Wednesday, March 16th I reached 38 weeks in my pregnancy. I had made it through both gymnastics and basketball season and the full moon was drawing closer. I had many tell me I should have a St. Paddy's Day baby which was sounding better and better by this point so I was game if baby was. Dave had Thursday the 17th off so I was feeling it would be a perfect day. I noticed on Wed. that my ligaments in my groin had loosened and I told my mom when this happened with Ozzye he was born 3 days later. Thursday arrived and despite my loosening ligaments I decided to go to yoga as planned. I figured the stretching would be good for them and it did seem to bring me comfort for the rest of the day. That evening though I was feeling very sore and worn down. And unfortunately for my husband exceptionally crabby as well. 11 O'clock hit and I told him we should go to bed because I did not see a baby in our near future which at this point I was perfectly fine with waiting until next week now seeing that we had dinner plans
Sat. night to celebrate my parents' 40th wedding anniversary and my brother's birthday.
That night I got up a few more times than usual to pee and upon returning to bed I noticed contractions a bit more often than I had been getting them but I refused to pay them any attention and went back to sleep. I remember dreaming about having contractions all night which I thought was strange but upon waking in the morning my day was starting like any other. I had my cup of tea and some breakfast with a few sporadic contractions mixed in which was not unusual in the least. At about noon I went in the bathroom to take a bath and noticed I had some bloody show. While it didn't concern me at all, knowing it's very normal for some women, it was the first time for me. But as I have said before these later babies know you have seen it all before so they need to come up with new ways to keep you guessing. I decided to take my bath anyway since my water had not broke. Once in the tub I had a few contractions again but
nothing different or unusual than what I had been having. I texted my mom just to give her a heads up and she said she would be over a little later to check in. I called Dave just to let him know we could be having a baby later today but at this point he should just stay at work since I was pretty sure nothing would be happening any time soon. I told him I would call him later when I got out to let him know if anything changed.
Once getting out about 1:30 I waited for things to pick up but instead it seemed like any mild contractions I had been having had pretty much stopped. My mom showed up and I told her I had plans to bring Aubriel to gymnastics as usual and then I was going to go grocery shopping since we were pretty much out of all food in the house. Being the intuitive mom that she is she decided she would just ride along with me. All through the grocery store I was having contractions on and off but again nothing overly strong or much different than the ones I have been having for months. By the time we were done and walking out about 5 pm I had a pretty good size one which I managed to continue shuffling along through as not to draw too much
attention to myself. My mom offered to drive home but I was quite confident I could make it. On the way home I had two more good contractions and I started to change my mind about having a baby today. I called Dave at work at 5:30. He offered to come home right then but I knew he would be done with work at 8 and felt that I could probably just wait until then. I hated for his boss to come in on his day off if I wasn't going to have a baby. So Dave opted to call me back after 20 to see how many contractions I had, had since we last spoke. When I told him 5-6 he said he would be home shortly and once he arrived my mom could leave to go get Aubriel from the gym.
He got home a little after 6pm and my mom left to get Aubriel. I had already pumped up the pool earlier that day so Dave and I started filling it and getting other birth supplies out. I emailed some friends and family but even as I sat at the computer I felt my contractions letting up compared to how they had been when I was up walking around. Once again I started to wonder if we were going through all this trouble only to have to do it again days or even weeks later. I was however very adamant about waiting until my mom and Aubriel got home before getting into the pool just in case it did speed things along. They walked through the door about 7:30 and I got in the pool.
Once in the pool I almost felt like the few contractions I had been having were lessening. They were coming often enough but not much intensity to speak of.
But by 8pm they were picking up in both areas. I started to have to breath through them while Dave kept me laughing in between them.
As always he was amazing, always knowing just what I need right when I need it. He would massage me during a contraction and keep me distracted the rest of the time.
He could tell by the intensity of them by 8:30 it wouldn't be much longer so he and the kids started taking guesses as to the time of when the baby would come.
At this point I guessed 9:22. The next few contractions to follow would frustrate me as I started to get that "I'm losing it" feeling. Knowing from giving birth before that this is a sure sign of transition and despite the fact I could feel the bag of water upon reaching up I was POSITIVE it would be longer and I feared how I would be able to deal. Not moments later I felt a pop but didn't feel my waters release. On the next contraction I felt the head move down and I said "here it comes." Not expecting it anymore than I was Dave replied with "what's coming?" At first he thought I was talking about another contraction but moved around behind me just in case I meant the baby. While he was moving the head emerged which he never noticed. With my next contraction the body slipped out and I reached down to scoop up the baby while Dave was in shock thinking it came out all at once.
I pulled her up to my chest and leaned back into Dave as we both laughed at how incredibly fast everything just too place. We told Kain to check the time and he announced 8:57! Only 30 minutes after Dave would have gotten home from work had I decided to "wait" and 25 minutes earlier than my seemingly optimistic guess as to the time of birth.
Kain had planned to announce what we had been blessed with. I love sitting back looking at my new baby's sweet face while I hear one of the other kids announce what they are. But once Kain got over there and I spread her legs he couldn't see in time and his Dad beat him to the punch crying out "It's a girl! Honey it's a girl!" and laughing. It was such an excitement for all of us. Especially for me who had been quite convinced the last several months that another boy was on his way if for no other reason than the fact we were still discussing boy names while I was in labor which seems to be our theme. Although the moment I saw the dark brown hair it reminded me of Aubriel's little head and I did start to wonder if maybe she was in fact a girl. I absolutely
LOVE the surprise of not knowing. There is something about finding out in that VERY moment, that moment of sheer bliss, when you are only surrounded by the purest love and it fills you soul to it's depths, when you are on the sweetest natural high, to actually see this new little person you have spent months wondering and dreaming about. I am quite certain those that find out what they are having ahead of time still feel much of the same but it is hard to top everything that culminates in that moment...
but I think this might just take you a bit beyond. It's like the cherry on top of the sundae!
