Birth Story :: Part I


Where to begin?  Maybe I should begin with the most obvious (to me and to david at least), we have a BEAUTIFUL baby girl.  We just can't believe it.  I myself cannot believe that this beautiful (rather large) baby came out of me.   Out of my body.  That I did it.  I don't feel boastful to say to that I am quite proud of myself and so in awe of my body -- although, I guess its not really awe of myself, but truly is awe of the way God created me and the great gift I was given to be able to grow her inside of me and have such a great delivery.  Among all of my ever changing emotions, I am most of all humbled.  The beautiful weight of God's glory is upon me and all I can do is praise Him.  One of the concentration verses I brought with me to read during labor was from psalm 139, "I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."  I picked this verse to remind me that my child was safe and healthy and not outside of God's good hand, and while it did do that, this verse more served as a reminder that I am a child of the King, that I am not outside of God's good hand, that I am loved beyond measure.  I struggle to believe how strongly Christ's love is manifest through this little child.  But then I think to myself, "Why should you be shocked?  You know this is who God is and that this is what he delights to do!"   

Labor
David and I had planned to do things as naturally as possible.  That is not to say that we were against drugs or interventions, but that we wanted to do whatever felt natural to us and to make decisions based on our needs and desires when we felt they needed to be made.  We did end up having to be induced.  We arrived at Baptist Hospital at 7:30 Monday morning.  By 8:00 I was in bed and hooked up to pitocin and all sorts of monitors and IVs.  Not exactly what I had hoped for, but I was doing fine.  What we were not prepared for was how quickly the pitocin would kick in and how strong and how close together the contractions would be.  By noon things were getting pretty hard.  Breathing was taking more concentration.  They kept turning up my pit-drip and of course with that, things quickly elevated (they told me later that because of the pitocin I was having contractions at the same level of a woman already in the transition stage of labor).  People have asked me what it felt like, and I already almost can't remember.  What I do remember is how precious that time was -- struggling against my body and feeling it's strength, locking my eyes with David to make it through each contraction & following his lead to breath, tears rolling down my face (and David's), attempting to sing the hymns that we had playing on the cd player but face and chin quivering and shaking wouldn't allow it.  I don't remember the pain, but I do remember what it felt like to look into David's eyes.  That I will never forget -- all the love, trust, and adoration.  My cup was overflowing.  What a humbling experience.  

All this time, as contractions were lasting about 30seconds and were a minute & a half apart, I was still only at 2cm (which is what I was a week prior).  We knew we had a long way to go and knew how tired my body already was.  We made the hard decision to go ahead and get an epidural.  And although that is not "natural," making that decision together was very natural to us.

To make a long story short, things from there went well.  We had a really good time enjoying our family and watching them enjoy each other.  Not long after the epidural they started turning down my pit-drip and I actually started having some pretty decent sized contractions on my own.  It took a while, but I finally got to 4cm - which we all celebrated.  From there things progressed more steadily.  By 10pm I was at 7cm and our families left shortly after that to go rest up for delivery.  We figured they probably had a good 4 hours or so before anything really exciting started happening...

Part II tomorrow...

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Comments

  1. God is so good. This birth story made me tear up. I can't wait to experience one of God's greatest gifts, if I am blessed. Thanks for sharing this! Can't wait for part 2!!! So happy for you <3

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  2. What a sweet, beautiful story!

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  3. Aw, how precious that experience sounds between you and your husband! Congratulations on the birth of little Magnolia! I can't wait to read part 2 and see more pictures of your miracle.

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  4. welcome to the world, little magnolia!

    congrats to you and your hubby on your wonderful baby girl!

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  5. I'm glad everything went well!

    she looks beautiful!

    great job momma!!!!

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  6. She is a beauty! Sounds like you guys made the right decisions for you and that is ALL that matters!!!

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  7. Congratulations on your beautiful little girl! I'm looking forward to hearing more of the story--your labor sounds very similar to mine so far . . . as much as I had hoped things would progress smoothly and naturally during my labor and delivery, I was only dilated to a 1 after almost 10 hours of HARD labor . . . that was devastating to me. I quickly learned that it doesn't matter how things happen (with medication or without, au naturale or with the assistance of drugs), because no matter how great of plans we've laid, things just don't always go according to plan--all that matters is that mom and baby are both healthy and happy. I'm excited to hear more about your little family and how everything is going!

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  8. Congratulations!!! Praying for you!

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  9. congrats!!!! babies are such a miracle - God is so good!

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  10. Congrats! Can't wait to hear the rest of your story!

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  11. What a happy little family! Thanks for sharing your story with us...and of course, congratulations on a beautiful baby girl!

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  12. Congratulations! God is truly magnificent in what He allows us and our bodies to do. What a great verse to focus on while in labor.

    I can't wait to hear how the rest of the story went. :)

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  13. How amazing! I loved reading about this and CONGRATULATIONS again! Baby Magnolia is so beautiful and you are just glowing in that picture! I'm so happy that things turned out well and yes, I agree that God is SO GOOD. Can't wait to read part II. Rest well, sweet friend.

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  14. yay! congrats lady and you 3 make a beautiful family! welcome little one <3 sometimes you gotta do what makes the baby come out, you know. no use in torturing yourself. glad all went well and that you are both healthy!

    xo,
    cb

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  15. Wow! I love how practical and honest you are about all this. Yes, God can help us through everything, and God did give us modern day inventions for a reason. Love the story so far!

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  16. Congrats Blair!! I held my breath and was clenching my fists while I read this, I could feel how powerful the experience was! So amazing, God is most definitely awesome. Can't wait to read Part II :)
    xoxo J

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  17. Oh my goodness, Blair! I am so happy for you and your beautiful little girl...what an adorable family! Congratulations!!! Thank you for sharing your story as well and I am so glad everyone is healthy...look forward to reading more!

    Liesl :)

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  18. what a sweet post -- i love how you describe you & david experiencing and getting through it together. it's so true, and that perspective will help keep you strong while you're getting into the rhythm of being parents. i'm so proud of you both, and of course, magnolia is so beautiful! can't wait to meet her.

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  19. Ack!!! You are killing me with the waiting, but I will be patient. Ha! Like I have a choice. And your first paragraph of this post is so moving and perfect. Guess what made me cry? --------> I don't remember the pain, but I do remember what it felt like to look into David's eyes. That I will never forget -- all the love, trust, and adoration. My cup was overflowing. What a humbling experience. ------> And what a tear jerker?!? Wishing you and your lovely family ALL the best.

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  20. Welcome Magnolia!!! So happy for your little family-everyone looks great. Rejoicing with you!

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  21. Congrats! I couldn't help but get a little emotional reading this! I can't wait to read the rest & see more pictures of your beautiful little girl!!
    Love, Leigh

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  22. I'm so happy for you, Blair!!! Hope you are able to rest and enjoy your time with baby! God bless you richly!

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  23. So glad you all made it through! I ended up getting the pit with my first two, and girl, that stuff is horrible. As far as I'm concerned you shouldn't fight an epidural in that case! I was blessed to go completely natural with my third, and not having the pit makes a world of difference! Can't wait to hear the rest of your story and see pictures of your beautiful baby girl!

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  24. You made me cry at work. I'm so antsy to hear part 2!!

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  25. congratulations! I'm so happy for you and grateful it was all okay. :)

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  26. Congratulations on the birth of your sweet little baby girl!

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