'THE' Birth Story

Okay, I'm finally sitting down to do this, I'll probably be lucky to get it done all at once, but we'll see!


Now before I go into the whole labor and birth part of this story please indulge me and listen to me talk about how miserable I was those last few weeks and why there are no pregnancy photos of me past like week 37. I SWELLED! Not just any swelling, pitting edema! It was horrible on my feet and legs, I couldn't remember what they looked like normally and I had a pocket of swelling at the bottom of my belly and yes, I had pitting edema there too. I could lightly put my hand on my stomach and leave an indention for a half hour. I gained 70lbs. by the end of my pregnancy, I gained 10lbs literally overnight by eating 2 pieces of pizza, and then at another appointment I , literally (again), gained 8lbs. overnight by eating lean pockets. My blood pressure was slowly rising over the last couple months so my midwife kept checking my urine for protein to see if I had pre-eclampsia, and all those other things that could pop up last minute, but everything kept coming back negative, so I had to majorly watch my sodium intake, because apparently my body hates sodium while I'm pregnant. Then to top all that off I was a week late. I couldn't stand or sit for more than about 5 min. at a time because the swelling became so painful, I could only lay on my left side with my feet elevated, I felt like a whale....which is why I tried to induce labor with castor oil.

So I was due on October 14th. On October 18th I decided to heed everyone's caution about castor oil (well, kinda) instead of taking none at all I decided I would take a half dose. I figured, what the heck, diarrhea can be miserable but so has 9 months of constipation, so what the heck! So I took it, went to the bathroom once and that was it...nothing else. So then October 19th I took a full dose at 1:30pm,
by 2:30 the pooping began, but nothing crazy or really crampy
around 2:30 or 3ish I also started having braxton hicks and they seemed really strong.
3pm I lost a large brown glob, mucus plug I'm assuming (sorry, but you gotta kinda expect this kinda stuff if you sit down to read something entitled "birth story").
Started having TONS of BH until 11:30 that night, they were getting really intense but no pain.
11:30pm-4am Nothing
4:18 am I woke up to go to the bathroom and lost the rest of my mucus plug from earlier. Went back to bed and started having contractions every 10-12min.
Got up again at 5am to pee and had my 'bloody show' which lasted like 2 full days (kinda freaky)
6am I got up to eat breakfast cause I couldn't sleep anymore and the contractions were more painful when I was laying down.
So around 7am they were still about 7-10min. apart so I was like, 'this is it!' so I decided to get a shower and get dressed so I'd be all pretty to push my baby out (haha...did I mention that I was planning on doing this all natural, in a tub?!?!)
So I took a shower and everything stopped- false labor, what a let down!
Then there was nothing until 9:30pm that night.
From 9:30pm that night and all through the night a next day I began having very low painful contractions and the pain was all concentrated in my pelvic floor, cervix area. So needless to say I didn't sleep. All I knew to do to cope with the pain was to jump out of bed, hold the dresser and do half squats til the pain left, ALL. Night. LONG! But the nice thing was that they were 30-45min. apart. I never woke Erik because I figured it was probably false labor because they were so far apart and I didn't think they were real contractions because everything we were taught is that they start in your low back then wrap around to your front and mine were in one tiny area, and that was it.
So now we're at the 21st, I already had a 41 week appointment scheduled for that day at 2:30pm, so Erik took me in cause I could no longer drive. My midwifes assistant took my blood pressure and then informed me that she wasn't going to tell me what it was and to lay down and she'd come check it again. So I rest, and they go ahead a check me and tell me I'm dilated to a 4 and 70% effaced. Then at the end of my appointment they take my blood pressure again and it's gone down, and they then inform me that the previous #'s were so bad that if they didn't come down they were about to transfer me to the hospital. So my midwife (and Erik) insist that I have a shot of nubane (sp?) a painkiller that lasts about 3 or 4 hrs. so I can relax and try to get some sleep, because I hadn't slept in a night and a half and the contractions were making me tense and not helping my blood pressure.
So I took the shot at 3pm and went home and was in a deep sleep for about an hour and a half, when i woke up to some really intense contractions I could feel over the painkiller.
Erik sat in the bedroom with me for the next couple hours with his laptop and everytime I could feel a contraction coming on I'd moan or wave him down and he'd come push on my hips til it left. My contractions were still 30-45min. apart at this point.
At about 7pm we decided to go back to the birthing center to get checked again before my midwife left for the night. She checked me at 7:30pm and I was 7cm and 100% effaced at 0 station and she said my bag of waters was bulging and about to break! I was shocked cause my contractions were so far apart. So we (or, Erik) called everyone and told them to get there.
I had my mom, sister, Erik, and friend Christina in the room and my dad was in the living room. We all just kinda sat around talking and making jokes in between contractions for about an hour or 2.....oh ya and when we got to the birthing center my contraction went from 30-45 min. apart to about 12min, then 6 or 7, and then about 3-5min. my first hour or 2 I was there. So after about an hour I decided to get into the tub. I was at and 8 somewhere around 10pm-ish and as she was telling me this she broke my water, which was a little unexpected. I then went into panic mode, because I was scared the contractions would really start hurting, and BOY was I right!
From about 10- 11:30 they came HARD and with no breaks. When they say it's the worst pain you will have probably ever felt in your life, they aren't kidding! I guess I thought they were.
By around 11:30 (I'm guessing the time here because everything was a painful blur at this point) I was told I was at a 10 and I could start pushing whenever I felt the urge. I guess I was terrified because I was fighting it, and I think I kept saying I didn't know how to push. So Erik and my midwife grabbed my feet and told me to push. So I pushed, and I yelled for someone to just pull her out, I grunted and screamed, I think I said something about just wanting to go to sleep and something else about being hungry. And I got no breaks between contractions cause she was coming so fast and I felt like someone was trying to rip my body in half from my hips, I kept complaining about how bad my hips hurt. My mom was frantic listening to me scream and left the room a few times and was trying to get the midwife to let me change positions....that would have been a miracle, I couldn't move I was hurting so bad! Then after 20 min. of pushing I gave it one more with all I had and her head came out at the same time I felt a "POP" throughout my whole body that I may never forget. And I think I announced that I tore, and then I just went into auto pilot and gave it one more push and Erik grabbed Zion and lay her on my chest. She was blue as all get out and not breathing real good and everyone was panicking but me. I twas such a God thing cause I never realized how blue she was til I saw pictures later. SO they rub her and spanked her and put a pump thing over her mouth and she let out a big scream. It was so awesome to hear. After her umbilical cord stopped pumping  my sister got to cut it, and then Erik took her and cleaned her up while I got out of the tub.

