Quinn Adeline's birth story

WARNING :: This is really really long! Grab yourself some coffee and maybe even something to eat. Hope you enjoy! :)

Before too much time passes and I forget all the little details, here's the story of how Quinn arrived. Like my disclaimer for Allie, this story may not be for everyone...at least for those uneasy with birth and natural birth. But the Lord worked in amazing ways and I want to put Him on display in how He showed Himself so near to Matt and I.

The story begins on Sunday morning, June 9th at 6:30am. I woke up to some mild but noticeable contractions. Different and significantly more painful then anything I'd had to that point. I layed there for awhile wondering if these were "it" and we'd have a baby sometime soon. They weren't consistent or enough to time them, but I was uncomfortable. Matt woke up pretty much the same time I did and asked his usual, "How are you? Anything going on?" questions. I'd gotten used to him asking since this was day 8 of being "overdue". I mentioned that I was having contractions and they hurt. He then asked, "Do you still want to go to church?" That was what I was wondering too. I thought church would be a great distraction since things were early enough where I didn't want to stay home only to sit on the couch and be aware of the fact that I didn't feel good. The other part of me wondered though how I'd find enough will power to do all it took to get myself and our family ready for church. I was thankful I had Matt's help.

We got ourselves ready and were out the door by 8:15 {our usual church departure time is 8:00am}. I told Matt as we were driving down the road, this was one Sunday when it didn't bother me what time we left...we had done good just to be on our way! Little did I know that the Lord had specific plans for us to hear Dr. Barrick's sermon that morning. There's been many times throughout my Christian walk where a message seemed to be tailor-made to me. This one took the cake! Dr. Barrick was preaching through Joshua 7-8 where the Lord tells Israel that until they have obeyed Him by not taking their enemy's possessions, the Lord would not be with them in battle. The people became easily influenced, quick to forget what God had commanded them of being separate from foreign nations and believed the lie that they could skate to easy victories as God's chosen people. They lost focus of their need to be humble, to acknowledge sin and repent and ultimately forgetting their complete dependence upon Him.

Matt and I walked away from worship that day extremely humbled. Here we were, ready to go into baby #3's arrival with a mindset of, "We've got this! This is number 3, we've done this two times before; easy-peasy!" We decided to skip Sunday School hour (which is right after first service), leave the girls in their classes and go on a mini date. This ended up being a kind gift from the Lord. We bought coffee, some kind of danish and found a shaded spot tucked away behind some houses on a quiet street in downtown Newhall. There we talked about all that the Lord had impressed on our hearts, the sin we had allowed to take hold in believing we didn't need Him and could easily get through the journey ahead with just us. We both prayed (emotional and teary coming from me) asking the Lord to forgive us, to cause us to depend on Him and to walk us through whatever was coming our way. That time really renewed our faith in the Lord and brought us closer as a couple.

