And then there were 5....

So, not everything in life happens just the way we plan it. In fact, hardly any part of life happens the way we plan for it to, and over and over again we are reminded that God is in control and that He is making us more like himself by changing us through our circumstances. (pleasant or not)

I just made that lovely tutorial about 'home birthing' and now i get to tell you how it REALLY happened. hahaha.

Where do i begin??? hmm.... oh yes, the park.

There is a lovely park we have been meaning to explore, so off we went . The 4 of us went about the pathways at Blackwell park, only to reach the farthest corner of the park and discover a leak. not in the park, of course, but in me! i was leaking amniotic fluid and we slowly trudged (dripping) back to the van and headed for home.


At home Karli picked up the kids and drove them to ma and pa 's house for the night so that dave and i could begin calling all the people we needed to be informed: Midwives, Doula, and parents.

Nothing was happening with my body - i mean, besides the occasional puddle, but that isn't really 'exciting labor news'. So, by 10 pm we made the decision to sleep until:
a)Labor began
or
b) i would be induced at the hospital around 7am.

Unfortunately i didn't sleep well due to a little baby kicking me and tossing more water out into the big bright world.... but morning eventually arrived with NOTHING to report as far as contractions are concerned.

Off to the Hospital we went.

Here i interject: Heather is an awesome Doula. if you are having a baby, i HIGHLY recommend her services. She is skilled, knowledgeable and supportive in a lovely straightforward-gentle kind of way. :) she only does what you want and need. i had TONS OF FUN just hanging out with her, she even slept over just to be near at hand! heehee.

At the hospital things were pretty routine:
sit and wait.
dress in gown.
sit and wait.
admire lovely gown.
sit and wait.
ask where they find such attire, and if they are available to the public.
Sit and wait.

1) I was induced at 730am.
2) contractions began a little closer to 830am, if i remember right.
3) by 153pm Mercy was born.
After two-ish pushes and about 7 minutes time.
Weigh in: 9lb 3 oz
length: 57 cm!!!! (julia was 54, sam was 55) i am wondering if they measured her wrong... but anyway...
head Circumferance: 14.5 inches

Dave and Heather and Cynthia can tell the rest. it was labor. you know the drill... pain, tiredness, strategy, pain... ooooooooo one fun thing was that i tried some pain relief this time!! i figured after two natural labors with no kind of drugs or intervention i could probably try it with something just for fun. (and that is what i told them as well... just for fun) What they gave me didn't take the pain away (i don't know if there is anything that can do that...) but it surely made my muscles relax, which helped in the long run, since it takes a LOT of concentration to relax your muscles from head to toe while they are all rebelling and screaming- asking you to freak out.

I was so happy to have Mercy on my chest, crying and a beautiful shade of purple. (i know that isn't preferable. but she is very healthy) :) PRAISE THE LORD. as soon as she was born, the psalm i had been trying to memorize earlier came to mind and was running through my head: "You turned my mourning into dancing again, You lifted my sorrows"

anyway. i'll let dave put in his story now. love to all. thank you for the prayers, meals, thoughts, smiles, gifts and hugs. i ask for prayer specifically that :
a) Mercy will learn to nurse really well.
b) Our home will be a calm and peaceful place for Mercy to learn about the world
c) we will all get the rest we need to survive.

-mama su