This pregnancy certainly did stretch my faith. I struggled with a lot of fear which began from the miscarriage I had in March of 2009. Then it took me the longest it has to date to become pregnant again. I had finally started to think maybe I might not have anymore. I just wasn't used to it taking as long as it did. But, the Lord in His wisdom gave me a bigger space; 2 1/2 years and time for my body to heal from my last birth. Looking back I see His timing is best. We don't always see that at the time... hindsight is 20/20...
Also with this pregnancy I could not get a sense as to what gender baby was. His heartbeat was high like a girl's the whole time. See, now that's why they say heart rates are an old wives tale! :) And I carried him all out front like I have with previous pregnancies where it was a girl. The whole pregnancy it was a mystery to me!
Around 36 weeks or so the L-rd gave me a dream in which I had given birth and it was a boy. In this dream I was very upset and I began to cry. I was sad it was a boy and wanted a girl. I woke up and was so shocked at the attitude in my heart! I then begin to cry and to pray.
When my husband woke up I told him of the dream and we talked a bit about it. After he had left for work I went right to prayer and gave these feelings to the Lord, repented and surrendered to whatever He had for me. The Lord had, through this dream, shown me the true attitude of my heart. I am so thankful for the God I serve and that He made me see the truth of my heart. I still had no feeling if baby was a girl or boy but in the back of my mind I was assuming a boy, and I was truly happy! It no longer mattered; girl or boy...I had been given what I prayed for! A precious new life!
40 weeks came and went and after having so many pregnancies and never going beyond 4 days late; 40 weeks 4 days; I assumed I would go around this time with this pregnancy also. I was wrong! Each day dragged on and on! I begin to wonder what was wrong? Why was baby not coming? I had an u/s date and cycle dates were all accurate.
At 41 weeks we tried castor oil and it did nothing. My husband was checking my cervix and found that I was at least dilated to a 4 and effaced. I was feeling so impatient and again my faith was being stretched... this was something new to me. I continually had to keep my focus on the Lord by staying in the word and in prayer. The weekend of my 42nd week arrived, so at 41 weeks 6 days I again tried castor oil and it did nothing. I also tried herbs and my husband stripped my membranes.
I was then dilated to a 6 and effaced. And still nothing happened! With this birth and again it being an unassisted birth my belief about birth and faith in my body was challenged. I kept asking myself if my body had forgotten how to birth? I asked my friends and my husband - I struggled with thoughts of going 43-44 weeks or longer and how would I handle that. I came up with a plan to induce at a hospital if I went beyond 43 weeks. Then after prayer and time spent in the word I decided not to do that and to trust the Creator who had created my body and formed this child within.
I was referred to an article on how labor starts when baby's lungs are ready for outside the womb. This just further cemented what I felt the Lord telling me; to wait and trust... to take it one day at a time. This was my lesson learned on Saturday and Sunday May 15-16th. Little did I know that the Lord had planned my birth for the early morning hours on Monday.
I had to learn new things that are possible with post date babies such as meconium staining of the amniotic fluid. I also had to prepare myself for a big baby. I knew that since baby was late he would be big and had to reaffirm within myself that my body could birth an even bigger baby then my last at 10lbs 5oz. Because of that birth I knew I could do it.
Sunday May 16, 2010 I spent the day with my family at a state park. I needed some time out not thinking about when I would have the baby or any other thing involving the birth. We walked one of the easier trails and checked out an old schoolhouse. We let the kiddos play at the playground area and saw the lake where swimming was allowed. We had a very nice day together!
During the day I noticed my Braxton Hicks contractions had changed. They were still Braxton Hicks but with them I noticed more pressure. I told my husband and he said to me that things would happen in God's timing and not my own. I continued to have the Braxton Hicks contractions throughout the day. They weren't true contractions just more practice so when I went to bed I had no inclination I would be in labor very soon! The thought had crossed my mind but I had given up by this point in trying to guess the day or hour!
Sometime in the early morning hours I woke up thinking I had just had a true contraction but as I was groggy and sleepy I wasn't sure but I did have to potty so I got up. I then discovered I had diarrhea. UGH! It was then though that I remembered that with some ladies and some labors, diarrhea can be a sign of early labor. I went back to bed and while laying there I had a hard contraction...a true in labor one...then nothing. I then went to the bathroom again and when wiping I noticed a bit of pink. I then begin to pray and ask the Lord to let me have some bloody show which for me never appears until I am truly in labor and on my way to giving birth very soon. My husband would be up soon and I needed to tell him to stay home or go to work. Also my oldest son Josiah was headed to the horse farm. I didn't want them to be gone if I was in labor. Especially since my husband's place of employment is 30 minutes from home, and the horse farm 45 minutes.
