Levi Stephen's Birth Story

I will always remember this birth as the one with the stomach virus. The ridiculously fast labor where I had a stomach bug and my husband got the bug a few hours later. What a whirlwind!

The Backstory 

Back in 2012 when I had Elisabeth, I woke up at 2 am on my due date, my water broke, and I had a baby 9 hours later. She was right on time! Well this time around was a little different. I still woke up at 2 am on my due date... but it was because my youngest was throwing up in her bed... not as exciting! I was almost paralyzed with fear. I just kept thinking, "I need to get back in bed and get some rest because I am going to go into labor any second!" I obviously thought I was going to go into labor any second because why wouldn't I? Elisabeth was born on her due date and Olivia was one day early. I definitely thought that Levi would be 2 or 3 days early. I never guessed it would be my third baby that would be 6 days late!

So fast forward.... Olivia got the stomach bug on April 1st and then Elisabeth got it 3 days later. I got the bug on Wednesday morning, April 6th. I was sick all night and went to the birth center as soon as they opened that morning because my stomach wouldn't stop contracting and the baby wasn't really moving. I wanted a little reassurance so I went in to have the baby monitored and I'm SO glad I did! They offered to call in a nurse (just for me!) and they put Josh and I up in one of the birth rooms for the day while I got IV fluids. Praise God they offered this because I was so dehydrated and I had no idea I was going to go into labor that night! After 2.5 L fluids, 2 natural anti-nausea remedies, an anti-nausea pill (Diclegis), and some Phenergan in my IV, they sent me off to rest at home. The only problem was that the IV Phenergan made me a little crazy! First, it gave me restless legs. Then I had restless body syndrome. It's a thing. It has to be because I swear I had it. Josh was laughing at me and I was so mad, I felt like I had Terrets Syndrome and it was actually quite painful. When I got home I was able to fall asleep through it and get some serious rest! Josh woke me up around 7 pm and I said something to him about going to birthday party. A birthday party for the man in the room on a pogo stick. OH MY GOODNESS. I was losing it! My speech had also been slurred all day and I was having so much trouble forming words and sentences. It was so challenging!

Labor Time!

Because what better time to go into labor than when you're slurring your words and seeing guys on pogo sticks in your bedroom.

Josh talked me into going downstairs and trying to wake up so I would be able to sleep that night and get some good rest. Problem is, I started noticing that I was having contractions. I really starting noticing it at 9 pm but it might have been earlier and I just didn't notice because I was so out of it. But at 9 pm I realized that  these were actually really hurting and they were consistently 8-10 minutes apart. To be honest, I was kind of pissed. I had not eaten anything except for a few saltines in over 24 hours and I was exhausted! It was 9 pm at night and I just desperately wanted to go to bed and do this in the morning! I fought a mental battle with myself for a little while accepting that I was in labor. I got in a warm bath to see if I could slow things down and maybe get some rest but I could tell pretty quickly that that was not gonna happen. In the tub my contractions became mostly 4-5 minutes apart so I stayed in the tub while Josh gathered some things from the house so we could leave. Luckily my kids were already out of the house since I was sick, so that was a huge blessing! We headed to the birth center and got there at 11:15. I was in pain but it was very manageable. I was able to just sit on the bed straight up while they were checking me in and just breath through the contractions no problem. They checked me at 11:30 and I was only 5 cm.... I was a little disappointed, but this was the THIRD time that happened so I guess I was more prepared to not be as far along as I had hoped.

