Finally

Finally I am sitting down to reflect and write about Della's birth experience. I literally have not had time to do this in the past five weeks. Four kids under 7 is not easy to manage, even with Bill having some time off work. I simply have too many things on the to-do list and blogging easily gets bumped to the bottom of the list. I am trying to be conscious of putting myself on the list, in the form of taking rests as needed and exercising moderately. If I were not to do this, then this blog would have been written sooner. Of course, it's a busy season anyway with Christmas coming up, so there are extra things on the to-do list, which wouldn't be there if baby had arrived in January or something. :)

This whole pregnancy, I really wanted to work on being patient. I didn't want to have to beg my doctor to break my water in order for the baby to come, and I really wanted to make sure I was in labor before going to the hospital. I had thought I would just wait for my water to break at home and then I'd be sure they wouldn't send me home. However, I also didn't hold back on trying to get labor started on my own. So Friday, October 28th I didn't stop moving all day. I had wanted to work in the garden raking leaves, but it was raining so we couldn't do that. Instead, during the kids' quiet time, I briskly washed our hardwoods on my hands and knees and drank about three cups of Mother's Milk tea which is an herbal supplement with anise, fennel and caraway. I had heard that pregnant women shouldn't drink it because it may induce premature labor, so I figured it'd be okay for me at 39 weeks since labor. You might be thinking, "I thought Addie was trying to be patient, yet she's trying to induce labor, wtf?" You are right, it seems contradictory. For me the difference was in my attitude. I did those things to get labor going, thinking it wouldn't really happen and being at peace with that. In the final days of my pregnancy with Wesley, my attitude was entirely wrong and impatient, even though I also tried to induce labor by being active and such. My heart was at peace this time and I trusted that God would bring the baby when it was His timing.

Anyway. My efforts on Friday brought on mild but not regular contractions and I went to bed around 11pm. My parents had arrived that day and were staying for the weekend. I woke up at 2am with discomfort and back pain, and semi-regular contractions. I started pacing around our 2nd floor hallways and began timing the contractions with the help of Contraction Master on my phone. Very helpful! The contractions were between 1 and 4 minutes apart. However, they weren't that painful so I didn't really believe it was the real thing. After an hour, I woke up Bill saying, "I don't know if this is real, but I'm having regular contractions and I think we should go to the hospital." He got things together, had a small breakfast, and we got going. Things were calm and I honestly believed we'd get sent home. The drive though was really uncomfortable during the contractions because I couldn't shift position in the Prelude's seat. I remember saying to Bill, "I have this picture in my mind of the first time Caley, Amelia and Wes will visit us at the hospital when the baby comes, even if it's not tonight, and it makes me really happy that this is how we've made our life."

We got to the hospital and walking from the car was very uncomfortable. I was unable to talk or walk during the worst of each contraction. I think that's when Bill knew I wasn't kidding and that this might actually be the real thing. We checked in and they magically already had a file ready for us! The receptionist was really confused about that. So it sped up our check-in process. It was about 3:45am. They put us in triage to test my urine and assess the situation. I told Bill, "Please don't tell anyone we're here or put it on Facebook, because I know they're just going to send us home." The nurse checked me and I was 8 centimeters with a full bag of waters!! It was the best news I could have ever received and we both cried with happiness! Our baby girl will be here soon!

The nurse kicked it into high gear and we started walking to our room, and they called my OB, who wasn't on-call but wanted to attend the birth regardless since she'd delivered the other kiddos. The nurse said, "Don't have your baby in the hallway!" As soon as we got in the room the other nurses started to bring in the newborn warming unit and they started my IV. I was, again, Group B Strep Positive so I had to have antibiotics to protect the baby. It's supposed to be a 4-hour dose. After about 10 minutes they realized my OB wouldn't arrive in time as my labor got more intense and I was feeling the urge to push, so they called the Evergreen Hospitalist, Dr. Pfeifer. Around 4:15am my water broke and, I don't think they checked me, but I was probably at 10cm. It was soon time to start pushing and after 2 pushes, she was out at 4:31am. Dr. Pfeifer delivered her and Dr. Tsuang (my OB) walked in about 30 seconds later.

It all happened so fast, it was kind of a blur! I still can't really make sense of it. I am amazed that my body just knew what to do, and did it without my knowledge. And I can't believe I was at 8cm and was able to carry a conversation and be normal! I think because the water was still intact it cushioned a lot of Della's descension and such.

Each birth experience has been unique, which is surprising to me. Through each pregnancy and birth, God has spoken to me in different ways. I have felt the most loved during my pregnancies and births, because I feel I can see God so much more clearly. The beauty of God giving us another amazing gift without us even knowing that we wanted it beforehand, really makes me feel loved. God really does care and knows every detail about me. Our family is so much richer now that Della is in it. Not that every single moment has been all chocolate and roses and butterflies, but it's better than what it was. Della just fits with us perfectly.