I don't know why the letters in her name are filled in; it doesn't look that way on the original. I made this using Creative Memories' software program StoryBook Creator 2. I got it for Christmas. I'm just learning how to use it, and this was my first "project." I have a long way to go. Thursday, April 9, 2009
Virginia's Birth Announcement
I don't know why the letters in her name are filled in; it doesn't look that way on the original. I made this using Creative Memories' software program StoryBook Creator 2. I got it for Christmas. I'm just learning how to use it, and this was my first "project." I have a long way to go. 
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Cutie Patutu
My friend, Mary Ann who took our pictures during the birth, came by Sunday with a gift for Virginia... a handmade tutu! How cute is this! Mary Ann makes these & sells them from this blog: http://cutiepatutu.blogspot.com/ . I just love this, and you know I am not a prissy girl! 
I took these pictures this morning after giving Virginia a little sponge bath which she doesn't love yet. She will be 13 days old tonight! My, time is flying! I'm still in a bit of a fog, but things are getting clearer! I am getting more sleep. I would get more if I went to bed a little earlier. She is sleeping a lot better... in her little co-sleeper bed next to our bed instead of just on my chest. Oh, how I love to have her on my chest though. So sweet! And the advice I hear from Grandmas (including my own when Emma was a baby) is hold your babies; they grow up so fast! I already recognize this truth! Now, I'm not going to "spoil" her, but I am going to cuddle with her, love her, and treasure this time I can hold her in my arms! How sweet it is! According to a book someone recently gave me, it was Charles Dickens who said, "...it is not a slight thing when they, who are so fresh from God, love us." Enjoy the rest of our little photo shoot. 
Olivia loves her new little sister (as do all the kids). She wanted to have her picture made with Virginia in her tutu. I guess I need to get the other girls their own! 
comments enabled
I fixed it so that anyone can leave a comment on this blog now. Thanks to my sister for pointing out this need. =0)
Friday, March 20, 2009
Virginia's Birth Story
(Details included… if they bother you, you’ll want to skip this)
Virginia’s birth story begins about two weeks before she was born. I went to my appointment with our new midwife in South Carolina. I had been having crazy contractions this pregnancy since around 20 weeks just like Derek’s pregnancy, so I thought I would have my midwife check me. Well, much to her shock and mine, I was already dilated to 4 or 5 cm! Suddenly I thought perhaps I would have a baby EARLY! Yikes! I was not ready for EARLY! I had already had in my mind that I would be late! After all, LATE was normal! My due date was March 12th. I was half heartedly planning on a St. Patrick’s Day baby!! Now here I was in February finding out that I am walking around halfway dilated! Yikes! I had lots of things to do yet. Our friend, Kelly, from Ohio wasn’t even here yet. She was coming to help me get ready for the baby & to be here to help with the kids once the baby arrived! Not to mention I had been planning a one day women’s retreat at our church for the last weekend in February. Now I was wondering if I’d even be able to attend!!
Well, I guess this was just God’s way of getting me ready… because the baby didn’t come right away! As a matter of fact, as each day passed, I finally began to think that maybe I was going to have that St. Patrick’s Day baby after all!!
Thankfully, I was able to go to the women’s retreat. Kelly arrived in plenty of time! Then we just waited. I never went anywhere alone (well once I did), but for the most part, someone (Kelly or Dano) was with me. Remember Derek’s birth… water broke then he was born 1 hour & 16 minutes later!! And I was already dilated to about 5 cm… perhaps more now because it had been 2 more weeks of contractions! Crazy! Dano didn’t want me going anywhere alone.
Well, finally the evening of Virginia’s birth came. I had made dinner. I was slow moving by this point! The kids and Kelly were outside enjoying the beautiful weather and long daylight hours, so I was not in a rush with dinner. Perhaps I should have been!! We finally sat down to eat shortly before 7:30 p.m. (Bedtime is 8 p.m. for the kids… so we were obviously VERY late with dinner). Dano prayed. Then I was serving up dinner. I had all the kids’ plates fixed. I was about to serve Kelly when I felt something. I was not 100% sure, but I was wondering if my water was breaking. I stood up and had a LARGE confirmation that my water had broken. Thankfully, I had very absorbent jeans on, and there was not a drop in the floor, but I looked like I had been hosed down!
It was kind of an odd moment. I wasn’t sure what to do! LOL! Dano stood, too. From what I remember, we told the kids we were going to our room. I don’t remember what else we said. I guess we said something about having the baby because the next morning when Derek came to our room and saw Virginia, he was shocked, but then he said, I thought you were going to come back to the table last night with her! LOL! Thankfully, Kelly was here, so she handled the rest of dinner and getting the kids to bed. Thank you, Kelly!
Dano & I went to our room. We were grabbing things we needed/wanted. I was a little anxious and praying. The last time my water broke before labor began was Derek… and that was a wild, hard ride! I wasn’t looking forward to repeating that! I was in our room calling our midwife. Dano was getting the computer and our dinner. We wanted to eat!
I just love our midwife, here, too. When I called she was asking all the normal Qs. She lives about 35 minutes away. I had been concerned about her making it in time for this birth. So after the Qs, she asked, do you want me to go ahead and come now? YES was my answer! She called her apprentice to come also.
Thankfully, things weren’t getting started too quickly. I was having contractions… but nothing major. I had already set up drafts of the “I’m in labor” e-mail. So I just had to add a few words, and click send about 9 times so that we’d be covered in prayer. I called one of my sisters and asked her to let the family know. Actually, maybe I called 2 of my sisters and “assigned” them with who to call. Before I called my sisters though, I called my friend, Mary Ann, who was coming to take pictures for us & video. It was perfect because it was a Wednesday night & she’d just gotten out of church. She just had to drop her kids off at home & come over. She got here before our midwife. She did an awesome job! Thank you, Mary Ann! Dano called his parents to let them know that my water had broken.
