Our Best Christmas Gift

I LOVE the Christmas season!! Everything from the shopping on the day after Thanksgiving to the excitement of Christmas morning. And this December 25th wins the award for MOST EXCITING!

The birth story of our Abigail began on Christmas Eve. We spent the day at Pa & MeMa's, as we always do. I didn't feel so great, and later realized that I had been having a few contractions. We usually go to the candle light service at their church and then have supper together, but decided not to go this year so Luke could get in bed at a decent time. My contractions started to become a little noticeable as we left to go home so I was thankful that's where we were headed.

I was definitely in the putsy-putsy stage (terminology our wonderful Bradley childbirth teacher uses for the I can still move around/talk/laugh stage). After we put Luke in bed, we got ready for Christmas morning, just in case I wasn't really in labor. His big present this year was a train table which Santa had to finish assembling upstairs and then I helped him carry it down to the den. We loosely laid some wrapping paper and a big bow on top of it. All night long there was lots of debating about whether it was time to call Grammie and Grampa to come get Luke. We didn't want to sound any false alarms and we really wanted him to be with us on Christmas Day if we were at home. We finished packing...thankfully I was prepared this time and only had a few things to add to the bags. Matt loaded as much as he could in the van, and prepped the back area for me. He was afraid the neighbors might think he was hauling off a dead body due to the plastic he was laying down :0) At some point it started snowing which definitely added more concern.... so I made the call.

Now you have to understand that for about the last 2 month's of of mine and Lydia's (my sister-in-law) pregnancies mom is totally on standby! When she answers the phone, she is quickly gauging to see if it's time yet. (You can actually hear her hold her breath :0)) So I made sure to sound normal...chipper, asked what she was doing, etc. When I told her I thought it was time to come get Luke, she didn't believe me....job well done :0) She and dad quickly got in their sleigh and arrived around 10:00 pm. We all sat in the den chatting about the evening for a little while. I had a few contractions. Then Mom made a comment that still makes me laugh out loud....With a very serious, concerned look, she said I think you need to go to the hospital now. Somehow the "I'm planning to stay at home as long as possible so I can achieve natural childbirth" message, was overlooked at this point. I'm sure I will feel the same way if, and when, I see Abbie going through the same thing. However, I still wasn't even certain that this was the real deal! So needless to say the hospital was the last place I was headed at that point. I can only imagine what they talked about as Matt and I bundled up and went for a walk. It was so peaceful and wonderful walking through a truly silent night with the snow lightly falling, and a baby making her way into the world. Just a short stop and go stroll down our street confirmed that labor was progressing. As mom and dad were saying good-bye, a very sleepy Bubsy noticed something different in the den. I'm sure it gave him something fun to dream about :0)

Lydia is a mid-wife and was planning to be with us during the labor and delivery, as she was with Luke. I had so hoped that she would be here, and really was convinced that Abbie would arrive early and there wouldn't be a chance that she'd be out-of-town yet. When I called her, in between contractions, she answered with "Are you going to have a Christmas baby?!". It was a sad phone call because she and Eric were so far away, but God provided....Lydia had wisely advised us to find a back-up doula, just in case this situation arose. This wasn't an easy task since apparently lots of women were due around Christmas and doulas had family plans. We were able to meet with a lady a couple of weeks before my due date (which was Christmas Eve, and was always so fun to tell anyone who asked). However, I hadn't decided if I actually wanted her to come. I didn't have a strong connection with her and felt like the atmosphere would be too awkward. We eventually decided that we should call her since we wanted someone there for a 'just-in-case' occurrence. She arrived a little after midnight.

We chatted with Sarah while I sat on the exercise/birth ball and made laps through the den and kitchen. The contractions weren't too intense so Matt and I decided to rest while we could. We laid in bed and I fell in and out of sleep. After an hour went by, Sarah came in and said I had been having contractions every 5 mins. and due to the weather she thought it was probably time to go. Our goal was to wait until I was in transition, which would be contractions every 3-4 mins. And I really didn't think I was dilated that much since I was able to manage the pain pretty well. None the less, we put the remaining things in the van, and headed to Vanderbilt at about 1:55 am.

During the 30-45 min. drive, Matt called our parents and the mid-wives. I was relieved to know that Linda was on call. While not the lady I normally see, she was definitely one of our favorites. The worst part of the drive was being on my knees. I was leaning over the birth ball and hanging on to a cup holder whenever we made turns. Thankfully the snow had not made our roads too bad yet. Matt was great to adjust the air as needed and had the Jim Brickman Christmas cd playing. When we finally pulled into the (free) valet parking area, I was nervous that labor had stalled. I didn't seem to have a whole lot of contractions on the way there. I walked through the security station to the ER check-in desk and handed them my status sheet (name, DOB, etc.). I might have nodded if they asked me a question, but I didn't talk to them. I just held onto the edge of the desk as I waited for Matt. Our bags had to be searched for weapons since it was after hours. After what seemed like FOREVER, a nurse came down to walk us upstairs. There was another lady in 'labor' too. There's only one labor tub, which we were hoping to get. Too bad I couldn't race her, in case she was also wanting it. I found out later that Matt wasn't too thrilled that I was having to stop every few feet during contractions. You know, because he was thinking of me, not because he wanted to win:0) The other couple had to wait on the elevator so we all road up together. I don't know what this lady thought labor was, but she sure didn't seem to be having any problems, and I'm sure they thought I was being a drama queen. We were excited that the tub room was open and they took us right to it. It was about 3:00 am.