This was certainly a good birth too. Short and sweet. Fully rested and easy. The kids all gathered around to look at their new baby sister and get a touch, feel or snuggle in before bed. I love having them there too. During the birth they can be a bit distracting but they seem to have a sixth sense about what is happening and that it is in fact sacred. They respect it in a way I haven't always anticipated. Looking back there were of course moments where I felt like
I needed them quiet but a quick shhh from my mom or Dave and they respectfully listened.
I got out of the pool and within about 15 minutes delivered the placenta. Which I kept this time to encapsulate. She nursed right away and continued for the next few hours while we soaked all of her in and let her cord blood drain back in. Then we tied off and cut the cord. We had plans to
burn it with our beeswax candle but since she was kind of fussy we thought it best to use the fastest method possible. Now I am a bit bummed we didn't try it. It seemed more gentle than cutting it and a bit more of a ritual. I don't think I could ever do a lotus birth. While I am all for giving my baby's blood back to them so I will always delay detaching it I really don't enjoy having them attached for any length of time. Although I must say there is something heartbreaking to me about actually cutting something that is attached to my baby. We waited about two hours with this birth and it seemed about the perfect amount of time.
My mom then held her while I showered and Dave emptied the pool. Once we were done with that we weighed and measured her. She came in at 7# 4oz and 18 inches long. She seemed so tiny to me it is hard to believe she is almost a full pound heavier than Ozzye was. Of course these two are the only ones that have been 18 inches long. My babies have stay pretty consistent except for Oz...
1st - 7# 3oz. 19 inches
2nd - 7# 6 oz. 20 inches
3rd - 7# 6 oz. 19 inches
4th - 7# even 19 inches
5th - 6# 5 oz. 18 inches
6th - 7# 4 oz. 18 inches
Then we got her dressed and ready for bed. By the time we finished starring at her and counting all of her fingers and toes a dozen times it was about 2am.
Love how they have the same look on their faces!
We didn't even fully settle on her name until the next day. After several people continued to bug us through texts, emails and facebook. After changing Brody's name we just wanted to be absolutely sure on her name. We had already had Maxine picked out for her middle name. It was Dave's Grandma's name and she passed away the very same day our little girl's life first sparked so it only seemed fitting. Her first name is EilaRain (pronounced Ay-la Rain). It means "shinning light through the rain" which not only seemed poetic after being blessed with such a beautiful little girl during such a sad time for us but it reminded us of the weather on our wedding day. Right before our ceremony the rain started briefly only to have the sun comes out and shine
bright during our wedding. I can vividly remember my maid-of-honor trying to calm me down as I got ready before hand and heard it was raining. She said "It's just raining a little bit to make everything sparkle and shine for your ceremony" and that is exactly what happened too!
Since Gage is named after our friend and Dr that delivered Kain and Gage and Brody is named after our friend and midwife that assisted with Aubriel and Brody's birth we wanted Eila to
have a name that reflected her and Ozzye's unassisted birth without actually using either mine or Dave's names. We thought something symbolic to our relationship would better reflect the impact of birthing them unassisted and how it has drawn us closer in our marriage. I certainly wouldn't think something so simplistic as to how one births their children could impact a bond between two people but it has... and it did again. So we felt perhaps giving her a name that
reminds us of the day we were joined for life might have more meaning to both us and hopefully
her as well.
I am not exactly sure what I expect any more. I plan for nine months. I think of every detail. I am so comfortable with what to expect from birth that I focus on some of the most insane details now, like what scent of candle to burn during labor. And yet even with all of that the actual birth still humbles and amazes me. Somehow I never truly expect it to be as easy as it really is. I am not sure why I fight that. Maybe because of what birth has become. The "dangerous, painful, drawn out, tortured experience" and while I do still experience some "pain" I honestly think it can't be what other women feel. It use to bother me when women would make comments like "I would have that many kids too if it were that easy for me to give birth." Like somehow I have been blessed with easy births or something. But I do know I have been blessed with the
perspective of them. I did reach a point where I was in pain, a lot of it, where no matter how much I tried to tell myself it wasn't painful I couldn't convince my body of it. I reached the point
where I was quite certain I might split in two, where I couldn't continue on, where I wondered "what in the world was I thinking doing this again!" But then I also reached that point where I didn't let it break me, I transcended it. I breathed into each and every moment good and bad and met with an angel on the other side.
My sweet, sweet baby whom trusted me to birth her they way nature intended and more impor
tantly I trusted her to give me the greatest spiritual rebirth... once again. It is not a new experience but always an individual and different one for each of my blessed babes. Which is probably why it never gets old for me. This unassisted childbirth proved to be just as
empowering and connecting for Dave and I as the last. We are completely in love... not only with one another and all of our children but with the energy that fuses us all together every time we welcome another into our family. It is not just another birth... it is a reawakening. There are no words for it...
Oldest and youngest... 12 years between them!
Aubriel with "her babies"
The sisters!
And just for fun here is a picture of our first two big brothers with their baby sister...
Gage, Kain, Aubriel and Dave
And the next two "big" brothers with their baby sister...
Ozzye, Brody and EilaRain
