think my bladder would run out of fluid after awhile, but I feel like I spent half of the labor in the ladies' room. That, pelvic rocking, and the tub got us through most of the labor. Nate had a recording of running water that helped me to visualize my way through a lot of the contractions, and that was very helpful.

Speaking of Nate. He is just great. I knew this already, but he was so present through the whole thing. He was aware enough to tell when contractions started and stopped, and was there through them all with kind words of encouragement and love. He reminded me to keep my face, etc. relaxed, and stroked my hair, stood close by, and was the picture of support. I do not exaggerate when I say that I couldn't have done it naturally without Nate.

I got out of the tub and changed into dry clothes and checked, and they said that I was just about completely dilated. Mari came back in and we talked about the pros and cons of having her go ahead and break the water, and we finally decided to just go for it and get it over with. She broke the water and things got a little crazy. It hurt. Really bad. For about three contractions I turned into the lady giving birth in triage. I begged Nate for pain meds. I have no idea how he got me calmed down, but he did. It was miraculous. And we went ahead with it all.

Mari was there from here on out. Turns out I wasn't quite dilated all the way, and it took forever to finally get there. And it really hurt. Mari kept us informed of what was going on down there and helped things along as best she could. Finally I started feeling "pushy" as one of the nurses called it. It was such a relief to have a little control. And of course we all expected him to come right out with a couple pushes. About half an hour later, we were still getting pretty much nowhere, though, and I was getting discouraged. The nursery nurse was there, everybody was at the ready, but that baby was taking his sweet time.

I pretty much just had my eyes closed and tried to concentrate while everyone else was running around meeting needs I didn't even realize I had. Nate and another nurse helped me hold my legs just right, there was an assembly line of nurses putting cool water on rags for my face - one of them would put the water on and squeeze it out and the next guy would flap it around for awhile to make it as cold as possible. Nate gave me sips of water between contractions, and Mari reached in and repositioned things when she could to try to help the baby get moving.  It helped me during this part to think about the people that I love that I knew were there with me in thought and prayer. Our loved ones, and even some on the other side. I felt their prayers and faith on our behalf and drew great strength from it.

And then they saw the head! I suddenly decided I was going to make it. So we pushed and pushed and pushed for another half hour or so, but with renewed purpose. Turns out he was face-up instead of face-down, the latter being the ideal. That's why it was taking forever. Toward the end I was definitely loud. And the next morning my hair was totally matted in the back and my neck and arms and shoulders were super sore because I'd given up on trying to be relaxed. When we were almost done, Nate saw the baby's face during a contraction. That gave me the little boost I needed to finish the job on the next one, and there he was, our sweet baby boy on my chest. He was so beautiful. It was a sacred, wonderful moment for me and Nate. It was all worth it.

After that we spent some time getting to know our little guy and I nursed him. Then they wiped him off and weighed and measured, etc. Mari continued to be calm and careful and kind as she got me taken care of. Everybody who ever has a baby should just go to her, I tell you.

It rained nonstop from Friday night until Saturday evening.

And now little Asa is a week old! Time has flown. He's a wonderful baby. A great sleeper, a great eater, an expert in the art of spitting up, just like all his siblings, and cute as a button.