Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Sweet Child O' Mine....

We Welcome Our Newest Little Sweet Princess~
Paisley Fae Ha
8 lbs. 13 oz (Oh My!)
22 inches
May 22, 2010 8:08am

The Birth Story......
On Friday night I had been feeling like I was really close to labor – lots of Braxton Hicks and just overall discomfort and a very low, heavy belly. I went to sleep and woke up at 5:58am on Saturday morning with cramping. It felt like I had to go to the bathroom so I wasn’t sure if that was it or if it was really contractions. I went to the bathroom and laid back down but the cramping continued. I woke up Kim and we snuggled in bed for a few minutes, and then he got up to set up the birthing tub. By 6:25 I’d had 3 good contractions that were painful. I called one of my midwives, Shelley, but she was at another birth. I called the other midwife, Seannie at 6:30am and she said she would get ready and to call back immediately if things picked up.


Up until then the 3 contractions had been 10 minutes apart, but as soon as I hung up I had one 5 min later and then they jumped to 2 minutes apart. I went and woke up Zyan and told her we were going to have our baby today! She was so excited! I laid with her for a few minutes and she called my best friend Cassandra to come over. At that point they were starting to get really painful, and any time I stood up I had a really bad one. I called Seannie to tell her to hurry. By that time it was 7am and I was really having to breath through them. I laid in bed on my side while I waited for the tub to finish filling. By 7:30, I called Seannie again because I felt like I was beginning transition. She showed up moments later with Robin, the asst midwife ad they began setting up. They were rushing around and seemed pretty intense, so I just stayed in bed. I could feel the head coming down the birth canal and I knew I was almost fully dialated.

Cassandra arrived at some point and began taking pictures. Olina, our nanny, also arrived to pick up the dog. My plan was that she would take the dog and leave (he is very hyper) but somehow she ended up staying to help with the kids. It wasn’t what I wanted but I wasn’t in a state to care, and I think it worked out okay because Cassandra was able to focus on taking pics. I got into the tub around 7:45 I think. I was starting to feel small urges to push so they told me to go ahead and start pushing anytime.

My water hadn’t broken yet, so Seannie asked me if I wanted her to break it or leave it. I decided to have her break it. I think it was almost 8am by now, and I could reach down and feel the baby’s head. Seannie broke my water just with a little pinch of the sac and I immediately felt intense urges to push. I started pushing and as soon as the head was out, Seannie told me to try and only do small pushes so she could gently get the rest of the baby out. At one point I thought maybe she was stuck because Seannie seemed to be working really hard to get her out, but I kept doing small pushes because I felt like I might tear if I pushed any harder. Seannie told me later the baby wasn’t stuck but she wanted to stretch my perineum so I wouldn’t tear. After a few more small pushes I felt the baby completely come out and I lifted baby into my arms at 8:08 am.

I still didn’t know boy or girl, but I wasn’t even thinking about that, I just held baby tight. Kim kept saying “What is it, what is it?” so finally I looked and I was TOTALLY expecting to see a penis. I was SO shocked when I saw little girl parts!! I think I said “OH MY GOD IT’S A GIRL!!!” And Kim said “Hi Paisley! Hi little Paisley!” It was truly the best surprise of my life. I was soooo happy to be able to give Zyan the sister she’s always wanted. And I know Adlai will be an amazing big brother to his little sister.

Zyan and Adlai had been in the living room all this time ( I really wanted Zyan there for the birth but she left the room) so I asked Cassandra to go get them. At first she couldn’t find them- the nanny had taken them outside – so Kim called her and they came in. I was REALLY disappointed when Cassandra couldn’t find them. I really wanted them there. But they showed up within minutes and Zyan and Adlai got to meet their new sister! Zyan was ecstatic. Adlai was adorable saying “Hi Paisley, hi!” Zyan told me later that she was really glad the nanny was there and that hearing me in pain was making her nervous, so I’m glad it worked out for her that way. I was still really disappointed because I didn’t ask the nanny to stay and it wasn’t part of my plan, but I accept that it happened that way for a reason.

After a few minutes I moved to the bed and began to nurse Paisley. It was such a whirlwind but such a beautiful, amazing experience. It was worth every minute of waiting to see her beautiful face, and the home birth was the best experience I could’ve asked for. I actually wish it lasted a little longer because it was so joyous. I can’t believe I have been blessed with a beautiful baby once again.

1 comment:

Cassy_B said...

It was an amazing day indeed. I was crying then and I can easily be brought to tears anytime I think about being there and watching Paisley be welcomed into the most wonderful and loving environment.