Feeling so blessed by our Nicolas who was practically a toddler at 7mths, we decided to try for another baby. Nicolas was very independent. Actually, he still is. He crawled at 6mths and cruised 2wks later. He was walking at 9mths. Thinking back, we probably would have waited a little longer to start trying for baby number 2 if I had still been nursing but, God had other plans. It took 3mths. We didn't tell anyone for a few weeks though since Zach's brother, Nate, and his wife, Sadie, had just had our beautiful neice, Audrey only a few weeks before.
Oddly, we had names decided but, when Zach's grandfather died 2wks prior to the positive test we decided to change the boy name we had already decided upon to using David as the middle name in honor of him. The weird part was, as much as we wanted a girl to even things up, I always new it was a boy because of the honor we wanted to show.
I had another bleed with this pregnancy at 11wks this time. The bleeding was heavier than anything I had ever experienced. It was the Saturday before Christmas. I went straight to the emergency room and was rushed into a room. They first checked for heartbeat and thankfully found it right away. They did an ultrasound and found our little pumpkin squirming away. This little one was sticking around too. I can't explain the feeling of relief!
I was adamant this time to have a birth that was more like what my intuition told me childbirth should be. Something inside me was screaming for a far gentler, calmer, relaxed birth that allowed my baby to stay with me to bond better to hopefully boost our nursing relationship. I researched every natural childbirth class avaible in our area and settled on hypnobirthing. I read the book and felt like it was what I was looking for but was a little uncomfortable with the scirpts that were suggested. We took the classes in april/may. Again, I was very uncomfortable doing the scripts that asked for me to search inside myself for strength. I am a follower of Jesus and know that all strength comes from the Lord. So I discarded the hypnobirth scripts and music and instead used prayer, scripture and nursery praise music to practice my relaxation techniques. This felt so natural. I was bonding daily in a medative/prayerful state. It was perfect.
At the end of 38wks I started dialating. Thursday my contraction were 5-6min apart. Friday they were 4min apart. Saturday, also Independence Day, they were 3min apart. My parents took Nicolas to the family reunion an hr and a half away so when things progressed we wouldn't have to worry about what to do with him. We enjoyed the morning at the outlets. I was doing fine until we hit our 5th and final store. I eventually wlaked over to Zach and said, "Time to go. Now." I added now as he turned to continue shopping. He then got the message and we went home so I could eat and nap one last time before things got serious. We then decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather one last time for the day and went to the park (which is less than a mile from the hospital) and walked for about 2 more hours before we decided that, since I was no longer able to hold conversation to head off to the hospital.
Upon arrival, I was 3cms. My doctor, knowing that I had been laboring for more than 2 days talked us into breaking the amniotic sac to give me a break. Thankfully, everything was normal this time. Shortly thereafter, we discovered that my blood levels were normal this time. Thank you Lord! I sat on my bed, feet over the side, with my back to Zach. I got very hot so Zach was lightly rubbing ice water on my back. It felt so good. The only problem I had was he was watching the nascar race more than listening to what I needed. (note to all expecting couples: leave the tv off!!!!) I didn't want to be touched during contractions so I could focus on the job at hand. I used my long, slow, deep, abdominal breaths during contractions and inbetween breathed normally and talked through to the last hr.
It wasn't long before I knew things were close. I had an amazing amount of pressure in my pelvis. I did however have one moment in the last 20mins that I prayed, "Lord, I don't know how much more pressure I can take. You know me and you know my limits. I know this is almost over and I need you to get me through this last bit." At this point the contractions were less 90sec apart and I had been in the hospital for 5 hrs. My doctor came in and we discovered that I was 8cm. I was relieved since with Nicolas, when I hit 8cms I had the incredible urge to push the very next contraction.
Well, it wasn't the next contraction. It was the one after it that gave me the urge. My nurse didn't want me to push at first but I when she lifted the sheet to check and see if it was safe to push she could see the very top of Elijah's head. He was coming whether the staff was ready or not. The my bed was never completely changed over and my doctor almost didn't make it in time. As soon as He sat down Elijah's head popped out. 3 contractions and 3 pushes per contraction. We suprised the entire staff at how fast he came out and by me not taking any pain meds and still staying calm throughout. I was told that I was the only mom to have a natural birth, by choice, in well over a month. My nurse was so shocked she apparently told the entire staff our birth story. I had visits from dozens of nurses for the remaining 36hrs of our stay. They all wanted to see them mom who went natural!
Elijah nursed immediately after birth. He nursed long and strong for the first 45mins after his birth. Actually, at the time of this writting he is 9mths old and still nursing strong. I see no end in the near future either. I know many people find toddler nursing taboo in this culture but according to the Bible, weaning shouldn't take place too soon. It is a right of passage that must not be rushed. Biblical babies are believed to have been weaned around 2-3yrs of age. Eli will probably be just like them since he so desperately needs the emotional "meal."
This was the birth I had been looking for. It was amazing! I had energy afterward and Eli was so relaxed after his meal that he slept for 5hrs that night. He was 7lbs 4oz, 20.5 ins.
That sounds like a wonderful birth experience. It is so sad to hear that so few women have natural births. For me that would be the only way to do it. We are now atheists, so I do not believe in the Lord guiding us through birth, however I think it is wonderful that you are encouraging more parents to have natural births and to encouraging breastfeeding. These are both wonderful experiences for both mother and child. I don't know if you would ever encourage home birth in the future, but I would highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't have a high risk pregnancy. Good luck with your schooling and congratulations on discovering what you want to do with your life.
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