From 5cm to 10 cm is almost boring for this birth story... lol!! I got in the tub, I leaned back, and I went to sleep. The lights were out, my music was playing, and it obviously was painful, but I was able to breath through each contraction. I kept reminding myself that the more I relaxed every muscle in my body during a contraction, the more efficient my body would be, and the faster this would go! My desire for a quick birth really helped me embrace the pain of every contraction. Some people who plan on having a medication free childbirth don't like to call the contractions painful, but I'm a realist. It kind of hurts. I would have a contraction and try and breath deep and slow and hold onto something, and then it would end, I'd fold my hands together across my belly, and I'd fall back asleep in the tub. Josh said my contractions were about 4 minutes apart the whole time I did this and I was actually sleeping so hard in between contractions I was dreaming. Crazy! I did this for about an hour and at 12:30 my water broke and things got a little more intense, but not much. This is also right when my doula arrived and she is amazing! If you are considering a natural birth, consider having a doula and ask me about mine! She always knows just what to say and do to keep things going and to keep me calm. I could hear people talking about it not being much longer and I kept thinking to myself (and saying out loud), "this can't be transition, I still have a break in between contractions! It doesn't hurt enough yet!" I definitely had 5 or so contractions that felt much more painful than the rest and it took a lot more to get through those... but that was it! Next thing you know, I'm pushing. There is no stopping the urge to push your baby out. I think I pushed through 2 contractions... I just remember her saying the head was there after one hard push and it was like one more and I was done. INSANE. And then, my baby was on my chest! I mean it is so surreal. I just kept saying, "Oh my goodness! I love him so much! He's perfect!" I was shaking and unable to move or even look at him but I obviously knew he was perfect... no looking necessary. And truth be told, another one of my very first thoughts was, "Praise GOD! This pregnancy is OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" You can tell I really enjoy being pregnant.

This pregnancy was really hard on me (and Josh) but man I really lucked out with the labor! It was not my ideal timing at all. I still had a stomach bug that made itself known again the next day and Josh was down with it about 12 hours after Levi was born... but we got through it! And as always, it was so worth it! I am so obsessed with him! Like, so so so so so obsessed. I can't believe how much our entire little family loves our new addition. The delivery was fast and this first week has felt even faster, but I'm excited to settle in as a family of 5... I'm sure it will be wild!

(I want to add pictures but I just don't have time. They're all on facebook anyway, haha)

Dot Paint Matching

Preschool at-home dork alert!! ;-)

What can I say? I love doing preschool activities with Elisabeth!

This week we are learning about rainbows! The week may have started with 7 inches of snow, but we didn't care. I moved on. On to rainbows. So here's a little tip for a fun activity to do with dot painting :-)

To actually learn about rainbows, the dots needed to be the correct color. To help a 2 year old use the right colors on the right dots, I used a marker and put a very tiny dot in the middle of each circle, like this. 

This helps her independently complete the entire page! Other times I just let her do it however she wants which leaves more room for creativity.

Another fun rainbow activity we did this week was matching star-shaped color swatches! I had a star paper punch so I used it on some free paint samples I got from Lowes and, tada! I laminated both the stars on the clothes pins and the paper that they clip to. Elisabeth really enjoyed this activity! It is a great way to help little ones work on fine motor skills!

We've also been learning about Noah's ark this week (the very first rainbow) and we've been reading the story in the many children's bibles we have in the house. Here is one of my new favorites!

And a few other's we've been enjoying!

Hopefully sunshine and rainbows will be here soon!! 

Books!

What are you reading right now?? I'm linking to my favorite blog, Kelly's Korner to share about the books I am currently reading. I'm also hoping to read through what other people post to get some new suggestions!!

*** Someone PLEASE give me a good fiction suggestion!!! I'm drowning in a sea of self-help!!***


I'm currently in the middle of several books. I recently rediscovered reading and I think I really like it ;-)

1. Shepherding a Child's Heart

I'm not 100% sold on this book yet... but I'm giving it a shot and hopping I continue to learn from it!! I follow the "take what you like and leave the rest" mentality, and I know that I will take a lot from this. Just not everything :-)

2. Don't tell anyone, but I just finished Growing Up Duggar....... and I LOVED it. 

When I originally started watching the Duggar's I would have read this book from the perspective of a daughter, but now I'm getting old and I read it from the perspective of a parent. So so so old. But it was really great! It was an easy and enjoyable read and I actually got some *really* great parenting tips from it! It also really encouraged me to live a more ministry-focused life. My husband and I are now praying about how we can be more ministry-minded and what that might look like for us. I know I have 2 little ones and that is a ministry, but God just really put it on my heart that I can do more :-)

3. Trim Healthy Mama

I loved the introduction chapters to this book!!!!!! And then I read that you can't have any sugar and instead need to use artificial sweetener, which I gave-up during our 30 day paleo challenge. So I haven't read it since.... but I still intend to finish it.

