Our little surprise! I scheduled an appointment to see a new gynecologist for a check up. The night before the appointment I decided to take a pregnancy test because although I was only a day ‘late’, my heart was telling me something was happening in my belly. Sure enough, two pink lines. What a marvelous surprise!! We were going to be the parents of FOUR CHILDREN?!?!  I kept the appointment and became their newest obstetric patient. After much thought about how this little one would enter the world, my husband and I decided that we would stick with what we knew and where were comfortable. I made the switch to my previous OB and decided that a hospital birth would be just fine. I couldn’t imagine having another baby without those lovely ladies involved. My pregnancy for Baby H was pretty uneventful. My body certainly felt like it knew what it was doing by the middle of my second trimester, I felt like I was about 38 weeks. My ligaments were nice and relaxed, my pelvis was open and everything was sore. Soaking in the bath became a daily event much sooner than with my other pregnancies. Once I reached 37 weeks my body was ready to go and began practicing all the time. Prodromal labor had me awake all hours of the night, pacing the first floor of my house, timing contractions and longing for a real true sign that it was ‘time’. At my 39 week checkup I was given some supportive words and was gently reminded that all of my previous babies really enjoyed their stay in the womb well past 40 weeks. I took a deep breath and tried to relax. She would be here soon enough.   After a particularly long night of feeling twinges and minor contractions, my husband left for work and my three kiddos and I relaxed at home. I remember having a little more energy than usual that afternoon but no contractions all day. My husband pulled into our driveway a precisely 4:30pm and I had a contraction…. a REAL contraction. I instantly knew it was ‘time’. So I did what any normal Mom would do when labor begins… I made dinner. I was in this mental state of pure calm and the only thing on my mind was making my children a nice dinner before we took them to my sister-in-law's house. While they enjoyed their dinner, I called the OB’s office which was now closed. Amy called me back and we chatted for a bit so she could get a sense of where I was contraction wise. We agreed that because I was still able to chat through my contractions that there wasn’t a need to rush but it was a good idea to get the kids where they needed to be and mosey on in when I was ready. We packed up the kids and met my sister-in-law for the transfer. I will never forget what it feels like to see my kids faces for the last time before they become an older sibling again. My husband and I got to the hospital around 6:30pm and checked into a labor room. After a couple hours of walking around I was feeling like things had really slowed down, that my contractions were not being consistent. I feared that I was going to be sent home. Amy checked my cervix around 9pm and told me I was 5 cm dilated. I decided to walk some more to see if things would move along, which they did not. Around 10:30pm we agreed that breaking my bag of water was an okay thing to do to get things moving along. It certainly did. Within 20 minutes I was contracting consistently and the contractions were getting much, much stronger. Squatting, rocking and moaning through contractions was working just fine until the nurse mentioned the tub. That’s right where I wanted to be. Sometime before midnight I got into the tub which is the most amazing feeling for me when in labor. Laying on my left side, straightening and bending my legs and humming. My labor song. Everything seemed to move so fast at this point. Amy checked my cervix once I was settled into the tub, 7 ½ cm. What felt 20 minutes later (but was actually over an hour), I told my husband I was ‘feeling pushy’. He got the nurse and I told her I needed to push. She said ‘Okay, Amy just checked you but I’ll go get her’. Again, it felt like seconds later, Amy was back in the room and said ‘You feel like you need to push? I just left’. She checked me again and sure enough. I was 10cm. As they all helped me out of the tub I my body was pushing without me trying. I had no control over it. I got sick before leaving the bathroom and I was quickly ushered to the bed. My instinct brought me to a kneeling position with my arms over the back of the bed. Little Miss H was out in just three pushes. My body had done most of the pushing on it’s own before getting to the bed. Our perfect little Miss H. All 7lbs 3oz of her. Born at 39 weeks 5 days.
