Craedyn Esther {Birth Story}

We waited 39 weeks, 6 days for her to arrive.
Didn't even have to wait the whole 40.
Or go past my "due date," like 2 of her 3 older sisters made us do.

You would think, then, that this little girl is all about being prompt.
Fast, quick, in a hurry.
Nope.
Quite the opposite, actually.

She OBVIOUSLY didn't get the memo that each baby is "supposed to come faster than the ones before."  Or if she did see it, she CHOSE to ignore it and go with her own plan.

I envision her little mind working something like this:
"I'm Mommy's last baby so I'm going to change things up a bit.  I'm going to throw her for a loop.  Instead of coming super fast, I'm going to take my time.  I'm going to drag this thing out for all it's worth.  After all, this will be the last time Mommy gets to experience labor, and I would hate for her to miss out on anything."

And so, my Thursday began earlier than I expected.
My bladder signaled me to get up at 4:30 and the discomfort in my back wouldn't let me go back to sleep, so I went ahead and got up for the day.  Was encouraged and challenged by my If Equip Bible study on Ruth.  Caught up on messages from teamies and friends on Facebook.  Went for a walk - going back and forth, up and down our street for fear that I would end up going into labor, have my water break, and not be able to make it back home before I had to crawl up by a tree and deliver my baby in the dark by myself...

Needless to say, baby did NOT make her appearance on my walk.
Heck, contractions didn't even start like I was hoping they would.
Instead, I sat on the porch, scrolled through Instagram and had some precious prayer time with Jesus.  I soaked up the quiet moments, knowing that all too soon the girls would be up and needing me, whining and fighting, demanding my attention, and making me want to pull my hair out...

Wishing I could enjoy the solitude for longer, I headed back inside the house to make breakfast so I could at least eat without interruption.  Somehow Kyiah figured out my plans to continue the morning in peace and decided to wake up a bit sooner than I would have liked.  I took my shower with her crying at the door - so relaxing. :)

Once I was dressed, we got Coralyn and Kellah up to get ready for the day.  Seeing as how we had 30 extra minutes on our hands, we were able to take our time.  Somehow, I even managed to fold and put away the THREE baskets of clean clothes in the girls' room before we went downstairs to finish reading Junie B. Jones "Handsome Warren" before heading out the door to take Coralyn to school.

With nothing else on the agenda until lunch when we would head back to Kellybrook per Coralyn's request to eat with her, we made a visit to the library for Storytime.

While Kellah and Kyiah had fun reading books, dancing, popping bubbles, playing with puppets, doing puzzles, coloring pictures, and all the other wonderful activities the library has to offer, I was having very random "contractions."  Having NEVER experienced Braxton Hicks contractions or even "warm up labor" before, I wasn't sure what to make of the tightening in my stomach that was wrapping around to my back.  As a childbirth instructor, I KNOW that is a sign of a "true" contraction, but these didn't seem to be consistent or do anything other than make me a tad uncomfortable.  So, I tried not to think about them or get excited about anything happening.  After all, my due date wasn't for another couple days, and that was my "early" due date.

Since we found out so early on about our pregnancy, my first sonogram was of a yolk sak!!!  Yep, at 4 weeks, I was already showing and needing to break out the maternity clothes.  I was SURE that I was at least 8 weeks along.  Or carrying twins.  Wrong on both accounts.  4 weeks.  ONE baby.  Just my body reminding me that it had done this 3 previous times and was excited to get started again.  Welp, given the size of the yolk sak, my estimated due date was November 19.

Fabulous.
Kyiah's 2nd birthday.
MORE craziness at the end of the year.
We already have October, November, and December birthdays.
Not to mention Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's.
Why not have another baby in there?!

I was, of course, excited when we went back for a 2nd sonogram and saw a 10 week baby (instead of the 8 week baby we were expecting) and my due date was "moved up" to November 7.  That would at least spread out the November babies.  I hoped and prayed they would NOT share a birthday - with each other or a holiday.

BUT, at the same time, I knew my track record.
Going LATE.
Kellah came at 41 weeks, 1 day (the average length of a typical pregnancy believe it or not).
Kyiah came at 42 weeks+ weeks (I gave up hope and stopped counting the days).

I assumed this baby would continue that trend and come at 43 weeks!
But, like I said at the beginning, Craedyn Esther seems to have a mind of her own.
She likes to do things HER way, keeping me on my toes.
And I really kind of like that about her.
Shows me that she's not going to just go with the flow or let others tell her what to do.  She's going to stand up for herself and be her own person.  Bold and courageous, like her name implies.  But that's for another blog post...