So (I promise that a baby does come in this story ;)) we went back to church, picked up the girls, talked to a few different people (one was my sweet friend Alia who reminded me that things could pick up at any moment...all the while contractions are getting stronger and harder) and then set out for home. When we got back at 1pm I asked Matt if I could just sit on the couch. Making lunch for everyone seemed overwhelming at that point and I was starting to get really crampy and kinda needed to breathe through contractions. He made lunch, fed the girls and myself and then asked if he could call our sister-in-law Monika to give her a heads up. I still felt like it was a long ways off and I told him not to call. I didn't want to get the girls all packed up and sent over there for a false alarm or even for something that seemed genuine but didn't go anywhere. Around 2pm the girls went down for a nap and contractions still were coming steadily. By then Matt felt it was necessary to call Monika and have her come by 4pm once the girls were awake. I didn't argue. I remember being glad that he was making executive decisions for me.
From 2-3pm they continued. Steadily, about every 3 to 4min apart. It seemed close but still not close enough. I had a good texting dialogue going with my midwife who asked how long they were (just about 1 minute), how painful were they (maybe a 4 or 5?) and what was I doing during them (needed to focus, breathe some and to just do my thing). At 3pm I got a text from my midwife in Alaska who told me that if I really wanted to see if this was real labor I should do 3 things: 1) Go on a long walk (well it was about 95 degrees and since I didn't want to get dehydrated, that was out) 2) be intimate (I was hurting, having to go to the bathroom A TON and super uncomfortable, so that was out) and 3) use a double breast pump for 30 minutes and then after that every 10 min for a minute or two (this I could do!!!) and so I did!
For 30 L-O-N-G minutes! I thought I would never be the same in that spot. It hurt something bad!
But man! That was probably the best advice up to this point. Like clockwork my contractions started coming 2-3 minutes apart and were HARD, STRONG and LONG. No longer was I talking, laughing or excited. All of a sudden this was intense and I already wanted it to be over. I found a contraction counter for my iphone and from 3-4pm I timed...and they weren't letting up. How super glad I was that Monika was coming to take the girls. I needed the house to myself so that I could do whatever, wherever and I wouldn't upset Reese and Allie.
Just as she arrived I climbed into the shower and stayed there. The water felt good...but not as good as I remember it feeling for Allie. And speaking of Allie...this was nothing like my labor with her! What happened to the slow, gradual pace that I adjusted to and could handle? What happened to being able to work with my contractions, relax, breathe, accept and embrace? Gone. Long gone. In it's place was fast, furious, intense, and raging! Once the girls were gone and it was just Matt and I...he got down to business. There were tarps to put down, a birthing tub to set up and then fill with hot water and oh...a coach's role to fill. Some may remember that with my older two girls I had my mom with me for their labor and births. We decided ahead of time that she would come after the birth to maximize her help when we would need it the most. That day proved to me just how invaluable she is as a labor coach. I missed her terribly!!
At this point I remember being really uncertain of how to gage where I was at. Contractions were so hard and intense and felt much farther along early on then they did with Allie. I remember telling Matt how wimpy I felt and why wasn't this over already. I think at one point he laughed and said...you haven't been doing this very long. You've got a ways to go before you can feel like that. :/ Umm...not the words you want to hear in labor.
{Side note: I don't have much to compare myself to, but I've been told I'm a pretty calm and collected woman in labor. I don't yell, get angry, say nasty things...you fill in the blank. That stuff just doesn't occur to me, even if I'm in pain, it's not their fault that I'm in this position so why should I take it out on them. Well...fast forward to this exact moment right after Matt said the above. It followed with (during a contraction)..."Ash, you're not relaxing. You're tensing up. Your face is all scrunched. Ash you're not doing it right. You need to relax." And then I smacked him. In the middle of my contraction, when I was trying so hard to go soft and relaxed. I full-on smacked him on the arm and kinda shoved him away from me at the same time.      *Pause*     YIKES! It's not something I'm proud of now and really can't believe (still) that it happened. And I felt like one of those mean ladies on TV getting all nasty with their husbands while they're in labor. But it happened. And as soon as I reacted that way, Matt immediately stopped. He became much more gentle and sensitive and told me he was sorry and that it probably wasn't helpful. That was sweet. And I'm glad he recognized his bad.}

By this point, I wanted Matt to call Donna and tell her to come. Part of me felt like it was too soon (because really I had only been doing this hard stuff since 3pm and it was 6:30 by now) but the other part was hoping it wasn't too far away b/c I didn't know how much more I could take. The Lord was sovereign in all the details and timing. I'm so thankful He prompted me to have her come. With getting her stuff together and driving out to us, it took about an hour. She arrived at 7:30 with me in the tub. I asked her to assess where she thought I might be from listening and watching my demeanor. Her thought was a 6...maybe 7!? I remember being really nervous for her to check only because I didn't want to be disappointed and to emotionally shut down if I wasn't close to that. She let me labor for 30 minutes and at 8pm asked if I'd like to be checked. I was hesitant but finally agreed. It would be good to see where things were. So with me still in the tub, she did a check and even kept her hand inside during a contraction. What I didn't know (but almost came out of the water with how painful it was) was that she tried to see if my cervix would respond and open with her hand inside while I contracted. Just plain awful! Once it was over and with the kindest, most understanding voice, she told me I was a 4. I about cried. I really didn't think I could be that low.

