A Short and Sweet Labor/Birth Story

God is so good and so gracious!  I had asked Him for a normal, natural delivery, after my last 2 deliveries being rather dramatic and high medical intervention.  I felt like He told me a few weeks ago that he would give me a peaceful, natural delivery as a gift.  And it was just that!
After walking probably a total of 3 miles on Friday and doing a good bit of other things to get labor going the few days before, I woke-up at 5 am on Saturaday morning and felt a perfect little "bubble pop."  I was still lying in bed, but felt a gush of water.  I knew immediately that my water had broke.  I got up quietly, trying not to wake my husband, and went to the bathroom.  I was leaking fluid everywhere!  I finally had to turn on the light to find some clean underwear and at that point I woke my husband with a slightly paniced, "babe, my water has broke! I'm sure of it!"  He groggly woke up and help me find clean clothes.  My doctor had told me to come to the hospital immediately if my water broke since I've had so many babies and I was a vbac.  I started to put the last things I needed in my suitcase and Ron went to wake-up my 16 year old daughter, since my mother-in-law wasn't in town yet to watch the kids.  Anna was so calm.   She helped me finish packing and I tried to call the doctor but was put on hold.  I was beginning to have some strong contractions, so we just grabbed a big towel and headed for the car.  We got to the hospital at 5:40 and at the point I had a tough contraction.  The contractions were hard but not real close together.  So, when they finally got me admitted and checked, I was really surprised and happy that I was already 5-6 centimeters.  They drew my blood and put in a hep-lock, but I didn't even have to have an IV.  My daughter got a friend to come stay with the younger kids and my older ones headed over to the hospital.  The doctor on call was one I had never met, but was so calm and chilled. He was also low medical intervention, which was great.  I had an awesome nurse and in less than 2 hours after arriving at the hospital, I felt like I needed to push.  Sure enough, I was complete and he was born in 2 pushes!  The doctor also let Anna, my 16 year old, stay and watch the birth.  She had asked me ahead of time, but I didn't know if it would work out.  She did great and watched the whole thing.  It was so awesome and life changing for her!  She was laughing and crying when Patrick came out crying and strong and healthy!  I had no tearing or stitches and he has been nursing great.  I guess I didn't think my 10th, well actually 11th, labor and delivery would be my best and easiest!

John means "God is gracious" and Patrick means "noble and full of honor"

Anna sporting her "missionary midwife" look 

Delivery History

Seeing MK for the first time.....my only c-section

I was thinking lately over my previous births as I prepare physically and mentally to deliver yet again.  I thought I would write a very brief synopsis of each of my births.
Btw, I love natural childbirth and highly recommend "The Bradley Method."  I do also love my hospital births.  I guess being an RN, I'm comfortable in the hospital and like the comfort of knowing if anything goes wrong that I am right there with all the modern medical advancements : )  I also try to remember that a live, healthy baby is the goal and sometimes births don't go as we planned, but it's alright.  Very few things in life do, right?  God is in control and He is good!  Anyway, here goes.............

Will:  water broke spontaneously at 39 weeks.  No labor started after 12 plus hours, so I was started on pitocin.  He was born 6 hours after that, with no other drugs.  He was small, 6lbs. 2oz. and a great first birth.

Ben:  went into labor spontaneously at 38 weeks.  Had a 8 hour natural labor and he was big, 8lbs 13 oz., and had shoulder dytocia.  He was stuck for a few minutes and had to have oxygen right after birth, but thankfully no NICU.

Anna:  went into labor spontaneously at 39 weeks.  Had a natural 10 hour (I know, the labors got longer : ) Great labor and delivery in the middle of the night and was so happy to have a girl after 2 boys.  She was 7lbs. 2oz.

Christian:  was a day late!  Had a midwife for him, in the hospital.  My water broke at home and went to hospital after labor was regular.  He was born after being in the jacuzzi and then on the ball.  My shortest, most peaceful labor, about 4 hours.  He was 7lbs. 12oz.

Taylor:  this is my very sad story.  I will one day do a long blog post on my precious little one, but it's too hard to focus on now.  I stopped feeling movement at 37 weeks.  A sonogram confirmed no heartbeat.  I was induced and it took 20 hours to deliver him.  He was born still, yet perfect.  He died due to a knot in the umbilical cord.  He was 7lbs. 7oz.

Luke:  my healing baby!  Born 10 days early and less than a year after Taylor with a midwife.  I did have pitocin with him due to my labor slowing way down.  He was 8lbs. 12oz.

Caroline:  she was due on Christmas Eve, so my doctor induced me a week early.  It was a nice, quiet labor and she was born with one push!  The doctor basically ran in and caught her just in time : )  She was 7lbs. 12oz.

Ellie:  I went all the way to her due date and was huge, so my doctor induced me.  She was born pretty fast and weighed 8lbs. 7oz.

