Countdown to Baby is Over

Yep. I wasn't pregnant forever! Precious baby girl number 3 made her grand entrance in the wee hours of the morning April 7th. We don't have an official nickname for her yet and I suppose we should stick to the food theme though that theme was unintentional initially. She fell smack dab in the middle of The Nut and Frito a far as birth stats go. 8 lbs. 13 oz. and 21.5 inches long. Her birth was only slightly longer than Frito's but was WAY calmer.

So, I NEED warm water to labor in for the pain relief. We bought a baby pool to set up in the FEMA trailer but realized a few days ago that it wouldn't work because it would take forever to fill so we couldn't wait until I went into labor and we couldn't fill it and wait because there was no way to keep the water warm. So TGTBT went into "fix it" mode and starting running around trying to find something suitable. I figured we'd just make do with the tiny tub and I'd get through it somehow. My sister decided to look around on her own and hit the jackpot at Academy. http://www.academy.com/index.php?page=content&target=products/outdoors/pool/pools&start=8&zoom=1&selectedSKU=0106-40860-0001

So TGTBT set it up late Sunday night and he did it redneck style. He had a piece of flexible liquid tight electrical conduit duct taped to a piece of rigid electrical conduit that was attached to the kitchen sink using a small PVC elbow. That contraption rested on the back of a kitchen chair as it drained into the spa. It was his crowning moment in improvisation. He was so proud. I actually hopped in it that night and floated around and relaxed while we watched a movie.

I had the date of April 7th in my head for a while for various reasons but thought it would never happen because my birth predictions never come true. We went to bed at around 11:00 and on the way I told him, "The thought of spending another night pregnant is just killing me." :o) At some point as I was falling asleep I felt a 'pop' and thought to myself that it felt similar to when I started labor with Frito. I didn't feel any wetness or anything else so I ignored it and went back to sleep. At around 12:30 I got up to pee and felt water leaking as I sat up. Yay! I waddled to the bathroom and more water poured out as I sat on the toilet.

I went back to the bedroom and tried to wake TGTBT up but he had come down with a sinus infection and felt SO bad and was exhausted so he was out. I cleaned myself up and tried harder to wake him up and it worked but I think he was hoping I was wrong so he could go back to sleep. I called the midwife who was glad she only had to walk from her RV in our driveway instead of drive 2 hours to get to us. I also called my mother and sister and we decided to not call the sister in Dallas because she was getting up early to head down here anyway and we knew she wouldn't make it in time anyway so we figured at least SOMEONE should get a good night's sleep.

I waited around for contractions and after about 15 minutes they started. I hopped into the spa and hoped the warm water would slow it down enough for everyone to get here but not draw it out too long. The contractions were very irregular and not consistent in intensity at all. I'd have a doozie that would double-peak and last for nearly 2 minutes and then a teeny one that I didn't even have to pay attention to. My mother and sister showed up about 1:30 and we were all having a good time laughing and joking. I kept asking what the time was because I was sure I'd just speed through in about an hour since Frito's birth was only about 2.5 hours.

At some point I remember telling TGTBT that he should probably go ahead and get into the spa because once it kicked off good I wouldn't be able to handle him jostling me to get in. I also made him turn off the bubbles in the middle of one big contraction because it was affecting my concentration. It was about this point that I also told my sister to "shut up" because she was talking in the middle of a contraction. From this point on I have no concept of time and I was in laborland with my eyes closed trying not to notice anything but the contractions so I could deal with them.

Up to this point I had been completely silent during contractions other than trying to keep my breathing slow and deep. All the sudden I started vocalizing. When birthing naturally there's a point where you enter transition and begin to moan involuntarily. The groans are VERY deep and although you're aware that you sound possessed there's not a dang thing you can do about it. My midwife even says there's a certain note that's so low you can't hit it unless you're just about ready to push. The contractions were extremely painful at this point and I kept telling myself that I could get through this ONE contraction if it meant I could push during the next one. That happened through about 5 contractions and then I realized I was about to push.

The midwife's assistant was just walking in the door. I told my sister to wake up The Nut but to let Frito sleep until just after the baby was born. Here comes The Nut in her pj's smiling from ear to ear to see all the excitement and know the baby was about to be here. I pushed once and felt the baby move way down and knew she was going to come flying out. I lifted myself up and did a crab walk across the spa to the midwives yelling that she was coming and I needed support or I'd tear. I was pushing the entire time and couldn't figure out why they were just sitting there watching me and not DOING anything, lol. They had no clue how fast she was coming.

So TGTBT helps hold me up and all the sudden her head is there and both midwives and TGTBT jump to help support me so I don't tear. I pushed again and she SHOT out into the water about a foot. My midwife caught her and lifted her onto my chest and that was that. In all the excitement I don't know if anyone got the exact time but our estimate is 3:45. My mother got Frito up and she was so confused about all the action. She just stared at the baby with her mouth hanging open. I think she understands that the baby was in my tummy and that I didn't just show up here one day with this stranger.

The cord took forever to quit pulsating and when it did The Nut got to cut it. She wasn't quite strong enough to make it all the way through but she said she'd do better next time. :o) After it was cut I grabbed the other end that was still attached to me and noticed a true knot. It looked like a little pretzel. I stood up to deliver the placenta and could not get it out. It was like all my muscles had been so overstretched and overworked that they were completely useless. Of course, I'm also worried about it not detatching and I'm thinking that would be my luck. Such an awesome birth and then have to go to the hospital anyway to get the placenta taken out.

So we worked at it and I changed positions a few times and it finally came out. I had no tears, surprisingly, considering she came out in under a minute. All in all I feel great and it's kind of hard to keep myself from doing too much because of that. All day Tuesday the baby slept and was up pretty much all night Tuesday night. We were a little concerned with a funny hitch in her breathing so we decided to get her to the pediatrician for her newborn exam sooner rather than later so her appointment was yesterday afternoon. The pediatrician didn't find anything wrong and deemed her perfectly healthy. The baby slept much better last night (as did I) and my milk is coming in so she's enjoying that new phase.

As long as this post is there's actually much more that I want to add but I'm getting sleepy and things are the calmest they've been around here since she was born so I'm going to take advantage of that and rest a little. Thanks for reading!