I have not posted
anything in quite a while. I have been busy and have neglected this blog. But I
thought I should write about our 6th child's birth, more so for myself than
anyone else. But if you find encouragement from reading it, then praise the
Lord.
On February 3, 2019,
we went to the hospital because I wasn't sure if we were in labor or not. I had
been having contractions for days and I hadn't been feeling well. After an
exam, I was only 3 cm dilated and I had the option of going home or walking
around. I chose to walk around. We had two hours to walk around the hospital
until my next exam.
For two hours my
husband and I walked around the hospital. My contractions were 5 minutes apart.
But when I was hooked up to the monitor it showed every 35 minutes. So we were
able to go home. One doctor told me I was going to have a baby soon but not tonight.
I have a high pain
tolerance, and this is my 6th child, so I was told to come back when my
contractions were 3 minutes apart for an hour.
We got home around 8
something that evening. When we went to bed I had contractions all night. But I
didn't think anything of it.
On February 4, I woke
up still having contractions. I started timing them at 6:50 A.m. I was having
contractions every 2 to 3 minutes. The pain wasn't that bad so I figured it was
nothing. I had contractions for days and figured it was like the previous days.
I also did not want to go back to the hospital for nothing.
My husband left to go
do some work and my contractions picked up. They started getting more intense.
I scheduled a doctor's appointment with the midwife for 11:20. My Mom came
over and my husband came home in time for me to go to the appointment. I was
really in pain, and I was crying.
I have had other
natural births. I also had a son who was born rather quickly when we arrived at
the hospital. We were 8 cm dilated with my third child when we got to the hospital. I wanted labor to go
fast like with his. My two labor and deliveries after my third child were long to
me. I walked around the hospital for hours until they were born. I prayed that
this time would be fast. I even joked that it would be nice being fully dilated
and making it to the hospital just in time for delivery.
By the time we arrived
to my doctor's appointment I was in so much pain. I couldn't move through the
contractions and I was crying. I don't normally cry a lot. So I felt bad about
crying.
I told my husband if I
was only dilated like 4 cm, there was no way I could do this. He knew we were
having a baby today. I, on the other hand just didn't know. I knew the pain was
real but I just didn't know.
When the midwife
arrived in my exam room, I was still having awful contractions. She was talking
me through them. After the exam she said I was 6 cm dilated. I thought that it
was a lot of pain to only be 6 cm. I was also shaking. She told my husband to drive
straight to the hospital so the baby wasn't born in the car. She also told me
to keep moving. When I got out of the clinic I didn't know if I could walk
anymore. It was just painful. But my husband said we had to.
One thought I kept
thinking was, how I was ruining the image of birth for some of the people in
the doctor's office. I was in labor and some might not have experienced that
yet, so I might have terrified some people. I didn't scream or anything, I just looked awful and I was crying.
When we arrived at the
hospital, maybe 5 minutes later, I had to stop and breathe through the
contractions and all of that. I was wheeled back in a wheel chair. I always
chose to walk but they told me I wasn't allowed to walk.
When we got in a room,
another midwife was there and they were bringing out the baby warmer, bassinet
and all the things for labor. I told the midwife that I needed some pain
medicine because I couldn't do this again.
She told me to just
see how far along I was before we decided. After the exam I was fully dilated.
She said the midwife at the clinic had lied to me and we were 7/8 cm dilated at
the clinic. She didn't want to scare me so she didn't tell the truth. I
realized that we could have had the baby in the van or in the hospital lobby.
But praise God we didn't.
Of course, I did not
get any medicine. I did not need it anyways. I was already at 10 cm dilated,
and I had prayed through the pain. Knowing I was going to meet my son soon really helped.
My midwife broke my
water. I had to wear an oxygen mask because the baby's heart rate was not
stable. (I learned it was because of the cord being wrapped around his neck 3
times.) I pushed for 15-20 minutes and our son was born. He had the cord
wrapped around his neck three times so the midwife took care of that fast. It
was such an amazing feeling knowing that God had answered so many prayers in my
son's birth. They laid him on me for a minute and then they had to take him. After a
few minutes, he was placed back on my chest and I got a look at God's precious
gift to us. I was so overjoyed that I cried. I was also so happy that it was
finished. It was a lot of pain and it happened so fast. He was born at 12:33
pm. Remember my doctor's appointment was at 11:20 and my son was born at 12:33.
That was cutting it close I know, but it was amazing and I'm so thankful it was
fast.
My son is 3 days old,
but I look back and see God's hand in every step of this labor. I can't praise
Him enough for working everything out, and blessing us with another
child.
I know some would say
that 6 children is a lot, but their opinion doesn't matter to me, but
God's does. And I am so happy with the family that I have. God has blessed us
with one daughter and five sons. I truly believe that God has made no mistakes when he has placed our children in our care.
Hours later my mom,
her husband, and my five children visited the hospital. They were so excited to
finally meet the baby that they have asked about for months. My 18 month old
wasn't sure about the baby, but I knew he would love him.
We went home the next
day. We like to stay for 24 hours in the hospital and go home if everything
with the baby and I are well. We didn't go home at the 24 hours mark but by 6
or so we were discharged and we were excited to finally be going home and starting
our adventure as a family of 8.
I can say that God is
good and He truly does answer prayer. He still amazes me today, and I never
want to get over that amazement.
Introducing our son
Gideon Nathaniel West
. He was 6 lbs. 14 oz. and 19 inches long.
