Welcome to the World Baby Boy!

Part I - 11 Days Before Your Due Date

(by the way, I do have a version of this that includes photos, 

but I moved it to my personal blog)

I'm over 38 weeks pregnant now so you're full term but there's still 11 days until your actual due date.

Last night was much like last Sunday night. I'm continuing with this pre-labor which gives me no indication of how close I am to actual labor, like I would prefer. But that's okay. I'll be patient.

The contractions last night were from about 4am until about 9:30am today.

Consequently, we didn't go to church today, we had family worship at home. That worked out great. Especially since it was another opportunity for Lamby to get some home training for sitting still and listening to service.

I had a few contractions here and there throughout the morning and they started back a little more regularly at about 3 in the afternoon. So now they've been going on since then.

In afternoon, I had more energy so I finished some laundry and organized the laundry bins, I don't know when the last time was the case but almost every single clothing item has been washed right now! The bins in the laundry room and in our bathroom are just about empty. I even labeled them like Jeoff has been asking me to for a while now LOL. All those clothes are not only clean but also folded/hung and put away. Can somebody say Grace of God!?!?

I also completed Diona's lesson plans and worksheets for the week. How ironic? I never have those all done by Sunday night!

Back to the contractions, they're only lasting about 30 seconds or so and there's not a regular interval...... 20 minutes, here, 9 minutes there, then 14 minutes, and back to 9 minutes. I didn't start timing them until about 4:30 and I'm still not too convinced that this is it. It's now 5:40pm.

I think I'll take a nap after a little while to get some rest. Oooh, here comes a contraction now. Hold on a second.....
.
.
.
.
.
Ok I'm back.

Oh wait I can't take a nap now, Daddy needs to go to the grocery store first so I'll shower now and do that (get some rest) when he gets back.

I can't believe this pre-labor thing can go on for days and days, and weeks for some people.

I'm having flash back from when Lamby was born and Lisa told me that!

Part II - You're Here!

Daddy didn't make it to the grocery store and I never had a chance to lay down and nap. We did shower, at least.

I called the birth center at 6:50p and Carol told me to go ahead and come in. We arrived there about 7:45, she checked me at 7:50 and I was at 7cm / fully effaced.

All the kids were with us and we proceeded to unpack our bags and get ready for the next phase.

Who would have known it would be another quick one. The kids did really well as we got everything together and as Daddy came and supported me during the contractions. Kitty ended up being our photographer for most of the time. She loved that.

Some friends of ours (the Weirs - Pastors of City Church International) came to help with the kids until Granny and Grandma arrived. We were so very thankful for their help! They even brought us some food later. We were honored!!!!!!

Around 8:40, Beverly or Carol ran water for me to get in the tub to relax and just as I was walking over to get in I had to make a U-Turn (a very slow U-Turn) and head to the bed because it was time to push.

Yes!

Our son was born at 8:49pm. Weighing 7lb 8 oz and 20 1/2 inches long.

name..... coming soon!

Birth Story 1 - A Labor of Love

Written 3/11/2002, three days after the birth

Introduction (Jeoff & Leslie)
First off, let us say that at the beginning of our pregnancy, a close friend of Leslie referred us to a book called Supernatural Childbirth written by Jackie Mize, a woman who had believed that she was barren until she met her husband. Once they married, they both began to search the scriptures for God's perspective on pregnancy and childbirth and began to pray for a child. They now have four children, who were all born naturally!! She gives the testimony of their experiences throughout each pregnancy, labor and birth. What an amazing witness it was!! This book is also great for couples who are trying to conceive and may be having some difficulty conceiving or difficulty carrying the baby to term. Supernatural Childbirth also includes lots of testimonies of couples, scriptures, and prayers to pray specifically for fear, when there is a threat of a miscarriage, for the baby's development, mother's health and the labor process itself. I highly recommend this book. (The cost is under $10!!)

As a result of reading the book, our faith was built up concerning natural childbirth and childbirth without fear and anxiety. This began our journey to give birth supernaturally and to learn more about what it takes to have a labor and delivery, without fear, ..........given that all was well with the baby and mother going into it.

