Nathan's Birth

Monday morning, April 28^th, my midwife called to see how I was doing.  She said I was on her mind and she thought I would soon have the baby.  I wanted to tell her “If you come maybe my body will decide that it is time.”   For weeks I had many braxton-hicks contractions, but nothing consistent. On Monday night I thought my water had broken.  It turned out to be just some mucus and bloody show.  The midwife came out and checked me.  I was not very far into labor.  We sent all the kids to bed.  She encouraged me to walk for an hour.  I was having contractions about 2-4 min. apart, but they slowed down if I rested.  Around midnight we decided to get some sleep.  I didn’t sleep very well, because the contractions were waking me up every 15-20 min. That has been my “sign” for the last two births, so I knew that he would be born the next day.  In the morning Gabe cooked breakfast for us while I walked some more outside.  It was cool and I didn't stay out long.  Soon the kids were all up, and disappointed that their brother hadn't been born, yet.

Monday night I had called my aunt who said she wanted to help take care of the kids.  She didn't answer her phone, which didn't surprise me since she goes to bed early and after taking out her hearing aids would not hear the phone.  I left her a text message and hoped she would get it in the morning. I tried again Tuesday morning, but she still wasn't answering her phone.  I finally had my sister stop by as she went to work and let her know.  My aunt arrived around 10 am.  We talked and I walked some more, but there were too many distractions I still wasn't progressing much. 

My midwife suggested that my aunt take the kids somewhere.  She took the four oldest and went to KFC.  Hannah refused to leave mommy.  My husband decided to go to KFC also, and get lunch for us, too.  My midwife decided that she would leave for a couple of hours too, because “a watched pot never boils”.  I was left at home with just Hannah.  I set her at the computer with a preschool game that she could play without help and I went to my room sat on my exercise ball and read a book to take my mind of counting contractions.  It worked!  My husband was delayed for a long time at KFC because someone in front of them took all the chicken, and they had to wait for more to cook. 

By the time he got back I was having painful contractions.  I called my midwife, and she soon returned too.  Things happened very quickly after that.  She filled the tub (I have a large tub), and then said we should go to the bed.  I said I really wanted to be in the tub.  Within 20 minutes of being in the tub, he was born.  He was my first water birth, and I would defiantly do it again.  I loved the way the water supported my body as I was pushing. 

Hannah came in and watched while he was being born.  She likes to tell people he was born in the tub.  She would not leave me for the next few hours.  My husband named him Nathan James.  He was born at 2:13 pm on Tuesday, April 29th.  He weighed 7lbs 14oz and was 19 ¾ inches long.  All the kids are excited about their new baby brother and enjoy holding him.  Abby loves taking care of him, and acts like a second mom to him.  Recovery has been slower this time.  I got a cough a few days after the birth and it refuses to go away no matter what I do.  I also have had some nursing issues, but that is clearing up, thanks to a few suggestions from my midwife.

Hannah and Nathan less than an hour after his birth

Robert (9yrs) meeting his brother.  He prayed for a brother for many years.

Abby (9yrs) holding her brother.

Hannah's birth

Sorry it has taken so long to get this posted.

Birth of Hannah Joy

A week before she came I caught a cold. I spent several nights coughing and sitting up to sleep. Since I was still pregnant there wasn’t much I could take to help with the cough. Besides, I don’t care to take medicines anyway. I did try herbal teas, Echinacea, goldenseal, wild cherry bark syrup, and a few other herbal and natural remedies. Nothing seemed to help. Usually when I get a cold I am over it within 2-3 days. This one wouldn’t go away no matter what I did.

On March 10^th I went to sleep sitting in the living room. I woke up every half hour coughing and having a painful contraction. Around one o’clock I had enough of the pain and called the midwife. While on the phone with her I had a couple contractions. I am not very good at timing contractions and deciding if they are consistent and regular. Plus, this time I had been asleep, and only really painful contractions woke me up - and the coughing fits. The midwife came around two. When she checked me, I was already at eight centimeters.

I spent a couple of hours in the tub and then decided to get out and walk of sit up right. I was coughing too much in the tub, and the water no longer felt hot enough. Being upright and walking helped the coughing and the contractions seemed more consistent. I felt like things were progressing quickly. I decide to have her on the bed. Around five I heard Josiah wake up. I thought he would come find me but he chose a chair in the living room and went back to sleep. Shortly after six Beth came knocking at the door. That encouraged me to push a little harder and deliver the baby. Hannah was born around 6:35 am on March 11^th. Beth was so happy to have a baby sister. She smothers her and begs to hold her all the time.

Gabe said she looks like Robert when he was a baby. She is much smaller than Josiah or Beth when they were born. I had to go buy some clothes for her since what I saved from Beth is still a bit too big.

I spent the next few days caring for Hannah and continuing to try to get rid of my cough. Once the cough was about gone then my muscles on my sides started hurting from all the coughing I had done. I hurt so much that the only thing I could do is sit and hold Hannah. Which is what the midwife wanted me to do, but I wouldn’t have done it if I hadn’t felt so bad. The kids were a great help around the house and Rueben drove me anywhere I needed to go. I was so short on good sleep I didn’t trust myself to drive anywhere.

In the week following her birth we celebrated Josiah’s forth birthday and Abigail’s and Robert’s sixth birthday. We now have four birthdays in March and they are each four days apart!

By the time Hannah was two weeks old the cold was gone and the pain in my sides was better. We are getting back into our daily routine. Hannah has been very patient and content baby. The kids all love and adore her. I never lack for someone to hold her, if I need it. However, I usually carry her in a sling or wrap which keeps her very happy, sleeping, and safe from Beth.

