Our beautiful baby girl came into the world and captures our hearts.
("T" will be her used nickname for sake of my blog and our privacy).
T was born at 4:25pm on November 7, 2011 weighing in at an even 7 pounds. Her entrance was felt...for several hours leading up to her debut.
We are in awe of this new little person in our lives. She is so quiet. So cuddly. So tiny. So perfect.
Babies are a true gift from God in so many ways. One that we are so thankful for, is how they MAKE you slow down and take a look at life. What is important in life is all that matters. That there are so many wants in life, that we so often don't live in the present and hope and want for the future instead. She is making us slow down. To enjoy the moments and this time. To love. To be.
Kai and Si have been amazing with her as well. They came to the hospital after she was born and were so excited to see and meet her. They both wanted to hold her and give her kisses. Very curious of who this little being is and what she is doing in our world.
T's Birth Story:
Sunday November 6th was a day that felt different. Call it mothers intuition, call it whatever you want, but Sunday felt different and I had a feeling something, or should I say, someone was going to happen. To avoid "jinxing" anything I went about my day. Keeping busy, enjoying family and friends...anything and everything to keep my mind off baby-time...even had a pedi with a girlfriend!
There were little signs of things to come that were occurring throughout the day; from bigger Braxton Hicks and some real contractions to other things too gross to mention...but for those who have children will probably get my drift.
Starting at around 8pm I was having back spasms and time-able (milder) contractions. Over the course of the hour the discomfort ramped up and the in-family doc was called on for advice :)
By 9 on Sunday night the parents were called, my in-laws were on their way over to watch the kids...and 9:25 we were on our way to the hospital.
Contractions stayed at a regular interval but pain didn't increase. At 4am I decided to go home and see what would happen. No sleep as every now 10 minutes the pain would wake me up. At 7am I headed to walk the treadmill in hopes of speeding things along. It worked.
While walking the intensity picked up and the contractions were anywhere from 3-5 minutes in separation. We hung at home as I waited to see if they would get stronger. With a few contractions that brought tears to my eyes...it was time to return to the hospital. 10:15 am.
Contractions were definitely there, but not much change on the dilation side...so membranes were swept and within a minute, contractions ramped up to yet another level. A level of contraction pain I had never experienced before. And every 2 minutes for a couple of hours I labored along and she moved closer to entering our world.
My birth experiences for all three children have been incredibly different for each one. T made her pending arrival felt on a level I have never experienced before. Every time my back would seize, I knew to brace for another contraction...and with every contraction, trying to breathe while grabbing the edge of a chair, I was only hoping that she was making great progression...and desperately hoping my epidural was on it's way...FAST.
I was not trying to play God here. I was having a baby. I wanted to bring her into the world as best I could, as best as my body could, and for me, that included an epidural.
By the time the epidural came and kicked in, contractions stayed strong to continue the
process. I felt pressure instead of pain and when the time was getting closer, I could feel a little bit more. Within the course of a little over an hour I went from 4cm to 7cm to ready to push. Feeling MAJOR pressure in the nether- regions I knew it was push time. The pressure turned to sheer pain mixed with some last minute nerves and fear...and with a slight epi top off it was time to push. With every contraction I pushed...but she came fast. Once I was able to push her head through, I literally had to push a couple more times and she did the rest. From push time to baby, there were all of 10 minutes.
The pain and discomfort was quickly forgotten as T was in my arms and proud Dad was cutting the cord. Amazing. Pure joy...and a few tears had.
And now, here we are 1 week later already. The past week has been a blur as we have settled into life with three kids. Thank god for family and their HUGE support over this past time. We have had our moments of pure insanity...and a few glimmers of sanity and hope. Our home will never be the same. Forever changed, yet again...And we are loving every second.
