I do not have pictures back yet from the midwives. You'll have to be patient and wait for them.
So, this pregnancy (#9 earthside) went well. I was healthy, felt well, minimal weight gain, very little morning sickness, baby was measuring well, strong heartbeat, etc. etc. We were looking forward to meeting this little one in the beginning of May. According to the "official due date" he was to arrive before co-op was out and all the crazy end of the year stuff happened! I told co-op that I would finish out April, being that I was teaching a full day of pre-k but to get coverage for the last two weeks. Mike actually stayed home those two Fridays so that the kids could go to their final classes.
WELL, those two weeks came and went. My midwife (the one that has delivered all the boys since 2010) was going away for a few days right around "due date" so we discussed who would be in attendance if I went into labor while she was gone. Her time away came and went. Due date came and went. The NEXT week came and went!! The following week, week 41- I went for a stress test and ultrasound to make sure all was well. Thankfully, all was well. Little one just wasn't ready. A couple days later, I had another appointment and we did a membrane sweep (I was at 3-4 cm and ready cervix) hoping to kickstart things so it wouldn't interfere with the upcoming play that weekend. The big kids had been putting in a lot of time and effort for months preparing for the co-op play and I really did not want to miss it. I had a very uncomfortable evening, but nothing progressed. I had ANOTHER appointment that week and we did a repeat--midwife was sure I'd go into labor as I was another cm+ dialated--however once again, I had a very uncomfortable evening. Contractions regularly until 2am and then they just stopped!!! Talk about disappointing!
At this point, we were up to the day of the play. I pretty much had no contractions on the 20th or 21st--so I went to the Friday evening performance and the Saturday afternoon performance. I'm so glad I did, due to copyright issues, there was no recording allowed. We thought for sure, baby would finally arrive after the play was over. Keep in mind that we were once again planning a homebirth. Apparently, one cannot go past 42 weeks and have a homebirth if you're not already in active labor by that point. So, that last week was really getting stressful as the deadline approached. My midwife and I made a plan for Sunday 5/22 as a last attempt before I would have to go to the hospital the following day (Monday). I had previously declined doing castor oil..but as a last ditch effort, we bought some to start on Sunday morning. Well, I woke up on Sunday morning, Lisa texted me around 5am to see if I was in labor. If not, she had to go attend a birth in Morristown. I was not. A little while later, around 8am or so, I started having mild contractions without taking the castor oil. I let her know and asked if I should bother taking the oil..she emphatically said NOT to take it since she was an hour away +. She would head my way when she was done with the birth and paperwork.
In the next couple of hours, nothing changed. Still light, manageable, not super painful contractions. Lisa and Christina arrived around 12:45. In the meantime, Mike had been setting up all the birthing stuff--tub, floor and couch coverings, getting all the supplies out and ready--so it was pretty much ready to go when they arrived. We did an exam to see where we were at--5/6cm.. and I had her break my water.
Water was broken about 1:05pm. I used the bathroom and changed my bottoms..and paced the kitchen. With the floor coverings, it feels a bit slippery elsewhere. A few minutes of pacing and the first REAL pains hit. They started filling the tub- we run out of water pretty quickly, so we have to time it just right and make sure the temperature is good as well. I didn't count them, but I don't think I had even 10 contractions and I was ready to get into the tub. Honestly, I almost couldn't walk over to it-Mike had to help me climb over the side..minutes later and 3 (?) pushes, Isaac Reagan was born at 1:58pm.
His cord was super long and he was covered in thick vernix. He was a bit purple but after a bit of rubbing and crying he became a nice pink color. 9 pounds 8 ounces and 21 inches long! It makes me wonder how long he would have stayed in there if we hadn't evicted him. It really makes no sense to me--the "due date" is a guesstimate, right? So, why have this deadline?!! If everything is going well and mom and baby are healthy-let it be!!! I know that at a certain point the placenta and what not begin breaking down, but we were not at that point. The stress of that 42 week deadline was no joke. At least we can say now that I've had 3 early, 3 late, and 3 right to the date!!
Mike had been wanting to use the name Isaac since around boy number 4..so it was a long time in coming. Reagan is a shortening of my maternal grandmother's maiden name. As you probably know, we use family names for the middle names of all the kids. With nine children plus a whole ton of cousins--there are not too terribly many family names that aren't already used (that we would consider using 😉)
The kids are thrilled that he is here, our number 8 had a bit of a rough time for the first two days after Isaac was born--mostly during naptime and bedtime, but since then he has been really good. He even chose to sleep in his big-boy bed last night for the first time!!
I'm just so thankful that Isaac was born in May and not August! I'm thankful that he is here and everything went well. I'm thankful we were able to be at home. I know we had a lot of people praying for us and I'm thankful for that as well. Welcome little one, we are so thankful to the Lord for you!!