MaryKate:  I really wanted to go into labor naturally, so I went past my due date.  At 3 days over, I stopped feeling her move for 3 hours.  I freaked!  I rushed to hospital with just my 13 year old son.  The baby was very tachycardic (high heart rate) and they could not get her to move either.  The doctor did an emergency c-section and she was born with an apgar score of 1.  Her second score was 8 and she was fine after that.  It was determined that she was way too tangled in her cord.  She was small, 7lbs 1oz, and I guess was just swimming around in the big uterus too much : )

Matthew:  He was on due on Thanksgiving so I chose to be induced a week early.  Because it was a v-bac, the induction was just breaking my water and monitoring.  The doc did give my a little pitocin later on, because labor was very slow.  I had to be heavily monitored and that drove me crazy!  Was a very hard labor, but it was so cool having all my family there (right outside the door) when he was born, including my mother, mother-in-law, sister and sister-in-law.  He was born surprisingly with DS, but all that is another blog post I wrote earlier.  He had no major medical problems and was adorable at 7lbs. 12oz.

Whew!  I'm getting a little nervous that I'll be doing this again.  It really never becomes "old hat" but such an awesome miracle!

Some of the hospital visitor craziness!

My Little Guy Turns 2.... Plus A Birth Story

     My little guy is two years old today and I can't believe it!  Time sure does fly and things sure have changed since he was born.  God has so changed my heart, my perspective and made my life so very full and blessed.
     Matthew Henry, Mattie as we call him, was born with an extra chromosome, much to my surprise.  I had had an uneventful pregnancy and a "normal" level 2 sonogram.  Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and since he was the tie-breaker (at that point we had 4 girls and 4 boys) we didn't even find out the gender.  He was due on Thanksgiving, so my doctor agreed to induce me a week early so I could be back home and ready to cook the big Thanksgiving meal...crazy huh?  So we went in early the morning of the 20th and had a long induction with 12 family members at the hospital waiting for the arrival of #9.  By late afternoon, we knew he was coming soon and after 2 pushes, he was out.  I heard my husband yell out "it's a boy" and that is when things began to get a little strange.  They didn't let me hold him but took him right to the warmer.  I heard him crying, so I felt like everything was fine, but there were a bunch of nurses around him and the room seemed very quiet and solemn all of sudden.  I looked over at him and thought he was so cute but he did seem paler than my other babies.  Next thing I knew, two people with street clothes on came in and were checking him out.  I asked who they were and the nurses said "neonatologists."  I thought, oh they are just being so extra careful because I'm over 40.  Then they let all my family in (literally 12 of them) as I was just finishing delivering the placenta.  It was then I looked over at my husband and he was sitting down looking very pale.......he knew, God had told him 2 weeks before, but more on that later.  All the family "oohed and awwed" and then I finally got to hold him.  At that point, I looked closely at his eyes and asked Ron, "does he look different to you?"  Ron didn't answer.  Then the nurses showed all my family out and told me to get up and go the bathroom.  While I was in the bathroom, I heard the room get very quiet and a male doctor's voice speaking to my husband.  I knew at the moment and felt like my world was falling apart.  "God no.  Me?  I have 8 children already and I homeschool!  I can't do this!"  I was sobbing in the bathroom.  I came out and saw the doctor holding my baby.  He sat us down and told us that Matthew had several DS markers and that he was 90% sure he had an extra 21st chomosome.  He was very encouraging and nice about it, but I felt that I was in a dream and that this must be wrong.  Matthew looked perfect to me.  I just sat there and cried.
     Ron was taking it all so well and actually smiling!  My two older boys came in and we told them.  They sobbed along with me (that was so hard seeing two big teenage boys cry over their baby brother).  Everyone else had left the hospital and Ron was prepared to go home and tell the grandmothers, two aunts and the other children.  But then Ron looked at me and said, "God told me this two weeks ago, but I didn't feel I should tell you."  He said that one night he was laying in bed reading and all of a sudden, he heard the Holy Spirit speak to him the words, "Down Syndrome.  But it's going to be OK."  He prayed about it a minute and then kind of forgot about it until he saw little Matthew for the first time.  He was accepting this great, but I was a basket case.  I really did not know what to expect from it all, but I had such wonderful and supporting friends and family.  God even let a friend of mine, who is a nurse in the hospital I was in and who happens to have a teenage son with DS, be working that night!  We were so thankful to find out that Mattie had no major medical issues and he nursed like a champ from the get go.
    We didn't find out for sure that he had DS until the karyotype (blood test) came back 10 days after he was born.  At that point, Matthew was in PICU with RSV. He had almost died and I had bonded with him fiercly.  I was all alone when the doctor came to give me the report.  Ron had just left to go home to check on the other children.  When the doctor told me that he had that extra 21st chromosome and showed it to me on the lab report, I finally accepted it. As he was leaving, he looked at me and said, "You know, it's going to be OK."  Just what the Lord had spoken to Ron!  He left the room and with tears in my eyes, I looked out the window towards the setting sun and said, "OK God, we, You and me together, can do this!"
     Fast forward two years........I wouldn't have my little Mattie any other way!  I feel so blessed to have him and even feel so "special" to have been given such a gift.  The DS is what makes him Mattie!  As I get to know more people with these special children of all ages, I see what a delight they are and how all of us parents feel the same way.  Looking back, I wish that I could redo that moment when he was born.  It is so sad that the medical community cannot rejoice in the labor room when a child not "typical" is born.  I wish I could do it over again and not cry.  But I have to let go of that and I know that Mattie feels so loved. I'm so thankful to the Lord for placing him in our family.  God has truly changed me.  I feel like in the movie "Blind Side", when the Mom says to her friend, "No, we're not changing him, he's changing us!"