My contractions were starting to get closer and stronger, but they were still manageable. I was leaning over my birthing ball (actually it is an exercise ball… slightly deflated). But between contractions I would walk around or visit with Mary Ann. This was the first time to have anyone at a birth besides the midwives and Dano.
When our midwives arrived, things were more serious, but not too bad, yet. Time was going by pretty quickly. I remember looking at the clock & noticing that if this had been Derek’s birth, he would have already been born. (Yes, I am a clock watcher.) I remember being tired and now I was in bed leaning over the ball. I always have back labor and I want Dano pressing on my back during a contraction. That is how Dano knows it is getting close to the end.
It seems this is the first birth I’ve had that I really felt too tired to continue. I felt whiney. However, I kept going… I mean… what choice did I have!? Ha! Dano & the midwives were great encouraging me. Suddenly I was really uncomfortable through the contractions and the deep breathing and relaxing wasn’t offering as much relief as normal. I realized maybe I was ready to push. I didn’t have the overwhelming urge to push, but I tried a little pushing and it felt better… so I had my midwife check me. She assured me that if I felt the urge to push, she didn’t need to check me… but I wanted that reassurance that I was really ready! So she checked me… there was no cervix… all head! But the head wasn’t visible yet…
First I was pushing in the bed, semi-reclined, but it didn’t seem things were moving along. It seems there might have been a lull… a little break which was nice. When things got started again, I decided to do something I hadn’t done before… I was squatting next to the bed and pushing. I didn’t love this either. LOL! Have I ever mentioned I’m impatient!? After a couple of contractions, I decided to get back in the bed & try pushing there again. It seemed like forever, but it wasn’t. I remember being frustrated that we couldn’t even see the head yet! UGH! Finally, I got my act together & started pushing better. I couldn’t wait to meet this baby! Remember, we didn’t know if we were having a girl or a boy, but we and the rest of the world thought we were having a boy. At some point during the pushing, we asked Kelly if she’d like to come witness the birth, so she joined us, too.
Finally, the head was crowning. I was able to put my hands down around her head as it was born… just amazing. Then they checked her out…and the cord was loosely around the neck one time, so they slipped it off. Then I was able to finish delivering her. I was able to pull her out and onto my chest. Oh, this is just the most wonderful moment of giving birth! I would do it again! Of course, I was elated and praising the Lord for my baby! Then it dawned on me we didn’t know if it was a He or a She… so I took a peek… and I was shocked to find out we had a girl! I did a second look just to be sure! Then I noticed that our baby seemed awfully chubby!! How sweet and precious. I was in tears. What a precious gift. Just perfect. So overwhelming that the Lord would bless us with another healthy baby. Shortly after the birth, Dano prayed over us thanking the Lord for our new baby as he does after each birth. I was going to try the “breast crawl” where the baby finds the breast, latches on by herself, and nurses for the first time. Well, little miss (still nameless at this point) seemed too eager… so I latched her on. She nursed well.
About an hour later, I delivered the placenta. I’m always pretty slow at this part! Then the baby & I had a bath. Then we did the newborn exam. This is when I found out I had a pretty big baby! LOL! Our midwife had told us that this baby would be about the same size as our others (just under 9#). So when they weighed her and she was 10#, I was shocked. Actually, I think she weighed more than that at birth because she was pooping constantly after she was born before we weighed her! She was a mess pot!
So, I asked our midwife how she was so off… she confessed that she knew the baby was going to be large, but she didn’t want to scare me! I guess I’m glad she didn’t tell me. But maybe I would have better understood why it seemed so hard to push her out! =0) In the end, it took only about 30 minutes to push out this 10# baby!! My water broke at 7:30 p.m. (and contractions followed there shortly after), and our precious baby was born at 9:37 p.m. My second shortest labor! It wasn’t a bad one… I just wish I had been a little more rested going into it!
The next day we named her in honor of my grandmother, Virginia, a godly woman. And we gave her the middle name, Grace to always be a reminder of God’s free & gracious gift of GRACE… unmerited favor.
Virginia
One day early
10#
Virginia’s birth story begins about two weeks before she was born. I went to my appointment with our new midwife in South Carolina. I had been having crazy contractions this pregnancy since around 20 weeks just like Derek’s pregnancy, so I thought I would have my midwife check me. Well, much to her shock and mine, I was already dilated to 4 or 5 cm! Suddenly I thought perhaps I would have a baby EARLY! Yikes! I was not ready for EARLY! I had already had in my mind that I would be late! After all, LATE was normal! My due date was March 12th. I was half heartedly planning on a St. Patrick’s Day baby!! Now here I was in February finding out that I am walking around halfway dilated! Yikes! I had lots of things to do yet. Our friend, Kelly, from Ohio wasn’t even here yet. She was coming to help me get ready for the baby & to be here to help with the kids once the baby arrived! Not to mention I had been planning a one day women’s retreat at our church for the last weekend in February. Now I was wondering if I’d even be able to attend!!
Well, I guess this was just God’s way of getting me ready… because the baby didn’t come right away! As a matter of fact, as each day passed, I finally began to think that maybe I was going to have that St. Patrick’s Day baby after all!!
Thankfully, I was able to go to the women’s retreat. Kelly arrived in plenty of time! Then we just waited. I never went anywhere alone (well once I did), but for the most part, someone (Kelly or Dano) was with me. Remember Derek’s birth… water broke then he was born 1 hour & 16 minutes later!! And I was already dilated to about 5 cm… perhaps more now because it had been 2 more weeks of contractions! Crazy! Dano didn’t want me going anywhere alone.
