I had been having contractions every evening for the past week and was feeling quite disappointed when my due date came and went. Each evening I would have pretty consistent contractions that would fizzle out after a few hours leaving me wondering what was going on and feeling sore. One of the midwives I worked with Monica said that it most likely was because my body was trying to kick into labor but the baby wasn't in the right position yet. Monica was the midwife from the birth center that I connected with the most. She has an incredible nurturing spirit and just so happens to be a pastor's wife so I prayed that she would be the one present for this baby's birth and she was, well sort of, I'll get to that. So I spent time on my hands and knees and tried to move this baby into the right position but could do nothing myself. Tuesday evening (February 24th) around 7 my contractions were picking up again and I decided to call my midwife and in some ways I was debating even calling because I figured nothing would come of it all yet again. The two midwives on call for the night were Deb and Monica. Monica suggested Deb come over and work with me as she specializes in baby positioning. John put the boys to sleep in their beds and Deb and her assistant Sophie arrived by about 8:30pm. Deb checked me and said that I was really not dilated or effaced at all which is something that no pregnant woman wants to hear. She analyzed the baby's position externally and internally and said exactly what Monica did: that my body was trying to kick into labor but the baby wasn't in the right position. Deb worked with me for a while to move the baby by doing things like having me kneel on our top step and walk my hands down the stairs moving the baby out of my pelvis and I had to stay that way for a few contractions. I was highly regretting the amount of quesadillas I ate at dinner at this point. She had me stand with my hands against the wall while she swayed my hips and tummy. She had me lay down on the couch and squeeze my knees together while she tried to pull them apart and then vice versa. Then her and Sophie said we should relax for a while and they went downstairs to leave John and I alone. All this time I was breathing through contractions. I am SO thankful for the training I received in deep breathing and learning how to breathe into the pain and breathe towards places in your body. As the night progressed and contractions became gradually more intense I would breathe deeply and say to myself, "I trust the Lord". I get teary (dang hormones) just thinking of this phrase now.
At about midnight Deb came and checked me again and said that I had made a tiny bit of progress but that I still had a ways to go, again not what any pregnant woman wants to hear! She said that I needed to try to sleep and suggested that take a sleeping pill. John ran out to pick one up from a 24 hour Walgreens and was home by about 12:45am. I took the pill and both Deb and Sophie packed things up to head home so we could sleep. Before they went out the door Deb told us that when things happened they could happen fast and talked us through what to do if it was just the two of us delivering this baby. I could feel my contractions getting more intense but because my water hadn't broken, I didn't lose my mucus plug and I hadn't made any progress I told myself I wasn't really in labor and this was still the "practice stuff". While brushing my teeth the midwives were heading out the door and I thought to myself, "Wow, these are really getting intense." They left at 1:15am and John and I crawled into bed. I lay in our bed intensely breathing through contractions and feeling frustrated with myself that I was so loud and most likely keeping John awake. The contractions were getting closer and closer and suddenly rolling right into each other and when I realized this I let out an, "Oh shit." John says that this was when he realized I was really in labor because I don't swear, ever. I got up out of bed hoping to find SOME sign of labor moving forward like my water breaking or a mucus plug but still nothing. I suddenly knew we needed to call Monica who was supposed to come over if we needed anything else the rest of the night. I went to get my phone about 1:40am and as soon as she got on the phone I must of hit transition because I couldn't formulate sentences. John took the phone and told her she needed to come and he quickly began trying to add water back into the half filled pool (we had drained it halfway when we thought nothing was going to happen). John was so confident as he moved back and forth between preparing the pool and his crazy wife going through transition. I went in the bathroom because I wanted to get in the shower saying things like, "Water. Hot. Pain. Shower. Can't do it." John quickly redirected me out of the bathroom and I realized I needed to get in the birth pool NOW. Somehow in all this I went to our room and changed into my "birthing skirt" as I like to be a little more discrete. I climbed into the pool and immediately felt relief from the warm water. I had a contraction and thought, "I can do this." Then when the second contraction came I immediately had the urge to push and started yelling, "Oh my gosh, I have to push. HE'S COMING! HE'S COMING!!" which is when the midwife assistant Sophie came flying in the door, throwing down her things and trying to monitor the baby's heart. John in a panic ran into the kitchen to turn off the pots of water warming on the stove so things weren't boiling over. Sophie told me to try not to push just as another contraction came and as my mind thought "Don't push" my body said, "Too late" and out she flew in one push. I reached down at the same time as Sophie to pull up this slippery little one and pull her to my chest. I lay in the pool with my heart racing for a minute trying to wrap my mind around what just happened. 2:13am and I was holding a baby, at 1:15am I hadn't been convinced that I was in labor. It suddenly occurred to me to look to see if I was holding a boy or girl. I moved the umbilical cord aside and exclaimed, "That's a vagina! I don't know what to do with a vagina!?" John and Sophie laughed. Sophie covered our sweet girl in blankets on me and within a few minutes Monica came flying in the door. I got out of the pool and they helped me to the couch to deliver the placenta (something I'm sure you'll all think of the next time you come to visit our home). John cut the cord and Monica and Sophie began helping me. Our little girl lay on my chest. I lay on the couch holding her as they cleaned things up, the sleeping pill finally kicked in and I dozed a little. Our little girl began nursing immediately and Monica asked what her name was, Raelyn which means lamb or grace.