A 4??? What?? I think I just sat there and stared at her and Matt. Next she suggested I get out of the tub, walk around and even try the shower again. Maybe the tub was slowing things down a bit? Good idea! Anything to get this onward and finished. Plus (since I had a long way to go) I didn't want to be sitting around being watched as I labored. So Matt went with me and with him on the outside and me in the shower, we worked through awful, awful contractions. This is where change happened. Being upright, gravity pulling baby down...things started moving. This is also where I started telling Matt I couldn't do it. I didn't want to do it anymore. And over and over again I said, "I just want to go! I just want to go!" Matt : "where do you want to go?" Me: "I don't know, I just want to go." Well I knew good and well where I wanted to go. I wanted to be out of this body. To go to the hospital and get relief. To finally be finished from all this pain. It was agonizing! And I was praying continuously...crying out to the Lord to move this baby along and out. To finish my dilation because I just didn't know how I was going to keep doing it. I was so tired and discouraged.

45 minutes later I had had enough of the shower and just wanted to get out and do something else. I walked into the living room where Donna (and by this time her assistant Rebekah) were and as soon as she saw me, asked if she could check me again. I remember being confused and saying she had just checked me not even an hour earlier...why did she want to again? I didn't want another discouraging result. But she said that things had really changed since I was in the shower and I was showing very different signs of labor. So I agreed. And there on my couch she did a check and immediately looked at me with excitement and said, "You're a 9 1/2!!!" You just have the smallest little cervix left! You can start pushing whenever you feel like you want to!

I cried.

Seriously it was the best (and scariest) news ever! That means that I went to almost complete dilation in less than an hour! Goodness gracious! No wonder I was wanting to throw in the towel and call it quits. My body was doing some major work really fast!!! I was helped into the birthing tub again and noticed almost immediately with the next contraction it switching to the pushing stage. I ended up being on my knees, holding myself over the side of the tub and with Matt's face in mine, bearing down with everything I had. Crazy! Such a vastly different feeling compared to Allie. If the Lord allows, I hope to have all the rest of my babies in water. It truly is night and day different in how you feel supported down low with so much happening quickly! Because I was upright and had gravity working for me, I remember feeling (as I was pushing) her head descend and almost within that same contraction, completely out! It was awesome for that to happen so fast! Reese and Allie both took 30 minutes or more to push. With Quinn I pushed for 9 minutes. Her head in maybe 2 or 3 pushes, her shoulders in 1 to 2 and the rest just slipped out. It was incredible!! At 9:04pm our baby was born into the hands of our midwife.

Somehow I was helped to turn around and sit down in the tub with her coming through my legs to be put on my chest. And the thing I'll never forget about Quinn was how quiet she was. Not a sound came from her! For a long time. Later on Donna remarked that she was the quietest water birth baby she's ever seen. She just lay on my chest, looking around. Donna touched her a few times, listened to her heart and made sure she was breathing and doing good. Up to this point we didn't know Quinn was a girl. There was so much emotion and excitement and awe that she had arrived so quickly, that we forgot to look for awhile. But finally I said, Matt, what do we have? And in his words, "I didn't see anything when baby was put on your chest. I'm pretty sure it's a girl." I kept saying no way! Ha! I didn't believe she was a girl and finally was able to look and see for myself.

It's a GIRL! Quinn Adeline Mehringer had arrived!

I really really loved that we didn't find out Quinn's gender. It was the biggest surprise to me and so fun to discover on our own. And what a little doll the Lord has give us. I was able to sit in the tub for some time while we waited for the placenta to come and just got to stare, caress and bond with my baby girl. She didn't cry for at least 30 minutes; she was content to just be held and look around. This was definitely my favorite after birth experience with no one to rush us. I think it was only 10 minutes after Quinn arrived when my friend Alia came to take pictures. We had been planning to have her there before and during the birth to photograph it but the end happened so fast that she didn't make it. Once the placenta was delivered I handed Quinn to Matt and was helped out of the tub and walked straight to our BED! Amazing! There were so many incredible things about having a home birth. Getting to be in my bed less than an hour after having my baby was one of the best. It was there that I was checked over (no stitches at all!!! Which I believe had everything to do with the water.) and Quinn had her newborn exam and was weighed.