Well, finally the evening of Virginia’s birth came. I had made dinner. I was slow moving by this point! The kids and Kelly were outside enjoying the beautiful weather and long daylight hours, so I was not in a rush with dinner. Perhaps I should have been!! We finally sat down to eat shortly before 7:30 p.m. (Bedtime is 8 p.m. for the kids… so we were obviously VERY late with dinner). Dano prayed. Then I was serving up dinner. I had all the kids’ plates fixed. I was about to serve Kelly when I felt something. I was not 100% sure, but I was wondering if my water was breaking. I stood up and had a LARGE confirmation that my water had broken. Thankfully, I had very absorbent jeans on, and there was not a drop in the floor, but I looked like I had been hosed down!
It was kind of an odd moment. I wasn’t sure what to do! LOL! Dano stood, too. From what I remember, we told the kids we were going to our room. I don’t remember what else we said. I guess we said something about having the baby because the next morning when Derek came to our room and saw Virginia, he was shocked, but then he said, I thought you were going to come back to the table last night with her! LOL! Thankfully, Kelly was here, so she handled the rest of dinner and getting the kids to bed. Thank you, Kelly!
Dano & I went to our room. We were grabbing things we needed/wanted. I was a little anxious and praying. The last time my water broke before labor began was Derek… and that was a wild, hard ride! I wasn’t looking forward to repeating that! I was in our room calling our midwife. Dano was getting the computer and our dinner. We wanted to eat!
I just love our midwife, here, too. When I called she was asking all the normal Qs. She lives about 35 minutes away. I had been concerned about her making it in time for this birth. So after the Qs, she asked, do you want me to go ahead and come now? YES was my answer! She called her apprentice to come also.
Thankfully, things weren’t getting started too quickly. I was having contractions… but nothing major. I had already set up drafts of the “I’m in labor” e-mail. So I just had to add a few words, and click send about 9 times so that we’d be covered in prayer. I called one of my sisters and asked her to let the family know. Actually, maybe I called 2 of my sisters and “assigned” them with who to call. Before I called my sisters though, I called my friend, Mary Ann, who was coming to take pictures for us & video. It was perfect because it was a Wednesday night & she’d just gotten out of church. She just had to drop her kids off at home & come over. She got here before our midwife. She did an awesome job! Thank you, Mary Ann! Dano called his parents to let them know that my water had broken.
My contractions were starting to get closer and stronger, but they were still manageable. I was leaning over my birthing ball (actually it is an exercise ball… slightly deflated). But between contractions I would walk around or visit with Mary Ann. This was the first time to have anyone at a birth besides the midwives and Dano.
When our midwives arrived, things were more serious, but not too bad, yet. Time was going by pretty quickly. I remember looking at the clock & noticing that if this had been Derek’s birth, he would have already been born. (Yes, I am a clock watcher.) I remember being tired and now I was in bed leaning over the ball. I always have back labor and I want Dano pressing on my back during a contraction. That is how Dano knows it is getting close to the end.
It seems this is the first birth I’ve had that I really felt too tired to continue. I felt whiney. However, I kept going… I mean… what choice did I have!? Ha! Dano & the midwives were great encouraging me. Suddenly I was really uncomfortable through the contractions and the deep breathing and relaxing wasn’t offering as much relief as normal. I realized maybe I was ready to push. I didn’t have the overwhelming urge to push, but I tried a little pushing and it felt better… so I had my midwife check me. She assured me that if I felt the urge to push, she didn’t need to check me… but I wanted that reassurance that I was really ready! So she checked me… there was no cervix… all head! But the head wasn’t visible yet…
First I was pushing in the bed, semi-reclined, but it didn’t seem things were moving along. It seems there might have been a lull… a little break which was nice. When things got started again, I decided to do something I hadn’t done before… I was squatting next to the bed and pushing. I didn’t love this either. LOL! Have I ever mentioned I’m impatient!? After a couple of contractions, I decided to get back in the bed & try pushing there again. It seemed like forever, but it wasn’t. I remember being frustrated that we couldn’t even see the head yet! UGH! Finally, I got my act together & started pushing better. I couldn’t wait to meet this baby! Remember, we didn’t know if we were having a girl or a boy, but we and the rest of the world thought we were having a boy. At some point during the pushing, we asked Kelly if she’d like to come witness the birth, so she joined us, too.
Finally, the head was crowning. I was able to put my hands down around her head as it was born… just amazing. Then they checked her out…and the cord was loosely around the neck one time, so they slipped it off. Then I was able to finish delivering her. I was able to pull her out and onto my chest. Oh, this is just the most wonderful moment of giving birth! I would do it again! Of course, I was elated and praising the Lord for my baby! Then it dawned on me we didn’t know if it was a He or a She… so I took a peek… and I was shocked to find out we had a girl! I did a second look just to be sure! Then I noticed that our baby seemed awfully chubby!! How sweet and precious. I was in tears. What a precious gift. Just perfect. So overwhelming that the Lord would bless us with another healthy baby. Shortly after the birth, Dano prayed over us thanking the Lord for our new baby as he does after each birth. I was going to try the “breast crawl” where the baby finds the breast, latches on by herself, and nurses for the first time. Well, little miss (still nameless at this point) seemed too eager… so I latched her on. She nursed well.
About an hour later, I delivered the placenta. I’m always pretty slow at this part! Then the baby & I had a bath. Then we did the newborn exam. This is when I found out I had a pretty big baby! LOL! Our midwife had told us that this baby would be about the same size as our others (just under 9#). So when they weighed her and she was 10#, I was shocked. Actually, I think she weighed more than that at birth because she was pooping constantly after she was born before we weighed her! She was a mess pot!
So, I asked our midwife how she was so off… she confessed that she knew the baby was going to be large, but she didn’t want to scare me! I guess I’m glad she didn’t tell me. But maybe I would have better understood why it seemed so hard to push her out! =0) In the end, it took only about 30 minutes to push out this 10# baby!! My water broke at 7:30 p.m. (and contractions followed there shortly after), and our precious baby was born at 9:37 p.m. My second shortest labor! It wasn’t a bad one… I just wish I had been a little more rested going into it!