The whole thing was so amazing and emotional looking back. And it's funny, that night I was thinking there's no way I'm ever doing this again without drugs, but 2 days later I knew I could never birth any other way. It also took about 2 days for the emotion of everything to catch up with me. I had felt guilty that I was emotional when Zion was born, I couldn't even fake cry, and all I could think about was this massive tear I could feel. Then 2 days later I was a mess of tears that went on for about 2 weeks just so in love with my little girl, and releasing all the guilt I felt. Erik was so amazing during my breakdown too and had such a great explanation. He said that my body was probably in shock from everything that had happened and had just gone into 'survival' mode to cope with the pain and everything happening all at once. It made me feel so much better. I also don't think I changed one diaper for those first 2 or 3 days. Erik brought me all my food helped me in and out of bed, Brought me Zion for all her feedings, everything. Everything was just so incredible, and I've fallen in love with my husband all over again and in all new ways, and with or gorgeous little girl.

 And that's my story!

Might be time to pick up a dropped ball...

 I have another blog. It's called "I'm Blessed Dang It!" I haven't written anything on it in at least 6 months. But I originally started it as a reminder to myself that I'm blessed, everyday. I wanted to force myself to see all the ways I'm blessed. Obviously I haven't done too good at keeping up with it, but after reading through some old posts, I think it's probably a good idea to pick it up again, if for no one else but myself. I was super encouraged after reading this post I did last January and thought I'd re-post it for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!

 Knowing the value of blessing

I was trying to think about what blessings I'm grateful for, and I decided on 'the value of blessing'. Many people don't now how to look for blessings. They've never been taught. They're always looking for one step up, one little upgrade, or if this one little thing was different. But reality is no matter how great things get we seem to always want more or better, we forget to stop and be thankful for the little things.

