Number Four is Here!

And while I am tempted to call her "pooper" for her blog name, I will wait until she gives me a better idea of her personality because that name wouldn't be fitting forever...at least I hope not.

I'll give you our birth story, though there isn't much of one to tell. I have to say, God was at work for me in this one, just like I knew He would be.

A little less than a month from her due date, I started to feel very apprehensive about her arrival. I was not into it. Didn't want to do it. I was aware that this was a matter of the heart that I needed to go to the Lord about, and so I did. He began working in my heart and things began to change in my thoughts. At first it became just a little less apprehension and nerves, then it faded more and more. The first thing He did was to bring my mind to the words of a verse I knew I had read before in Psalms. Over and over the verse popped in my head, it was God telling me I didn't need to fear. I was SO feeling the possibility of pain meds at that point and was not at all thinking that I would worry about going natural again. God started to change my heart on that front as well. I stumbled across a few doula and midwife blogs and that sure did help in a lot of ways.

Slowly things changed in my heart and mind as I spent my daily time with the Lord. It became something that wasn't a big deal...I was just going to have a baby and it didn't need to be a huge thing. I didn't need to dread it. I looked for my verse in Psalms, knowing it was highlighted, but couldn't find it. I ran across a verse that sounded quite similar and thought that I must have remembered it incorrectly and wasn't all that worried about it.

Many of you don't know my birth history...I'll fill you in a tiny bit. I don't feel contractions much. Curly- well, I didn't feel them and thought it was just time to go to the hospital. Started to feel a bit of discomfort on the way and when we got there my last contraction in the hall on the way to the room was enough to make me stop walking, but it wasn't all that terrible.  They checked me pretty quickly, and there we were- complete.  I was already at 10 cm...with my first baby...and they wanted me to get ready to push.  UH, WHAT?!?  I had been prepared to feel some good pain that would make me WANT to push that girl out.  So, I fought the push for awhile.  Two hours after we arrived, our little girl was here.  Yes.  I am a stubborn girl.  I've heard so many people say that you just CAN'T fight the urge to push when it's there...well, if you are me, and you REALLY don't want to push yet, let me tell you- it's possible.  The nurses and Handsome had to pry my legs open after her head was through so that I wouldn't crush her.  I know...sorry for sharing all that there.

Smiles was a bit different.  My water broke while I was getting ready to go into the mall.  Shortly after our arrival at the hospital I was feeling the pain.  In my first hour after arrival I reached a 7.  He got stuck there.  My biggest mistake was allowing myself to lay on that darn bed, but I didn't know any better, so I laid on the bed unable to move.  After two hours or so of this laying through quick coming contractions, I wanted some drugs.  The nurse kept trying to get me to roll to one side and I was NOT going to be moving.  After she shot me a quick dose of something in my IV it took the edge off enough to roll over (and that's all).  A contraction or so later we were pushing and he was out.  I can't remember for sure if he was three hours or closer to four, but it was a short process either way.

Now to Miss 4.  I had been watching my pressure with her because I have to be more aware of that than most.  Not feeling labor is nothing to complain about, but I tell you what- there are down sides.  I'll take them any day, but I am aware that a baby birthed away from a hospital is a possibility.  Sunday night I was having some decent feeling pressure, just where things felt like they were tightening up.  It sort of felt like if I chose to tighten my stomach muscles, that's it.  I thought to myself that it seemed kind of close though, and so I had better time a few.  Umm...they were two minutes apart.  That was for about fifteen minutes.  They like you to have an hour of record when you call our hospital, but I supposed this might be different.  I was talking to Handsome who had just got in bed.  He wasn't very sympathetic and said something like "Are you sure?" and then "Are you kidding me?" in an I'm tired tone.  And don't get too mad at him because we'd been doing the false labor thing for awhile and I had thought we would have a baby already a couple times.