Another resource we came across, at about 37 weeks, is an book entitled Christ-Centered Childbirth by Kelly Townsend. This book was very helpful as well (also under $10!). It explains a lot of what's going on with the woman's body during labor and addresses it from a spiritual perspective. It also includes lots of scriptures to meditate on during the labor process.

Most of our friends and family encouraged us that we could do it, but it was interesting to hear how many people advised Leslie to 'go ahead get the medication' and how many people who said they wouldn't believe she could do it until they heard the testimony that it had been done.

The months preceding the birth were long, but definitely worth the gift we received in the end. One other factor that aided us tremendously was attending an 8-week childbirth education class through Natural Beginnings - NaturalBeginningsOnline.com. We were referred to this class by friends of ours at church. We learned so many techniques which could be used throughout the pregnancy and the labor & delivery process (The Bradley Method) to make the experience as comfortable as possible. The class was taught by a trained and certified doula and we met for 2 1/2 hours each Saturday for 8 weeks.

We've included the story of how the labor and delivery turned out, with the leading and guidance of the Lord!!! Please enjoy and be blessed!


The Story (Leslie)
The labor process began in the middle of the night (on Thursday night - March 7th) with a crampy feeling in my stomach and by about 4AM, I was pretty convinced that what I began to feel were indeed contractions. Jeoff told me we should give it a little longer to see if they were coming regularly and by 5:30AM he said, okay let me go ahead and get dressed. It was getting pretty exciting by that point. This was really IT!! We called the hospital at 6AM to let them know we were on our way (my doctor had told me that since I was dilated to 4cm, to go in when labor started, no matter what, because I could very well be at 6 or 7 when I got there. I told the nurse, with whom I spoke, that the contractions had been approximately 5-7 minutes apart and she told me that I needed to wait until they were 5 minutes apart, consistently for an hour before I come, because I sounded like I was okay.

It was 6:11AM. Jeoff fixed breakfast and for next hour we watched, timed, and waited. By 7:00AM, we had a record of the contractions, which were 3-5 minutes apart by this time and lasting between 40 and 90 seconds. Jeoff said, "okay, let's go. If they say we have to go home, we'll just drive around near the hospital or walk around downstairs in the lobby."

We reached the L&D area by 7:30AM and they showed me to a room, had me undress and put on a gown and the nurse in charge checked my cervix. I was dilated to 5cm at this point and she said, "are you ready to have a baby today?" I said, "yep!"

I was admitted by 7:40AM and we proceeded to make a few phone calls and alert our close friends and relatives that this was the real deal! The nurses attached the fetal monitor to time the contractions and monitor baby's heart rate and the nurse began the process of asking the dozens of questions necessary to complete the admission. After an hour or so we noticed that the contractions had slowed down considerably. I was thinking, 'oh no, let's get this ball back rolling!!' We went out into the hallway and took a walk, I spoke to my OB who was at the registration desk and said jokingly, "can we make her come quicker?" He said, "yes, if you'd like we could break the bag of waters to make the contractions come more quickly." I replied, "No, that's okay. I was only kidding. We're going to let this happen naturally."

We went back to the room and I got back in the bed to rest. I overheard Sharon, the intern who was working with the nurse, ask her whether they needed to give me an IV. She told her 'oh no, there's no need to do that. If she's going natural, we'll just wait and let nature take its course. If she requests anything for the pain, we'll give it to her, but if not we'll just wait.' The nurse also told me that since this was a natural birth, they would not check my cervix as much. They'd wait until the contractions came on stronger, or if I began to feel the 'urge to push.' The first few hours were pretty relaxed. The grandmothers arrived at about 9:30AM and were there for encouragement and support and to take plenty of pictures!!!! (This would be the first birth of each of their youngest children!)

At around 10:30AM, we decided that since the contractions weren't coming very strong, we'd try some of the acupressure techniques we learned about. We whipped out the massage lotion and Jeoff proceed to massage my ankles, as directed. This really worked. The contractions began to come more regularly again and even stronger. We relaxed through them, to the tune of classical, relaxation, and praise & worship music. Around 11:30, my ob came in to see about me and check my cervix. We were at 6-7cm and 80% effaced and 0 station, by that point. I was glad to hear that we were continuing to progress.