Back to the story of her birth! :)

After spending about 2 hours at the library, I gathered up the girls and drove to Hy-Vee as they shouted, "Sushi!  Sushi!  Sushi!" over and over and over again in the car the whole way there.  We picked up lunch and made our way back to Coralyn's school.  I'm fairly certain EVERY single teacher and staff member who saw us asked me when I was due, usually throwing in, "Couldn't it be any day now?!"  To which my response was, "Yep, or it could be a couple more weeks."

Seriously, in my mind I was doing my best to mentally prepare to go 2 weeks past my November 19 due date.  In case you haven't looked at a calendar recently, that would have put the birth on December 3!  I did NOT want to wait that long.  2 November babies was going to "bad" enough, but I really didn't know if I could handle 2 December babies!

God heard my silent cries of desperation...

We waited in the hallway for Coralyn's class to come down to the lunchroom.  When they finally appeared (we arrived a bit early in our enthusiasm to see her and eat sushi together), we got in line and found a seat at the table with her classmates.  The boy sitting next to me very aptly observed that I had a baby in my tummy and even asked if it would be coming out soon.  I assured him the baby was going to stay in my tummy and would NOT make an appearance at lunch.  Little did I know how accurate his words were though...

After saying goodbye to Coralyn, we walked down to Lawrence's classroom to say hi and surprise him.  We didn't stay too long though, as his students came back from Specials about the same time we reached his room.  Ironically, he asked me how I was doing, not having any idea that I was still having "random contractions" and feeling more and more discomfort each time.

We got back home and I promptly turned on "Justin Time" for Kellah and Kyiah to watch.  I had some things I needed to get done and knew that Netflix would give me about 25 minutes of uninterrupted work.  When Justin's adventure with Olive and Squiggy was over, I took Kyiah upstairs to lay down for a nap.  I switched out the laundry, put away the clean towels AND the clothes waiting for me in my bedroom.  Feeling accomplished, I made my way back downstairs to prep supper.

By this time (around 3), I was having "contractions" more often, but still nothing consistent.  Kellah wanted to read books, so we did.  Every single one we had checked out from the library that morning.  Then, she wanted to go outside, so we did.  And she searched for sticks and bugs in the front yard, then played in the backyard, and finally settled on exploring down by the creek.

I was sure Kyiah would be waking up soon, so we went back inside to check on her.  She was snoozing away, so Kellah had yet another snack before making a beautiful "nest" from rose petals and leaves.  Once Kyiah finally got up, we read some more books and finished up supper.  At some point I had texted our midwife Amber to let her know that "something" might be happening today.  She called me an hour or so later to check in on me.  I still wasn't too excited about a baby coming, but did want to keep my word to update her when I had "my first contraction," given that she totally missed Kyiah's speedy birth!

Trying to cover all my bases, just in case something WERE to happen, I messaged my team mate Kila to see if she would be "on call" to take over our team online party that started that evening at 8:30.  I was REALLY hoping she would need to run it, given that I would be holding a new baby in my arms by then.  I mean, it was already 5 pm and my contractions were getting somewhat consistent at this point...

I assumed Lawrence would come home right after school and didn't bother to call or email or text him.  Until 5:30.  Even then I just asked if he was on his way soon so we could eat supper :)  Which we did.  And I let him know I was having a contraction as we ate.  That sent him into "I need to get everything done" mode.  He changed the furnace filter, helped clean up after supper, and put away all the random stuff that had been on the trunk and dresser and closet in our bedroom.  My contractions were starting to get a bit stronger and closer together, so we put Buck Denver on for the girls to watch.  And once again, I truly had my hopes up that this baby would make his/her appearance before the 30 minute show was over.  Nothing like having high expectations for labor! :)

Welp, that didn't happen.
So we put the girls to bed and I texted Amber to let her know that I had actually had 3 more contractions since I last checked in with her (right before the "What's in the Bible" theme song).  She let me know she could come up whenever I was ready.  By this point, though, I was beginning to think this labor wasn't going anywhere and the contractions weren't doing anything.  However, I didn't want to be wrong and Amber to miss out again.  So, we agreed she would be on her way.

She arrived in the middle of me doing my online party.  I was posting away about our amazing protein powder, having contractions every 8ish minutes or so, and listening to her tell me about 2 or 3 other mamas in labor at the same time!!! Not sure what was in the air last night, but apparently it was the NIGHT to have babies!

As soon as I did the last post for the party, I told her, "Okay, NOW I can have this baby."  I wasn't letting myself miss out on helping my team.  Crazy how labor is such a mental thing!

