Birth Story: Adeline Grace

Tuesday, November 15th arrived, and I was still pregnant. REALLY pregnant. So obviously about to pop that after my 40 week appointment with my midwife, while walking into Olive Garden with my mom, two ladies passed me and not-so-subtly commented, "Did you see her?! She looks like she is ready to have that baby any day..." Don't you just love when people state the obvious...especially  strangers?! Also while eating lunch there, my sweet young waitress asked when my due date was. When I replied, "Today, actually!" she carefully backed away with a nervous smile, and said "Oh...! Wow. I can't believe you're here!" People are so funny around pregnant women...it's as if they think they will be asked to deliver the baby themselves if they get too close to a pregnant woman on her due date...!

At home that evening, I began feeling some early labor signs but didn't want to get my hopes up that I might actually go into labor on my due date! So, I calmly told my husband what I was feeling and that we should go to bed and try to rest, "just in case"... I was able to sleep through early contractions but woke up around 1:00am, no longer able to lay still. I walked around the house for about an hour, timing my contractions and praying for a smooth and peaceful labor! Since my first labor experience was extremely long and intense towards the end, I was hoping this time would be a little easier...

Giddy with excitement that this was really happening, I woke JJ up an hour later and told him it would be a good idea for him to make some coffee for himself and jump in the shower...and that he should plan to meet our daughter today!!! I called my mom and woke her from a deep sleep, apologizing (but #sorrynotsorry) and asking her to come over to stay with our toddler, who was sound asleep and completely unaware of the excitement taking place. 

By 2:30am, we were on the road to the hospital, and though I was having some pretty good contractions about 5 minutes apart, I silently wondered if we had left too early and hoped we would be far enough along to be admitted to the hospital. En route, I texted my sister in Thailand and asked for prayer and encouragement, as I knew she would be awake!  We arrived at the hospital in record time (thanks to a quiet interstate in the middle of the night!), and we were immediately greeted in the ER and taken up to triage. (Thankfully this time, the desk clerk did state the obvious and didn't ask any questions as to why we were there!)  As my contractions became increasingly intense, JJ started a music playlist on his phone that consisted of my favorite worship songs to help me relax. The first song, by the Helsers, "Empty My Soul" began to play softly...

I fall on the floor, down at Your feet
I know You want me here with my suitcase full of needs
Oh my heart is heavy, and my mind is full
I let go of my pride, and empty out my soul

I let go
Empty my soul
I let goooooo.....

And suddenly everything did let go...my water broke ! ! ! It was confirmation that I truly had followed my instinct for when to head to the hospital...had we left our house 30 minutes later, it would've been a messy car ride.

We were then admitted to our labor and delivery room, where I sat on a birthing ball while JJ rubbed my back and continued coaching me through contractions. We relayed our birth plan to our nurse and let her know we wanted freedom to move, lights low, and as few people in the room as possible since I was laboring naturally with no medications. Contractions continued to intensify, and I focused entirely on my breathing and on listening to the music. I laid my head down between contractions to rest as much as possible. 

I glanced at the clock several times and wondered what time I would be meeting this baby... would it be late afternoon, early evening? Although things seemed to be progressing rapidly, I was mentally preparing to spend all day laboring as I had before. 

Suddenly, though, I realized things were progressing and progressing quickly... very quickly. With only JJ and I in the room, I asked him (between contractions) to call our nurse immediately because this baby was about to arrive!!!  Our nurse set into motion a chain of events... helping me into my ideal delivery position (on all fours, so gravity would be my friend ; ) and calling the on-call doctor to our room. 

Though she came to our room, the on-call doctor stood in the doorway with gloves on, but clearly was not eager to jump in and assist unless absolutely necessary. We later learned that she is not comfortable delivering natural/unmedicated births, as she prefers the traditional flat-on-her-back-feet-in-stirrups position...and I was not about to do that again. (It's funny how the "traditional" birthing position does not allow gravity to work to the laboring mother's advantage, but it sure helps give the physician better access... definitely necessary in some cases, but not in ours.) The team called our midwife, who made it from her bed at home to our hospital room in about 15 minutes...and that on-call doctor jetted out of the room the second she saw her coming!  [Note: Typically, midwives assist during the full duration of labor; this was a unique situation, in that the on call medical team made a judgement call regarding when to notify my midwife that I was in labor. She was extremely regretful that they had not called her sooner, but since this was our second labor, we were able to successfully manage as a husband-wife team until her arrival. Nevertheless, we are incredibly grateful for her role in our story!]

Our midwife hadn't arrived a moment too soon, as our baby was already crowning! Within minutes - at 6:11am - Adeline Grace Peek was born !!! Since I was positioned on my knees on the bed, I was able to reach down and help catch her as she entered this world... making this one of the two most beautiful, surreal, incredible moments of my entire life (the other being this same moment during her big sister's birth!) Hearing the first newborn cry that every parent anxiously awaits and pulling her close to my chest, I was flooded with emotion. I had once again been so blessed to fully experience every single sensation of bringing forth new life into the world- the intensity, the pain, and now the euphoria. 

We spent a few hours just soaking up our fresh baby girl before my parents arrived with big sister Charlotte. JJ and I talked a lot about how to introduce the girls, and we wanted to be very intentional with our approach. It occurred to us that walking into a strange room and seeing Momma already holding a new baby may feel to a two year old that her world has already been overtaken. So, we laid Adeline in her bassinet while JJ brought Charlotte into the room. She crawled into bed with me, and then JJ brought Adeline to us... as if giving a gift to the big sister. This was the second most beautiful moment of the day, and my heart nearly burst as Charlotte softly said, "My new baby sister is here! She was born!" and then proceeded to kiss Adeline's head (and soon after insisted on holding her "all by myself." ; )

The birth of this dark-haired beauty was everything we had prayed for... natural, healthy, peaceful, and quick! True to everything God had promised us for this child - that she would be peaceful and gentle in spirit - our sweet Adeline entered this world already declaring these aspects of her life. And our lives will never be the same as we embark on our new journey as a family of four...