Most of my life I've had a bit of a flare for the dramatic. Not usually in all things, but like when I get an idea stuck in my head it can go in a million directions verging on insane and by the time I get around to talking about the ant bite on my big toe I've decided that my life will be forever ruined because I'm going to have to have my big toe amputated. See what I'm getting at?? Anyways, without going into too much embarrassing history, a few years ago when I was in college I was living in Florida, fresh out of high school and I had done the unthinkable. I had signed up for a credit card, or five against my parents wishes. I was a bit (understatement) naive. My idea of a credit card was that I could load it up, buy whatever I wanted and simply pay a $10 monthly fee the rest of my life. Does it get any better than that!! And to top it off my mom had done something to help me build credit by putting my name on some of her stuff, so when I applied for credit cards I was approved usually for $5000-$10000. HEAVEN!

And then reality hit....

My express card was maxed out, and I had spent so much on other cards that my payments were far above $10 a month. And to top it all off I had gone home for a visit for a couple months and saved all my bill money for that time (cause I wouldn't have work) and one day when I put all my checks in the mail someone stole them out of my mailbox, washed the checks and decided to get their roof done! Of course I didn't even realize this had happened til the credit cards started calling asking where my payments were. So long story short I got it all worked out with the bank but the credit card company's had no mercy and sent my interest rates through the roof. Talk about a quick education in finance, haha! I got back to Florida, and I remember sitting on my bedroom floor one night in the cute little condo I rented with 3 other girls, and looking over my bills and crying hysterically. I couldn't talk to anyone about it, cause it was my big secret. But I had CC bills I couldn't pay, rent coming up that I couldn't pay, utilities, etc....then I started thinking about how the creditors would come after me and freeze all of my accounts until all my debt was paid off and I'd be kicked out of my house and I couldn't tell my parents, so when they called to ask how I was doing I'd need to put on a happy face and pretend that life was great even though i was huddled up in an old refrigerator box under the highway, and I'd need to come p with good excuses about how busy I was so they wouldn't come see me and what a horrible mess I've made of myself.

By this point I was hyperventilating through the tears and decided it was time to confess to my parents cause I would never survive the streets of Florida....unless, maybe if I made it over the bridge to the beach, hmmmm....I'd lose lots of weight eating fruit 'living off the land' be endlessly tan.... eh, who am I kidding!

My mom picked up 'hello?'

me: gasp, gasp, gasp, 'he' gasp' l' gasp 'l' gasp 'l' gasp 'lo?' gasp gasp

And then of course I freaked my mom out with my hysterics, she probably thought someone had died, but I set her straight. I came right out with it, between gasps of course. I proceeded to tell her about my future home living under a bridge and I probably wouldn't be able to afford my phone, and then I finally got to the part about having credit cards...lots of them. It was a brutal phone call, and my hyperventilating wasn't getting any better. Finally my dad got on the phone and said something so simple that snapped me back into reality.

Dad: 'Lacey, did you eat today?'
me: 'yes'
Dad:' Did you have a roof over your head today?'
me:'yes'
Dad:'Well then what else do you need?'
me: silence

Then he went on to explain that God took care of al my basic needs today and yesterday and I just needed to trust him.

Of course my parents helped me out with rent, but I just needed to be reminded that as terrifying and uncertain as life may seem at times, God watches over the mundane details as much as He watches over the mighty storms, but I just have to trust him day to day. He always good at 'course correcting' for us.

I screwed up, but God used that to teach me alot, and there were some really hard lessons in that, some that I'm still paying for. But I have food in my belly everyday, clothes on my back (stylish ones at that), and a roof over my head. I'm taken care of.

It's taken some hard lessons to teach me the value of blessing, but I'm grateful for it, because when everything goes wrong and it feels like the world and my 'life' is headed to hell in a handbasket, I can wipe the game board of life clean and look and see that I have all that I need. My God, my family, love, food, shelter, and clothes. I'm so taken care of, and I know how to hunt down a blessing!

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1.03.01

Old Wives Tales - Just for fun

 So I copied this from a website. Just for fun I wanted to see how many of the wives tales I fit...surprisingly, almost ALL of them! Haha (I'm having a girl for those that don't know)

Carrying High, Carrying Low -I'm carrying high
The way you are carrying during your pregnancy is one of the most oft cited ways of determining the sex of your baby. The general story goes that, if you're carrying low, you're having a boy. If you are carrying high, then you must be having a girl. Science says "NO, NO, NO!" to this: the way you carry is determined by muscle and uterine tone as well as the position of your baby. But who's to say that boys don't like being lower in their mom's stomach while girls prefer a view from the top?


