Aidalie

On October 25, our little baby decided it was time to meet the world. Her name is Aidalie Emma. It is pronounced aid-uh-lee. The name is similar to Adalie (with a "short" A sound), which means "God is my refuge." We changed the spelling and the pronunciation but kept the meaning.

She was born at 12:26 pm. She weighed 7 lbs. 2 oz. She was 18.5 inches long.

Aidalie looks exactly like her older brother. She has a quiet disposition and smiles a lot in her sleep. :) And she's received more kisses than should be legally allowed, especially from her adoring big sister Grace.

For those interested in the birth story, you're in luck... I am writing it here so I can remember it forever. It was memorable.

I wrote over the summer about wanting to do a homebirth. I found a midwife and would have moved forward with it, if money had not become an issue. We would have paid for it all out of pocket, whereas a hospital birth is covered under our insurance. I went back and forth several times about this; it was a difficult decision. Ultimately I decided to give birth in the hospital, but it would be completely natural. And, I would do as much of my labor as I could in the comfort of my home.

For over 2 weeks I had daily episodes of "false" labor, and this went on and on, taunting me meanly. I was growing a little impatient. So when a painful contraction woke me up at 5 am on the 25th, I didn't get my hopes up. I lay in bed for over an hour to see if they would continue. They did. Then, I got up and started my day, seeing if they would continue. They did. I told Vince to stay home from work, and I started arranging for friends to come watch our other 2 kids, because now I was sure this was it.

I took a shower, got dressed, and had the strongest nesting urge ever... so, I cleaned my house. Yes, I'm crazy. I did dishes and laundry and other basic cleaning while in labor, stopping to let contractions pass. I took my time and I ate breakfast and I enjoyed my kids.

At about 10:30 or so, I started feeling some more pain. I went to the bedroom to be alone, and I started to want Vince (who is the best labor coach ever) to help me get through it. But he was busy taking care of Israel and Grace. And they were being loud and screaming and doing noisy toddler things. It started to bother me. I called the babysitter and then went out to sit in the car where it was quiet.

At 11:40 the babysitter arrived, and Vince and I left for the hospital. I figured I still had time to get comfy in a room and use the labor tub, but I was wrong. Even walking through the parking lot was difficult, and once we got inside the hospital things were blurry from the pain. I was taken up to labor and delivery, but Vince had to stay behind at registration to fill out paperwork.

Then, several annoying hospital things happened which made me remember why I had wanted a homebirth. I was weighed and taken to be triaged... told to pee in a cup, take my clothes off and put on the hospital gown, all of which I found extremely difficult to do by myself while in active labor. But I managed somehow. As I lay on the triage table trying so very hard to focus and breathe, the nurse started her list of hospital questions. When was your last menstrual cycle? What medications are you taking? What's your occupation? etc, etc. I answered as politely as I could, but the whole time I was longing to be in my comfortable bed with my husband holding my hand, not being inundated with silly hospital protocol. Finally the nurse checked me and was surprised to learn that I was 9 centimeters dilated. I knew the baby was coming soon and Vince was no where to be found. I started crying for him and was extremely upset that I didn't have him there to help me. The rest is such a blur, but I remember asking for him several times and begging someone to go get him from the lobby where he was probably still waiting for more silly hospital things.

I was moved to a labor and delivery room, given a IV port (which I hadn't wanted but comes with the hospital package) and the nurses kinda stood around staring at me. Then the questions started again from the one nurse who was trying to get all the information the computer required of her. I was in a lot of pain and I was getting annoyed. I just wanted Vince, and I just wanted the nurse to be quiet and stop asking those questions.

Finally, Vince walked in the door. Someone had paged him. Then, the midwife peeked her head in. She wasn't gowned up yet, and I was feeling ready to push. She hurried up and got ready. I was intensely relieved that Vince was there, and he started helping me cope with the pain. Things were much better with him there. The midwife went to break my water, but it broke seconds before she could get to it. Then I started pushing. I pushed 3 times through 1 contraction, and out she came! Very quickly.

Looking at this story, it sounds more drawn out than it actually was. But it was very fast. I truly did do most of my labor at home. I couldn't have gotten to the hospital any later. Vince almost missed her being born. So did the midwife. But I didn't care at all anymore about the annoyances when I saw my little girl- so beautiful.

The natural birth was a hundred times better than my medicated births. There was absolutely no problem- it would have been a wonderful homebirth. But, I am grateful for God's provision for us, and this is His story for Aidalie. I can't have regrets about it.

One thing I have to write down and remember is that after Aidalie was born I was SO cold. I felt like I was in the Arctic tundra. I thought I would never be warm again. It was miserable! I shivered for an hour, despite being covered with warm blankets, and I couldn't hold her or nurse her... I think this was because of the loss of blood and fluid, and the fact that there was no little person heater inside me anymore. I remember being cold after Israel and Grace too, but this was worse. They had to give me Demerol to stop the shaking. After that, I could nurse her. I was sad for that, but it was so helpful.

Now, we've been home for over a week and are all adjusting to life as a family of 5. I'll write more about it soon... or later. :) For now, it's sleepy time...


Thank you, sweet Aidalie, for giving your momma such a great birth experience.