Since we’re somewhere around five or six weeks out from Malachi’s birth (think close to six…my kids don’t like to come on or close to time without medical intervention and hoping that we won’t have medical intervention this time), I thought it’d be great to share all my birth stories. I know I’ve got some friends out there who are birth story junkies like me so sit back with your tea or coffee (or diet coke or whatever) and enjoy. The first three are already posted but each Friday I’ll post (or repost) a story. And, as we say in my house, “AGE ORDER.” This is called whenever we need to give things out one at time, etc.
Up first, my first born, Zoe.
A little background: I started back to school to get another undergraduate degree when I was very newly pregnant. My brain thought that I would continue with school even after the baby was born, maybe take a semester off, but that I’d finish and then go to work full time. Since we didn’t have family in town and I knew of no one who kept children in their home, daycare was a given. However, when I was taking summer classes, I had to do an observation of a class (I was going back to get a teaching degree). Since it was summer, there were no classes to be found, so I had to go to a daycare. God used that experience to make me realize that while my baby might be adequately cared for, she would not be cared for and loved by me and I would miss out on some of the most important parts of her first year of life and so on. Regardless, I didn’t really come to that conclusion until a month from delivery and I was already near the end of my fall semester of school.
Zoe’s original due date was December 30th. I had a pretty typical pregnancy besides her stubbornness in not showing off her girl parts at the first ultrasound. Fortunately, we had connections and a friend was able to do another ultrasound at 28 weeks and we found out she was a she! We were ecstatic.
The week before she was born, I had been having contractions on and off but none so strong that and regular that I felt they were that important. I do, very vividly remember sitting in class on a Wednesday taking my last final exam. I would answer a couple of questions and then pause and practice breathing.. My contractions were pretty strong. One of my classmates kept staring at me and when I turned in my test, I do believe my poor professor gave a sigh of relief that I did not give birth in class.
The next week, I went in for a regular check up and Dr. J (yes, he’s delivered every single one of my babies), asked if I would like to have my daughter the next day. I was surprised and so was Mark. I was dilated to three and Dr. J did a quick ultrasound and we realized her fluid levels were really low. So, we set the next day, a Friday before Christmas, as her induction date. I didn’t realize how low the fluid levels were until Dr. J. broke my water that morning. It was a trickle. Barely a trickle. I was also dilated to a four almost five. I had been contracting that whole night and into the morning but had put off coming in since I knew we were scheduled to go in that day.
We waited and waited and like a good first time mom who hadn’t a clue what I was doing, I got an epidural when the pain got intense (I was probably at a six or so). This was, by far, the best epidural I had (out of the three total). It was textbook. I also had an amazing nurse who refused to leave when her shift was up.
So, around 2 in the afternoon, I got the urge to push. My nurse who had been with me all morning was there. She was there an hour and half later while I was still pushing and her shift was up and the new nurse came in. Dr. J came in and out to check my progress. He’d watch me push then walk out. Never fussed, never tried to get her out…just waited. I still praise God for his patience with this first time mom. And my nurse, that would not leave, she cried when I had Zoe. She was so sweet and amazing with us! I’ve never had a nurse quite like her.
Wound up, I pushed for almost two hours. My sister was so impatient that she was standing outside the door to come see what was taking so long when I had her and Aunt Yaya screamed with excitement and freaked out the whole labor and delivery wing. That’s how we roll in my family!
Zoe was born a little after 3:30 pm with her beautiful pink self and her sweet little cry and so much hair on the top of her head that we could have covered her in bows and there still would have been plenty of hair left! All 8 pounds and 4 ounces of her (and that’s on the small side of my babies). Mark was in awe and instantly in love with her and more in love with me…at least that’s how I feel about it. He was so neat to watch because he thought (and still thinks) the whole process is such an amazing thing to watch. Not many guys can say that…he’s a keeper I tell ya.
We brought Miss Zoe home three days before Christmas and she was the best Christmas present I’ve ever received.