The next day we named her in honor of my grandmother, Virginia, a godly woman. And we gave her the middle name, Grace to always be a reminder of God’s free & gracious gift of GRACE… unmerited favor.
Virginia
One day early
10#
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wesley's Birth Story
(Again, if details bother you, this is really not the story for you.)
Once again, I found myself overdue in December 2006. This time I was 4 days overdue at my midwife appointment in Ohio. We had moved, so we were with a new midwife, Kathy. We grew to love her very much just like our midwives in Texas. The only "problem" was Kathy lived about 45 minutes away. This was a bit of concern knowing how quickly my labors can be. At this appointment I had Kathy check me. I don't remember anything remarkable. Maybe I was at 2 cm but nothing major. I had not been having lots of contractions like I'd had with Derek, so I was wondering how much longer I would be pregnant.
Before I continue, I should say that we'd had a bit of a scare with Wesley's pregnancy. I had an ultrasound that showed I *might* have placenta previa. For those of you who don't know, this means that the placenta could be covering the cervix... the "exit" from the womb. The placenta is a big "pancake" that gives the baby his/her nutrition from the mom. The umbilical cord is attached to the placenta and the baby. If you have placenta previa, it pretty much guarantees a c-section because the chance of rupture is too great. Losing the mom & baby are real risks. A homebirth is obviously out of the question. BUT since the ultrasound was early, it could just "look like placenta previa" and not actually be a problem. So, I would have to wait for a later date to have another ultrasound to see what was actually going on. So in the meantime, we prayed. A later ultrasound showed that I did NOT have placenta previa, and I would be able to have a homebirth after all. It did show that my placenta was close to the cervix, but the sonographer (at the hospital) and my midwife both felt there was a large enough margin that all should be fine.
Now back to the day of my appt with Kathy. Dano & I had gone to bed around 10 p.m. I believe. Around midnight, I got up to go to the bathroom. As I stood up, I felt a gush! I told Dano that I thought our prayers had been answered & my water had broken. He got up and turned on the light. Immediately, I saw blood... a lot of it. So, I was pretty sure our homebirth plans were about to change. He went to get the phone while I went to the bathroom. There was a large clot of blood. As I talked to Kathy, she agreed we would need to head to the hospital. She would call ahead for us and meet us there. (My water had not broken after all.)
Now not only was this a change of plans from a homebirth, but we lived in a small town. If I had chosen a hospital birth, I would not have chosen this hospital, but we didn't know if we had time to drive anywhere else. So, we went to the local hospital just 5 minutes away. I called a dear friend to come stay with the kids. She happened to also be very good friends with one of the three OBs in town. She called him to find out where we should go. He also happened to be an active member in our church.
Well, when we got to the hospital by 12:30 a.m., he (the doctor from church) was already there! He had also called in the c-section team just in case. All this was due to our midwife calling ahead and explaining our situation (and them listening to her), and I think due to the fact that we went to church with the doctor. God was watching out for us... as always! Kathy joined us shortly after we arrived.
Well, labor had not started yet. Of course, they wanted to determine where the bleeding was coming from and if Wesley was okay and if my vitals were okay. So, after an ultrasound and a couple of hours of monitoring, it was determined that Wesley & I were doing great. The source of the blood was unknown, and I was no longer bleeding.
Now, God gave me a peace that passed all understanding. I was never fearful during this time. Those of you who know me, know I read EVERYTHING and do a lot of research on things. I SHOULD have realized that a placental abruption (the placenta pulling away from the uterus before its time) would be a likely cause for all this bleeding, but I didn't. A placental abruption could cause a loss of the baby in a few minutes if it was a complete abruption.
Well, after a couple of hours, they let me get up and walk around and rock and do other things to try to get labor going. I did not want to be induced with pitocin or anything else for numerous reasons. There just isn't enough research in my opinion proving the safety of these drugs. There is research questioning the safety of these drugs. Also, these drugs make a labor harder and faster than normal, natural labor... and my labors are fast & hard without help... so I didn't want anything to make them faster or harder! So thankfully, they worked with us and didn't force us to do anything we didn't want to do. Of course, Wesley's vitals & mine were great... so we felt like we could wait.
Well, it was around 7 or 8 a.m. and I was not in labor yet. I was no longer bleeding, and I was starving! Of course, they don't let you eat in the hospital. We (Dano, Kathy, & I) decided that I would just go home & wait for labor to start back up. If I started bleeding again, we could just come back. There could have been other causes for the blood that were not life threatening to Wesley, so leaving wasn't as horrible as it may sound. So, the doctor wrote up some stuff for us. He was very kind even though he wanted us to stay. As I was signing the paperwork to leave (after they had taken the IV port out of my hand), I felt another gush. I was hoping it was my water breaking & we could just go home and have the baby. Well, as soon as they left the room, I checked & it was another gush of blood. I guess that was God's way of saying He wanted us to stay!
So, I pushed the nurse's button, and told them we'd changed our minds. After that gush, things got crazy. Suddenly, I was required to have an IV, not just a port. I was required to be on fetal monitoring constantly unless going to the bathroom. I couldn't have on any of my clothes... not even a sports bra. But other than that, they were still working with us and our birth plan. We still refused the induction. Wesley continued to do great.
Thankfully, shortly after that my regular contractions started. I think it was around 9 a.m. It was strange. I was very concerned about getting blood on the hospital gown. I was annoyed by all the cords... the monitor, the IV, the strings on the gown. The longer labor went on, the more I bled. Eventually, I just lost the gown. It was driving me crazy. Other than these things bothering me, I had a nice labor. It wasn't too hard or too fast. Dano & Kathy were a great support. The nurses there were wonderful, too. Around noon I was ready to push. I could never get comfortable, and I remember being very irritated about that. Finally after about 30 minutes of pushing, Wesley was born! Yea! They even let me pull him out and place him on my chest. If you've never done this, I highly recommend it! He was perfectly healthy... completely covered in blood, but perfectly healthy! He nursed right away and all was wonderful.