Her stats: 7lbs 15oz and 20 inches long

A word about my midwife...She was (and is) amazing! I loved her strength and assurance that she brought to my birth. When I was waffling and discouraged, she talked soothingly and compassionately to me. I even grabbed and held on to her for a few different contractions. Her voice was reassuring and the ways that she helped me relax and breathe made a big difference. At the end when everything was crazy intense and I thought I was gonna hurt myself with pushing (and had huge wild eyes) she wasn't a bit phased and helped me through calmly. Once Quinn was delivered I had a few questions here and there about the amount of blood loss I was seeing and whether Quinn was alright with how quiet she was. She answered each one with care and never panicked. If we are still in California, I would be the happiest gal to have her at my birth again. I loved getting to know her and wish there was another (different ;)) reason to see her.

God was so very kind and present in this birth. His timing was perfect. I had no idea how challenging labor would be this time, but He did. I couldn't have predicted that an hour and a half after Donna arrived at my home, Quinn would be in my arms. But He knew. And He so lovingly prepared my heart early in the morning to be mindful of Him, moving me to pray throughout and to ultimately trust Him with the timing of it all.

Soli Deo Gloria

 

Welcoming Allie Joelle pt 2

In honor of Labor Day here is the rest of Allie's birth story! Enjoy!

Finally at 7:45am my mom came downstairs to find me in good, strong labor. I was so relieved to see her and started crying as soon as she was next to me. My mom is incredible! She defines comfort, tenderness, understanding and empathy. Having done this 7 times herself she knew exactly what I was feeling and just the right things to quietly reinforce when the pain or intensity would overwhelm me. Her gentle words of "let the contraction go all the way down and out" and "relax your shoulders" constantly ran through my mind and really allowed me to let my body work. 

Once she saw me and knew how long I'd been laboring, she suggested I try taking a shower. The BEST idea of the whole experience. I LoVeD the shower and could have stayed there till Allie was born. There was something so soothing about the water hitting my back and yet still standing to let the contractions do their job. This is also my favorite moments of Allie's birth. I was all alone (my mom and Matt were upstairs in my parent's bathroom getting the jet tub ready for me) with my thoughts and prayers. This is when Psalm 62 played over and over again in my head. This is when I told the Lord, I don't like this, I don't want to do this and I just want it over. I poured out my fears, prayed once again that the Lord would meet me during this birth and keep me from a really long labor. And He responded so graciously. It was almost as if He spoke audibly..."Ashley, I have created you to have this baby. Trust Me. Put your full dependence on Me and believe that I will be right there with you. Have faith that I have heard your cry and will answer you." I cried again. I didn't know that this was going to be so different from my last experience but in my vulnerability I thanked the Lord that He had quickened me to pray to Him rather than do this on my own strength. Birth is emotional!

From the shower I moved ever so slowly to the tub upstairs. A memory in and of itself. I think I had 2 or 3 contractions during that time which all were within earshot of poor Reese. Even though she hadn't seen me at all that morning, she knew it was me making the noise and she didn't like it. She wailed as I moaned and it broke my heart that I couldn't be the one to comfort her and tell her everything was alright and Allie was on her way. Thankfully being upstairs took me far enough away that she couldn't hear me. I didn't like the tub as much because I had to sit down. The contractions seemed almost unbearable and I found I had to keep changing positions to try to find the best one. I'm so glad my mom was right there with me through these. When Matt had finished loading up the truck with our things for the birth center, he told me he thought it would be a good idea to get out of the tub, go for a walk, try the tub again after that and then call Judi. I looked at him just as a contraction finished and said there is no way I'm going on a walk!! Before this I had been compliant with all his suggestions. Up until this point. This is how he knew I was serious and he realized he needed to listen to what I wanted to do. My mom encouraged him to call Judi and see what she thought. Her thought was Judi might tell me to go on the walk and then I would. So Matt called and Judi thought we had gone back to sleep after my first bath at 4:40am. She said that because we hadn't called her back she believed my labor had stalled. Then, what makes me laugh now, is she said, "Matt, is that Ashley I'm hearing?! Matt said yes and she said "You need to get to the birth center NOW!" Matt said great and we would be there in 10 minutes. Little did we know that she was at a hair appointment and told the gal she needed to rinse out the dye right then because she had to get to a birth!