I REALLY had a full bladder so the bathroom was my first stop. Linda came in a few minutes later to check me. I was an EIGHT, 90% effaced, with a bulging bag of water!!! R.E.L.I.E.F. I was in transition!! They started filling the tub with water. I was Strep B positive so they needed to give me antibiotics. It took several tries to get the IV in successfully. Since I don't like needles, I kept my eyes closed and focused on contractions. I couldn't wait to be able to move around again. When I finally got to stand up, I draped my arms around Matt's neck. Then things really began to change! My water broke....all over his tennis shoes! And one of the not so lovely parts of labor occurred, poop, thankfully not on his shoes. I was having TREMENDOUS pain at this point. I'm sure anyone in the labor ward could hear me moaning and calling out to God. I was starting to get out of control. Linda came back in the room to check me. It was difficult for me to make myself sit down on the bed. I wanted it to be over. Then she said my baby was breech.

The room quickly filled with doctors. They were all making phone calls. Someone was in my ear telling me the risks involved with a c-section. I was telling Matt it was okay. They were helping me blow instead of push. I kept my eyes closed. I told Matt goodbye. He was alone. Our doula was there, but he was alone. He called Lydia to see if she could explain what was happening/going to happen and couldn't control his emotions. They wheeled me to the OR. I was having contractions and couldn't keep from pushing. They asked me to scoot myself onto a different bed. I couldn't move. They finally picked me up and moved me. I kept my eyes closed. I was nervous about the c-section. I can't remember if I knew they were going to put me all the way under or if I found that out later. They didn't have time to prep me so that I would be awake. A nice man standing behind my head said they needed to give me some oxygen. He told me they could put just a little pain medication through the mask, and if it made me feel dizzy they could stop it. I said ok since I thought this was going to be super hard. I started feeling dizzy within a minute so they turned it off. Then I heard the doctor say they were going to try to do a vaginal delivery, go get dad. Matt was on the phone with Lydia when they came and got him. She was so excited to hear they were allowing this! Prayers were already being answered! He put on scrubs (which I don't understand since he wasn't allowed to be in there for a c-section and would have to leave if the vaginal delivery didn't work).

I remember hearing him come in. They told me to push with everything I had on the next contraction. They pulled my legs back and someone pushed on my stomach. I only had to push 1 1/2 times....the labor notes say I had "excellent expulsive effort"!! At 4:22 am a baby was born, bottom first. Matt confirmed it was a girl :0) I kept exclaiming OH BABY, OH BABY. I was elated! I asked if he could cut the umbilical cord, and he did. She looked so little. Matt asked them to cut off my shirt since there would be no way for me to take it off with all the wires hooked up. (I was sad about that later because it was the same shirt I wore when I delivered Luke.) I held Abbie close! They made repairs. The doctor thought I was mad at him when I said it's a 2nd degree tear?!?! I was so excited...I assumed they had cut or I had torn much worse.

Back in the original delivery room I fed Abbie. She wanted to eat for a long time! I was pretty sore for a couple of hours so I took one or two doses of pain medication. I was having trouble going to the bathroom. As soon as the nurse said I'd have to have a catheter if I didn't go in 4 hours, I went! We made joyous phone calls! They wheeled us to our recovery room and we were very popular. We were told that everyone was talking about the unmedicated, breech, vaginal, Christmas baby! What a miracle!

I thank God for: A healthy baby, Sarah telling us when to go to the hospital, my water not breaking until we got to the hospital, Abbie pushing her way out so far they didn't have time to do a c-section, prayers, effective pushing, a doctor willing to allow a vaginal delivery, Abbie not getting stuck, not having to recover from a c-section, a wonderful husband to coach me, a short 11 hour labor, Abbie being head down at my appointment the day before, a bulging bag of water that didn't allow Linda to know what the presenting body part was when we got there, a big baby (8 lbs. 9 ozs.), getting to hold her on my chest right after delivery!

Meet Abigail Leanne.

A happy daddy!

Luke had a great view of our first White Christmas in Nashville in 17 years!

Everyone was super excited to see Matt coming down the hallway to start the introductions!

Luke was first. This picture just melts my heart....Big Brother on his way!

While I was pregnant, we talked a lot about where Abbie was. He would point to my belly and give kisses. He had no trouble figuring out that she was no longer in there :0)

He wasn't quite sure what to think when it was just the 2 of them, but he warmed up quickly!

It worked out great that he had some presents to open on Christmas Day.

The grandparents brought fun gifts, yummy treats, lots of love, and open arms!

I partook of the yummy treats while everyone passed Abbie around....hospital food is not for me!
Uncle Eric and Aunt Lydia have BIG BOW BABIES so Abbie wanted to make them proud when she first met them (a few days later at our family Christmas celebration) :0)

You know how you're supposed to take the baby's blanket home so that your dog can become familar with their smell? Well Grammie REALLY wanted to make sure Jasie would know Abbie!

Our first family portrait (maybe we can photoshop Jasie in from the picture above)!