After my placenta was delivered, I asked to see it. (This is something midwives always show you & discuss with you.) I think it shocked the doctor and the nurse that we asked to see it. Anyway, as they looked at it, they realized this had been the cause of my bleeding. I had a partial placental abruption. They said 10 -20%. Thankfully that is all. Wesley maintained a strong heartbeat during the entire labor. So, my low lying placenta had been knocked down by Wesley as he was descending into the birth canal. Thankfully the Lord had his hand on him all along and delivered him safely!
I would NEVER choose a hospital birth over a homebirth. However, I do believe a hospital birth was the best choice in this case. I am so thankful for how the doctor worked with us and our birth plan. I was thankful for how the nurses respected our wishes. I was thankful that we had the c-section team there "just in case." In some ways I am still disappointed that Wesley's birth did not take place as I had hoped; however, I am so thankful to have my Wesley!! So regardless of where he was born, I'm just glad he was born healthy & alive!
In the end, the hospital we never would have chosen, ended up being a blessing to us. They even let us go home after 7 hours since we were under the care of a midwife & since I hadn't had any other procedures, etc. Wesley's birth was still completely natural... just VERY messy! I'm glad we didn't have to clean up after it!
He was my biggest baby up to that point!
5 days overdue
Wesley
8#14oz
Once again, I found myself overdue in December 2006. This time I was 4 days overdue at my midwife appointment in Ohio. We had moved, so we were with a new midwife, Kathy. We grew to love her very much just like our midwives in Texas. The only "problem" was Kathy lived about 45 minutes away. This was a bit of concern knowing how quickly my labors can be. At this appointment I had Kathy check me. I don't remember anything remarkable. Maybe I was at 2 cm but nothing major. I had not been having lots of contractions like I'd had with Derek, so I was wondering how much longer I would be pregnant.
Before I continue, I should say that we'd had a bit of a scare with Wesley's pregnancy. I had an ultrasound that showed I *might* have placenta previa. For those of you who don't know, this means that the placenta could be covering the cervix... the "exit" from the womb. The placenta is a big "pancake" that gives the baby his/her nutrition from the mom. The umbilical cord is attached to the placenta and the baby. If you have placenta previa, it pretty much guarantees a c-section because the chance of rupture is too great. Losing the mom & baby are real risks. A homebirth is obviously out of the question. BUT since the ultrasound was early, it could just "look like placenta previa" and not actually be a problem. So, I would have to wait for a later date to have another ultrasound to see what was actually going on. So in the meantime, we prayed. A later ultrasound showed that I did NOT have placenta previa, and I would be able to have a homebirth after all. It did show that my placenta was close to the cervix, but the sonographer (at the hospital) and my midwife both felt there was a large enough margin that all should be fine.
Now back to the day of my appt with Kathy. Dano & I had gone to bed around 10 p.m. I believe. Around midnight, I got up to go to the bathroom. As I stood up, I felt a gush! I told Dano that I thought our prayers had been answered & my water had broken. He got up and turned on the light. Immediately, I saw blood... a lot of it. So, I was pretty sure our homebirth plans were about to change. He went to get the phone while I went to the bathroom. There was a large clot of blood. As I talked to Kathy, she agreed we would need to head to the hospital. She would call ahead for us and meet us there. (My water had not broken after all.)
Now not only was this a change of plans from a homebirth, but we lived in a small town. If I had chosen a hospital birth, I would not have chosen this hospital, but we didn't know if we had time to drive anywhere else. So, we went to the local hospital just 5 minutes away. I called a dear friend to come stay with the kids. She happened to also be very good friends with one of the three OBs in town. She called him to find out where we should go. He also happened to be an active member in our church.
Well, when we got to the hospital by 12:30 a.m., he (the doctor from church) was already there! He had also called in the c-section team just in case. All this was due to our midwife calling ahead and explaining our situation (and them listening to her), and I think due to the fact that we went to church with the doctor. God was watching out for us... as always! Kathy joined us shortly after we arrived.
Well, labor had not started yet. Of course, they wanted to determine where the bleeding was coming from and if Wesley was okay and if my vitals were okay. So, after an ultrasound and a couple of hours of monitoring, it was determined that Wesley & I were doing great. The source of the blood was unknown, and I was no longer bleeding.
Now, God gave me a peace that passed all understanding. I was never fearful during this time. Those of you who know me, know I read EVERYTHING and do a lot of research on things. I SHOULD have realized that a placental abruption (the placenta pulling away from the uterus before its time) would be a likely cause for all this bleeding, but I didn't. A placental abruption could cause a loss of the baby in a few minutes if it was a complete abruption.
Well, after a couple of hours, they let me get up and walk around and rock and do other things to try to get labor going. I did not want to be induced with pitocin or anything else for numerous reasons. There just isn't enough research in my opinion proving the safety of these drugs. There is research questioning the safety of these drugs. Also, these drugs make a labor harder and faster than normal, natural labor... and my labors are fast & hard without help... so I didn't want anything to make them faster or harder! So thankfully, they worked with us and didn't force us to do anything we didn't want to do. Of course, Wesley's vitals & mine were great... so we felt like we could wait.
Well, it was around 7 or 8 a.m. and I was not in labor yet. I was no longer bleeding, and I was starving! Of course, they don't let you eat in the hospital. We (Dano, Kathy, & I) decided that I would just go home & wait for labor to start back up. If I started bleeding again, we could just come back. There could have been other causes for the blood that were not life threatening to Wesley, so leaving wasn't as horrible as it may sound. So, the doctor wrote up some stuff for us. He was very kind even though he wanted us to stay. As I was signing the paperwork to leave (after they had taken the IV port out of my hand), I felt another gush. I was hoping it was my water breaking & we could just go home and have the baby. Well, as soon as they left the room, I checked & it was another gush of blood. I guess that was God's way of saying He wanted us to stay!
