My Labor story
Well, we attempted to update the blog as labor progressed but I guess it went a little too quick for us (I am not complaining). We have had lots of inquiries about certain details and if you haven't already gathered, yes; Javan was born at home with an all natural VBAC delivery in the water. I will try and give you an overview of the birth without going into too gory details but I am sure my excitement will get away from me at times...Thursday morning I woke up still feeling discouraged and very pregnant. After taking Bresa to school Peter made me chocolate chip pancakes and I ate a little bowl of applesauce and then took a nice warm shower. My Dad came over to help Peter with some electrical stuff and Abbi and I watched a movie and played CandyLand. At lunch time Abbi ate and went down for a nap and I ran to Publix to get subs for the guys and for me and the baby. Around 12:30PM I felt a stronger contraction come on and then maybe one or two shortly after that. I didn’t bother calling Karen (our midwife), I am pretty laid back and I know she had other appointments; we actually had one scheduled for 5PM that evening anyhow. Around 1:30 I felt another couple strong contractions and tried to do a bit of walking around the inside of the house (it was cold outside). Just after 2PM I went to get Bresa from school and in the car my contractions were staying pretty strong and were very regular. My Dad left after we got back and I tried to stay on my feet and clean the house a bit. At 3PM I decided to lie down and time the contractions as best I could but the best I could figure was that they were peaking every 2 minutes. Sometime around 4PM I fell asleep and woke up about 40 minutes later. Karen called to tell me she was running late from another appointment and I told her about the contractions being stronger and still regular but not to hurry. After the call I got up and started walking again, I wasn’t sure if this was the real thing just yet (especially after last week) and I wanted to do what I could to keep the contractions coming. Though the contractions were stronger I could still walk through them and do most normal things. I did what most 40 week pregnant women do- I did the dishes and cleaned the bathrooms. Karen got here around 6:45 and recommended that I try and eat something more and drink something other than water to get some energy in me.
Peter got me some Gatorade and watermelon out at 7:06 and I sat on the yoga ball in the living room and ate what I could. I called my mom to tell her I was in labor (again) and told her she could get the girls in the morning because she had to work that night. Karen left to grab some dinner at a drive-thru and return. I finished eating and the contractions were getting a lot stronger at this point. Peter put the girls to bed and I tried to walk the contractions out but it hurt too much so I tried to rock on the yoga ball but ended up leaning over the bed while sitting on the ball instead. I couldn’t find a comfortable position so I asked Peter to run me a warm bath around 7:18 while I stayed on the ball. 
Karen returned around 7:40PM and I got into the tub just after that. The water felt good but my contractions were getting stronger so I don’t know that it helped me feel any better. Peter was busy making up the bed for birth and when he finished he came to my side. I was highly uncomfortable at this point but I was still able to get through contractions without wincing too much. They were probably peaking every 45-60 seconds at this point and it felt really good to breath in between them. After a couple of those contractions they got a lot harder really fast. Peter was by my side as I sat in the tub and I held on to his hand and arm and practically bore my head into his forearm during the last few contractions. I was in so much pain and I couldn’t stop it from happening. I felt like I couldn’t do it anymore and I wasn’t strong enough, I just wanted the pain to stop but I didn’t know what to do. Peter was very supportive and told me I was doing great, he tried to get me to focus on just the contraction on hand and not the ones to come. I only had 20-30 seconds between each one to breath and not knowing when they would end was the hardest part. If someone had told me I would only have a couple more I would have been fine but not knowing if I had a couple hours more made it so much harder. At one point Karen asked if I had pressure but I didn’t at that point. It was on the next contraction at 8:03 (probably the 5th or 6th of the really strong contractions) that I felt the pressure. She was in the bedroom preparing for the birth, none of us expected it to come so quickly. When I told her about it she told me to push through it to see if it would help the pain. As soon as the next contraction started I pushed with all I had and Karen said “There’s the head, it’s coming! It's right here, you’re doing great, the head is already here.” The bag of waters had still not broken but it did end up breaking before the next contraction. That contraction had ended but I was still in so much pain from pushing Javan partially out, I was actually looking forward to the next contraction when I could push again. 
As soon as the next one started I gave a great push and the head came all the way out, I gave another push without taking a breath and once his shoulders passed he just slipped right out. Karen grabbed him up and put him in my arms at 8:08PM. I was still getting over the pain when I heard his first little cries. I couldn’t believe the pain was over, it was so intense but as soon as he came out the contractions seemed to cease. I finally had enough sense to check and see; we have a son! I think I was somewhat in shock from what had just happened, all that pain but now all of a sudden I have a baby boy. I remember thanking God and just holding on to Javan as his crying winded down. After moving me to the bed and getting cleaned up and cutting the cord, Karen took Javan from me and then weighed him to find he was a rather heavy 8lbs 4oz and measured 21 inches long. I had no tearing and am not quite sure how I pushed his 14inch head out without a little rip but I am extremely appreciative he came right out. 
The homebirth was great and though the pain is still present in my memory I know I will soon forget about most of it. Right now I am feeling great and have a little bit of soreness but it is mostly due to getting the whole nursing thing to flow well. I still have some swelling in my hands but I can only tell by feeling them not by looking at them. The after pains of the birth were strong but I only had a few that night. I took a couple Ibuprofen yesterday morning but haven’t taken anything since then. Javan’s first doctor appointment will be Monday morning. So far he’s been great and makes the coolest noises.
Everyone has been very supportive and helpful during everything.
My lifegroup ladies set up a schedule for different people to bring us dinner each night, which is very much appreciated-words cannot express. We have had a couple visitors and are expecting more tomorrow after church, everyone is welcome (we will not be at church though).
posted by We are the Taylors @ 1:30 PM
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