The next 5 hours consisted of more walking and relaxing, as the contractions came more regularly and progressively stronger. I asked Jeoff to ask the grandmoms to give us some privacy so we could focus on the task and the experience. They were sweet and went out into the waiting area. The intern asked me periodically what my pain level was (on a scale from 0-10) and whether I needed anything for pain. I had indicated on the birth plan that I didn't want them to offer me pain meds, but I actually didn't mind her asking, because refusing it made me feel even more victorious and it encouraged me to hang in there. We found the acupressure point, located on the pinky toes, to be quite beneficial! When a contraction would begin, Jeoff would begin massaging the area, and the tension would actually subside a bit. It was very important that I not lay back in the bed at this point. It was much more comfortable for me to raise the bed up so that my back was straight and I could spread my legs apart and allow my pelvis to relax. Things began to really intensify by the end of this 5-hour period. It became more comfortable for me to sit on the birth ball and lean over onto the bed, or to stand up and lean on the bed with my legs apart. I had to ask my mom and Jeoff not to talk during the contractions, because I could not relax, listening to them converse, especially if they said something funny. They were gracious and granted my request. At times, I would shake and breathe, trying hard to relax. The frustrating part was not so much that the pain was excruciating, but the fact I had to think in my mind and pray, 'what is the best way for me to relax through this?' I prayed as I allowed nature to continue to take its course. Jeoff was such a great coach! He read affirmations to me, encouraged me about the great job I was doing and breathed with me as we began to hit the home stretch.

At approximately 4:30PM, my mom, who had come back in to check on us, suggested that they check me again because she noticed the contractions were very close together (1-2 minutes). The only thing that was missing was the urge to push (which they told me would feel like the urge to have a BM). I only had the urge to tee-tee. The nurse checked me and we were 7-8cm and 100% effaced. By 5:30PM or so, things became really intense! The feeling was still not unbearable, or even much worse, it was just more difficult to relax and allow the tension to subside. I didn't want Jeoff to go ANYWHERE, because he was such a great help to me. I gave him a 10-minute break and my mom took over for a little bit. I asked the nurses if I could take a shower and they told me yes, but they would not be able to tell if my water broke while I was in there. I didn't care. I needed more relaxation & relief. The warm water was wonderful for me. I leaned over on the rail during the contractions and my mom stood outside the stall asking me questions that I could not answer because I needed to be quiet and focus. I eventually had to go ahead and get out because I began to feel more pressure 'down there.' I came out of the shower at about 6:00PM. Jeoff was back. Someone had brought a food tray in and sat it on one of the chairs. As soon as I saw it, I felt like I was going to be sick and I asked Jeoff to hurry and cover it up. My body was very tense and it took me a while to sit back down. I started calling on the Lord for real at this point - "Oh Lord, .........Oh God,..........Oh Jesus,...........Oh Father,........" That's when His strength really kicked in for me. I was so tired by then. His strength really is made perfect in our weakness! After I sat down, in walks my mom with yet another food tray she had gotten and I had to ask her to take it away. Little did she know, she should have placed it right outside the door and come right back in because she was about to miss the real action!!

At approximately 6:15PM, I told the intern that I felt the 'BM feeling' coming!! She called the nurse to come and check me --- and yes this was it! I don't remember her reporting what my dilatation was, but she calmly told me to take a deep breath and breathe a few short breaths (she demonstrated). I was like - 'what? what is happening? is this it?' The feeling was very powerful down there.....talk about overwhelming......like I was going to have a BM through the wrong opening! I yelled a couple of times and she told me to breathe instead, and it automatically became a push. I heard her say, "great control." She called on the intercom for my ob; they told her he was in OR and she said, "well, he better get in here because the baby is crowning and it's natural." I'm thinking, 'okay, what does that mean?' The next contraction, she actually told me to push and I said, "tell me what to do!" I was clueless. (I could not remember what we had learned about pushing.) She directed me, and she and Jeoff told me I was "really doing good" and Jeoff was right at my ear breathing with me and holding my hand. (He said he was amazed because I didn't squeeze it or tense my arms or anything.. He said he guesses that all of my attention was on the birth canal. He's right, because it was almost like it was happening without any effort on my part. The push would come automatically, and my job was to control it with my breathing. On the third push, my bag of waters broke and I heard and felt it! Wow! (I think I heard it because of the monitor.) I also felt something tear - owweee! :-) That didn't even hurt badly, ....just lots of pressure.

