the day baby Sarah came into the world

I know not everyone likes to hear or read about birthing stories, but I wanted to share about the day baby Sarah came into our world.  It was a very special day, one I want to always remember, to share, to inspire and encourage others, she is very special, just like her birthday.

this was taken in between contractions

 Wednesday night September 21st was a normal night, we took the girls out to smash burger for dinner, and then headed to small group.  I didn't feel different, just the usual random cramping and anticipation of when the baby might come.  We came home and went to bed, I was restless, as usual, getting up to go pee often and not very comfortable in general.  I was more crampy than usual but no real consistent contractions.  

As the morning approached I just really felt the need to go outside and walk around, to have fresh air and just be outside!  So when Brett's alarm went off around 6am I asked if he could just walk with me, so that is what we did.  Just a few minutes into our walk I started to have frequent contractions, every 2-3 minutes apart, it just came on quick!

I wanted to be sure I was in labor so we decided to come home.   I took a shower and started to get ready (yes, I straightened my hair while in labor). The contractions had been going for about and hour and getting stronger so I decided to call our Doula, Kari.  She came over about 7:30am.  I continued to have contractions but I wanted to see Maya and Norah before they became big sisters, so I helped them get dressed in the morning.  Maya cried when I told her baby Sarah was coming,  she said, " I don't want baby Sarah to hurt you."  I think she could see my pain during contractions.

Kari was a great support as I continued to labor at home in my room.  She encouraged me, helped with pain relief and carefully monitored my progression.  Brett was awesome support also, getting what I needed, massaging and helping with the girls.  However, he did slice his finger open with scissors and had to be attended to by our Doula (who is also a nurse) during the middle of me laboring.

At around 9am Kari looked at Brett and said firmly, "get the bags in the car, we need to get to the hospital."  Thankfully the hospital in only 5 minutes away.

When I got there I was shaking (which is apparently a sign of transition).  The triage nurse seemed to be taking her time though....... you know they have to "make sure" I am in labor.    When she checked me I was already dilated to 9cm.  The nurse stopped asking me questions and just wheeled me right over to a delivery room.

It was chaotic when I got in there, lots of people rushing in,  putting like 50 arms bands on me, asking about allergies and moving me to the delivery bed. 

The Dr. was already in the room, she checked my cervix and said I was already dilated to a 10 and could start pushing during the next contraction.   Ahhhh what!!  I felt like saying, "just give me a second" and I think I actually did say that......

But all of a sudden I just looked at the Dr. and said, " I need to push"  and 2 pushes later baby Sarah was out!

I started labor at about 6:15 am and Sarah came out just 3.5 hours later at 9:47am.  How did it happen so fast? Good thing we didn't wait any longer to get to the hospital!

No, I did not have any pain medication, no epidural, and that was part of the point of hiring a Doula, someone who could help me with the pain management.  There is nothing wrong with getting an epidural, I had one with Maya and everything was great with that labor, I also felt like I didn't know any better though.  I think every women and every labor are different and you need to decide what is the best and safest route for you.  As a women I felt like this was something God created me to do, have a baby, and He wouldn't give me a task he didn't think I could handle.  I also did a lot of reading, researching and educating myself on labor.  I did have some intense moments of "I can't do this!"  but Kari was great at reminding me that I already was doing it!

  There were many things about my labor that were much easier this time because I did not have pain medication and I felt like I knew what to do with my body a lot better.  The labor was also much quicker (epidural can slow it down sometimes) and the healing time has been much faster!  Brett says he really feels like everything was much easier for me and him also.

Babies first bath

I am thankful for this experience and so thankful to those who encouraged and support me, my friend Celine, my BFF Sarah, and my Doula, Kari were all wonderful at encouraging me that I could do this.  They all gave me great advice and great resources!  Thank you!

Kari, My Doula

Maya, Norah and Grammy were our first visitors!! They loved meeting baby Sarah

My new little girl

We love her so much!