Avery's Birth

Now that she is 3 weeks old and all, I guess it is about time I blogged a birth story..

We had all placed out bets on when we thought Miss Avery would arrive. They ranged from Blake and my bet of Nov 10th, all the way to Grammy's of Thanksgiving day..Addie was the only one who nailed the day right on. I asked her early that week when she thought our baby would come. She had been fervently praying each night for mommy, and to "help keep that baby in Mommy's tummy". I had begun to wonder if she realized how close we were now getting to baby's arrival. She thought about it for a moment and then said to me she thought our baby would be born in five days. I counted the days out and told her that in 5 days it would be November the 6th, Daddy's birthday. I told her that was awfully soon and that baby should stay in a little longer... but she maintained, "I think our baby will be born on Daddy's birthday".

On Wednesday, the 2nd, I hit 36 weeks and felt a big sigh of relief as this was the qualifying goal for a home birth, anything earlier and I would have had to be in the hospital. Our midwife Brandi gave me the okay to be off bedrest at my 36 week appointment, but Blake and I decided we would like to continue for another week to reach 37. I also had a little inkling of something and found myself canceling plans for the weekend to try and get our house ready and supplies lined up for Avery's birth, though I still felt hopeful of making it closer to my due date.

Saturday morning, the 5th, I awoke at 5:15 to a big gush that I thought was surely my bag of waters (funny thing was that will both Addie and Finn my water broke in bed around 4 am..so this felt familiar!). I called my parents to come get our kids and waited for labor to begin, which it never did. Brandi came to visit me later that morning  and we found that it was the forebag and that the amniotic sac was still intact which meant (in her experience) that I probably would be having a baby within a day or two. We sent the kids to my parents and spent our day running last minute errands and even had a date at Bellevue Square.

Sunday morning the 6th (Blake's 30th birthday), 5:15 I woke with another big gush, this time undoubtedly the amniotic sac. We got ourselves up and ready for the day, Blake set up the birth pool...and labor did not start. We had a nice walk to Starbucks for coffee/breakfast and still nothing. At around 9 am, I suddenly was overcome with emotion, just crying for no reason and told Blake to call Megan (our doula). Within a few minutes that crazy moment passed and I felt bad for having Megan on her way when I hadn't begun labor. She arrived, and then Tiffany (the photographer) and I STILL had nothing happening. We decided on another trip to Starbucks and a stop into the store for gatorade for later on, while Megan stayed at our home and got everything set up for baby's arrival (which I was now starting to wonder would be happening that day). 

We got back and Megan said she thought it was time to get things moving...had me do some special yoga positions to help baby move into position, and by 11 am, I was most definitely having labor contractions ( I have to distinguish as I had been having the braxton hicks all along..since like 18 weeks).

From there things moved quickly (thanks to Megan) and I spent time walking up and down stairs rocking on the baby's ottoman and sitting up and having back pressure applied (not once did I lay down). At around 12ish, I asked to get into the water to help me (which was amazingly helpful ) and not too long later I realized my body was ready to push (and had already started). It came so fast that I opened my eyes and informed Brandi and Megan that "I'm going to push now" ..of course they already knew and were ready. Then one big push later and Miss Avery was here and quickly given to me...at 12:55 p.m. weighing 7 lbs 6 oz, and 21 inches with a full head of dark hair.

Getting ready (and hydrated)

 Megan helping me get baby ready...

Megan got me into labor so fast with her positioning..I never got to drink my decaf peppermint mocha (my first of the season) that I was so excited about! Oh well, better things were to come for me that day!

 Daddy helping with the back pain..

It's funny I look so calm here...I think I was saying something like "I'm ready to be done now".

 It was fun seeing some of these photos of what was going on around me..I had no idea. I didn't even realize that Brandi was at our house until the very end.

 The worst of it. Those who have had babies know just how this feels..Didn't open my eyes much at all or know what was going on around me. 

Water-birth.

 Suddenly all is worth it:)

 You could tell she was a 36 week baby by all the  white vernix she was covered in...it absorbs as the baby gets closer to their due date, but for Avery, she hadn't had the chance yet! Other than that, you could not tell she was early. She was a good weight, good apgars and very ready to eat!

 Daddy's birthday gift:)

 Couldn't love her more!

 Newborn check-up.

 Getting weighed.

People keep asking "why at home?".I had known after my experience in L and D in nursing school that there were some things done in the hospital that I just did not care for and Blake and I did a lot of reading/studying and took a natural childbirth course before the birth of Addison. This led us to our decision to avoid any interventions that weren't necessary to the safety of our baby.  I didn't want to be induced in any way, or have any drugs on board during birth, though I did still have Addie and Finn at the hospital (which was hard as I found that the nurses/staff don't do too many unmedicated births..and were very unhelpful in this situation).  After having Finn at Providence this last time, I realized I would rather have been at a birth center, the hospital was just less than ideal. It is just so hectic and was a less than positive experience (expect for Finny who was perfect!). When we met with Brandi initially to talk about a birth center birth, we realized that given how far we were from the birth centers, and how quickly Finn was born, the birth center was not an option. In looking into the possibility of home birth, we learned that all the same equipment and safety checks/interventions are performed at home and with an experienced midwife attending, the outcomes were just as excellent. We felt very at peace with this choice and are very happy we did it this way..it was about as calm and relaxed as I had hoped for (though I'm not going to lie, it wasn't easy, childbirth is always painful!). 

I am thankful for excellent care and wonderful photographs, really couldn't have had a better birth team. I am thankful for my husband, Brandi, Megan and Tiffany for their role on Avery's birth-day!