Once when I left Hannah sleeping on my bed while I was doing something, Beth scared me by bringing her to me! Beth has to know where baby is at all times. First thing in the morning she checks my bed, the playpen, the swing, me and so on until she finds where Hannah is.

Hannah shortly after birth

Beth seeing sister for first time. Can you see her excitement?

It's a

Girl. Hannah Joy was born March 11th at 6:36 am. She was 7 lbs 8oz and 20 3/4 inches long. Mom and baby are doing fine. Siblings are all excited - especially Beth! We will post more photos and birth story in a few days. Right now we are busy just admiring how perfect she is.

(Photo taken by Abby)

(One day old)

Birth Story

This post is for all those who love birth stories. I enjoyed writing it so that I can remember her story as well. Someone did a birth story of the twins and I appreciated it. I did not do this with Josiah. Now I wish I had. I did not put any graphic details since this is open for all to read.

The Birth of Elisabeth Hope

In August and September I started doing a lot of reading about home births. I decided I wanted to have a home birth, especially after reading and hearing about other Christian women who had home births. I have never liked doctors, needles, and hospitals, so with my husband’s approval I began doing more research and asking questions. I found that there was only one midwife in my area that did home births. She had been doing it for many years so I felt comfortable using her services.

I was about seven months along when we changed from using IHS (Indian Health Services) to Juanita, my home birth midwife. Liz, my midwife at IHS, knew Juanita and was happy that I was doing a home birth.

On Jan 8th I thought I was starting labor, but it was a false alarm. I was unsure of what real labor felt like since the twins were born C-section and with Josiah I was induced after not going into labor within 24 hours of my water breaking. January was a long trying month with many days of contractions that would go away when I lay down at night. I did not loose much sleep from contractions, but they did cause me to slow down on my normal daily activities because I felt uncomfortable.

On January 25th I decided to go soul winning with my husband and kids for however long Gabe wanted to go. I wasn’t going to stop until Gabe stopped or I saw someone get saved. I had lead two boys to the Lord after Jr. church, but I wanted to see someone saved our knocking on doors, too.

We met at the Coronado Apartments on 16th St. I had a bus girl, Sherice, to be my partner plus Robert and Josiah (for part of the time). The plan was for my group to do the downstairs doors and Gabe, Rueben, and Abby do the upstairs. It wasn’t long until I was going up the stairs because Gabe was witnessing. I did lead one boy to the Lord. After soul winning for 1 ½ hours we went to Arches and had a late lunch or early dinner around 3:30. We dropped off Sherice and came home to relax a bit before evening church. I was having my usual contractions, maybe a bit stronger than normal, but I wasn’t convinced that they were for real.

Church was a celebration of the pastor’s birthday, so it was short and the kids fell asleep since they did not get their usual nap due to being out soul winning. We came home and all went to bed fairly early.

Around 12:30am I started having sharp contractions that woke me up every 6-8 minuets. I was excited that maybe I was finally going into real labor, but I knew I needed to rest as much as possible, so I continued to rest between contractions, and did not wake my husband or call Juanita. At 4am my husband’s alarm went off for him to get up for work. I told him then that I was pretty sure we would have a baby today. He had to go to work and at least get some paper work. He was closer than the midwife so he would be home before anything happened.

At 7am after I had taken a nice hot shower and gotten dressed, I called Juanita. She was just finishing up another delivery and said she would be here as soon as she was finished. I was the third delivery in two days for her. I called my husband, and he was on his way back home with his paperwork.

While helping Abby get dressed she told me she wanted to go to the library. I told her I thought baby sister would come today, so the library would have to wait for another day. She said, “After I shake baby’s hand, I want to go to the library.”

After arriving home Gabe took all the kids to pay a bill and get them out of the house for a little bit. While they were gone Juanita arrived. When she checked me I was 3 cm dilated. She suggested we go for a walk. Gabe had returned so we took the kids for a walk/bike ride around the neighborhood. They are learning to ride bikes, so they go pretty slow. After we returned Gabe kept the kids outside while I did some laundry and dishes. Juanita wanted me to keep moving, to eat, and drink plenty of water. Quite different from the hospital that wanted to keep me hooked up to monitors and wouldn’t let me eat or drink anything for the whole two days while waiting for Josiah to be born.

My mother-in-law came shortly before noon and took Rueben and the kids. I was glad for the quiet. It allowed me to focus on the contractions instead of wondering what they were into. Around one the contractions were getting closer, and I was getting tired from them, so Juanita suggested I get into the tub. I was glad for the change, and the water felt wonderful. I labored in the tub until a little after four. I was able to rest nicely between contractions in the tub. Juanita and my husband then helped me move to our bed where she was born at 4:50pm. The kids were home and out in the living room area. I was later told that they were all standing at the bedroom door listening for baby sister to cry.

After she was born, Juanita asked us what her name was going to be and my husband replied, “Elisabeth Hope”. This was the first time I heard a name for her. I love the name. Over the past few months there had been some debate between the names of Hope, Sarah, and Elisabeth. Since I choose the names for the twins (Abigail and Robert), my husband got to name the next two (Josiah and Elisabeth).

While I was getting cleaned up Gabe had taken Elisabeth out to see Grandma and the kids. He said Josiah just looked at her like a deer staring into headlights. The twins were thrilled to have a baby sister. Abby wanted to change her name to Sarah.

Gabe and Juanita weighed and measured her. She was 8 lbs 10 oz, and 20 ¼ inches long. Juanita did say that her gestational age was probably 41 to 42 weeks, so she was a little over cooked. :)

This was my first home birth. I enjoyed birthing at home with my family there and the comfort of my own home. My husband enjoyed it, too. I will be doing this again. Yes, Lord willing, there will be more children.

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. (Psalms 127:3)

I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. (1 Timothy 5:14)