I didn't want to call the neighbor and friend to come over and be with the kids for false labor and my husband's lack of concern was enough to make me question myself even more.  I got in the shower to see if it would slow things down.  It did.  They went to four minutes and three minutes apart.  So, I sat for a few minutes and started reading my Bible.  They kept coming, but when I fell upon one of the Psalms of the day I was determined to finish it.  It was the one with the words that had been coming into my head at the start of the month!  "There they were, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread." (Psalm 53)

At that point, I was pretty confident that we were going to have a baby soon because that's just the way God works.  He saves something special like that for just when you need it...and it was like a little way of telling me that I wasn't out of my mind.  I think somewhere right around there I told Handsome that we either needed to leave for the hospital or we were going to have a baby at home.  He unexcitedly got himself out of bed while I called the hospital, telling them that I was debating on going in or not.  (I knew that I was going to go in, but these ladies have been known to be better if THEY make the decision, so I placed that ball in their court first.)  "Given your history, I would rather you come in and we send you home in an hour."  Okay, off we were.

Neighbor of wonderfulness that came into our lives last summer headed straight over while Vicky trucked across town to stay with the kids.  This was our night plan so that we wouldn't have to move kids or wait for Vicky to get there.  We knew the possibility of emergency, so we were prepared.  On the way to the hospital I was feeling some stronger pressure, but still no pain.  My verse running through my head because of the way hospitals make me feel the instant I walk through the doors.  That had been also addressed in prayer during the week.

We got to the construction zone of a hospital (for real) and had to walk down a LONG walkway to the birth center.  Handsome was behind me getting things out of the car and I was fearful of a baby arriving during this walk because she was so LOW and I was feeling pressure in areas that didn't mix well with walking.  Got in and said- I need to SIT NOW or this baby is going to come out too soon.  Got checked, was at 4cm (very quickly after arrival).  Started checking in and sat on the bed through contractions and monitoring, refusing to lay down because I KNEW that if I laid down things could get ugly...like pain might want to arrive.  They were nice about it and so was I.  I was apparently in a pretty goofy mood the whole time if you ask Handsome.  Excepting the few minutes which brought on the oxygen mask...then I perked right up =).

Checked shortly after starting monitors, 7cm.  Okay, I guess we aren't going home.  Nurse said, "No.  You are not going home.  Pretty sure you are staying here." with a smile.  Called a couple people, but not many just to say we were staying and having baby.  Things progressed quickly and within an hour of getting there I was "complete".  Time to push.  OKAY, here we go!  No pain , or what I would call pain anyway, during contractions at all.  Pushing...well, I have to tell you that even us blessed girls feel pain when pushing a head through such a place as that.  Not my favorite part of the process to say the least.  Anyway, two "pushes" (meaning their version of pushing where they tell you PUSH, PUSH, PUSH forever and a day and then let you breathe for two seconds...then comes the second push...yeah...that kind of pushing) and little Miss 4 was out.  Unfortunately, being the little pooper that she is, she had let some go in her bag of waters and they had to work on getting all the gunk out for quite some time before I could hold her.  This made the lovely process of getting put back together a little less comfortable for me because there was no sweet smelling babe in my arms to distract me, but what's to be done =)?  There wasn't much putting back together to be done anyway.

There was some Motrin involved in my recovery, but nothing more than that.  Awesome!  I don't like to take medication at all, so I wasn't too upset with something that you can get over the counter.  (Apparently with birth #3 things "shrink" back up more quickly, which results in more afterbirth pain.  But, because she was a smooth delivery, I didn't have much other pain to recover from...so it was all good.)

And- that my friends is the birth story of Miss 4.  So far, she is easy going as pie and is adored by all of her siblings.  Smiles has a new favorite phrase.  "Hodit!"  Which means, hold it.  Yes, it is quite funny that he calls his little sister an "it", but I assure you, he is very aware of her personhood.  Curly won't stop following me around like a shadow, constantly asking if she can hold her.  Gumby is interested as well, but surprisingly less than the other two.  She is content to have viewing when she is invited to and doesn't pester Mommy much more than that.  From my baby doll obsessed girl, I have to say that's a little different than my expectation.  BUT, since Gumby's ability to be gentle is far less advanced than the other two (yes, Smiles is EXTREMELY gentle with the baby), it will be okay that she is the least interested.

Hopefully I will find time to take some more pictures to share with you soon.  For now, I am going to go and feed my little pooper.  (Who, if you wanted to know, did poop while on my lap during part of the writing of this post.)