Since my last post announced our pregnancy, I thought it would be appropriate to post the first pictures of our sweetest addition, Ella Faith. She was born 2.5 weeks early on St. Patricks Day. She's already 11 weeks old. She was 7lbs 15 oz, 20inches long.
My labor with her was unlike any of my previous 3. Tim and I had taken some Hypnobirthing classes. (I know, it sounds weird, but it really works!) For the first time, I felt that we were in control of our birth experience. We decided to birth at home as long as possible. The Lord's timing was really amazing as I look back. It was spring break, so thankfully we had no school responsibilities. Tim and I had toyed around with the idea of taking a vacay to southern Colorado, while the in-laws kept the kids for us. On Tuesday morning we decided that we'd have a stay-cation instead. The idea of driving for 3-4 hours was less than appealing to me. So we had a great day hanging around ABQ. We ate out, went shopping, saw a movie, and just had a great time together. I had no idea that I'd have a baby in less than 24 hours.
The next morning at 3am I woke up in labor. We ended up going to the hospital to get checked (just in case). I was 5cm, and we decided to go home and labor at home naturally. The nurses looked at me like I was crazy when I said I wanted to go home at 5cm. We were there all day, working through my contractions. At about 5pm I knew it was time to go in. All of a sudden I was very nervous that I'd be having a baby on the Big-I. By the time we got to the hospital, I was about 7cm. I'll spare you all the gorey details, but just 2 hours and 2 pushes later we had a baby.
The HB worked really well for me. I was amazed at how much I learned in the class. I thought after 3 kids, I knew what I was doing. On our last class our instructor brought a 2 lb bag of ice to our house. Our, I should say, my "test" to graduate from the class was that I had to stick my hand in a bucket of ice for about 3 minutes. I had to use all the relaxation techniques I had learned to get through the pain of the cold. If you've never tried keeping your hand in a bucket of ice for an extended period of time, you should try it. It hurts!!! After about 30 seconds of tensing up and wanting to pull my hand out, I was able to give in to "it" and actually relax. That's the whole concept of HB. Learning to relax your mind and body through labor and delivery.
I'd always dreamed of being one of these women who barely made a sound and refused all medical intervention. I did, ahem, make a few sounds, but was happy that I felt in control of my experience. The Lord was so gracious to even let my midwife be on duty that day and she delivered Ella!
Right after Ella was born they placed her on my belly and she nursed right away. This was one of our requests that she wasn't wisked off to be tested and rubbed down. She was definitely more relaxed and less traumatized by the whole thing. It was a beautiful experience with an even more beautiful result. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
A sampling from the last 11 crazy weeks of our lives...
A Welcome Home board for me and Ella coming home from the hospital.
The "Wild Card" was how Grace would accept her new sister. So far, that hasn't been an issue. She's quite smitten with her.
