Lately
I've been a little out of sorts – sleepy, foggy brain, worn out,
and pretty much just tied up in one job, unable to do much else
except try to remember when I'm going to feel normal again. But it's
all for a good reason. Our third child, a beautiful and healthy baby
girl, entered the world on June 25.
This
pregnancy was by far the hardest and weirdest of all of them. My
morning sickness lasted well into the second trimester, despite my
continued expectations for it to end 'any day now', and my energy
level was awful the entire time. I developed pregnancy ailments that
I didn't even know were related to pregnancy, such as nosebleeds,
drooling like a Saint Bernard in my sleep, and all-night snoring that
often led my poor husband to seek refuge on the couch. Add to those
the typical pregnancy issues like acid reflux and fatigue, and you
can sure bet I was beyond ready to have this baby by the end. But, of
course, I did things backwards, and my pregnancies have gotten longer
each time instead of shorter, so this little girl decided to stay
safe and cozy inside Mommy until five days past my due date.
She
was worth it. Cora Ivy was born at 9:47 a.m. on a Thursday after a
6-hour active labor and what felt like weeks of early labor. I had
been having so many Braxton Hicks contractions for so long that I
joked with Clint that I wouldn't notice when I finally went into real
labor and the baby would eventually just fall out one day. Ha! Would
be nice if it actually worked that way...
I
felt strange the whole day before she was born. The contractions
seemed stronger and even more frequent, but I had given up on this
baby ever actually coming out of me. I felt as though the big event
was close, but I didn't want to get my hopes up like I had so many
times before. I had fitful sleep all night until around 3:30 a.m,
when I realized that I kept waking up in pain. I finally got up and
walked around for a while, timing the contractions with an app on my
phone like I had so many other times before. They were definitely
closer together, but still not very regular - 6 minutes, 2 minutes, 8
minutes, 4 minutes. This labor was so unlike my last, but these
contractions definitely felt 'different', so I knew it was (finally)
the real thing.
I
called my midwife and woke up Clint around 5:00 a.m. He started
getting the birth pool set up while I walked around and nervously
timed contractions, wondering if I'd waited too long to call the
midwife since some of the contractions were so close together. I felt
much better once she arrived, and my mother-in-law arrived soon after
to pick up the kids. Poor Hannah teared up a little as she hugged me
before they left, but we reassured her that she would have a new baby
sister soon and it would all be worth it. I would continue to tell
myself the same thing throughout the morning.
They
left around 7:00 a.m, and it took a while longer for the birth pool
to get filled, but once it did I settled into the warm water, Clint
put some Josh Garrels on the stereo, and for a while it really was
like taking a relaxing bath in my dining room. I used the same method
I had used in my last labor – breathing through the contractions
and picturing in my mind my favorite photographs of my kids. It
helped me to take the focus off of what my body was doing and instead
focus on the reward at the end.
At
some point though it started getting much harder, as labor tends to
do. As the pain got more intense, the water began feeling much
hotter, probably just because I was having to work harder, and my
midwife and Clint took turns giving me sips of ice water and putting
a cool washcloth on my forehead. I remember wondering how in the
world this pool could stay so hot, and I sat up out of the water
occasionally to cool off – in between contractions, of course.
I've
seen many water birth videos, and most of the time, it seems women
prefer to squat or rest their arms on the side of the tub. That DID
NOT work for me. Gravity made things horribly painful. What worked
for me was actually lying back in the pool with my hips lifted up. I
let my legs just float in the water, and it seemed to take away some
of the pressure I was feeling. Clint held me up with one arm, and I
gripped his hand with the other as I focused on the music and
thoughts of my kids.
I
can't recall which song Cora entered the world to, as I was rather
distracted (and in lots of pain) at that point, but the song that I
remember hearing most clearly during labor is called 'Morning Light'.
I was facing our back patio glass doors where I could see our
backyard bathed in sunlight, and I was struck by the relevance of the
lyrics.
And
also -
“But
every good gift comes down from above
From the Lord of light like a labor of love
Upon the child who waits for Him."
I
would recommend to anyone in labor to have some soothing music
playing. I
didn't have that in my other labors, and it truly
helped me to keep calm and maintain a relaxed atmosphere, in spite of
all the intensity involved in delivering a baby.
When
it
came time to push, I remember thinking it seemed more painful than my
last labor. At the time I had no idea she would end up being as big
as she was. My
midwives (the second one arrived at some point during transition)
remarked
that my water still hadn't broken yet, and soon after, there
came the
baby's
head, still in the sac! I heard the midwives comment on it, and I
remembered having read about babies born that way and how rare it
was. Cora was born “in the caul” - still completely enclosed in
her amniotic sac. I
wish we had been able to get a picture, but the four of us were all
pretty busy!
After
they laid her on my chest, one of them commented that she was big and
had to definitely be over nine pounds. I think I said something like,
“Really? No way!” because I had never had a big baby before.
Hannah was just under seven pounds and Abram was just under eight.
Sure
enough, once we moved into the bedroom and some of my family arrived,
my midwife weighed Cora and announced to
us all that she
was 9 lbs 12 oz! I
was in complete shock.
Hannah
and Abram adore their baby sister, and although I admit that I am
anxious for the time when she is a little older and they can enjoy
interacting with her more, I am trying to soak up these baby days and
remember how quickly they go by. Before
we know what hit us, we'll have three big kids. For now we'll keep
cuddling this tiny (though bigger than expected) little girl.