I really believe I had to GET OVER myself during this labor.  I went in TRYING to be prepared for a long, drawn-out ordeal, but honestly I was hoping for a new record.  Under 2 hours was my goal.  Definitely "failed" there.  Did I mention Craedyn seems to have a mind of her own?! :)

I felt AWFUL when Amber's other client's water broke and was indeed having a fast labor (she was welcoming baby #7 who apparently got the memo about each baby coming quicker than the one before).  Amber couldn't be in 2 places at once and had to miss that birth - don't worry, she sent her back up midwife and someone was there to help that precious mama!

By 10:30 I was seriously beginning to question what was wrong with me.
By 11:30, I was finally beginning to accept that I was going to have a different labor - a "long" one so I could sympathize with my childbirth students and assure them that they really can have a natural birth, even if labor lasts longer than 9 hours (my previous longest).
By 12:30, I told everyone this baby was a boy because he was stubborn and the birth was NOTHING like any of the girls.

I was going between the bed and the closet and the tub and the bathroom and everywhere in between during this labor.  I would walk, squat, rub my back and ankles with Clary Sage, try laying down...anything and everything to get this baby to COME.  I found myself on the toilet quite a bit, having to pee every 2 seconds it seemed. At one point Amber even joked that she wasn't going to keep track of every time I made a bathroom trip.

Around 1:30 or so, I got back into the birth tub, thinking I *HAD* to be close to having this baby by now.  My contractions were STRONG, but "weird" in that they were more intense in the front than in my back.  I was feeling pressure and just wanted my water to go ahead and break. With all 3 of the girls as soon at that happened, baby came...

Well, I got in the water and contractions were starting to get super close, running into each other really.  I was doing my best to relax through the pain and breathe through the pressure.  I KNEW that would help and that this baby WOULD come sooner if I did.  Thankfully, Craedyn decided not to make me wait much longer.

I didn't really ever push so to speak, but I definitely started breathing down to help release the increasing pressure I was feeling.  As I did, I also knew the pressure would get stronger as baby came out! :)  My water broke RIGHT BEFORE Craedyn made her entrance at 2:11 am - head with one contraction and the rest of her body with the next.

The next part was kind of scary actually.  I reached down to pull the baby up out of the water and to my chest.  I saw a head full of hair, a body COVERED in vernix (the white cheesy like lotion that protects baby's skin the womb), and PURPLE.  I wasn't too concerned though.  Babies aren't exactly pink/peachy the moment they're born, so I lifted a leg to confirm we had GIRL #4.  Craedyn STILL wasn't crying or doing much at this point, though.  I started to get concerned.  I told her to go ahead and cry.  Amber rubbed her back.  NOTHING.  She got the cord away from her neck (nuchal cords are actually SUPER common - happening in about 50% of births, hospital or home or anywhere).  And still Craedyn wasn't showing us the power of her lungs.  She WAS breathing.  Amber checked her heart tones and they were good.  Craedyn simply didn't want to cry out or really show us that she was excited to be in the big wide world.  Did I mention this girl seems to have a mind of her own?

Amber gave her a breath and placed her back on my chest.  She did a tiny little cry, but still nothing too impressive.  We waited.  We talked to her.  Kissed her.  Loved on her, told her how delighted we were to meet her.  NOTHING on her end.  So, Amber gave her another breath.  Finally, Craedyn realized NOW might be a good time to stop making her mommy worry.  I don't know how many times I asked Amber if she was okay.  She was.  All along.  Just took her time letting us know it.

We rested in the tub a bit, then slowly moved to the bed.
Eventually the placenta came and I officially wasn't pregnant anymore.
Bittersweet really.
We plan on Craedyn being our last baby to have in this fashion, so never again will I experience the joys of pregnancy, or labor and delivery.

Maybe that's why Craedyn wanted to make this a memorable experience, totally different from any of her sisters' births.

And after that initial scare, she really has been the sweetest little thing!
Little she is!
Smallest baby yet!
Well, the longest measuring at 19.5 inches.
BUT, the lightest weighing in at just 6 pounds, 10 ounces.

I thought she looked tiny and commented on her petite size when she was born, but both Amber and her assistant assured us she was about 8 pounds.  NOPE.  Not even close.  And that 6 pounds, 10 ounces was AFTER nursing for a good hour or so!

Once Amber had Craedyn's measurements and she checked out for reflex and muscle tone and heartbeat and all those standard things, we enjoyed some blueberry coffee cake to celebrate a happy BIRTHday!

Totally different than what I had played out in my mind.
But totally wonderful in its own way.

As Craedyn lays next to me and I watch her sleep right now, I am overcome with emotions of every kind.  My heart is full and overflowing.  I am blessed beyond measure.

And I look forward to the next days, weeks, months, and YEARS of getting to know this precious daughter God has graciously given to me to raise until His return.

Craedyn Esther, we are sooooo excited you are here!