What Your Urine Says - Don't know cause I'm not gonna try it!
This next test to determine a baby's sex may not be for everyone, although it is very simple. Just take a sample of your urine and mix it with Drano. Depending on the color change of your urine, you will have a boy or a girl. Unfortunately, there is no consensus on what color equals which sex. So, if you do decided to try this and your urine turns bluish yellow, brownish, brown, black or blue you will be having a boy. If your urine looks more greenish brown, green, blue or doesn't change at all, then you're having a girl. But be warned: if you decide to do this test, there could be some pretty harsh fumes produced - not to mention the possibility of an explosion!.

Heartbeats - Zion's heartbeat has never been below 142 at the lowest
One belief that has been around for some time, and even had some acceptance in the medical community at one point, is that the fetal heartbeat differs for boys and girls. If you're having a girl, then the fetal heart rate will be above 140. A boy will have a heart rate below 140. However, that pesky science has reared its little head again to say that this is complete fiction. A baby's heart rate is not affected by its sex until it is born, when a girl's heart rate will increase considerably compared with boys during labor.
Craving Something…Sweet? - I could live off doughnuts, watermelon, baked goods, etc
Many people believe that your cravings are caused by the sex of your baby. So, if you can't get enough chocolate, you could be having a girl. Does the idea of drinking straight lemon juice sound delicious to you? Then those sour cravings are a result of the little boy inside of you. However, if you go by the scientists, then some of them will claim that you're not even having cravings because cravings just don't exist.
Weight Gain - Eh, not really, but I wouldn't be surprised with the food I've been feeding him!
Thankfully, this one doesn't refer to your weight gain. The belief is that, if your husband puts on weight during your pregnancy, then you will be having a girl. If he doesn't put on a pound, then you're carrying a boy.
Is Her Face Round and Full?- My face is def. fat!
Some say that the shape and fullness of your face during pregnancy can indicate your baby's sex. Every woman gains weight differently during pregnancy, and every woman experiences different skin changes. If people tell you that because your face is round and rosy you are having a girl, they might be right - but it's just as likely that they are wrong!

At-Home Tests
Here's a test that you can do next time you change or get out of the bath. Look in the mirror at your breasts. If the right one is larger, you're having a boy! A larger left breast indicates a girl (if they're the same size, does that mean you're having one of each?). Maybe TMI, but the left is bigger.
Hold a pendant over your hand. If the necklace swings back and forth, you're having a boy. If it is more of a circular motion, then it's a girl. This can also be done by suspending a ring on a string above your belly. I have no intrest in trying this
Do you have acne? Some believe that getting acne during your pregnancy indicates you're carrying a girl. Maybe the acne is caused by twice the amount of female hormones? YES YES AND YES! I feel like a teenager again.
Pick up a key. If you've picked it up by the thinner end, you're having a girl. Picking it up by the bottom, rounder part means a boy is on the way. Did you pick it up by the middle? Then congratulations! You're having twins! Didn't try.
· Ask yourself what you think you're having. In a study that asked women with no previous knowledge about their baby's sex, the moms-to-be correctly guessed the sex of their baby 71% of the time. Before we found out I was positive I was having a boy...so I was wrong!
 

The stuff nobody told me

I haven't gone too over board reading pregnancy books, but I've read a few, and I get like 4 weekly e-mails telling me whats happening this week, but there's a few things they leave out of those books, or maybe I just skipped over these parts because I didn't think they applied to me at the time.

First, I really think there should be a pregnancy book for women who gain more than the recommended amount. Because when pregnant women (or at least this pregnant woman) talk about feeling huge, they aren't actually talking about their stomach! That's the part you expect, and I'm great with the huge belly, just not the equally huge butt, that, by the way, no longer fits into ANY 'lounging around' shorts! Nor the cellulite down to my knees, who knew knees could get fat?! And I don't even want to get into the back fat! There should be warnings in these books that not everyone fits into the average category and to refrain looking into mirrors that let you see your backside until at least a few months after the baby is born.

