I’m so crafty I make babies…
Yes, I’ve been MIA. As you can tell from my last post, I’ve been a bit busy with the pregnancy and many other things.
Towards the end of September, my contractions became more than Braxton Hicks. On my Oct. 1st prenatal appointment, the midwife said I was 2cm dilated and the ultrasound showed the baby was head-down and in a good position for delivery. My first thought was the weekend — my husband was going to be out of town most of Saturday and I had a very busy Sunday scheduled. So I immediately put myself on modified bed rest for the rest of the week to keep that baby in.
Sunday, Oct. 5th was quite the busy day. It started off with picking up my friends from the airport then leading a ceremony to institute the first Junior Catholic Daughters of the Americas court in California in over 20+ years. After the event’s reception, we went to Golden Chopsticks to celebrate my parents’ wedding anniversary. I think I mentally gave myself permission to have the baby after the day’s obligations. Sure enough, I was having contractions 10 minutes apart during the anniversary dinner.
That night I was admitted to the hospital at about 11pm. I was 4cm dilated and 90% effaced. Being it my 3rd child, they knew it wouldn’t be too long before the baby would come. As planned, I went without anesthesia. I breathed through all the contractions and it wasn’t painful. They eventually had to break my water at 5am in the morning (I think I have a strong water bag… my water had to be broken for all 3 births) and the contractions became more productive. I was at 8cm at 6am and had hunger pangs. I was sitting up comfortably and eating jello, which surprised the nurses. They said they’ve never seen anyone so calm at this point in labor — especially without anesthesia. Between jello bites and contractions, I texted my pastor that I wouldn’t be able to play the piano at Mass that morning. We texted back and forth and I was able to secure some prayers at Mass for the birth and for my birth coach (my husband), who was sleeping as best as he could in a hospital recliner.
***TMI Alert***
By 8am I had the urge to go #2… like bad. The nurse came in and said, “no, you’re not going to have that baby in the toilet!”
She started setting up the room and called in the pediatric nurse, a doctor in residence and midwife . Right after they introduced themselves I had the strong urge to push… and push I did. The midwife did most of the coaching. After 2 pushes, she was out at 8:18 am and they wiped her off and put her directly on my bare That last one would be long, don’t ya think?[/caption]
My husband and I were both drawn to Aurea and Faith — it sounded better than what we had in mind (which we never agreed upon). We had a short debate on how to pronounce “Aurea” and how others would pronounce the name. I thought it would sound like “Oh-reah” and he thought it would sound like “Ah-reah.” We slept (more like napped) on it to let it sink in and finally decided on Aria Faith. It was so fitting. My pregnancy was when my piano/guitar playing and singing picked up for church and faith-related events. An aria is a solo sung with accompaniment.
Recovery is going well, though more painful than prior pregnancies. I’m a little stir crazy not being able to exercise or do much around the house. But I’ve been truly blessed. My friend started a meal train for us and it’s been humbling yet so wonderful. I’m the type of person who would rather do things myself than ask for help. In my mind, the suffering makes me stronger. But to not have to think about what to make for dinner was a huge weight off my shoulder.
Yesterday was the first time since the birth that I was able to make a proper dinner for the family: Garlic and rosemary pork loin with roasted root vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes. It was served late but I was happy to have the motivation and energy to cook again.
Aria is a sweet baby — very mellow. The whole family is so in love with her — even our other two girls. Now we are tasked to create a “new normal.” Having a third child with a 6 year gap is not quite starting over again but it’s the little things that you forget…
- How small the baby is and how she fits in the cradle of one arm
- The milky breaths after nursing
- The sweet, high-pitched breathing noises
- How tiny feet don’t quite fit into socks
- All their needs are eat, sleep, poop (and cuddle time)
- How quickly they grow…
Life is so precious. It’s amazing how God can be so generous in blessing us this way.