So, I pushed the nurse's button, and told them we'd changed our minds. After that gush, things got crazy. Suddenly, I was required to have an IV, not just a port. I was required to be on fetal monitoring constantly unless going to the bathroom. I couldn't have on any of my clothes... not even a sports bra. But other than that, they were still working with us and our birth plan. We still refused the induction. Wesley continued to do great.
Thankfully, shortly after that my regular contractions started. I think it was around 9 a.m. It was strange. I was very concerned about getting blood on the hospital gown. I was annoyed by all the cords... the monitor, the IV, the strings on the gown. The longer labor went on, the more I bled. Eventually, I just lost the gown. It was driving me crazy. Other than these things bothering me, I had a nice labor. It wasn't too hard or too fast. Dano & Kathy were a great support. The nurses there were wonderful, too. Around noon I was ready to push. I could never get comfortable, and I remember being very irritated about that. Finally after about 30 minutes of pushing, Wesley was born! Yea! They even let me pull him out and place him on my chest. If you've never done this, I highly recommend it! He was perfectly healthy... completely covered in blood, but perfectly healthy! He nursed right away and all was wonderful.
After my placenta was delivered, I asked to see it. (This is something midwives always show you & discuss with you.) I think it shocked the doctor and the nurse that we asked to see it. Anyway, as they looked at it, they realized this had been the cause of my bleeding. I had a partial placental abruption. They said 10 -20%. Thankfully that is all. Wesley maintained a strong heartbeat during the entire labor. So, my low lying placenta had been knocked down by Wesley as he was descending into the birth canal. Thankfully the Lord had his hand on him all along and delivered him safely!
I would NEVER choose a hospital birth over a homebirth. However, I do believe a hospital birth was the best choice in this case. I am so thankful for how the doctor worked with us and our birth plan. I was thankful for how the nurses respected our wishes. I was thankful that we had the c-section team there "just in case." In some ways I am still disappointed that Wesley's birth did not take place as I had hoped; however, I am so thankful to have my Wesley!! So regardless of where he was born, I'm just glad he was born healthy & alive!
In the end, the hospital we never would have chosen, ended up being a blessing to us. They even let us go home after 7 hours since we were under the care of a midwife & since I hadn't had any other procedures, etc. Wesley's birth was still completely natural... just VERY messy! I'm glad we didn't have to clean up after it!
He was my biggest baby up to that point!
5 days overdue
Wesley
8#14oz
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Emma's Birth Story
(If you don't like details, you might want to skip this.)
I've always said, if I could "order" a birth, I would order Emma's! It was just right!
With Olivia & Derek... I was not in labor... then BAM, I was in hard, active labor!
Well, Emma's started a little more textbook...
I woke up around1 a.m. contracting. It was 3 days before my due date. Remember, Olivia & Derek were 6 & 5 days late... I was thinking this wasn't real labor.
Actually, I should back up a bit. You know how "normally" each delivery gets faster? Well, since Derek's birth was 1 hour 16 minutes, I was a little nervous about how fast Emma would come. As a matter of fact, a couple of nights before I really went into labor, I thought I was going into labor. I called Amy (our midwife), & she quickly came over to check on me. Did I mention it was after midnight? Well, by the time she got to our house, everything had stopped. I wanted to know if "anything was happening." So she checked me. She couldn't even FIND my cervix! Talk about depressing! So, I figured it would be a while yet before we'd meet our little Emma! But just a couple of nights later was the night I woke up wondering if I was really in labor...
As I laid in bed, I would watch the clock. Again, it was after midnight. I think it was around 1 a.m. It seemed my contractions were pretty regular... maybe every 5 minutes, but they were very manageable. I was debating on whether or not to wake Dano. After all, he had to get up at 3 a.m. or something like that to go to work. And it was 3 days before my due date... what were the chances that I was really going into labor... AND just a couple of days before, Amy couldn't even FIND my cervix!! So, I was hesitant to wake him. Well, thankfully the Lord woke him with the help of Olivia! For some reason, she came into our room upset. She was about 3 1/2 at the time. So, Dano got up with her & took her back to bed. (What a great Daddy!) Then when he got back, I told him about my contractions. He immediately went into "get ready for a homebirth mode." I don't think we called Amy right away since things were slow. I just stayed in bed & read between contractions. It was a nice start. Eventually, we called Amy, & she and the apprentices came. I have no idea what time that was when they arrived, but they had plenty of time to set things up (unlike Derek's birth). The contractions got stronger & closer, so that I was no longer interested in reading between them. Finally, I was ready to push. Actually, it had only been a few hours... it was close to 4:30 a.m. It seems I hardly had to push & not that many times, and she was born! Yea! Another wonderful homebirth. A major difference with Emma & the others is that she cried... a lot... after she was born. The others were very content after birth... but Emma cried for about 45 minutes! I was concerned something was wrong, but they assured me that some babies just cry. Thankfully, this was not a preview of her personality. She was a great baby... BUT she only liked to be with Mommy or Daddy... especially Mommy. She remains this way til today! The others aren't this way at all!
3 days early
Emma
8# 2oz... our smallest to date!
I've always said, if I could "order" a birth, I would order Emma's! It was just right!
With Olivia & Derek... I was not in labor... then BAM, I was in hard, active labor!
Well, Emma's started a little more textbook...
I woke up around1 a.m. contracting. It was 3 days before my due date. Remember, Olivia & Derek were 6 & 5 days late... I was thinking this wasn't real labor.