Again I went back to the couch and tried to rest. While resting I had a very strong contraction and shortly thereafter my son Josiah was up. I asked him to please get his daddy. It was then I told John I was in labor and that he and Josiah should stay home. I again headed to the bathroom. I spent a lot of time in there because of the diarrhea but it was with this bathroom trip I saw the bloody show; bright red. It was time!
This labor was such a nice labor (if labor can be referred to as nice). Yes, the labor was painful but my contractions never were every 2 minutes. They would come in this pattern...easier one...then a minute or two later another easier one and then maybe within 3-4 minutes a very hard one. After the appearance of the bloody show all the following contractions were transition and pushing. And all in total from this point I had maybe 10 hard ones and then short easy ones here and there. I laid on my bed through the contractions in between my bathroom trips. At about an hour and a half into my labor I knew it was time to push but I decided I wasn't ready and so for the next 30 minutes and the few pushing contractions I had I just worked through them allowing my uterus to push baby down.
At some point I headed downstairs to get in the pool and begin pushing but the water wasn't warm enough. My husband was boiling water in big pots on the stove to heat it up for me. During the contractions I would lean over our living room couch and sway my hips back and forth which helped tremendously with the pain. I had about three contractions and decided to lightly push with the next one. I leaned over the couch and in a standing position begin to push a bit. When the contraction was over I headed again to the bathroom on the way telling my husband I had pushed a bit with my last contraction. I also asked my husband to lay plastic down by the couch in case I ended up having baby there.
After going potty I headed back to the couch and the living room and decided to begin pushing. The children were all upstairs and my husband was in the kitchen heating water. I again went through a contraction pushing in a standing position and felt him move down even more into my pelvis. It was then I squatted and started seriously pushing.
I pushed and felt his head crowning. I stopped pushing and reached down to feel his head. His head was about half way out at that point and I felt his head full of hair. I then started pushing again and out came his head. I waited for that relief you feel when baby's head is born but it never came so I begin pushing the rest of his body out.
In my squatting position, my bum was just inches off the floor so I birthed the baby right onto the floor. It was right as baby slid out onto the floor that I heard my husband pour the pot of boiling water into the pool.
As soon as baby was born I called out to my husband saying, "Baby! Baby!" My husband came over and picked Kian Adley up off the floor and then wrapped him in towels and receiving blankets. I then was so weak and shaky I had to sit so I just sat on the plastic where I had birthed him and spent the next hour and a half drinking in the sight of my new baby and resting.
The other children came down to meet Kian Adley about 30 minutes after the birth. My oldest son Josiah (14) cut his cord when it had turned white. Within 15 minutes of the birth my placenta came and my husband checked it over for tears and missing pieces. It looked healthy and complete! We all were in shock when we weighed our new little man! I knew he would be big but I sure wasn't expecting him to be that big! :)
Also during the birth we noticed some meconium staining of the amniotic fluid. Kian Adley did have a little bit of trouble after birth but we suctioned him really good and kept his feet elevated above his head. We listened to heart tones which were good and breath sounds. We kept an eye on his color and made sure he was pinking up which he did. It took him a little bit longer but we just kept an eye on him. He did great! He also had almost no vernix except a little bit on his head. His skin is peeling on his hands and feet. All signs of a post dates baby. I also tore just a little bit; 3/4-1 inch..nothing too bad considering how big he was!! I do have to say my bum is pretty sore from delivering such a big guy!
I am so thankful that he is here! I am thankful for the new lessons I learned about birth and my faith. I was challenged in new ways and hope that I changed because of it.
Welcome to the world Kian Adley 11lbs 3oz...born at home unassisted after 2 hours labor....my 4th VBAC and 6th unassisted birth! Birth Works!
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Comments (5)
Sounds like a nice birth. Glad everything went well. It's cool Josiah got to cut the cord.
you're one hardcore mama! congratulations!
Big baby :) But aww.. So you had a in home delievery?
congrats! Your such a wonder woman! Six unassisted births!! Wow
I love your trust in Our Father and in your body. What a beautiful birth story. Thank you for sharing it. I'm feeling many of the feelings you epxress in the beginning of your post, and am struggling with being patient in His timing. I know that there are more precious little ones to come to my family. I only have 3 so far. I am considering a home birth next time, but don't feel prepared to do it unassisted. I keep having dreams, though, that there will be a time when a trained midwife or doctor will not be available to me for some reason or another, and so I have tried to prepare for that possibility. Yet I know that if He leads me into that, then He will bless and strengthen me and guide my husband through it.
Thank you for sharing your faith and your strength wit us.