The time now was 6:23PM. The doctor finally walked in. Everything was pretty much in place for the delivery, at this point He took his position and I don't remember anything he said to me. The next push, I felt baby's head coming out and the rest of her body flowed on through as well. Awesome awesome awesome feeling!!! I mean to tell ya!!! At 6:25PM, on Friday March 8th, our star was born - Now known, here on the blog as - Kitty! Jeoff was given the honor of cutting the umbilical cord. I was so overcome by the emotion that when they brought her up to my chest for us to look at her, my eyes were not even completely focused. I was just shaking and crying, shaking and crying. I could hear the emotion in Jeoff's voice, as well. They cleaned her up and took care of me (Delivery of the placenta and a few stitches for the tears in my labia, which was a whole 'nother experience - for some reason I was more afraid of that part, because I just wanted to completely relax now. My body had gone through so much! However, I made it through and it really wasn't as bad as I had feared.) The proud new papa went over for baby's weighing and cleaning and the nurses brought her back for her first nursing, which one of them assisted me with. My mom was back by then, but she had missed all of the excitement. (I know she wishes that she would have just sat the tray outside, instead of going out to the waiting room to eat.) :-) Mom Thompson was back in room with us by then, as well. The nurses were all wonderful and so happy for me that we did it all with no medication or intervention. One of them mentioned that she only sees about 1 in 100 women go without an epidural or other meds.

We understand that every woman's body is different, everyone's experience is different and no one's labor & delivery is totally perfect. What's most important is having a healthy baby & mom when it's all over. We are totally grateful for our own experience!!

Thanks for reading our story!

Labor Piks

See story 2 here and story 3 here.

Birth Story 2 - Another Show of God's Grace and Mercy

Written 1/15/2004, two days after the birth

Introduction
I gave the recap of my experience this title, because I absolutely had to catch my breath when this labor encounter was over! From the time labor was "started", to the time our baby came into the world, only eighty seven minutes passed. I had heard of that happening with other women, especially after the first birth, but I never thought that would happen with us.

With this pregnancy, I was initially in the care of a reputable OB/GYN and for a month so, had planned to carry out the pregnancy with her and deliver at Presbyterian Hospital, one of the best in the city for newborn care. When I was around 8 weeks, I remembered that during my pregnancy with Kitty we met some couples in childbirth class who delivered at the Birth & Women's Center.

We also have a friend at Covenant Church who delivered her first son there. At that time, it was too late for me to switch from my OB to the Birth Center, but we said we would consider it for next time. So in June, my mother and I attended an orientation at the birth center. Following the orientation, I had made up my mind that it was the place for me because I was confident that the staff there are supportive of, and actually encourage, totally natural labor and childbirth.

Also with this pregnancy, we decided not to find out the baby's gender and that we would not disclose to anyone the baby names we chose. Jeoff would have been okay finding out the gender (and he even asked me a couple of times if I changed my mind), but he was in agreement with letting it be a surprise. My sister, Ericka, told me it would be exciting to say when baby comes, "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl!"

Everyone in the family was on edge throughout the pregnancy because this would be the seventh grandchild to my parents, and of the six grandchildren at the time, only one of them is a boy.

My dad was especially anxious, because he and my mother had four daughters, then one grandson, then five granddaughters in a row! He could not wait to see if he was going to have some more male companionship in the clan.

The Story
So here's how it went......

(Pre Labor)
Just like end of my pregnancy with Kitty, and like many other women, I began to dilate at around 34 weeks. First to 1cm, then to 2cm, then to three, over a period of three or four weeks. During that time, I had a dream that our baby was born on January 6 and it was a boy. My mother predicted (and wished) that our boy or girl would be born on her birthday, December 30. As the end of the year approached I became anxious, wondering whether baby would come at Christmas, on Mama's birthday, in the middle of an ice storm, or on my dream date. Of course all those dates came and went and here I was still waiting!