When Matt told me Judi's words, I got really excited. Finally! We were leaving the house and I was so ready to go! The ride wasn't that bad. Maybe adrenaline was carrying me through here. I had 3 or 4 contractions and felt every.single.bump but Matt was a good, calm driver and got us there safely. Just as we arrived at the birth center and I was getting out of the truck, I heard Judi's car screaming down the road. What a rush to see your midwife in a hurry for you! :) She was immediately by my side with her hand on my back just as another contraction started. She ushered us right upstairs to our waiting and prepped room and had me get on the bed to check my dilation. With a smile on her face she announced, you are a 7!!! I couldn't believe my ears. And yes, I cried again! (As the tears started she leaned over and  whispered, it's ok to cry, Ashley. You're releasing hormones and that is completely fine and GOOD for you) Thank you, Lord! I really, really had prepared myself to hear a 3 or 4 cm dilated. A 7 blew me out of the water! 

They turned on the jet tub and this time with directions from Judi about how I needed to relax, the tub felt different. She had me think about being in Hawaii floating in the warm water and letting everything go as the waves washed over me. Funny. I would have rather been anywhere than there at that moment but I worked to do the best I could to listen to her instructions and follow them. She said to me...you can either do this the hard or easy way. The hard would be to resist every contraction and to fight what was happening to your body. The easy way...embrace and surrender to all the feelings. I so wanted the easy, fast way! What's amazing to me, though, is how I wanted to be in sync with my body. I wanted to work with it and to not resist. During Reese's labor, at the end of those grueling 39 hours, I physically could NOT relax, could not work with the contractions and felt completely overwhelmed. Almost as if my body was literally shutting down. Here in these moments with Allie that feeling was so foreign. I know it is the work of the Lord and Him answering so many of yours and my prayers! In fact, because I was able to function and work through the contractions I asked Judi when I was going to be in transition. This is what I had been taught was the hardest part of labor. She said, "Honey, you were in transition when you got here." I literally couldn't believe my ears. This was as hard as it was going to get? I didn't have to prepare myself for something even more difficult? I really believe this news gave me the energy to finish well.

The next two hours seemed to go on forever and yet were so quick. That's a contrary statement in and of itself but it's true. The contractions were long, intense and took lots of work to remain calm and relaxed. Matt was my rock throughout this time. As soon as a contraction would start, I would lock eyes with him and together we would ride out the waves. I found myself drawing from his strength and energy. He was the biggest encourager that I could do this and that so very soon we would have our baby. Judi asked me if I wanted to still try and deliver in the tub to which I said yes. Up to this point my water remained intact and Judi thought that breaking it would help to finish up my dilating. I remember being nervous to let her do it just because I had heard how painful labor becomes once that cushion is gone. She felt that at this point it wouldn't matter and so I gave the go ahead. Things went quickly from here but because there was meconium in Allie's fluid Judi thought it best to deliver on the bed. The next few contractions were strange as I felt my body changing from 1st stage labor to 2nd. That incredible urge to push came; something I'd not experienced with Reese because of the epidural I finally gave in to to finish my 40 hour marathon. Such a powerfully strong sensation and almost surreal as though my body took over and I stepped back to get out of it's way.

Pushing was my least favorite part of delivery. I had looked forward to this moment having been told by many that you finally get to do something about those contractions rather than just endure them. But wow! It wasn't even so much the "ring of fire" I'd heard about. I think it just boiled down to a baby passing through such a small area. It hurt. A lot. And with each push I was making it hurt more. I just wanted her out. I remember going from a gut-wrenching push to all of a sudden yelling. Judi so calmly and lovingly told me to put that energy right back into pushing. That's where I wanted to give up. I didn't want to keep going to experience more pain but there was no choice. I just wanted this to be over.  (side note: Judi's calm amidst the storm raging in my body was the biggest comfort. I half expected her to be just as worked up as I was but her strength and gentleness put me at ease. I knew I could trust her with my life. She allowed me to push a lot sooner than maybe a hospital would as she helped melt away the last of my cervix that wasn't dilating. She told me just what to do when and I loved her for it). I'm told that I pushed for 4 maybe 5 contractions which is about 3 pushes during each. Again it felt like forever but was only about 30 minutes. At 12 noon exactly little Allie Joelle Mehringer entered the world. She was put right on my stomach and the midwives realized that the cord was wrapped around her ankles. The reason that it took 30 minutes instead of maybe 10. The cord kept pulling her back in as I would push her out.