4. Practical Paleo

I really loved this book and how it was laid out! So great for people who are new to the idea of paleo and clean eating!! I would highly reccommend this!

5. Eat the Yolks

This is next on my list!!!!!!

6. Give Them Grace or Grace-Based Parenting

Next parenting book on my list! I'm not sure which one to read, if you have a suggestion, please share!!

7. Okay lets be honest.... I spend about 15 minutes a day reading the books listed above..... and closer to 1-2 hours a day (split up) reading picture books. We currently have 54 children's books checked out from the library. So that is what I'm really reading!!!!! LOL!

Olivia Jeanne: 4 Months Old

Oh sweet Olivia!!! I am sorry this is your FIRST blog post! This is essentially your baby book, so I must do better!

We had your 4 month check-up today and you weighed 13 lb and 7 oz (35th percentile) and were 24 inches long (31st percentile). Your head is 41 cm (63rd percentile). You wear a size 3 diaper, but I think you should be in a size 2. You wear all size 3-6 month clothes and they fit great.

You do not sleep as well as I want you to. Apparently, I thought I was the best mom in the entire world because Elisabeth slept from 8-8 by the time she was 10 weeks old. I judged all you other moms for not being able to do it. I know I *said* I wasn't judging... but the truth comes out! WELL AREN'T I JUST EATING MY WORDS NOW!!! Sweet Olivia Jeanne.... you wake up a minimum of twice a night right now. Which is funny considering you used to sleep better. You even went from 10pm -7am once or twice. I would use the same gentle method of "cry it out" on you as I did with your sister.... but you are unfortunately not ready. You are legitimately hungry! I have a few ideas and things I'm going to look into this week and I'm going to see if I can remedy this soon. My eyes are so tired sweet girl. So, so tired :-)

On the other hand, you are a great napper!! You typically wake up around 7:30/8am (I know, I'm really lucky there, too!!) and then you might nap from about 9:30-11 and again from 1:30-4 or 4:30. In between your two long naps you do best if you take a 30 minute cat nap, usually while we're out running errands. Although with that being said, you don't like to nap on the go.

Things I'm learning my second time around- "going with the flow" is absolutely priceless. Yes, I love a good schedule... but sometimes not really. I love flexibility! If you're not napping when you're "supposed" to, I really don't care. I have stepped away from the infant/baby books and just embraced a different kind of motherhood this time around. One that is more relaxed and enjoyable. I also don't care as much what other people think about me and how I raise my kids, so that has helped, too! I love to use my baby carriers with you, I love to hold and snuggle you, and I love to be on the go! For the first 3 months of your life you took all of your naps on the same floor as Elisabeth and I because that was just easiest.

A few things I want to jot down:

- You do not love paci's and would much prefer your fingers (which I do not prefer...)

-I bought almost every type of paci they make until I found one that you liked. And of course, you liked the very last one I tried :-)

-You did not like to be swaddled originally, but I won the battle ;-)

-You like to be "worn" in the Ergo or Moby and I love doing it!

-You are an extremely quick nurser! It seems like a good thing, but it is also not. I'm working with you so that you are more patient and work a little harder for your food

-You are pretty "go with the flow" and you take great naps at the gym in the morning!