One thing that was different from my pregnancy with Kitty, is that I had lots of Braxton-Hicks contractions this time. I don't remember having them at all last time, but it's possible that I had them and just did not realize it because I didn't know what a contraction felt like. As we got closer to the due date, I wondered more and more whether the contractions were "real" or not. So much so that I would lay awake at night thinking "Is this gong to be it?" By 39 weeks, I had relaxed and I began to treat any contraction I felt as if it were a Braxton-Hicks (practice contraction). I would take long deep breaths, and continue on about my day (or night). I failed
to realize that practice contractions should subside when you increase activity (namely walking).

My due date, Jan. 12, came and went and I was now off work. I took off on Friday, Jan. 9 because I didn't want to be there when my labor started and have to work out getting from work to the birth center and getting Kitty, getting the car seat......... I know that could have happened at any point before that Friday, but I was glad to be able to go ahead and take off. On my off days, I spent part of the time resting and part of the time going on walks and trying to stay active.
I walked at the park a couple of times and Jeoff and I walked at the mall one of those evenings.

The last walk I took was very tiring because when I felt discomfort I went ahead and kept walking because I wanted to get in at least 45 minutes or an hour. Also while I was off, I got a very bad cold which went away over the weekend. Thank God baby didn't come then, because I felt pretty wiped out during that time.

(The Birth Day) 9:30 AM
On Tuesday, Jan 13, I took Kitty to school and stayed there for about an hour, watching the children play and listening to story time. Kitty was very clingy because she had been sick too, so she sat on my lap for most of the time. One of her little friends, Chasity, also wanted to sit on my lap so I picked her up as well. While I was doing all this I felt cramps in my stomach but I dismissed them of course. After leaving the school, I went to Wal-Mart and did some shopping and
went to Target after that. While I was walking through these stores, I felt more of this cramping feeling but kept going about my business. From Target, I went home and dropped of the items I purchased, ate lunch, and then headed to the birth center for my 40-week appointment.

(Going in for the check-up) 1:30 PM
During the appointment, Cherie, the Midwife, asked me if I had been having contractions. I told her I had had a lot of practice contractions, but that had been going on for weeks and they never became regular. When she checked me I was dilated to five and she told me the baby could come at any time and when he did, it would probably be very quick. So with that said, I asked if I could just stay there instead of going back home. She told me that if I drove home, I would chance having the baby there or in the car trying to travel back to the center. Cherie then asked if I wanted her to break my water and go ahead and get the labor going. I had mixed feelings about that because I had always heard that any intervention like that could make labor stronger and more intense and that would make it very difficult for me to labor without getting anything for the "pain." She told me that the advice I had heard against breaking the water, was related to situations where natural labor is either not encouraged or desired and many types of interventions are the norm. She said in my case, I would only be kicking off what would eventually occur soon, anyway. I called Jeoff and told him about it and we were both were at peace with allowing her to break the water.

(Labor's about to begin) 2:10 PM

Jeoff left work (in Plano) and drove to the birth center. Mama was on her way to get some maintenance done on the car when I called, but I told her that she should go ahead and make her way there because I didn't want her to miss delivery AGAIN. She went and picked up Kitty from school, picked up Mom Thompson from home and they made there way to the birth center, was well.

While they were all on their way, Cherie sent me outside to walk in the park and the surrounding community. It was a beautiful day so I was able to enjoy being outside. I walked around and around, all the time trying to maintain a pretty fast pace so it would be productive for the labor. When I came back in, about 40 minutes later, I was very tired, "almost out of breath" and I had began to sweat! Cherie asked if I was ready for her to break the water, and I told her I wanted to wait until Jeoff arrived.

(The labor begins!) 2:50 PM
When Jeoff arrived, the labor assistant, Debbie, had come in and it was time to get started. They checked me and I was at about six cm and they went ahead and broke the water. Very interesting feeling after that. Cherie, told us both to go for a "brisk walk" this time. We went to the park next door and began to walk. Jeoff brought the video camera and got a tidbit of footage before we began. Walking this time was much more difficult. She told me it would help if I continued walking when I felt a contraction. We walked for about 20 minutes and Jeoff was surprised by the speed at which I was walking. He was thinking about going for a stroll like some of the couples did in the videos we saw. He picked up his pace, though, when he saw what I was doing. I couldn't talk much.

