Penelope May's Birth Story (warning...very long!)

Where do I start...I went to Bible Study on Wednesday morning at 9:30am. We had group discussion and then watched a video from 10:30-11:30. During the video, I started to feel really uncomfortable. I was surprised because I wasn't due for another week and labor with Theo had started with my water breaking. The contractions were coming fairly close together and I actually went to the back of the room to squat through them and walk in between. I was starting to get a little bit concerned because I had an interpreting job that afternoon and Andy was supposed to leave on a school retreat on Wednesday evening. I called Andy at work and he decided that he would come home as soon as he could and that he would not be going on the retreat. I was skeptical that this was really labor. Andy came home, we timed contractions for a few hours (4 min. apart, lasting for 45sec to 1min), and decided to call our parents (who live about 2 1/2 hours away). Andy, Theo and I went and walked the mall (productive, but boring), went to eat at Red Robin (why did I want a greasy hamburger and fries?), and then walked the mall again. Our parents arrived (both of mine and Andy's mom) and we all decided that we should try to go to bed (at midnight). I slept fitfully, but was able to sleep until 5:30am. My parents, of course, were flying out to Kansas for my aunt's 50th birthday (as a surprise) and needed to leave our house by 8:30am to get to the airport.

As you can guess.....no baby by 8:30am, so they left (after we assured them that we would call if anything happened and that we wouldn't hate them forever for needing to leave) and we went to an appt. with our midwife at 9am.So, we're at our midwife's appt. and she does an exam. I was only 2-3cm dilated and 50% effaced although I'd been regularly contracting (at a comfortable, but noticeable intensity) for almost 24 hours. So, even though I was discouraged and feeling stupid for having called our parents and made them drive up all excited for nothing, we had to get on with our day. Luckily, Andy was home from work (since he didn't go on the retreat) and we didn't have anything on our schedule. Andy, his mom, Theo and I went to Toddler Time at the park (indoors) and saw a few friends and their kids there. They couldn't believe I was there while laboring, but I couldn't fully explain to them that I was fine and that (in my opinion) nothing was happening. After Toddler Time, we went to lunch at the deli near our house (it was Thursday....cheesy cauliflower soup day!) and then headed home to put Theo down for a nap and try to get some rest. Andy's mom had a meeting at work, so she decided to head for home (more driving....ack!) and I went to take a nap. Around 3:00 we went to Fred Meyer to do some more walking (it couldn't hurt, right?). We headed over to the Balloun's for dinner at 4pm and had fun hanging out with O.Shane and Michele, watching Lucas and Theo play, and having great food (spicy chili...yum!) and great conversation. We left around 7:30pm and headed home to put Theo to bed and get some rest.

As soon as we got home, I had 3 or 4 contractions very close together and realized that things might be changing. I was still so unsure that any of this was "real" labor or that we'd be meeting our baby any time soon. Andy suggested that we start a puzzle we'd picked up earlier in the day (mostly so he could watch me during the contractions and so I would have something else to think about other than what was happening). Around 8:30pm, it was clear that we needed to find someone to take care of Theo. Our parents were either out of state or several hours away, so we had to think fast. Our friend, Tracy, was ready to come right away and stayed with Theo, put him to bed, did some laundry, and waited for Andy's folks to drive up from down south. She was such a godsend!! Theo knows her well (from church) and always has so much fun with her. I was completely at peace knowing that Theo would be sleeping while we were gone and that I trusted the people caring for him if he happened to wake up.We headed to the Bellingham Birth Center (freestanding center run by midwives) at 10pm and Ann (our midwife) checked my dilation....4. Hmmm....not what I wanted to hear.

So, I felt like a fool and really wanted to go back home. I felt like I had already wasted my parents' time on Wednesday and now I felt like I had wasted both Tracy's time and my in-laws. About a 1/2 hour after we got there, we overheard Ann on the phone with another midwife explaining that we were there and that another family was coming in soon. The birth center has 2 rooms and they were both going to get used tonight AND we were both clients of the same midwife. Weird, right? I hopped into the tub and thought I'd be able to relax there and get some sleep, but it just didn't feel right and I kept obsessing about what an inconvenience I was being and how I wasn't really in labor. Ann suggested that Andy and I just lie down and try to get some rest there at the birth center. We slept for about 2 hours and I was in a completely different frame of mind. I was excited about this birth, ready to meet the baby, and didn't even consider if anyone was being "inconvenienced". That was at about 12:30pm. Andy and I started walking the halls, dancing together during contractions, and humming, moaning and singing.

This was a completely different experience than my labor with Theo. During his labor, I crawled inside myself and laid in the tub for hours and hours like I was asleep. I had a running dialogue with God that I would keep up my end of the bargain and try to keep myself calm if He would keep me and the baby from dying during all of this pain and uncertainty. This time I felt compelled to sing, dance, and make all kinds of crazy noise during the contractions. During Theo's birth, I hadn't wanted anyone to talk to me or touch me, but this time I felt very connected to Andy and wanted him to kiss me, hug me, and continue reassuring me. I loved Theo's birth, but this experience was very powerful for my marriage and I really felt like it was more honoring of my husband's role as a father and a husband. He even cried part way through the labor because he was letting himself realize that we would be meeting our new child very, very soon.

Around 2am, Ann checked me again and I was only dilated to 6cm. At about 2am, the contractions were getting really powerful and I got back into the tub. I had read somewhere (I think in an Ina May Gaskin book) that some people call the warm tub the "midwife's epidural". It did make everything much more manageable and I was able to feel more rested between the contractions. Things went on like that for the next 2 1/2 hours. Andy sat beside me on the floor and I laid in the tub. We sang (mostly hymns...that's all we knew the words to), I moaned, and I even tried smiling and making this crazy high to low moan noise that really helped (but I know it must've sounded so crazy). At about 4:30am, Andy said, "I'm going to stay right here with you, but I'm tired and I need to lie down." I said, "Ok." Andy heard me moving around and realized I was rolling over onto my hands and knees in the water. He tried to help me, but I was already done. Eloysia (a midwifery student who was assisting Ann with our birth) was with us while Ann was in the other room with another laboring family. She asked, "Do you feel like pushing?" I replied by screaming, pushing, and pooping what Andy describes as a really big poop. I'd felt like I needed to poop for a long time and had tried several times, so I'm not surprised. After the poop, I pushed again and out came her head. One more push and there she was. Ann caught her, passed her under my legs in the water, and handed her to me. We cried, covered her up, and finally looked to see what sex she is. A girl. Unbelievable.

Andy has 3 brothers, his dad has 3 brothers and 1 sister, and only 2 of them have any daughters. His family is heavily weighted toward boys. His mom is especially thrilled to have a granddaughter. My parents now have 3 granddaughters and 2 grandsons between me and my 2 brothers. I also have a sister, but she and her husband do not have any children.

When Theo was born, I had a 4th degree tear and had to go to the hospital 2 hours after his birth to have tons of stitches (they didn't tell me how many, but it took over a 1/2 hour just for the suturing). This time, she came so fast that I was sure I had torn badly again. I was wrong. I just had a simple 1st degree tear that will heal on its own. No stitches at all!!

We were home and resting by 8:30am and Theo is very curious about his new "baby", as he calls her. We're going to really enjoy this process of readjusting to our new family size and dimension. What a miracle this all has been. I feel so blessed to have been able to be a part of God's creative process again.

Here are the official specs again:

Penelope May Lewis

Born: Friday, January 18, 2008

Weight: 7 lbs. 10 1/2 oz.

Length: 19 3/4 inches