- You rarely sleep in your car seat

- You smiled when you were just 2 weeks old and you started very regularly smiling around 4 weeks old

-You've only had 3 bottles so far

-You have a very strong preference towards me and really always have, which Elisabeth did not have at this age

We've had a few very very minor medical things that we've gone through in the past 4 months. One very early one was reflux! Once we figured that out and got you on the right medication, you were much less fussy. You also have a hemangioma on your little bottom. Now that I've learned how to take care of it, it is totally getting better and I actually think it will be totally gone at some point... but that was a fun few weeks and a trip to a specialist at Johns Hopkins! I also have a very strong feeling that you have a touge tie. I'm going to look into seeing a specialist sometime this week. I'm so scared you're going to stop nursing too early because it is too hard for you!!!

And one last thing- You love your sister :-) Well, okay, she loves you.... you're still impartial. But I just know that you are going to love her as you get older! I pray continuously that the Lord guides me in how to raise you both to be strong women of faith. I also pray that he will show me how to encourage you all to be best friends! I just love you girls with all my heart! You are the perfect addition to our family :-)

Olivia Jeanne's Birth Story

I love reading birth stories and I hope you do, too! If you don't like details... step away from this blog post ;) Consider that your warning....

Lets start allllll the way at the beginning. Back to choosing a provider and a place to birth. For Elisabeth, I used an OB/GYN (whom I love!!) and gave birth at a hospital. At the time, I was really happy with my hospital birth! It definitely went better than expected! I was able to move around for the most part and did not get an epidural, so in my head, it was a success. I did *not* enjoy staying at the hospital after I had Elisabeth. For the LOVE people... nobody gets rest in a hospital!!!! Any who....

Around 15 weeks pregnant I started researching alternative birth options. My only reason for switching providers was because I didn't want to birth in a hospital, so just switching to a hospital midwife practice was not what I was looking for. That basically left me with two options!! We chose Special Beginnings in Arnold, MD and I would definitely say we were happy with our choice!

So yes, this is one of those crazy births that *gasp* wasn't in a hospital!!! Judge away... I used to judge people who did that, too.... and then I did it.... and it was AMAZING!

Back to Olivia's birthday :-)

I had so many expectations leading up to Olivia's birth!! I thought everything was going to happen in a very specific way. I told the midwife at each appointment that my labor was probably going to be very fast because my moms second labor was fast and I was just hoping to have enough time to get to the birth center! But whatdoyouknow, every birth really is different.

With Elisabeth, my water broke at 2am while I was walking towards the bathroom. So towards the end of this pregnancy, EVERY SINGLE TIME I woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, I basically tip toed because I KNEW my water was going to break in the very exact same way! LOL!

It never did!

I went to church on Sunday, November 10th like it was a totally normal day. My lower back was seriously hurting I was in full-on waddle-mode. As I was walking down the hall to pick up my little one from the nursery, My friend, Jennifer May, said something like, "17 years ago this time I was waddling around church on a Sunday morning like that, and a few hours later I had a baby!" She told me I was in a labor, but I was totally in denial. I declined going out to lunch with my in-laws like we usually do because I just wasn't feeling well and I wanted to wear sweat pants and lay down! And honestly, the Raven's  were playing at 1pm, so lunch wasn't happening anyway ;-)

My mother-in-law, being the wonderful Grandma she is, came to our house instead and played with Elisabeth until her nap at 2 pm. Meanwhile, I realized I was having somewhat consistent contractions! Two weeks prior to this, I had false labor. That was incredibly disappointing!!! The thing about false labor is that you don't know its false until many many hours into it so you can get really excited! Well, that had come and gone and I honestly thought this was going to as well. My contractions were close together, but they weren't slowly growing close together like I would have expected. They were 15, then 10, then 7, then maybe 5, but then 7, then 10.... and they just kept going up and down.

Now, I'm a big Baltimore Ravens fan.... like, a really really REALLY big fan. And I was watching the Ravens play against Cincinnati and it was a pretty important game for us. And it was an exciting game, too! So, I'm having consistent contractions. I've talked with my doula and we've officially decided that I am in *real* labor. And then this play happens... Cincinnati is 4th and 15 wayyyyyy down the field with 2 seconds left in the game.