I just tried to maintain focus and get through the contractions. They were now much stronger than before, and closer together. I was glad this wasn't my experience the first time, because it would have been very overwhelming having not experienced labor before. Last time, although it was a much longer labor, in the beginning I was able to relax, listen to music, write in my journal......and then as the labor progressed I moved from one phase to the next with a sense of preparation for what was to come. This time it was just down to business, as if Father was saying, 'you've done this before so let's just get this baby here. You already know that, in MY strength, you can do it!!!'

(Time to push?) 4:10PM
We came back into the house and I had a few more contractions, and got through them by leaning over on the bed. I did this while Jeoff finished getting things set up in the room. Eventually, though, I told him not to worry about that because I needed him to come back and be with me. I don't think he realized just how far along in the process I was. Debbie had me sit on the bed so she could check me again, and that became painful because I had to lay back. NOT RECOMMENDED!! I was at 8 or 9 at this point and she asked me if I had that "urge to push." I told her I wasn't sure. She had me go into the restroom and while there, I began to feel the urge to do something, I just wasn't sure what. They asked me if I wanted to get in the tub and I said yes. I knew that would make me feel a lot better. That tub could not fill up fast enough. It felt like for-ever! When I got in, I KNEW it was time. I relaxed for just a half a second and told Cherie how I felt. They asked who we wanted to be in the room for the delivery and then went and got the grandmothers and Kitty. Next, Cherie checked me again and said I was at 10 and the baby was still kind of high. Then she said, "okay Leslie, go ahead and have that baby!"

I was like what do you mean, 'Go ahead and have the baby?' She was about ten feet away from me when she said this. Jeoff was right by my side though, so I heeded her command and pushed. After two or three pushes, I heard the excitement in everyone's voices and I knew our baby was coming out. After the next push, the baby was out!!! I blinked about fifty times, trying to focus and see if we had a boy or a girl and there HE was!!!

Known here on the blog as The Pony!

After one hour and twenty seven minutes of labor.

Our baby boy weighed 8 pounds and 2 ounces and he measured 19 and 3/4 inches.

See story 1 here and story 3 here.

Birth Story 3

Written 4/27/2006, sixteen days after the birth

This one has taken me the longest to get all formatted, but I'm at least posting the 'gist' of how it went............ It has been the most spiritually significant one.


3:30AM
Contractions woke me up.
2 minutes apart
Timed the conractions and told Jeoff
Jeoff started getting ready for work and getting the kids ready for school
At about 6:30 I called the birth center to see which midwife was on call.
I found out it was Lisa so I paged her and she called me back.
I described the contractions and she said to take a bath and call back in about 30 minutes

She said Jeoff should probably should not go to work
Jeoff started packing the car with baby stuff just in case
I called Lisa back at about 7:15
Told her the contractions were a little stronger
She said I should go ahead and come in and she would meet me there. I told her we needed to get a few more things together and we'd be there about 9 or 9:30.

8:30AM
We packed up the kids and the rest of the birth essentials.

We called the grandparents and my mom was getting ready to head out the door to take my dad to a doctor appointment. I told her that we weren't sure if it was the real thing but to be on standby and be ready to come to the birth center after the appointment.

9:30
We arrived at the birth center
Lisa checked me and I was only at 2 cm

She said it was possible that I wasn't in true labor so I needed to go have a meal, do some walking and come back in a couple of hours.

I was a bit surprised at that and said, "So you're sayinig I could be having contractions consistently 2 minutes apart for all this time (since 3:30am) and not be in labor?" She affirmed.

This really got to me because I had either not heard of that or had forgotten that could happen. My expectation for this labor was that it would be as quick or quicker than the last one. I was hoping for something like one hour all together! God had a different plan.

We still had the kids with us and we discussed whether we should take them to school or keep them with us. When we were almost at the school, we decided to go ahead and keep them with us because we didn't want to take a chance on them missing the birth.

