Birth Day

Caution! Birth story...may be more than you want to know...feel free to skip down to the pictures...

Shaun and I talk about expectations often. So much of what we get out of life is based on our expectations. I made a very crucial mistake in expecting my third labor to be easier than the two that preceded. Avery was 21 hours of labor with 3 hours of pushing, Amanda was 7 hours of labor with 20 minutes of pushing. So I expected that Aiden would fall in the 5-hour range with 5 minutes of pushing. Not so.

I felt the very first contractions about 2:00 pm on Sunday but they were not strong, regular or frequent. We left the picnic we were at with Shaun's family about 5:00 and shortly after we got home I started to realize this was "it". We called the doctor just to give them advance notice that we'd be in and he encouraged us to come sooner rather than later because this was my third child.

My mom came to stay with the girls and we took the two-minute drive to the hospital. That was a little after 8:00 pm. We were greeted by the nurse who had been with us for both Avery and Amanda and we were thrilled that she would be helping again. She got us settled in and I was 4 cm. Not great, but that's what I was with Amanda when I arrived and she was born 3 hours later.

Almost from the beginning my contractions were never more than 3 minutes apart, most of the time much closer than that. My "team" consisted of Shaun and my sister Amy. For most of the time all they could do was sit, because I don't like to be touched or talked to in labor, but towards the end their presence proved invaluable. Shaun was there with a strong hand and eyes that poured strength into me and Amy was in my ear encouraging me to stay on top of the pain, something I would have forgotten to do without that reminder.

Apparently another woman and I gave birth within minutes of each other, so we saw very little of our nurse and even less of the doctor, making me even more thankful to have Shaun and Amy's steady presence.

With many intense moments in between, I was able to start pushing about 5:30 am. I had little left after having been awake for 24 hours and the baby's head was turned sideways, just as Avery's had been so pushing was harder than it should have been. The doctor came rushing in just after the head was out. This was intense and I only know what happened in this span of time because Shaun relayed the events to me later. But...Aiden arrived safely at 6:58 am and we were both so happy to see our baby boy. I was too relieved to cry but Shaun was overcome.

This is our very dear nurse, Darlene, who was right by our side with the delivery of Avery and Amanda and the start of Aiden. She gave them hospital bracelets that say "big sister to Aiden" and they are still wearing them with pride.

Shaun says he remembers when his younger siblings were born his dad came out and announced that the baby had 10 fingers and 10 toes. At the time, Shaun thought to himself of course they do, but we've learned that that is not something that can be assumed or taken for granted.

Aiden is healthy and strong, just as Shaun prayed for with the girls each night. Truly God is gracious and our hearts are so very full.