Friday, July 22, 2011

Fashionably Late...

I have to start this entry off with a big Siiiiigggggghhhhhhh of relief! :)  I was NOT prepared to go over my due date with this little girl.  I was convinced since big brothers had come early she would follow suit...as one of my friends suggested, "all good princesses make their people wait."  And wait we did.  Yesterday, July 21st I had hit my 41 week mark.  My blood pressure had been a little elevated at last week's appointment and I had some swelling which I had been free from the rest of the pregnancy to cause concern.  I was emotionally drained earlier in the week thinking that surely I would be pregnant for the rest of my life.  Deidre, my dear midwife had called me on Tuesday and gave me just the pep talk and kick in the rear I needed for a good attitude adjustment, and I was finally feeling strangely content yesterday morning.  I had my regularly scheduled appointment with Deidre at 11 a.m. yesterday morning where Deidre, in light of my over-ripeness and concern about blood pressure, was planning to do some membrane stripping (a very pleasant "encouragement of the cervix") to help get things going.  Upon performing the procedure she determined that conditions were extremely favorable and said she had no doubt that labor would ensue.  I left the appointment feeling very optimistic.

I joined my mom and step-dad who had been hanging with the boys while I had been at my appointment and we went off to lunch.  I had multiple, much more serious contractions in the next couple of hours and a little after 2 p.m. I loaded up the boys to head back home for naps.  My mom just couldn't stand being away from my side, just sure that this was the start of the real deal...she decided she really should come home with me, so that she could wrangle the boys if they should wake up prematurely and I could get a refreshing nap in case I needed extra energy for events surely to come.  It was on the drive across town that the contractions began falling into a regular pattern.  They were not hugely intense, but were coming pretty consistently every 5 minutes.  When my mom arrived at my house I attempted to nap...dozing between contractions only for them to rip me from my precious snooze continually.  After nearly an hour, I gave up.  J arrived home from work and I assumed my position on my exercise ball while timing contractions.  My mom (Gigi) alerted my aunt (Nana) that she might want to head over as things were continuing to progress.  I forced myself to eat a little around 6 p.m. as contractions continued to grow in intensity.  Just before 7 p.m. I had a contraction that reminded me what real pain was.  I called  Deidre to alert her to my condition.  She was at the Birth Inn (a facility specifically for the home birth away from home) at the moment and wanted to know whether she should just hang out there or head home for a while.  I was indecisive.  I wanted to labor in the comfort of my own home as long as possible, but she was adamant that the last thing I would want would be for my water to break on the 20 minute drive to the Birth Inn.  We decided together that she would grab a bite to eat, stay put and I would check back in at 8 p.m. to let her know what our plan was.  Minutes after I got off of the phone, J was begging me to just head over after I had multiple contractions on top of each other.  I told him I wanted to take a shower before we left, so he urged me to get that done ASAP.  So...I did. :)  Contractions continued and I got dressed as J loaded up enough luggage to supply us for a week for an event that would probably only carry us to the next morning.  We handed out hugs to Nana, Gigi and our precious little boys who were beside themselves with excitement.  Off we went.  Several minutes into our ride I mentioned to J that I hadn't had a contraction since we had left...feeding my anxiety that this was going to be another false alarm.  A mere seconds later I stated, "nevermind...there it is."  A mere seconds after that I felt a POP sensation and then the classic gush.  Deidre SO called it...my water broke. A contraction or two later I welled with tears as a wave of pain began.  Every pothole jarred my body, but as the pain subsided my tears only increased.  I somehow giggled between sobs that it had suddenly hit me that we were going to have another baby.

Brand spankin' new...
We arrived unscathed (though a little damp) at the Birth Inn at 8:25 p.m...I changed into some dry clothes and J swayed me through contractions.  Deidre filled up the tub so that I could labor there and we filled the spaces between contractions with relaxed conversation.  As soon as that tub was full, I was in it.  Deidre and her assistant, Christy left us to labor quietly in the birth room on our own.  J was my champion coach and talked me from a ledge over and over again as contractions came closely and insanely intense.  At 9:33 p.m. a contraction began and there was such pressure I lost my composure and control and was able to squeak that I needed Deidre.  J called for her and she and Christy were immediately hovering.  She told me to gently bear down if I felt like I needed to and after a couple contractions checked to find I was at 9 cm.  At 9:40 I leaned back in the tub and began pushing with everything I had and after several good pushes (and a lot of horrible, guttural noises) Deidre said, "reach down and grab your baby!"  I grabbed that slimy little body and heaved her onto my chest and her sweet little cries rang through the room...Jilliann Josephine arrived at 9:47 p.m.  It was fast and furious...and beautiful.  The perfect birth.  She was nursing like a champ as soon as I was out of the tub and dried off and tipped the scales at 8 lbs 9 oz, 20 inches long.  Ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes...and blonde!

Already wrapped around her little finger


Perfectly perfect!
Deidre did her exam on Jilly, doted on me to make sure that we both looked good, finished up all of her paperwork and then she and Christy left us around 12:30 a.m. to enjoy a night just the three of us with instructions to lock the door behind us when we left in the morning.  We had very little sleep, but are still on a high.  We left the Birth Inn this morning at 7:00 a.m. and trekked back across town to introduce our new little bundle to our wild little men, Gigi and Nana.  The boys are absolutely enamored.  They have been pleading to hold her all day and as soon as they have had their turn then they are negotiating for their next turn.  At one point J took her to get a little snuggle time in and X-man told him, "Dad...3 more minutes and then it's my turn, OK?" :)  They are fantastic big brothers so far.  Oh...and I think Gigi and Nana are fans as well.

Daddy helping soothe Jilly during her exam
Pinkin' up!


It's a GIRL!
 
The proud BIG brothers!
 We are one happy little family of five...truly blessed!  Thank you to everyone for all of the well-wishing not only since her birth, but in the last long week or two when our patience was wearing thin.  Love to you all...


7 comments:

  1. What a beautiful family! Enjoyed reading your blog! Congrats on your little princess!!!

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  2. What a beautiful birth story! She is precious!! Congrats on your family of 5!!

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  3. Congrats on baby Jillian. I am soo happy for you and your family. What a wonderful birthing story as well.

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  5. Hello Jilliann!! What a great story, Teesh!!! Congratulations to you and J!! The boys are just precious with their new little sister!!

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  6. Oh, T! This gave me chills. I am so glad you got exactly the birth you wanted. You got to catch her! Awesome!! So proud of you! Much love to you guys!

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  7. You are a great writer..I love reading birth stories from the parents perspective...precious and you really couldn't have asked for a better birth..Thank you for the opportunity to participate:)God bless!

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