There were quite a few things that we still hadn't gotten from the store for "labor day" since the due date was not until the 19th, so we went to Target and Jeoff picked them up.

I don't remember much of what the kids did or said as we waited in the car because I was trying to focus on relaxing during the contractions while sitting in the van. Occasionally, I got up and leaned out the door or stood just outside.

When Jeoff got back we went and picked up quick breakfast and he went for coffee at Starbucks since he had been up half the night studying for his Hermeneutics exam. As we drove to Starbucks the contractions got a little stronger and I had to ask him to stop the car so I can stand up during a couple of the contractions, so after getting his Tall Hazelnut Latte we headed back to the birth center.

I hadn't done any walking but I hoped that I would have just progressed with time.

When we got to the birth center, Lisa had left and not returned yet but Cherie was there. Cherie asked me if I had walked, of course. I told her no. She checked me and told me I was still only at about two and she 'commanded me' to go and POWER WALK!

12:00PM
I called my mama again and asked her if she and mother Thompson could go ahead and come. Jeoff got the rest of our things from the car and set up the video camera. I started my walk at about 12:30 and Jeoff stayed with the kids at the park next door.

I did as I was instructed and POWER WALKED. Continuing to walk during the contractions. While I was walking I made a few calls. I called Nicki (cousin), Ericka (sister), Lesia (sister), and Cherita (sister) to make sure they knew today was the day. Ericka got all nervous when I talked to her. She fussed at me for being out there walking by myself. I assured her that all would bwe well and I would have plelnty of warning before baby made the arrival.

1:15PM
Jeoff called and asked what my location was. He told me the grandmothers were there and he couldn't see me anywhere. I had gone a couple of blocks over from the birth center because there was a park there with a track. I told him it was better there because I had a set path to follow instead of walking on the sidewalk.

I headed back to where they were and Jeoff & I walked a couple of laps together around the small park. The contractions were increasing in intensity again so I told him I was ready to go inside and have them check me again.

1:30PM
Lisa was back and she checked me. She told me I was only at 4cm!!!! And guess what, I broke.....I cried! In my mind at that time, I felt that if I was only at 4cm after almost 10 hours, I was going to be there 4EVER! It wasn't so much that it was intense, I was just tired. And I believe that was because I had set myself up for a much shorter experience.

So what I had to do was get out of my head (trying to figure it all out) and get back in the Spirit. Lisa told me not to look at the number of centimeters I had dilated because it is not necessarily an indication of how much longer I had left. She told me one of the mothers last week, had her baby 30 minutes after she had only been at 4cm. In the natural, I was thinking "so what, that was her...this is me.....that doesn't mean that will happen with me". But of course I had to get back focused. I had to walk or stand with each and every contraction. Sitting down was out of the question.

I start getting focused and trying to relax and here comes Lisa :-) telling me that I need to get a heprin lock in my arm just in case, since my iron had been low a couple of weeks earlier. I didn't take that very well because I absolutely hate needles and I wanted to just focus on the labor --- no interferences! I asked if she could do it between the contractions instead of during. She agreed but there was not much between the end of one and the beginning of another at this point. Once I thought it would be a good time but shortly after I sat down a contraction came and
I had to experience it sitting down. I thought - absolutely no way will I ever do that again. It was just unnecessary to feel that, when I could have been standing or walking and feel so much better.

2:15PM
I got up again and Lisa was following me with the heprin lock ready to stick it in my arm and with the next contraction I began to moan. She asked me if I felt like it was time to push. I told her I wasn't sure but there was a lot of pressure down there. With the next contraction I moaned much louder and from what Jeoff recalls I looked down like baby was about to fall out!
(LOL) I heard Lisa say, "Okay dad, we're going to have to carry her to the bed." When we got me to the bed they had to quickly pull of my bottoms and make way for baby because she was on her way out.

2:20PM
After about two ushes and mommy's emotionally loud moans, our sweet sweet baby girl number two was introduced to the world!

See story 1 here and story 2 here.

Update: About a year later, Kitty told me that if we ever have another baby she doesn't want to hear me yell like that! So if we do, I'll have to remember that!