Third time’s a charm
No matter how many kids you have, the anticipation of birthing that child (or children!) I think will always be there full of all the unknowns that come with! Birth is called "labor" for a reason, and every woman can attest that. Whether you give birth without medication, with medication, or have a C-section, it is LABOR!
Birth challenges every woman physically, mentally, and spiritually. Because of that you have to prepare for all three before the big day. What makes things worse is often times that "big day" can't be penciled into your schedule. If you're a planner like me, that's almost the worst part!
This is the story of the birth of my third, beautiful son: Judah.
When I found out I was pregnant with Judah, I was excited and terrified. Terrified because baby #3 would mean my husband and I are outnumbered! But, I was excited to experience this amazing ordeal God created just for women. I loved my homebirth with my second, so I was mentally ready to do it again.
But my mental strength was quickly thwarted when I found out I couldn't have a homebirth. You see, even though I had accomplished giving birth to two big boys before, both of their births came with a serious issue of hemorrhaging. Because of the nature and amount of hemorrhaging, I am no longer a candidate for homebirths. :(
If you know me, you know I am not a fan of hospitals. Like, not at all.
But God.
God had a plan for Judah and I that I didn't anticipate (or like initially). I like being in complete control of my surroundings, especially for birth, and I wanted to be in control! However, even with having my relationship with Jesus for as long as I have, He still needed to teach me He's better at being in control than me.
So, with reluctance I scheduled to see a midwife within a hospital. And with that, my mental strengthening came with a specific prayer: Point me to the best midwife that will support my wishes, keep my body from hemorrhaging again, a labor less than 8 hours, and surround me with the best staff during the birth.
For the entire pregnancy, that was my husband's and my prayer.
As the big day got closer, I thought for sure I was going to go into labor before my guess date. 37..38..39..40 weeks went by with no baby!
At my 41 week appointment, an ultrasound was scheduled to make sure baby and placenta were doing well. That was the first ultrasound we'd ever had! It was a neat experience, and to no surprise, the OB let me know that HE (yes, we decided at that point to find out the gender :P ) was going to be a big boy.
After the ultrasound, we went to see my midwife. We had gone into the appointment with the plan of requesting a membrane sweep after a lot of deliberation to see if that would get baby to join our world. Initially, it wasn't recommended because I was Group B Strep positive. But, after a cervical check, my midwife looked at me with wide eyes to inform me I was 5-6cm dilated! We decided to go ahead with the sweep. She was ready to admit me to the labor room then and there, but I said we'd come back after I got adjusted (of course!) and had a quick lunch.
During lunch, contractions were becoming more intense and consistent. Back to the hospital we went!
It was a weird feeling walking into the labor room and setting up my environment to have some remnants of home, and I was mostly nervous we'd go through all this work and then labor would cease! It didn't of course, and things progressed normally.
Hello labor pains and shakes!
It is truly amazing how you forget what pushing a baby out feels like. It's uncomfortable.....ok, it really hurts! However, the amazing part is truly the fact that God made it possible for us to accomplish the amazing feat!
When it was apparent to my midwife that I was getting close, she did a cervical check again and I was 9cm with full dilation! We made the informed decision to break my water then (funny how even with a large baby and being that dilated, the sac was still intact!).
Less than 45 minutes and just three good pushes later: Judah entered the world!
Oh my sweet, sweet Jesus, thank you for that feeling of relief!
After the pains and pressure, when those tiny toes were out, I felt my body just shift into a more relaxed mode. No, the job wasn't fully done, and it was at that point my midwife went into action hardcore. By massaging my lower uterus, administering Pitocin and one other medication, she was able to prevent excessive hemorrhaging!
Praise God! We had a healthy 9lb 9oz baby boy! And you know what else?
I was surrounded by the best staff.
My midwife was there with a specific and successful plan to handle my hemorrhaging.
The labor was 15 minutes short of being 8 hours.
If you didn't know God could answer your prayers, check out that list compared to what our prayers were. I asked Him to be in control, and He took care of it with perfection.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJghcUSZyK4&list=RDMMsIaT8Jl2zpI&index=27
(one of my many worship songs that helped me maintain my focus on Him instead of the pain)
To be able to say that I had a fairly uneventful labor is amazing, and I will continually praise God for how it all went!