Secondly, and it's taken me some time, but I've learned, if something is going on with your body and there's even the slightest fear in your mind DO NOT go googling around looking for answers to your aliments! Because I can almost promise you you WILL come across someone's horror story who had the same symptoms as you, just ask your Dr. AND something I've found really helpful when I start freaking out is a book someone gave me called supernatural pregnancy by Jackie Mize. And whether or not you believe all the stuff in it or not you can get a little companion book with it called Prayers and Promises and I just pick it up and start declaring scripture and promises over Zion and when I can't even conjure up a prayer I just pray the prayer in the book.  It's been a hard lesson, but I feel much better when I just believe God's promises for my child rather than all the what if's google brings up.

Thirdly, The Hormones! With a capital H. I'll be 8 months in a few days and I've been hormonal on and off during my pregnancy but nothing too crazy, but GOOD LORD! They have kicked into high gear! I spent the past few days hiding from Erik and crying because I'm so excited to meet Zion, but I don't want her to grow up! And then I look at Hadassah and I cry because I don't want her to grow up either. And then I watch the Subaru commercial where the dad's giving the little girl driving instructions and then when she goes to pull out of the drive way she's 16, and I cry!!! Then I was taking some stuff out to the storage building this morning and I cried, why?? You ask, I don't know!!!
I know I won't feel like this forever, I'm sure the first time I get pooped on the feeling will pass quickly, but man, I feel like a nut case!

Fourth, No one prepares you (or at least no one prepared me) for how lame you (meaning 'I') would feel the last few months. Not only am I giganto, it's a furnace outside right now and my body is a furnace, and the 2 furnace's do not mix well together! So I don't want to move, at all! Unless it's getting into an air conditioned car to go to an air conditioned mall, movie theater, or out to eat. So when I get invited to go lay out or go out on a boat I tell my husband 'go enjoy yourself, but I'm staying home' And I feel lame, but it's so hot, and my butt hurts when I sit too long, and I feel like that fun girl Erik married has gone into hiding, and it's scary taking on this whole new identity of motherhood, and absolutely loving it by the way, and feeling like this is everything I've wanted and it feels so right and I'm actually enjoying this pregnancy immensely, but at the same time fearing that the fun, energetic wife part of me is dying, and I know it's temporary  but it's still scary, cause I'm a wife first and then a mother but all this tiredness and these hormones are alot to deal with!

 

Fifth, (I promise there's good stuff too) No matter how much people tell you about motherhood and pregnancy and how much you will love your baby you just can't fully fathom it until you feel it. And I just can't even imagine how much more I will love Zion once she's here, but right now it's just me and her, I get to feel her every move, I can tell when she's gotten a little bigger, sometimes I can even tell when she's about to move alot. I can sit alone for hours imagining if she's sucking her thumb right now, or stretching, or blinking, what she's going to look like how she'll act, etc.... and the further along I get it's all I want to talk about or think about (although I don't because I understand that people probably don't really care that much when it's not their own kid...been there). I got her bassinet all set up in our room and now I just stare at it thinking 'Holy crap! My baby is going to be in that thing in a couple of months!' It's just amazing how in love you can be and how protective you can feel.

Those are the major one's. Of course there's the whole new 'nesting' thing going on right now which, maybe not everyone experiences this, but I've got a list (I am a 'list' person which makes this so much worse, because I have a need to mark things off the list once they are on there) going of things I want to get done before my baby shower and before Zion gets here and when I get going on one of my projects it feels like a panic attack, like I've got some pressing deadline I've got to make (as in hours, not days or weeks) and I can't leave the house or do anything else until it's done.  And to make matters worse I've refrained from putting cleaning on my list because we live with my parents and the house is always full of people and whatever I clean gets trashed within minutes, talk about a panic attack, I'm terrified of going into labor and having to bring Zion home to a dirty house!!

Now, after saying all that please take note that I have removed myself from the 'average' category of pregnant women, so not everything I've said or felt is normal or true for everyone, so please don't let this scare you away from pregnancy or make you fear what's to come if you are pregnant. Cause let me tell you, I'm 8 months in and this has all just been a major learning curve, but by no means has any of it deterred me from wanting to do it all over again a few more times.

So here's to pregnancy, losing my butt, and a fat margarita in 2 months!