Needless to say, I had an extremely hard contraction. I had to add this in the story... I don't want to forget it ;-)

Anyway, at the end of the day, we won the game (wahoo!) and I was finally ready to go to the birth center. Not surprisingly, once the game ended my contractions slowed down a little. And once I got to the birth center (around 7 or 7:30 pm) they REALLY slowed down. I was way to calm when I got there. Like, 100% calm and collected and not really having painful contractions. When they first checked me I think I was 4-5 cm. Considering I was 4cm over 2 weeks before that I really wasn't feeling encouraged!!!! I felt terrible! I felt like I just had my sister and my doula (and obviously my husband) drive all the way to Arnold, MD to sit in this room with me for nothing! I seriously felt like it was such a let down! We walked around outside for a while. I even pretended to go for a jog to get the labor going. I was having painful contraction, but they did not seem frequent and I was definitely handling them fine and still joking with everyone. Next thing I know my doula has me doing the stairs at the birth center. I'm literally going up and down the stairs at this place and half squatting in between stairs. This is the most I had worked out in at least 2 months!

Standing with my amazing doula, Tina. Just before I started jogging ;-)

The midwives eventually wanted to check me again. It didn't feel like I was making any progress and I definitely felt like they were sending me home. They told me if I hadn't really progressed I should go home and wait a little longer so I was mentally prepared for that. My doula was showing me positions to lay in when I got home to help move the baby a certain way. Here's a great picture :-) 

My birth team! Minus my amazing doula, Tina Overton!! She was the one directing us trying to help me better position the baby.... although I don't think she had quite envisioned what was happening in this picture..... ha!

This is my "birth team" (if you can call them that! ha!) helping to teach me the positions. So now I'm getting excited about going home and getting some rest because its about 9:30 and I'm thinking I'd like to catch some sleep before labor really sets in! And then they checked me and I was about, 6cm. Well that was great! Needless to say, they were not sending me home :-) We walked some more outside and did some more stairs. It started to get a little more serious.

The second I got in the bathtub I started smiling. The water just feels so good when you're in labor! The exact same thing happened when I got in the shower during my first labor... just a grin from ear to ear! We did the bathtub thing for a while and while I was in the tub the contractions felt pretty slow and extremely manageable. When you're in a birth center with no IV and you're drinking plenty of fluids (and no epidural, so no catheter) you have to use the rest room A LOT. Every time I got up out of the tub to go to the bathroom, I would have about 5 rapid fire contractions. The toilet was not in the same bathroom as the tub (sounds weird, I know) and in that little time going between the two rooms my contractions were so close together it was amazing. I honestly couldn't even get out of the bathroom to go back to the tub sometimes because they were so close and I couldn't move. And then I would get in the tub and they would slow down again, all making it perfectly manageable :-) 

I'm about 7 cm at this point. I handle labor well. It makes up for my terrible attitude during the pregnancy ;-) LOL!

Totally still laughing

Some might say, "then why not stay out of the tub and let them stay close together and have the baby sooner?" But I would answer that my labor was the perfect amount of time for my body to prepare itself for pushing a little human being in to this beautiful world. If your labor is too fast, your body might not be ready and you can... ahem....get "hurt." But if you have enough time to calm down and let your body prepare itself, you can have a much easier pushing experience. I'm sure that's not everyone's story, but it is mine :-)

While I was in the bathtub, I listened to some amazing worship music by Gateway Worship. I listened to a few songs over and over and it honestly felt like a worshipful experience. Every time the song, "The More I Seek You" came on, I was reminded to pray and ask the Lord for the strength I needed to bring my baby girl into this world. I didn't need to be reminded to lower my shoulders or take deep breaths this time; it just came naturally. It was such a beautiful experience!

This is my absolute favorite picture from my labor. At this exact moment we were listening to the song posted above. I was praying and calmly breathing and I just felt such peace! With each contraction Josh was pouring water over my back and it felt amazing.