John and I couldn't agree on a boys name this time around but we had chosen this girl name when we were pregnant with Oliver, an Irish name we both loved. John took down the pool and both ladies commented about how incredibly clean it was. The ladies sat at our kitchen counter talking through the events of the night/early morning trying to figure out when exactly labor kicked in. The two ladies worked to clean me up while John held his daughter.
He took her in to introduce her to her two oldest brothers who had slept through it all. John said that Devon just beamed the biggest proud smile and then both boys rolled back over to sleep. Sophie helped me clean up and get ready to climb into our bed while Monica and John were looking over Raelyn and getting her ready for bed too. Monica and Sophie each hugged me once I was tucked into bed and they let themselves out between 5:30 and 6am. We quickly fell asleep and slept until the boys woke at 8. John got Oliver out of bed while I went to use the bathroom and when I came out Devon and Jack were standing in the hallway and they just stared at my tummy and lack there of. Devon says, "Your big belly is gone, I liked your big belly." I laughed. The boys all went down to the basement by God's grace so we could go back to sleep for another hour and a half. My wonderful friend Katie Griffin was coming at 10:15am to scoop up the boys for the day so we could rest. We climbed out of bed and let the boys take turns holding their new baby sister.
We ate and then slept the day away once the boys were gone. We connected with people sharing our good news and funny story and bonded with our girl. We decided her middle name would be Claire and laughed about the events of her birth.
We continue to be amazed by the way God pulled together each detail. Having Deb come work with me to position this baby really made a big difference, it was her specialty and we needed her. Monica was the midwife that I had prayed would be here for the birth because I bonded most with her and while she missed the birth by minutes she was there when we really needed her. We are thankful that Sophie arrived when she did although John claims he wishes she had been 2 minutes later and he had been the one to help catch Raelyn because it would make the story that much more exciting. I laugh at this comment because WOW has my husband come a ways in his confidence of being a part of the birth process. I am thankful for the pain management that I was able to keep and the tools that I was given to handle it in a way that I truly trusted the Lord and I trusted my body to do what it needed to do. I'm thankful for a husband who truly believes in me and was connected to me in ways that he knew I was in labor and this baby was coming before I even realized it.
She came in her own timing, in her own way and is already calling the shots around here. She's melting our hearts and causing us to just be amazed by God's grace. In our dining room where she was born I have bible verses posted because I wanted God's word present when we brought this baby into the world.
Psalm 61:2- When my heart is overwhelmed lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Psalm 40:11- I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and He turned to me and heard my cry.
Psalm 29:11- The LORD gives His people STRENGTH. The Lord blesses them with peace.
Isaiah 41:10- Don't be afraid for I AM WITH YOU. Don't be discouraged for I AM YOUR GOD. I will strengthen you and I will help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
I am surprised by the difference I feel towards a daughter. With the boys I feel a desire to train them to be men of God but when I think of my sweet girl I feel a desire to protect her heart in a way I wouldn't have anticipated.
Welcome to the family sweet girl, we never could have anticipated you. At your 20 week ultrasound your momma wanted to know your gender and your daddy wanted the surprise and you locked those little legs together not even giving us the opportunity to peek giving us the greatest surprise. Your momma was wrong EVERY single time on the gender of her babies, including you and we couldn't be more glad.
