Winston's Birth

I don't think I told much about Winston's birth. So I thought I would go ahead and type it out before more time goes by. And after being settled in our new home and city, and having the fleas under my thumb (finally!) I can share my experience :)

After having a baby and doing the whole process with a Midwife, I am so happy we went that route! 

I used Marie's Midwife Patty and I am so very thankful for Marie and Jon's help on the matter. I never went to the doctor during the whole of my pregnancy! On top of that it looks as though the Navy is going to reimburse us! We weren't expecting that :)

I opted for a water birth using a kiddy pool. But I wasn't sure if I was going to actually be able to birth Winston in the water. Hearing from Marie that she couldn't get a great position in the pool that was comfortable while pushing. But after reading a book on water births, I was determined to birth our little guy in the water! 

The day started out with cleaning around the house with Marie and my Mom and some fun cooking. We baked some yummy graham crackers, that I have craved ever since! Our friend Julie popped by to pickup some cake decorating tools and she delighted us by bringing over some yummy homemade soup and french bread. Ha! It turned out that the soup and bread came in very handy for us all! 

It was also my due date and Patty had text me to see how I was feeling. We had a big snow storm that day and another one was moving in that night. Patty said she had been up all night and day delivering another baby. Knowing that changes in the weather can bring on labor. Well she was right cause quite quickly my contractions started and got real strong around 6:30 - 7 PM. At around 7:30 PM they were only three minuets apart. I was thinking this was going to go nice and fast! Well, I think it would have been nice and fast had little Winston not been sucking on his thumb lol! My contractions stayed that way for eleven hours! He came out with his hand on his face. :) It was a little more difficult because of that. My mom and Grandma had very quick births and I was hoping that would pass down to me lol! I think maybe it did, but little Winnie's thumb sucking gave us a harder time! He did end up coming out in the water, which I was very pleased over and helped during the most painful part! It was also an easier clean up. ;) I understood why Marie had a hard time in the water, I was able to lean my back against the bed and then later against Marie's legs, which gave me a better grip to push.  

It took Patty a long time to get to us due to the terrific storm. If Winston hadn't had his hand on his face during labor we may have had him much earlier and I am not sure if she would have made it lol! She was a great comfort though. Always calm, I can remember Marie my Mom and her laughing! It was such a happy memory! It was also *wonderful* to have my Mom and Marie there with me, especially since Benjamin was unable to be there during the birth. Marie and I are very good at understanding the other's needs without really saying much. She new when the talking in the room was too much for me, when I was trying to concentrate! I hadn't told her a thing :) My Mom faithfully cleaned and cooked and served and was a constant comfort. How blessed I am for their love! It is really one of the fondest memories I have! Thank you Lord for my family....

What a joyous time the whole event was! Being pregnant and preparing for that exciting day! Purchasing all the supplies needed, like towels, linens, herbs and remedies, a heating pad for the baby and many other things. And then to hold my treasure that I had been carrying for so long in my arms, it was heaven! The other comfort was having Benjamin on Skype for the majority of my labor. He missed the actual birth because he was on the plane. He arrived at noon the next day to discover he had a son. What a surprise! We were thinking that it was going to be a girl! :) Maybe next time lol! :)

One thing I was surprised about, was the recovery! That was pretty hard, with all the discomforts that can come along with labor. It took me a week to get out of the house. I envied Marie's energy! :) I couldn't wait to be able to clean and feel normal again. 

And how excited I am to hear that my sister is expecting again! I hope it wont be during a snow storm lol! 

Happy Thursday to all and yay, I blogged on Thursday instead of Friday! ;)