So about 3am on Wednesday morning I started having contractions about every 30 minutes. I slept on and off till about 6:45am when the contractions had sped up to about 15 minutes apart. Before this process, I wondered if I knew what contractions would feel like since I didn’t have them until after my water broke with Eli. Let's just say it was pretty obvious. I told Ben and mom that I thought we might be having a baby. At that point my contractions were about 10 minutes apart, so Ben and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. The walk helped my contractions speed up to about 5-6 minutes apart.
About 11am we decided it was time to head to the hospital. When I arrived I was 3 cm and 70% effaced, certainly not where I had hoped to be. Ben and I spent about two hours walking the halls and after being checked again, I was still at 3cm and 70%. So I hadn't progressed unfortunately. We decided it was best to go home and see if this was actually active labor. At home we took a nap, watched a little tv, and continued having contractions every 6-8 minutes. My sweet friend Jen and mom had gone to get us some dinner. We sat down to eat and halfway through my salad and in the middle of breathing through a contraction, I felt a pop and realized that my water had broken. This was certainly not like the huge gush of water I had when my water broke with Eli, so I was a little confused. Well after my water broke, labor was on like donkey kong (as Jen says). My contractions immediately picked up to every three minutes and were much stronger than the ones previously. These were the kind you couldn’t breath through, talk through, and could barely stand with. Just look at Ben’s shoulders or his waist for indications of how much I needed his support during these. I decided to get in the tub (which was probably not a good idea). I had three contractions in the tub and knew things were picking up. Ben barely got me out of tub and dressed. In my pain induced stupor, I told Ben to call ahead and get the epidural ordered (yes I was faltering in my birth plan). I got in the car very hesitantly and we headed back to the hospital about 8pm.
About 2 minutes from our house, I started to have the urge to push with each contraction. Let's just say it is true what they say about your body having to bear down instinctively. I really thought Ben was going to deliver baby girl in the car. Ben did a great job driving defensively, holding my hand, and coaching me through each contraction. Finally, after what seemed like an hour in the car on the bumpiest road possible, we pulled up to ER. Ben ran in and grabbed a wheel chair and told the staff his wife was having a baby in the car. They rushed me to labor and delivery where we met the midwife in the elevator. Upon arrival in a beautiful brand new midwifery suite at Providence, Christy (my delivery midwife) checked me and found that baby girl was already crowning. No time for questions, to get in a hospital gown, and certainly no time for that epidural I told Ben to call ahead for. 50 minutes after arriving at the hospital and barely 2 hours after my water broke, Adiya "Adi" Grace Blevins was born. It took a bit of pushing and lots of coaching from my sweet friend Jen, Ben and our awesome midwife. But once I changed towards a semi-squatting position, Adi entered this world at 9:17pm weighing in at 7.5 lbs and measuring 19.5 inches.
God must have known that I really did want to have a natural birth. He must have also known that I was going to chicken out. And thus, he gave me no option for anything else. All I can say is what an empowering and exciting experience it was to deliver a baby without drugs. I think I screamed “we did it, we did it, we did it” for about 20 minutes in a high pitched voice. It was the adrenaline talking I suppose. Once Adi was out, she was put directly on my chest with the cord still attached. She was alert and looking around. She latched on and started nursing fairly quickly. Ben cut the cord when it stopped pulsing. I got to keep Adiya on my chest for a good hour or so, before she got her first bath. At that point, Eli was able to come in and see his baby sister and watch her get her bath. What a proud big brother he is!! He could not wait to give her kisses or put her new hat on.
And we did it naturally!! Thanks to an amazing midwife who was patient and encouraging, a husband who was calm and so supportive, and a best friend who knew just when to wipe my brow and give me water, we did it…we had our second child without the assistance of an epidural or vacuum extraction, and without the pain of an episiotomy. Let’s just say after Eli’s birth experience complete with two epidurals, realizing I was allergic to latex (including the catheter they used), a vacuum extraction, and a 4th degree episiotomy…this was the most beautiful birth experience ever! It truly is amazing how God engineers our bodies to do such miraculous things as give birth. I still can't believe it all happened this way.
Adiya is a beautiful child, who is already eating and sleeping like a champ. She is a pretty pink baby with plump lips which make the most precious squeaks. It is hard to imagine, but our hearts doubled in size with her birth. Amazing again, how God allows our hearts to overflow for two children. I think watching Eli with Adi has been the most beautiful part of the whole experience. Our boy LOVES his baby sister. I mean LOVES her. He kisses her and pats her and wants to hold her all the time. He was upset that we couldn’t all be together at home for the past few nights though.
We bless God for the beautiful treasure he has given us. We can imagine no greater joys than the ones we have now.
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| The little guy and the little girl! Do we think they look alike? |
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| Eli holding baby sister |
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| So happy that we all get to go home as a family. |
