You would think four days in Disney World at 8 months
pregnant, followed by influenza A and some intense coughing would put
me in labor. But all it did was make her drop really low. I attribute that to
the coughing. So there she sat, for a good 5 weeks. I actually wondered if she
was going to have a funny shaped head because she was so wedged down in my
pelvis. At least I could breathe better!
Throughout February, I had Braxton Hicks contractions all
day, most days. And several nights I had real contractions. I was sure she was
coming a couple times.
On Thursday, March 6 we picked my parents up from the
airport. They were here to see a baby and little miss still hadn't come. We
grabbed a bite to eat and then I went to a doctor appointment. Jon got off just
in time to come with me. I had not been checked for dilation yet and today was
my due date (according to my last period). I told Dr Lehnert that if I was
dilated, which I was sure I was, to go ahead and strip my membranes. I was
ready to have a baby. He checked and his response was, “You’re not dilated, not at all.” Jon’s
face was a mix of shock and a little bit angry. Haha. I couldn’t believe it
either. He said I was maybe 50% effaced.
I was so sure I had been dilating with some of those contractions. That was
such a disappointment. Dr Lehnert was going out of town for spring break so he
set an induction date for March 17, if I was still pregnant.
We headed home and then went straight to Nixa to look at a
house we had seen online the night before. We had started looking at homes out
of frustration in the cost of building. We randomly found a relatively new
listing that had 5 bedrooms all on one level. It also was on 5 acres, which is
something Jon wanted. So all seven of us loaded up into the car and went to
look at this home. It was a bit crazy with so many people and the crazy kiddos,
but we were immediately in love with the house. The halls were 4’ wide, the
doorways were 36” wide. There was the perfect bathroom that could be remodeled
for Benson. The bedrooms were all together on the same side of the house which
I consider a pro; though the kids may one day wish for a little more space. It
had a storage shed as well as small barn type building with a perfect place for
a chicken coup. Have I mentioned I hope to get chickens? Other bonuses included
that it did not have an HOA associated with it so there were no restrictions on
having chickens. It was completely meant to be. The perfect home for us, at the
perfectly wrong time. J
We talked about the house quite a bit and decided to put an
offer in. This would mean we would have to get our home fixed up and sold, pack
and move; all while giving birth, caring for a newborn, recovering from
childbirth, and caring for three other littles. It felt and FEELS
overwhelming. We sent our first offer in
the next day, with a 60 day close date of May 8.
On Saturday, March 7 we busted out some house fixes. My
parents helped out and we got quite a bit done. It was enough to make me feel
like we could knock things off our list fairly quickly. That night I went to
bed with a few contractions. They were good, strong ones but I didn’t think
anything of it. A few contractions woke me up throughout the night but I would
immediately go back to sleep. In the morning, I told Jon I had been having
contractions and he told me to get ready to go for a walk.
Jon and I left the kids with my parents and walked for a
good hour. When we got home, we loaded everyone into the car and went to the
park down the street and I walked some more. I laid down with Benson for a
little bit and then by 3:00pm I was in labor and ready to head to the bathroom.
I hung out in the bathroom for the next three hours. The kids came in occasionally
and were very confused about what was going on. I hadn’t even thought to
explain labor to them. I assumed they would be asleep while I was in labor since
I always seem to have babies at night. My labor was similar to my labor with
Brigham. If I laid down for too long, the contractions would stop. Around
4:00pm I got tired enough that I actually took a nap on the bathroom floor for
about thirty minutes. I took a shower, did my hair (ya know, between
contractions, because short hair can get some serious bed head). Around 6:00pm
I started to get the shakes. This made me really nervous because with my other
babies, I got the shakes at the end, like during pushing. This made me think
she was coming soon and I panicked just a little bit. Everyone else was eating
dinner and I basically made Jon drop everything and take me to the hospital.
Brigham had been playing on my phone earlier and no one could find it and I
just told him to leave it. I didn’t want anyone to panic so I tried to remain
calm, but I was shaking and it was making me worried I would be having a baby
in the car. I have secretly always wanted to deliver at home, but not during
the day. I didn’t want the kids to hear the chaos and be freaked out. Haha.
