How do I even start this post?? Do I start with "all my babies have been early".....or.... "my mom came in town early to help out".....or...."each day of waiting was an eternity"?? How about I WILL NEVER PUT AN EXPECTATION ON A PREGNANCY AGAIN! Jordyn was due September 24 and since all three of my other babies have come early on their own I just expected this one to be the same. We even planned for my mom to come in a few days before (9/20) the due date because of this. I couldn't believe it as my due date (9/24) came and went. My mom had already been here a week, and I couldn't believe I was actually having to talk to my doctor about being induced. Induction is NOT something I wanted to do, but nevertheless I got put on the schedule for 10/6. I continued with my regular activities of the week...attending one more Sunday at church, one more MOPS meeting, one more Ladies Bible class with everyone saying "you're still here??" I had no indicators that I would go into labor anytime soon. The morning of Thursday, September 30, I woke up as usual to get ready for the day, getting Sonya to school, and the other two girls to preschool. Lately I had been waking up with the pain of a full bladder that would go away when I went to the bathroom. When I got up this day I thought I had the same pain, but it felt slightly different. Went to the bathroom and it seemed to go away, but about 15 minutes later that twinge came again. This was my first clue that something might be happening, but I didn't want to get my hopes up since they really didn't feel like the contractions I was expecting. It still made me nervous though. :) I got dressed, then Sonya and I hopped in the car to go to school. On the way home from dropping her off (8 a.m.) I felt a distinct wave in the pelvic area that had me almost sure since all these "pains" were coming and going at regular intervals. While I was taking Sonya to school Daniel was still at home finishing up getting ready to leave for work. I thought that he would wait until I got home to leave, but also thought I better call him just in case. I decided to just take the chance he would still be home (we're only five minutes from school). Imagine my surprise when I turn on our street and he is backing out of the driveway!! Thankfully, he had forgotten his hospital bag (we'd been toting those around for a week!) and had stopped to go back in to get it. I pulled in the driveway, went inside and told him he should hang around for a little bit just to see if these "contractions" were indeed the real thing. Sure enough, it didn't take long for it to be apparent that this was the real thing. I called Daniel's mom to see if she could come get Sage and Joelle and take them to school. Contractions were regular somewhere between 5-10 minutes apart, tolerable, but I didn't want to waste any time getting to the hospital. It seemed like this could possibly go quick. Daniel's mom got to our house about 8:45 to take the kids and we immediately got in our car along with my mom and headed to the hospital. I had assumed Daniel remembered the way to the hospital so we didn't review how to get there beforehand. A bit of a mistake since we got off at an exit too late, but realized not too far down the road. Thankfully my labor was slow and steady this time and I was still feeling okay and not panicked about it. We got back on the right track and got to the hospital. I know this is the fourth one, but I was still so scared and nervous.... I told the nurse at the desk my contractions were about 5 minutes apart and she got moving right away. We got into the triage room (9:40) and I think I was at 5 cm. Daniel's sister had the day off that day and had arrived shortly after we got checked in. Shortly after that his mom arrived from taking the kids to school. We got moved to a labor and delivery room after all the initial assessments and just waited...while I contracted...I did most of that standing up. Sooo much better than being in the bed. It was weird to watch the numbers on the monitor start to go up as a contraction was going on. Kind of helped with the mental preparation. My nurse was so nice and encouraging, offering whatever she could and asking me what I wanted...all I could think about, though, was getting through the contractions. I didn't know what I wanted. She brought me a birthing ball which I tried sitting on for a little while until I knew I was getting close to delivery and asked the nurse to check how much I was dilated. I was at 8 cm. The whole time I was actually contemplating getting an epidural. It sounded so nice at the time because I didn't know if the contractions were going to get much worse or how long I would be waiting. It was a battle in my head. I just kept pushing through, though, knowing that it probably wouldn't be that much longer, I've done it before, and I like being able to get around soon after the baby is born. I stayed in the bed after she checked me, but stayed sitting up holding onto a bar that could go across the end of the bed. Contractions were constant and I was ready to be done. I knew Jordyn was low and ready to make her entrance. There's that bathroom feeling again... I told the nurse I was ready and she called the doctor. Based on the side of the conversation I was hearing it seemed like the doctor wasn't in a hurry, but the nurse very firmly requested that the doc NOT take her time getting to me. Thankfully she did come, broke my water, and told me to push whenever I was ready. It was hard to believe this was all going so smoothly. I tried pushing as hard as I could, but wasn't really into it. I asked if they could see Jordyn and they said yes, she was right there. That would explain why I felt a little bit of a burning sensation already. That was enough encouragement for me to push again and with enough stamina to get her out. And with that she was out at 11:25 a.m.! I didn't even really scream this time, only just vocal enough as I was pushing her out. Daniel, my mom, his mom and sister were all there to witness Jordyn's birth. All went very smoothly and I felt like this was my easiest labor and delivery. I couldn't believe I had actually considered the epidural! Jordyn weighed 7 pounds 1 ounce and was 19.5 inches long. Lots of dark hair ALL over her body, long toes, and just perfectly beautiful. Another one of God's gifts to us. After all was said and done, Jordyn was checked out and I was taken care of we got moved to a room. Our moms and Daniel's sister left to go pick up kids from school and bring them to the hospital. I couldn't wait for them to meet their new sister! Amazing to me that I had a baby in the time they were at school! The timing for everything worked out perfectly for Daniel to be home, the kids at school, and his mom and sister off as well. The Lord had answered every prayer all in HIS timing. :)
Sonya following in her mother's footsteps....gets glasses at the age of 5 (I was 4). She hasn't been wearing them regularly yet, but actually wore them for awhile today. Will probably get her used to them before school starts. I think she looks adorable! She picked them out herself. Much more stylish than when I got glasses at her age!
