let's be realistic here. i've got 3 small kids napping right now so there are about 10 things i could be doing. one of which is napping. but i got some dunkin donuts coffee after lunch today so i'm good to go right now. and the other 9 things will just have to wait. but bottom line. i dont have much time. so here's a quick birth story recap (mostly for my records).
i'll just start off by saying it was NOT as quick as jack's...thankfully. because that one was super painful:) amazing. but painFUL.
let's backup a few days though. sunday may 13th was mother's day. church was great that day and the Lord really impressed on my heart during worship the words "trust and obey". i had a feeling it was going to be some kind of week. didn't really know what kind, but just some kind. vague, i know. but i was excited to see what the week would hold. i really can't describe how much the Lord was working on my heart during worship, but i'll just say it was a lot.
so monday rolls around and it was the anniversary of my dad's death. i had the opportunity to go to the cemetery by myself (thanks granny apple for watching the kids!) so i did and had a good time reminiscing about what an amazing father God gave me and natalie. i so wish he could have seen and met my husband and children, but i continue to have to trust that God's ways are higher than mine. monday afternoon i had an OB appt, which went a little differently than i thought. basically they contemplated admitting me because my BP was so high and they were concerned about preeclampsia. i begged them to let me go because i had my only baby shower that night. the dr eventually let me go after some lab work and giving me a nice big jug for collecting a 24 hr urine sample in. fuuun. but i got to go to the shower!!! and it was so nice. my mom and sister threw it for me and it was so fun and relaxing! it's been awhile since i got to see so many of my favorite ladies all at one time!
well after such a nice time, the evening was over...and before we knew it, my mom was sick. just came on her all of a sudden. nat and i felt so bad for her but she seemed ok after awhile so we both went home and checked on her before bed and first thing the next day. thankfully it was a quick bug.
fastforward to wednesday evening and we end up having a late day showing on the house that got rescheduled so we ended up having to be out of the house for 2 hours instead of one. seth was golfing with my brother in law and nat and i were holding down the fort with 4 small kiddos. we went to dinner at chickfila and on the way home jack throws up in the van. poor kid. thankfully, God had nat there with me so i didn't freak out. she watched lj while i tended to jack when we got home. not too much later seth and john get home and seth starts feeling iffy...and ends up getting sick off and on throughout the night. again, thankfully, God was gracious and he and jack are ok by the next morning. recovering, but ok. our great friends the walters (who watched lj when i went back to work after having her) took lj for the day so i could help seth and jack and clean some, and rest some if i was able to. i prayed a lot and sent an email to closest friends to pray for us. this same thing happend to seth and lj the week prior to jack's arrival. it was like de-ja-vu. i had lots going on in my mind but i wanted to respond well and not worry. easier said than done. but with so many friends praying, and God speaking to me on sunday to 'trust and obey', i felt much more prepared for this trial (small as it may seem to some). i read the Bible a lot and prayed a lot, and God helped me to keep my focus on him and not worry nearly as much as i had the year before.
so thurs morning (morning after jack and seth were sick) i get a call from my dr saying there was protein in my urine and they wanted to induce me the next day...whoa buddy. i was scared that lj or i would get it, that i might get it during labor, that the house would still have germs when we got home from the hospital and amelia would somehow get it. and on, and on and on. but again, 'trust and obey'. so i discussed the situation with the dr and she agreed to let me wait for induction until monday.
saturday lj and i feel pretty crappy. thankfully we weren't sick like seth and jack but it was obvious we did not feel well. i started to get upset thinking i'd feel this way until monday and have to push a baby out of me. i think i started to cry and then seth read to me some of 2 chronicles 20 which talks about how a man named jehosephat responded in a time of trouble by immediately seeking God even though he was afraid. he and God's people bowed down and worshipped God before they were even delivered from their trial, because they trusted in God and his faithfulness to them. this was the passage our pastor would preach on the next day so i was encouraged and excited to hear the sermon and hoped we would be able to go to church.
