When we found out we were expecting #5 I was excited but a little nervous too. While we love the idea of using a midwife, it had never worked out in the past. Our first pregnancy was with a set of twins, which came early and required an extended hospital stay. Our second pregnancy we were so scared after the complications from our first that we delivered at the hospital. And the third pregnancy, though we had planned on having him at home, God had other plans and the little guy would not come out. As a result at 42 weeks, we were sent to the hospital to be induced. So, upon hearing about #5 my mind immediately went back to that point and I wondered if my body was able to deliver without interventions.
Thankfully we had a wonderful midwife who throughout our pregnancy did her best to put my mind at ease. Unlike our previous pregnancy, this one had lots of false labor. I would start having contractions for 1-2 hours and then they would stop. As my due date came and went my hope for a natural labor started to dwindle. At my 40 week check-up Beth reassured me that my body was definitely preparing for labor and she expected me to go into labor soon. That night I read the verse "surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life" - Psalm 23:6 and remembered that whatever happens the Lord is in control. At 3 AM I woke up and just remember praying, "Lord please, today please." Well, by 4 AM I was in labor! After trying to sleep through the contractions I got up around 5 and woke up my husband to let him know that we'd have to head out soon. By 6 AM I was uncomfortable enough that I called Beth to let her know we'd be on our way soon. By 6:30 our friends arrived to take care of our other kids and my husband and I were on our way to the birth center. When we arrived Beth and her assistant Christy were already there getting things set up. I fully expected to only be 4-5 cm dilated, but when Beth checked I was already an 8! Shortly after I arrived Shelly came in too. My hope had been to deliver in the birth tub, so I got in there, but after a few hours, baby's heart rate dropped and Beth asked me to get out. After praying and trying a few different positions, the baby's heart rate got back into the normal range and I continued to labor in the birthing room. After what felt like a LONG time of pushing, Beth talked about breaking the water bag. She felt like that was the only thing holding baby back and we agreed. About 20 minutes later, with Beth's help, my sweet husband delivered our little guy! Since we also decided to wait to find out the gender, my husband got to be the first to know we had a boy! We thanked the Lord for His help during this time and for the safe delivery of JJ! After lots of suctioning (there was a decent amount of meconium in the amniotic fluid), and resting, we got to go home to the rest of our family. We were very excited to introduce them to their new brother! I hope I never forget our sweet FJ announcing loudly that she changed her mind about wanting a girl and was excited we had a boy!
JJ born September 20th at 10:51 AM. 9 lbs 3 oz and 20 in.
Looking back I'm very grateful for our wonderful midwife team, Beth, Shelly, and Christy and all the help they were. Also, the day we delivered I know there were other patients being seen at the birth center, but I never saw one of them and I would have never even known if Beth hadn't mentioned it to me!
