I prayed so hard to be victorious over my fear of pain and anxiety from past labors. I battled in prayer with many sisters the memory of a long transition that left me defeated and distant at the birth of my 4th child. Of course I prayed for a quick and pain free birth (who doesn't??) but what God gave me instead was what I really needed - confidence in His design of birth and that He will never leave me in the dark times.
Contractions started early morning on Friday oct 9th, bowels were clearing out and I felt nauseous. Kevin ran out to earth fare for more protein powder and handled breakfast. But by mid morning all had stopped. He went back to work and I tried to continue with the day as usual even though I felt so lost. Kevin got off early around 5pm to mow the lawn before baby came. I took the kids for a walk and we stopping by our neighbors house for a visit. Despite SWS, sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming, my labor had all but stopped. I was feeling nervous and uneasy.
I awoke on Oct 10th midnight to a little stronger contractions that persisted 15 min apart. I was able to sleep a little until 4 am. I got up and discovered I had lost my mucus plug. Having grown tired of pretending to sleep, I decided to get moving and see if the contractions would pick up. I showered then started my bible study. At this point I was beginning to feel the exhaustion set in from a long night. So I went back to sleep around 6am and the contractions spaced to every half hour. Still strong but not close together.
At 8am I got up and dressed for the day ahead. Was this the day? Would the contractions continue but not progress? Was I in for another long brutal labor? I began to feel nauseous but knew it was anxiety so I sent some texts out for prayer and then asked not to be disturbed.
We did some chores as a family and watched Kevin's war room DVD features he had been working on. Labor would pick up for an hour then die down. I kept loosing more mucus plug so I had a feeling I was really in labor but not positive when it was right to go get checked. I didn't want to make the journey twice but I was ready to get some answers.
There was a midwife picnic scheduled for that day but it had been moved to the birthing center due to rain so Damaris was going to be there anyway. We ate a light lunch and headed down there around 1:30pm.
When we got there I was not feeling very chatty. Put me in a public place and you will see my true emotional sign post! After a painful check, my midwife Damaris said I was a 6! I was shocked and relieved that these far apart contractions were being productive and I wasn't being a wimp - they really were strong! But my excitement was damped by the reality that if they didn't pick up, it may still be another couple of days until this baby was born. A couple DAYS??? Oh no way!! As they gave me some tips on how to stop labor and get a good nights sleep, all I kept thinking was "how do I get out of here and have this baby?!?!"
My good husband took the midwife's advice to go eat somewhere before deciding what to do, so I lay there with my head on the table at Cracker Barrel surrounded by my sweet kids. They had this knowing look on their faces that mommy wasn't ok but she would be soon. They kept their spirits up and we're excited to go look at the open hearth fire, all the while shooting me quick glances out of the corner of their eyes. We had talked about the bible verse that says a woman is sad when it's her time to be in labor but once the baby is born she is joyful and forgets her pain because of the new baby. Drakeford mentioned this at the beginning of the day and asked if I was "sad because you are in labor?" I said yes and that seemed to satisfy him with no more mention of it.
I began to cry at the table to kevin "I can't do this for another couple DAYS!" He took that as his queue to get me to the birthing place! Off to the Ferebees! We got there around 5pm.
Kevin got everyone settled with Laura and then began unloading the car. It was nice to labor by myself for a little while! I began trying difference positions during a contraction to make them more productive and painful. I also began moving positions every 5 minutes to encourage them to come closer together. Worship music was playing and I prayed to the Lord for strength and courage as the night went on. He truly did comfort me and minister to my aching body. What a sweet time it was!
I texted Damaris and said the contractions were still 10 minutes apart but I felt "pushy" near the end when I squatted. She quickly called me and told me not to squat until she got there!! Kevin came in from putting the kids to bed around 8 and I asked him to start setting up the tub. He wasn't sure I was really ready to have the baby yet but started the process. And boy was it a process! Pumping it up, trailing the hose, switching hoses, slicing finger on faucet attachment, faucet attachment not working, run hot or cold water, it's almost full but moms ready to get in now! In hindsight we would have called in more help from Lori as the midwives weren't there yet, but kevin did a Capitol job setting up a tub he has never seen before!! All the while I was moving into transition - the moment of truth. Hanging on to a doctors point of view that it should only take 6-8 of these transition contraction and the baby will be born, I began numbering them in my head. Once we got to 7 I said "is the tub ready yet?" The midwife was there helping with counter pressure on the hips and telling me we may not make it to the tub.
At last! The tub was ready! I wasn't feeling "pushy" now but the contractions were so strong I refused to believe I needed to wait for that as I couldn't handle them any more. At his point the pain was constant in my low abdomen even in between the strong pulls of the uterus. But as soon as I sunk down into the warm water there was huge relief of that in-between-pain. Yes! Just what I had hoped for! It was the most peaceful 16 minutes of pushing I have ever had. Long gaps between pushes to rest and get ready, no need to yell from the blinding pain, the ability to focus on the task at hand and put my effort into getting baby out. God was there, holding my hand, reminding me of His promises that His will is better and to trust Him. Then the baby's head was birthed and I was tested in my ability to stay calm, and through many short breaths I actually felt my birth canal relax and release some tension and pain while I waited for the next wave to push the baby out fully. It wasn't long though and he came.
Victory! The words on my lips were "thank you God! Thank you Lord!"
9:43 pm baby Hobbs Honor Peeples was born into his daddy's hands under water. What a beautiful thing!
Lori was giving updates outside the room and texted Sarah "I think I hear a baby cry! And laughter!" All was quiet in the house and joy filled our hearts.
After birth recap :
No tearing, minimal bleeding, crazy bad after pains!, and nursing was a struggle. Lip and tongue tie clipped and it is going much better! He is definitely a "hold me" baby ☺️. His brothers and sisters provide many arms to hold him! We have been so blessed with meals by family and church family and Laura coming to help while kevin was away and I was sick. So blessed, God is good!
9:43 pm baby Hobbs Honor Peeples was born into his daddy's hands under water. What a beautiful thing!
Lori was giving updates outside the room and texted Sarah "I think I hear a baby cry! And laughter!" All was quiet in the house and joy filled our hearts.
After birth recap :
No tearing, minimal bleeding, crazy bad after pains!, and nursing was a struggle. Lip and tongue tie clipped and it is going much better! He is definitely a "hold me" baby ☺️. His brothers and sisters provide many arms to hold him! We have been so blessed with meals by family and church family and Laura coming to help while kevin was away and I was sick. So blessed, God is good!
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