sunday morning i wake up at 5am to contractions. they were every 7 to 17 minutes, with some being more painful than others (from a 2 to a 6 on a pain scale). i knew if my water broke my labor would probably progress quickly like it did with jack, so that was my only worry in waiting to go to the hospital. at this time i knew i was 4cm dilated and 90% effaced. seth was on the worship team that morning at church and we decided to all go together and if we had to leave church early to go to rex then that would be fine. so we went and the contractions were pretty decent up until 930ish so i called the dr and she said to come on in. i asked her if it was ok if i waited until the end of the sermon, as long as i could handle the pain and she said yes. so we were able to stay through the whole sermon, praise God, and it was very encouraging. we left right after because i didn't want to wait too long and have my water break and not have the chance to get an epidural. i called my mom as we left and we met her at crabtree valley mall to give her jack and lilly jo. seth and i went in to grab a quick lunch and by this time my contractions seem to be slowing down just a tad and there aren't as many painful ones. i'm starting to wonder now if i'm even in labor. bummmmmer. we decide to still go to the hospital because if i'm going to be induced the next day they'll probably just induce me today, right?! boy i sure hoped so!
we get to rex around 130ish and are in the triage room for about an hour with the nurse while she's monitoring my contractions and amelia's heartbeat, and doing paperwork. i think that i have about 4 contractions the entire hour we're in triage. talk about embarrassing moment here. it's my 3rd delivery in 3 years and you'd think i could tell when i was in labor. contractions should be longer, stronger and closer together. NOT farther and less painful. at one point i asked the nurse if she had ever heard of the "3rd child false labor syndrome"? she looks at us and says, "the third child is always the stubborn one." i take that as a yes and try to not feel too embarrassed. then comes moment of truth. time to check my cervix. she looks at me and says, "wow! you're not 4 cm!" i'm thinking...well i hope i'm not closing up. she says i'm 6cm and 100% effaced!!! yaaaaaaaaay. not going home!
so up we go to our labor and delivery room. the dr comes in not too long after and says once my IV gets put in she'll break my water and we'll have a baby in no time. i stop her right there and ask her if i can PULEEESE get an epidural first. yes, i've gone without it before and no i don't want to do it again if i am not 100% sure it will be super quick. she says 'sure thing' and so we wait about 30 min for me to get a bag of fluid and then comes the epidural. this time, as opposed to when i had one with lj, i'm nervous. why? because i'm not really in any pain, i'm having very few contractions, and yet i'm about to have a big needle stuck in my back. i have nothing to distract me from that fact. but i knew once my water broke it would be major pain time. the anesthisiologist was awesome, once again, as was our nurse fyi. the epidural didn't hurt one bit. it felt weird, but didn't hurt. God was gracious, yet again.
not too much time passed and my water started to break. the nurse checked me and i was 8cm and after the dr fully broke my water, i immediately started to feel amelia moving down and there was lots of pressure i could feel even with the epidural. boy was i so thankful i had the chance to get that epidural! within 30 min of my water breaking, just about like it was with jack, i was 10 cm and ready to push. the dr was called in, i did about 4 sets of pushing and miss amelia katelyn apple was here! 4:58, 2 minutes before shift change, and she was here! it was by far the most painfree and controlled of all 3 deliveries. looking back, which i've done many times since she was born, i see so clearly how God orchestrated my delivery such that i was able to be encouraged from his Word and reminded of how to respond in times of trouble. i mean, he made my contractions basically non-existent, and yet they still dilated my cervix. helloooo. that's not normal, right? some people say i must have a high pain tolerance. while i do think God has given me that to some degree, i think this delivery was something of a miracle and an extra special gift. anyone can do what i did...because i didn't do anything and didn't have much pain. i'm pretty sure i read in the Bible that God said he made childbirthing painful because of the fall of man. so i'm not crazy when i say it was a gift that amelia's delivery was not very painful at all.
anyways...the first two weeks have not been without their challenges. but God has been so faithful to prepare me and equip me to handle to these challenges. his grace has truly been sufficient for my every need. seth has been a huge source of God's grace these past 15 days and that's a whole other post for another day, another naptime.
So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye...
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