I'm really without words to describe the overall experience. Yes, I was in pain after just having had a baby but at the same time I felt so powerful, victorious and full of praise to my God that He brought me through this! I kept thinking...if I can do this so can every other woman! I'm such a wimp when it comes to sickness or pain. I hate it. Those that know me well know I'm the first to admit I'm sick and will ask for prayer to be better SOON! So to go through this with no pain meds and to come out on the other end elated and excited only proved to me that it can be done!! Another realization about Allie's birth is that not one time did I say I couldn't do it and that we'd never have any more kids. Those were words that poured from my mouth with Reese. Not so with Allie and I give God all the glory for that! My belief that natural birth works is restored and it is my prayer that from here on out we can have the rest of our babies with Judi. Both her and Jessica were the biggest blessings and it is because of their service to us that we had such an amazing experience.

Welcoming Allie Joelle pt 1

Our precious daughter arrived 6 weeks ago and all the free time that I had as a mommy to a toddler got put on hold and of course for a wonderfully good reason. I'm not sure how all you moms find the time to blog. I don't want to give this up (and maybe it will just be for a season where my posts are short, sweet and to the point) but it's sure tough to squeeze time in when all you do is feed, burp, change diapers, read books, make breakfast, lunch and dinner and then finally get two minutes to use the bathroom yourself. The other day (or maybe it's been every day) I realized that from the moment I got out of bed I hadn't stopped doing something for either Reese or Allie until about 11:30am. I hadn't even had the chance to look at myself in the mirror. I guess that's "Welcome to the world of mothering two, Ashley!"

Ok...so the real reason for this post. Here is Allie's birth story. This is mostly for me to look back on and remember all the details. I haven't yet done this on paper and I think typing it would prove to save me a lot of time that I don't have. I'm sorry if it seems bold, extreme or maybe even raw. Birth is intense but I feel that by leaving out some of the emotions, I'll forget how God met me in this birth.

The story really begins on Monday 4 days after my due date. I was discouraged by the days passing without any signs of going into labor. None at all. I'd have the occasional braxton hick but nothing really painful and definitely no series of contractions my midwife Judi said I needed to have. Another point to make here is that Judi was planning to go out of town to see her family exactly one week from my due date. My whole purpose for being in Alaska was to deliver with her so this news put me on edge. Back to Monday. I decided that if I hadn't gone into labor by then I would have a massage where the gal could work on pressure points specifically for starting labor. This proved to be a good decision. Once the massage was done she encouraged me to stay active and even to take a walk to try and aid contractions. My mom and I went on a walk at 3pm. Within that hour I noticed contractions happening regularly. They were good and strong but I still was working to keep my hopes at bay. I've learned from reading MANY stories and being around birth in general that things can stop as quickly as it starts.

Contractions continued to come and I kept on with life. By evening I knew I wanted to get out of the house and enjoy one more time with Matt just in case this was the real thing. My mom offered to put Reese to bed and we took off for an all un-eventful trip to Sports Authority. :) Matt needed a new watch and the Lord knew we would need a stop clock that night to time contractions. Matt took his time looking at ALL the watches they had while I paced around in lots more discomfort than I had been up to this point. I just wanted to sit down in the middle of the store. But that would have been weird and I'm sure would have had a lot of people worried. Plus I knew that to keep moving was the best thing to keep things progressing. He found a watch and then we headed to Cold Stone. Ice cream is a great comfort food!

Arriving home, I got a lot of questions from my cute siblings who are 13, 11 and 6. They kept staring at me out of the corner of their eye and I think were in some disbelief that I was actually finally in early labor. They didn't want to go to bed and miss the action. We assured them that it would be awhile still and that of course we'd let them know when Allie was about to arrive. I remember my dad giving me a kiss on the head before he went to bed and said he'd be praying for me. It was so special to be around my family and to have all their care and support.