We made it to Labor and Delivery, several contractions later
but with no pushing. They could see that I was in active labor so we went
through triage pretty quick. She checked me immediately and I was at a 6. They
had me in a room within about 10 minutes but then brought boat loads of
paperwork. Who does paperwork while they are in labor?! And the nurse really
truly expected me to do it. Jon tried to help and I finally just stopped doing
it and he finished.
About an hour later, the doctor on call came in and
introduced herself. Dr Cobb, a hospitalist; so she doesn’t see patients. She
was fine with me pushing however I wanted and suggested I try it on my side
since I was laboring on my side. She said she is very in favor of natural birth
and was working to get a birthing center attached to the hospital. I loved her
already. I think it was also around this time that Jon got a text from our
realtor about the house and the counter offer they had given. Jon mentioned
what it said, but I don’t think I really responded much until after she was
born.
A short time later, I started losing my mind. I had the
antsy, get me out of here feeling. I had never felt this way with either of the
boys and it was a bit crazy. I literally felt like I was going to lose my mind
and wished I had gotten the epi at this point. I asked to be checked again. I
was only at a 7. Dr Cobb came back and offered to break my water. I wasn’t
progressing very fast and it was probably because my water wouldn’t break on
its own but it was bulging a lot. I knew it needed to be done but I was almost
on the brink of insanity and breaking the water makes it intense. I geared
myself up for it, waited out one contraction, and then she broke my water. The next contraction was a pushing
contraction (accompanied with a deep grunt; that means business). They had all
just barely left the room and I was telling Jon, she’s coming! Everyone turned
right back around and there were ready to go. Dr Cobb said I was still only a 7
but she suspected I would be complete with the next contraction. Whether I was complete or not, my body was definitely
pushing this baby out and it wasn’t like I could stop it! But I did finish
dilating the next contraction. The next contraction she was out to her ears and
then they had me turn onto my back. The nurses had to help hold my legs because
I wasn’t. I couldn’t focus on everything everyone wanted me to do. The
contractions were pushing so hard, I felt like I was barely consciously pushing
myself. Her shoulders were out the next contraction and then Dr Cobb stepped
aside and let Jon finish catching. I finally felt like I consciously
contributed one big final push and she was out. Jon put her up on my chest and
she was the pinkest baby you have ever seen. Dr Cobb does delayed cord
clamping, which is also awesome. She told Jon when it was time to clamp and cut
and then he also pulled the placenta out. She was born at 8:39pm with apgars 9
and 9. She was 7lbs 13oz and 21.5” long.
The nurse rubbed her down a bit while she was in my arms and
put the antibiotics on her eyes. They immediately helped me get her skin to
skin and wrapped us both in blankets. The shaking got even more intense and my
teeth started chattering. That darn shaking.
They have you stay in recovery for three hours. With Benson being
sick, we felt like Jon needed to be at home with him for the night so Jon left
around 11. I was transferred to my postpartum room around midnight. After I was
all settled, I thought for sure I would crash and be sound asleep. Annabelle
slept like a champ but I sat and watched all the required baby videos. Then I
ordered breakfast at 5am, and still couldn’t believe I wasn’t sleeping.
The whole crew arrived around 10 the next morning. When the
kids walked into the room, I was holding Annabelle and they all started looking
around the room for her. “Where is she mom? Where is she?” They were looking
right at me but they didn’t realize I was holding her. She was so much smaller
than they had expected. They were all very excited to hold her. It’s so much
fun watching siblings meet for the first time. Jon took everyone home around
noon and then came back to hang out with me and Annabelle for the rest of the
day. During this time, we electronically signed a contract to buy the house in
Nixa. Let the craziness begin. Around 5pm, Danae and Eliza came to visit.
Jon
had to head home to get to work the next day. I thought for sure I would sleep
well tonight. But, I only slept about 5 hours or so. I still just sat there for
a lot of the night, staring at my perfectly beautiful little miracle. We were
discharged the next morning around 10. Vanessa came with my dad to pick us up
and she loved watching Annabelle in her car seat on the way home. She gave us a
play-by-play narration of every little thing she did. It was really cute.
The next few days included some light packing, trying to
catch up on sleep, and trying to keep the kids entertained while loving on a
new baby girl. She has barely been set down between my parents, Vanessa,
Benson, me and Jon. Someone always wants to hold her. She had bright blue eyes
by the second day, fuzzy dark hair, and skin softer than is ever possible to
remember. We sure love this girl.
