9/22/09 - It's A Girl!

Bethany Joy arrived at 4:05am on Saturday, September 19^th, weighing 8lbs 8oz.  I had been getting contractions on and off all week.   On Wednesday they were 8 minutes apart and strong enough that my mother drove up from Grants Pass to help.  By the time she arrived, however, they had stopped.  On Friday they started up again, stronger but sporadic.  They’d be 10 minutes apart, then 20, then half an hour or more, and then back to 10.  It was so wearing and frustrating.  My midwife came by around 3pm to check my progress.  She determined I was 3cm dilated and said that sometimes the body stretches out early labor in an attempt to move the baby into a better position before the real work begins.  She advised me to eat, keep my strength up and get as much rest as I could.   I went to bed at 10pm, exhausted and hoping it would be my last night going to bed pregnant.   

 

Around 12:30 I woke with a strong contraction.   10 minutes later I got another one.  At first I tried to go back to sleep, thinking it was more of the same I’d dealt with all day.  But by 1am it was clear things were picking up.  I woke Dave and called my midwife.   Dave filled up the 100-gallon tub at the foot of the bed, padded with pillows, a comforter and a plastic liner.   My friend Katya arrived to help take care of the girls in case they woke up, as the midwives set up in our bedroom.   Soon I was soaking in the tub with Dave pouring warm water down my back and a midwife applying counter-pressure for support.   Bethany came quickly after that.  The midwives placed her in my arms and let me discover the sex and announce it myself.  What a beautiful little girl!  I confess I was surprised to find we had another daughter after such a different pregnancy, but it was a pleasant surprise.  J

 

The girls slept through the whole thing, at woke at 7am just as the midwives were leaving.   They came into our bedroom to meet their new baby sister, completely fascinated.  Then Grandma took them out and fed them breakfast while Dave and I caught a couple hours of sleep.