Around 11:30 I was checked again and I was 7-8cm. Right around that time I felt something pop but it wasn't my water (which was still intact). I'm guessing it was Olivia moving down and into the right position. But after that pop everything got so much more painful. So so so so so much more painful. I started shaking from head to toe, my teeth were chattering, I was trying to take deep breaths but it really was a huge challenge. This felt harder to me then my labor with Elisabeth. One of the biggest challenges I dealt with during labor was the voice inside my head. I constantly am talking to myself and I hear, "This is too hard, this is too long, is everything okay, is my baby okay, is this normal, what did that feeling mean, is it gonna be like this forever?!?!?!?" Well that's not helpful at all! I need lots of affirmation from others that my labor IS normal and progressing well and I'm doing a great job ;-) So after about an hour of what I now know was transition, I think to myself, "This labor is so much longer than my first, it is going to be forever!!!!!!!!!!" And I HONESTLY thought I still had several hours of that level of pain in my future. Well... about 10-20 seconds later I started pushing, HA! ;-) 

When you don't have an epidural, pushing is nothing like what you see on those labor and delivery shows. No one comes in and looks at your contractions on a machine and checks you and says, "Okay, you can push now! On the count of 3!" You just start pushing! I honestly didn't even realize I was pushing at first. I was in complete denial that this could almost be over! My midwife came in with a flashlight (yes, I gave birth in a very dark room and it was amazing) and checked me and I was 10 cm (duh!!!!!) and I was pushing this baby out! It took me a few minutes to get myself together and remember exactly what I was doing and get into a good position. Josh had been sitting behind me with his feet in the tub but he was sitting on the ledge. He was massaging my back in between contractions and it was heavenly. Well when I started pushing I was pushing up against him so he had to get in the tub so I could put more pressure on him. So in the middle of a contraction he goes to get in the tub, he slips, and he basically cannonballs in behind me. I calmly told him that I hated him. Then I felt bad and told him that I loved him ;-) That was definitely a memorable moment of the birth process!

I pushed for a total of 10 beautiful minutes. I say "beautiful" because I pushed for 2 hours the first time and I much prefer 10 minutes. I probably could have pushed her out much faster, but my midwife kept reminded me to slow down. At one point she said something like, "Give me short gentle pushes, we're in no hurry" and I remember thinking, "You have obviously never had a baby, crazy lady! I am in a hurry!!!" lol! After a few big pushes and then maybe 10 short pushes, the midwife remarked, "wow, it looks like she has a lot of hair!" After Elisabeth being bald for almost a year I definitely thought she was lying ;-) And next thing you know, a baby was born! There is really nothing quite like it.

It was so wonderful having Olivia in a birth center. Towards the end of my pregnancy I still wasn't sure if I would use this birth center again or my old OB, if the Lord blessed us with a 3rd baby. The prenatal care I received was not my all-time favorite. There were times I felt they could have been a little more knowledgeable about things and I also didn't love having to split my time between 5 people and explain what had been going on every single time. My doctor with Elisabeth always remembered what was going on with me and that was something I really liked about him; he was very personable. I also do NOT like the front desk staff at the birth center. They pale in comparison to the amazing front desk personnel (who I just happened to go to high school with) at my OB's. I know that sounds like something small, but its really not! You talk to the front desk a lot and it is really nice when they are personable and friendly. And don't act like they hate talking to people and you're a huge inconvenience to their day.... Just sayin'. But after I had a water birth, I knew I could never go back to the hospital. Having a water birth was easier on my body (in many ways). It was honestly everything I had hoped for. 

After Olivia was born it was just relaxed. I think I had her with me for maybe 2 hours before they weighed and measured her. It was the middle of the night so no one was there wanting to come see her and I was able to have the relaxing post-birth experience that I had dreamed of. I will definitely do the same for future births, weather they're in the middle of the night or the day, I like to have minimal people surrounding me.

After a very quick 6 hours, we were on our way home! It was absolutely perfect! Praise the Lord!