**I started writing this three weeks ago and am just now posting it.**
Wow! I can't believe that it has been almost 48 hours since Jocelyn entered our life. What a joy she has been and such a blessing from God. Yes, it has been an adjustment but a welcome one for sure! While it is fresh on my mind and I have a few minutes, I wanted to go ahead and write down her birth story...
Jocelyn's "due date" was originally December 29th. However, that day came & went and there were no signs of her arrival. We went to our wonderful midwife that week for an appointment and everything was normal and healthy. Apparently she just wanted to be inside of me a little longer :) The next 9 days seemed to go by slowly as we waited & waited for her to come. I walked, cleaned, went up & down the stairs & she wasn't budging and was still very active inside my belly. Jared & I kept telling her that she was welcome to come out anytime. Jared claims she is stubborn like me...but I beg to differ :)
On Thursday morning January 6th, I had my weekly chiropractor appointment and then that afternoon at 4:00 we had our 41 week appointment with our midwife. Everything was normal but she did say we would need to go ahead and schedule a 42 week sonogram for the next week just to make sure everything was still healthy & okay. I asked that our midwife go ahead and check to see if I was dilated but not to do anything that would induce labor. We wanted Jocelyn to come on her own without any sort of stimulation in order to create the best birth possible. She checked me & I was 1 cm dilated. After leaving our appointment, Jared and I went and grabbed a bite to eat at Fuzzy's Taco (not knowing it would be our 'last meal' out as just a couple) and then went home to relax. I could not sleep at all that night..I found in the last couple weeks of pregnancy it was hard to find a good sleeping position and I had so much anticipation inside of me awaiting her arrival.
Friday morning, January 7th, I woke up quite early (which happened a lot the last couple weeks of pregnancy) and took a warm bath. I then packed Jared's lunch and helped him out the door to work. I was feeling nauseated and had mild cramps but didn't think too much about it. Although I did have feeling that today might be 'the day.' He had a sales appointment for work in Dallas at 9:30 (about an hour drive) and another one in Fort Worth at 1:30. He was out the door about 7:15 to go to work. I texted my mom about that time and told her I was having some cramping but would give her a call after she got out of school to let her know how I was doing (I did not know it at that time, but when she got that text from me, she went ahead and scheduled for a sub to watch her class that day, and her and my grandmother began to make there way to our house. It is about a 3 hour drive). The cramping became more intense and at about 9:00, I texted Jared to ask that he give me a call when he got done with his appointment. I knew he needed to be home and would probably need to reschedule his 1:30. Nothing I did would slow down the intensity of the cramps, so I knew they had to be the real deal, but I was staying as relaxed as possible.
One thing I did not mention yet is that throughout most of my pregnancy, I had been praying that the labor & delivery would be uncomplicated, quick, and pain-free, and that I would have no fear. I had been reading a book called 'Supernatural Childbirth.' Although there was pain during the labor & delivery, it was manageable, and I believe that since I had faith it would be a wonderful delivery, I was able to handle it more with a strength that came from God. I was not fearful but trusted that everything would work out....and it did!
When Jared got home, he fixed me something to eat, but I could not keep it or any other food down. We went for a walk around the neighborhood and I had to stop everytime I had a contraction. We began timing them early in the afternoon & noticed they were very consistent and only a few minutes apart, so we knew it was close. My mom and grandmother arrived at our house in the early afternoon and were a great encouragement. I experienced a lot of lower back contractions, so Jared used a heating pad pressed against my back to help me with the contractions. Around 5:30, they became even more intense and shortly after- I began feeling the urge to push and I felt her head had dropped down. It was getting close!
We were in contact with our midwife during this time. At about 6:00 we left for Gentle Beginnings Birth Center in Hurst. I did not think we would ever make it there! Jared drove with one hand and I squeezed his other hand through the contractions...lol! When we arrived at about 6:30, our midwife quickly checked my blood pressure and then I got in the warm tub that had been prepared. It was SO nice and relaxing!
Jared, my mom, my grandmother, our midwife, midwife's assistant and birth photographer were all present for the birth. I asked that all the lights be dimmed. Our midwife then checked me to see how far dilated I was and we discovered that I was over 8 cm dilated! Yay! During all this time my water never broke, so I did not realize I was so close to delivering our baby girl.
I labored in the tub for about 30 minutes. The bag of waters came out at this time & finally ruptured in the tub. Throughout this short period, our midwife prayed over the entire process that everything would go well and that my body would do what it was supposed to do. She was such a great support!
Following this, our midwife recommended that I get on the bed to deliver Jocelyn so that she could better protect me from tearing. However, I did not feel that I could get out of the tub and onto the bed, so I chose to deliver her in the water. (I ended up only having a minor tear that required no stitches & healed on its own!) On all fours and with Jared by the tub supporting me, I pushed for 27 minutes. During these last minutes, the assistant midwife checked Jocelyn's heart rate periodically and it was always good...praise God she was under no distress! Towards the end, I reached down and felt Jocelyn's head, which motivated me to go ahead and push her entire body out in one last push.
Jared helped 'catch' our daughter and bring her up out of the water at 7:33 p.m. When I first saw her, my initial reaction was shock that she came out of me!...and amazement at her complete and perfect body. What an amazing experience that we would not trade for anything. The intimate, peaceful setting and the wonderful support made it something that I will never forget. I praise God that I was able to deliver Jocelyn in the manner that I wanted. She is a little miracle...a gift from God.
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-Labor began approx 7:15 a.m. January 7th. I labored at home for 11 hours and 1 hour at the birth center before Jocelyn was born at 7:33 p.m.
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Here is a slide show of the birth by Amanda Gipson-www.amandagipsonphotography.com:
Blessings~