Matt went to bed at 11pm at I tried to lay down too. However, I was up almost immediately and let him know that I just couldn't sleep through these contractions and for him to go ahead and get as much rest as he could. I told him I'd get him when he was needed. For 3 hours I labored/worked by myself. The house was quiet and having that time really prepared me for what was ahead. Part of me was really wanting to sleep not knowing how long the journey ahead would be but the other part was really excited that this could be it. We would finally get to meet our girl! By 2am I knew I couldn't go on by myself. I wish I knew how far along I was by this point. If I had to guess I'd say 4 cm. It got to be more intense, I had to breathe/moan through contractions, and they were much more painful/longer. At the time I wasn't laughing or smiling but it's funny how you can tell an experienced dad from a new one. Matt wasn't thrilled when I came to get him and took awhile to get out of bed. So different from that night that I went into labor with Reese. :) But he came with me and we labored for 2 1/2 more hours before calling Judi. Her instructions were to get in the bath and see what happened from there. Things would either intensify more or ease up to allow me to sleep. The former happened but slowly enough that we didn't see the need to call her.

SIDE NOTE: Our motto going into labor was that we wanted to remain at my parents house as long as we could until I couldn't stand it anymore and HAD to get to the birth center. For Reese, our inexperience had us leaving our apartment 7 hours after what I thought was "real" labor. Too many hours (32) were spent at the birth center that should have been at home laboring and going on about our day. Fast forward to Allie: we weren't in any hurry to go anywhere!

From there I got out of the bath and continued laboring. It was about 6am or so. I remember telling Matt that at this point I really wanted my mom to be with me. He said no and that it would be better to let her sleep because we would need her later on. Ha! It's so funny to look back on all this. What I didn't know was that I was progressing a lot quicker than I realized and things were harder much sooner. But for good reason! If I had to guess I'd say I was dilated about a 5 here and had no idea that Allie would arrive in only 6 more hours. Going back to Matt being a second time father: he was super relaxed about my pain and intensity of the contractions. Almost to a fault. Example: A contraction would start. {Ashley} begins breathing, moaning, focusing on making all her muscles relaxed and limp. {Matt} s-l-o-w-l-y gets off the floor from having just fallen asleep, reaches over, starts to rub Ashley's back but then has to resist falling asleep, rubs his eyes, mumbles something about doing a good job and "you can do this", realizes the contraction is over and then collapses back on the floor to fall asleep and repeat said cycle. Haha! Second time dad for sure! This would be the reason why I was requesting my mom. Later on at the birth center Matt is incredible and all I wanted was him but at this point there was much to be desired. :)

March 21, 2010

So many thoughts flood my mind as I think back to the day(s) leading up to Reese's birth. I haven't really journaled about it. There are many things I'd like to forget. It was the hardest thing I have ever done and words like, "We are never doing this again" and "Reese is going to be an only child" just might have come out of my mouth. At the same time, as hard as it was, I love to look at all of the pictures surrounding her birth and think...that's when we met you! This was the day the Lord determined for us to learn who our daughter was and she finally was here and no longer an idea or curiosity. Many of you have seen these pictures from facebook but I wanted to post them here one more time. It was a precious, exciting, exhausting and emotional day to say the least! 

A walk during pre-labor...trying to get things going!

Waiting out contractions at the Birth Center

Matt brought us lunch and the people at Arby's
went a little overboard with the sauce. We had a good laugh!

She's finally here! 6lbs 13oz and 20 1/2 in long!

After working through about 37 hours of labor that just would not allow real progress for Reese to be born we decided to be moved to the hospital right across the street from the birth center to see what some medicine would do! Literally after 1 hour of being on the smallest dose of pitocin and an epidural to relax (well a little...I had a hotspot which instead of having complete relief moved all the pain of the contractions to my right side where I still felt it) she was born! I went from 5 cm to 10 cm in an hour and then pushed for 30 maybe 40 minutes. We praise the Lord for a very healthy, vaginal delivery. There was concern that because of how exhausted I was we could have faced a cesarean. We had so many people praying us through this event and seriously saw our God's hand at work in all the details. 

Getting acquainted with our daughter

My mom and Matt...the best birthing coaches there are!

Our first visitors...Papa and Marmee Mehringer

Daddy and his girl

Getting ready to go home