Actually, I should back up a bit. You know how "normally" each delivery gets faster? Well, since Derek's birth was 1 hour 16 minutes, I was a little nervous about how fast Emma would come. As a matter of fact, a couple of nights before I really went into labor, I thought I was going into labor. I called Amy (our midwife), & she quickly came over to check on me. Did I mention it was after midnight? Well, by the time she got to our house, everything had stopped. I wanted to know if "anything was happening." So she checked me. She couldn't even FIND my cervix! Talk about depressing! So, I figured it would be a while yet before we'd meet our little Emma! But just a couple of nights later was the night I woke up wondering if I was really in labor...
As I laid in bed, I would watch the clock. Again, it was after midnight. I think it was around 1 a.m. It seemed my contractions were pretty regular... maybe every 5 minutes, but they were very manageable. I was debating on whether or not to wake Dano. After all, he had to get up at 3 a.m. or something like that to go to work. And it was 3 days before my due date... what were the chances that I was really going into labor... AND just a couple of days before, Amy couldn't even FIND my cervix!! So, I was hesitant to wake him. Well, thankfully the Lord woke him with the help of Olivia! For some reason, she came into our room upset. She was about 3 1/2 at the time. So, Dano got up with her & took her back to bed. (What a great Daddy!) Then when he got back, I told him about my contractions. He immediately went into "get ready for a homebirth mode." I don't think we called Amy right away since things were slow. I just stayed in bed & read between contractions. It was a nice start. Eventually, we called Amy, & she and the apprentices came. I have no idea what time that was when they arrived, but they had plenty of time to set things up (unlike Derek's birth). The contractions got stronger & closer, so that I was no longer interested in reading between them. Finally, I was ready to push. Actually, it had only been a few hours... it was close to 4:30 a.m. It seems I hardly had to push & not that many times, and she was born! Yea! Another wonderful homebirth. A major difference with Emma & the others is that she cried... a lot... after she was born. The others were very content after birth... but Emma cried for about 45 minutes! I was concerned something was wrong, but they assured me that some babies just cry. Thankfully, this was not a preview of her personality. She was a great baby... BUT she only liked to be with Mommy or Daddy... especially Mommy. She remains this way til today! The others aren't this way at all!
3 days early
Emma
8# 2oz... our smallest to date!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Derek's Birth Story
(Again, this is a birth story... if you don't like details you may not want to read.)
Well, as I mentioned at the end of Olivia's birth story, we DID decide to have a homebirth with Derek. The midwives bring all the emergency stuff "just in case." And the ambulance & hospital weren't too far away, so we decided this not only would be a more comfortable situation (if possible), but it would also be a safe choice. Actually, statistically speaking... homebirths ARE SAFER than hospital births. I don't want to start a fight or anything, and I KNOW there are times for hospital births... I have had one, BUT most "emergencies" are caused by all the interventions hospitals use. So... for those of you who think we are BRAVE or RISKY or WHATEVER... we don't think so! =0)
Well, Derek was due at the end of March 2003... it was now April! Once again I was past my due date & shocked! You see, starting VERY early I started having Braxton-Hicks with Derek (you know, those "practice" contractions), so I thought SURELY this time, I wouldn't make it to my due date. I had Braxton-Hicks from about 20 weeks on. A pregnancy is "normally" 40 weeks! I don't think I even recognized having Braxton Hicks with Olivia at all. Well, back to April 2003... I was now 5 days past my due date. I had an appointment with my midwife, Amy. Dano, Olivia, and I all went. It was in the afternoon.
Midwives normally aren't big on "checking" you to see if you are dilating... BUT I like to know if something is happening... so I had her check me! Now, I don't remember if I had been dilated the week before or not, but this week I WAS! I was at least 4 or 5 and would stretch to a 6 or something like that! I remember being shocked! After all. It took several hours of HARD, REAL contractions to get that far with Olivia's birth.
So we left that appointment hoping that something would happen soon. Of course we KNEW it would be relatively soon... I was already 5 days past my due date!! Next we went to Sam's (the wholesale club). We were there for about an hour. We were waiting for some film to be developed and doing some other shopping. I remember walking around like a beached whale... and people looked at me like one! LOL!
We left there & went to the grocery next door. Dano ran in to grab just a couple of things. Then we went home. I was beat! Dano & Olivia ate left over spaghetti, but I didn't want that, so I ate a bowl of chicken noodle soup. I was whipped, so I was laying on the couch. I got up to go to the bathroom. Afterwards, I stood up and continued to leak! That was new! I sat back down & stood again...leaked a lot more...I now realized that my water had broken.
It was 8 p.m. Within 5 minutes, I was in the bathroom floor with REALLY HARD contractions. Dano was running around taking care of lots of details... calling Amy (our midwife), putting Olivia in front of the TV to watch Veggie Tales Jonah (she was 20 months old, & it was her bedtime), getting the bed ready for the birth...
In less than 30 minutes, our midwives were there (Amy & her apprentices). They got busy setting up. I was now in the bed. Dano was able to put Olivia to bed. I was thinking... if someone offered me drugs, I would take them... if someone offered me drugs, I would take them... THEN I would refocus on relaxing & repeating... I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me... I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me...
You see... NORMALLY... you have a contraction that starts out mild, peaks, then dies back down... all of this lasts for about 1 to 1.5 minutes. As long as you stay focused & relax & breath deep during this time, it is manageable. Then you get a BREAK!! Not long, but long enough to refocus & get ready for the next contraction. Well, this birth was NOT NORMAL. I was not getting my BREAK! As soon as one contraction would end, the next contraction would start! Therefore, I was a little shocked!
