Things I wish I had known before I was born: the birth story.

Miriam was due on the 10th of August. That day came and went with NO progress. I walked. I hiked. I cleaned. I ran a marathon...ok, so that's a lie. I was done being pregnant though. With each of my pregnancies I have had a fairly easy time. My body seems to enjoy being pregnant, but these girls get uncomfortably low in my belly for the last...well...for the entire pregnancy, it seems. The pain I feel related to this gets significantly worse toward the end and this pregnancy was worse in the last days than the other two. That, combined with my doctor's preferring that I deliver on or before 41 weeks and thinking that this baby could be 8+ lbs led us to do an elective induction. We chose the 14th. Why not.

The big girls went to Gma's and Gpa's on thursday night and we went to the hospital on friday morning. The nurse and the doctor had trouble determining how dilated I was and, finally, the doctor said I was NOT dilated, but was about 50% effaced. In the office I had been about 1 cm and 50% (ok, so i lied about the "no progress" thing, but as far as I was concerned that's not progress.) We decided to use Cervidil and hope that kick starts things with the expectation that we would do Pitocin if it didn't.

When the doctor gave me the Cervidil she realized I was 3 cm and 80% effaced. PRAISE THE LORD!! The decision was made to walk the halls for a few hours and see what happened. During that very brisk (b/c i was determined that this was going to work) walk i had contractions that seemed to be about 10 minutes apart, but weren't too intense. By 11:15, I was exhausted from walking. Unfortunately, the nurse determined that I was only about 2.5 cm and 80% effaced. UGH!!! How disappointing. Tears followed and James and I discussed our options. We thought about going home and letting it happen naturally, since it seemed as though something wanted to start, but, in the professional judgment of the nurse, I wasn't likely to start on my own for a few days at least.

We were there for the purpose of bringing home our little girl, so that's what we were going to do.

By this time it was almost noon. James went to get lunch and the nurse came to start the Pitocin. I wanted an epidural, but waited until James came back at 12:30. I was having contractions in that time, but nothing too bad.

And then came the worst part of the day....the epidural. The doctor that showed up to do it was the best I was told. That reassured me a little. When I had an epidural for Catie's delivery my blood pressure bottomed out and I felt like I was going to die. Honestly...it was the scariest moment of my life. I passed out and needed to be given ephedrine (basically, adrenaline) to bring my pressure back up. Then I vomited and felt ok. This time I struggled while he put in the epidural. I felt the pressure and even a bit of discomfort and, I'll admit, I was a wimp. I cried. I whined. I held onto James's arm with a death grip. I think James struggled more though. The nurse thought he was going to pass out. He told me later that he thought I was in a LOT of pain. Like I said...I was a wimp. I'm scared of epidurals. The thought of a needle entering my back doesn't sit well with me.

(At this point I was 5cm dilated and the nurse told me she was going to start getting the room ready for delivery b/c she didn't trust me. She thought I was going to go quickly. This made me happy. This was also about the time the doctor broke my water.)

Once the epidural was in, I had to know what my pressure was every time it was checked. The nurse had drawn up the ephedrine just in case, but my pressure held. I still felt very anxious, so I held oxygen near my face and I tried to rest. I think I did sleep a little.

By 2pm I was 6/7 cm and by 3 i was 8/9cm. That's when the doctor was called to come in. At 3:40 I was able to push. Delivery gets easier (HAHAHA) with each child. I think it has a lot to do with knowing HOW to do it. With that first push I wanted to quit, but, knowing that was not an option, I decided that if I was going to have to do it, I might as well do it right. 2 pushes total and Miriam was born at 3:47pm. It wouldn't have taken that long, but she had the cord around her neck once and needed a LOT of suctioning. She was also transverse, meaning she was facing my hip. James told me later that the doctor actually took hold of her head and turned her. He was hoping the body was turning with that head. She was born beautiful and fully intact at 7# 15oz. and 20 in. long.When our ultrasound was done at 20 weeks, the U/S tech wasn't 100% sure she was a SHE. We didn't share this info and just planned for a girl. When she was born though, noone even checked to be sure of the gender, so I asked.

She's a she.

I love having 3 daughters. Catie and Lydia adore her...a bit too much. I fear for her safety at times.

She has been great about sleeping and eating on a regular schedule. She's done at about 9 or 10pm and sleeps until 1 am. then 4am and 7am feedings. I don't plan for this to continue, but choose to enjoy it each time it happens. (by the way, I'm a professional formula-feeding mom. Seriously...I've got it down to a science. :) )

Life is different with the 3rd. I'm so much more relaxed which translates to Miriam being much more relaxed. What a life!!!! I am thanking the Lord for His blessings and waiting for my body to recover completely.

This man is the best daddy a little girl can have.