Remember me saying I didn't feel the overwhelming urge to push with Olivia. Well, this time, I had that URGE! I told Amy that I was ready to push. I had barely been in labor for an hour! She wanted to make sure I was at 10 cm, so she checked me. I was 9.5 cm, so she told me to wait through 1 more contraction. After that, it was determined I could push. I don't know how long I pushed, but it wasn't long! It wasn't many times. I remember them telling me not to push during the next contraction because his head was born. Well, being told not to push when you are having pushing contractions is HARD. AND I could NOT understand the phrase "his head is born." After all, this had all just started! I pushed for 2 hours with Olivia... I hadn't even been in labor for 2 hours and his head was born!!?? They told me his head was out & I could reach down & feel... sure enough, this kid was already out part of the way! Unbelievable!
They checked for the cord around his neck... nothing... so the next contraction, I got to finish pushing him out! WOW! How exciting!! It was 9:16 p.m. and he was born! That is just 1 hour and 16 minutes after my water broke/labor started! If we had not PLANNED a homebirth, we would have had one! There is NO WAY anyone would have gotten me in the van! Besides we would have had to wait for our friends to come stay with Olivia. So, if I would have gotten in the van, he would have been born there! Thank you, Lord, for the peace for having a homebirth!
Once again, this was a wonderful experience! I LOVED it! The midwives took great care of us. Dano is a wonderful partner during the birth. I couldn't do it without him!
5 days overdue
Derek
8# 14oz
Well, as I mentioned at the end of Olivia's birth story, we DID decide to have a homebirth with Derek. The midwives bring all the emergency stuff "just in case." And the ambulance & hospital weren't too far away, so we decided this not only would be a more comfortable situation (if possible), but it would also be a safe choice. Actually, statistically speaking... homebirths ARE SAFER than hospital births. I don't want to start a fight or anything, and I KNOW there are times for hospital births... I have had one, BUT most "emergencies" are caused by all the interventions hospitals use. So... for those of you who think we are BRAVE or RISKY or WHATEVER... we don't think so! =0)
Well, Derek was due at the end of March 2003... it was now April! Once again I was past my due date & shocked! You see, starting VERY early I started having Braxton-Hicks with Derek (you know, those "practice" contractions), so I thought SURELY this time, I wouldn't make it to my due date. I had Braxton-Hicks from about 20 weeks on. A pregnancy is "normally" 40 weeks! I don't think I even recognized having Braxton Hicks with Olivia at all. Well, back to April 2003... I was now 5 days past my due date. I had an appointment with my midwife, Amy. Dano, Olivia, and I all went. It was in the afternoon.
Midwives normally aren't big on "checking" you to see if you are dilating... BUT I like to know if something is happening... so I had her check me! Now, I don't remember if I had been dilated the week before or not, but this week I WAS! I was at least 4 or 5 and would stretch to a 6 or something like that! I remember being shocked! After all. It took several hours of HARD, REAL contractions to get that far with Olivia's birth.
So we left that appointment hoping that something would happen soon. Of course we KNEW it would be relatively soon... I was already 5 days past my due date!! Next we went to Sam's (the wholesale club). We were there for about an hour. We were waiting for some film to be developed and doing some other shopping. I remember walking around like a beached whale... and people looked at me like one! LOL!
We left there & went to the grocery next door. Dano ran in to grab just a couple of things. Then we went home. I was beat! Dano & Olivia ate left over spaghetti, but I didn't want that, so I ate a bowl of chicken noodle soup. I was whipped, so I was laying on the couch. I got up to go to the bathroom. Afterwards, I stood up and continued to leak! That was new! I sat back down & stood again...leaked a lot more...I now realized that my water had broken.
It was 8 p.m. Within 5 minutes, I was in the bathroom floor with REALLY HARD contractions. Dano was running around taking care of lots of details... calling Amy (our midwife), putting Olivia in front of the TV to watch Veggie Tales Jonah (she was 20 months old, & it was her bedtime), getting the bed ready for the birth...
In less than 30 minutes, our midwives were there (Amy & her apprentices). They got busy setting up. I was now in the bed. Dano was able to put Olivia to bed. I was thinking... if someone offered me drugs, I would take them... if someone offered me drugs, I would take them... THEN I would refocus on relaxing & repeating... I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me... I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me...
You see... NORMALLY... you have a contraction that starts out mild, peaks, then dies back down... all of this lasts for about 1 to 1.5 minutes. As long as you stay focused & relax & breath deep during this time, it is manageable. Then you get a BREAK!! Not long, but long enough to refocus & get ready for the next contraction. Well, this birth was NOT NORMAL. I was not getting my BREAK! As soon as one contraction would end, the next contraction would start! Therefore, I was a little shocked!
Remember me saying I didn't feel the overwhelming urge to push with Olivia. Well, this time, I had that URGE! I told Amy that I was ready to push. I had barely been in labor for an hour! She wanted to make sure I was at 10 cm, so she checked me. I was 9.5 cm, so she told me to wait through 1 more contraction. After that, it was determined I could push. I don't know how long I pushed, but it wasn't long! It wasn't many times. I remember them telling me not to push during the next contraction because his head was born. Well, being told not to push when you are having pushing contractions is HARD. AND I could NOT understand the phrase "his head is born." After all, this had all just started! I pushed for 2 hours with Olivia... I hadn't even been in labor for 2 hours and his head was born!!?? They told me his head was out & I could reach down & feel... sure enough, this kid was already out part of the way! Unbelievable!
They checked for the cord around his neck... nothing... so the next contraction, I got to finish pushing him out! WOW! How exciting!! It was 9:16 p.m. and he was born! That is just 1 hour and 16 minutes after my water broke/labor started! If we had not PLANNED a homebirth, we would have had one! There is NO WAY anyone would have gotten me in the van! Besides we would have had to wait for our friends to come stay with Olivia. So, if I would have gotten in the van, he would have been born there! Thank you, Lord, for the peace for having a homebirth!
Once again, this was a wonderful experience! I LOVED it! The midwives took great care of us. Dano is a wonderful partner during the birth. I couldn't do it without him!
5 days overdue
Derek
8# 14oz
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