Valiant
was born March 2014. His birth story is very different from his
brother, Nehemiah's. He was born on a Saturday morning. All night
Thursday I was awake with contractions that didn't stop until 5am and
they were pretty consistent most of that night. Isaiah was working on
3rd shift at the time so I was texting him during the night and I was
pretty certain that baby was on the way, but we were waiting it out.
Around 5am the contractions stopped, and I fell asleep for a few
hours before I had to get up to care for Nehemiah and get ready for a
doctor check-up that was required for our insurance. We got up and
went to the doctor assuming that all of those contractions were just
false alarms. It was at the Family Doctor that I realized they really
weren't. At the time when I was called back as I went to stand up, I
felt this weird feeling like I had wet myself but I wasn't soaked or
anything but my backside was definitely wet. The nurses saw that I
was taking a bit to get to the them and asked if I was okay. I said
"Yeah, I think my water just broke though, but I don't feel any
contractions so let's keep going."
When
we got out of the doctor's office, Isaiah called Dr. Abbott and I
called my friend Angie who was going to be with me for my first
At-Home birth. She came probably about an hour later. Dr. Abbott
pretty much said to wait it out for a few hours and call him back if
contractions haven't begun yet. I was super uncomfortable that day
and really tired from no sleep but I couldn't take a nap either.
Angie showed up and she played with Nehemiah while Isaiah and I went
for a walk at the cemetery like we did with Nehemiah to kind of help
the contractions along. I think we waited about 8 or 10 hours and
then called Dr. Abbott again and by this time we realized that we
weren't going to be able to do the At-Home birth like we had wanted
because Valiant needed to be out in 24 hours time. So we thanked
Angie for her help and sent her home and we dropped Nehemiah off at
Gramma's to spend the night and then headed to the hospital which was
40 mins away.
Contraction
wise, the drive was fine but emotionally and mentally I wasn't doing
well. I was soooo scared about another hospital birth because of my
horrible experience at Harrisburg Hospital. I didn't want a repeat at
all. I prayed and cried most of the way down.
We
got to the Hospital in Lititz, PA, filled out some papers and was put
in to a room very quickly and it was a super comfy, quiet room that
was sooo nice and cozy. It was like a hotel visit in some senses
because the bathroom was nice and Isaiah had a nice chair-bed to
sleep on and my bed was very nice with a lot of adjustments and
things went sooo much smoother with Dr. Abbott overseeing everything
and being the boss and making sure I was comfortable and left alone
and left to walk around if I wanted to. It was so much better. The
labor was slow. He gave me little bits of Pitocin just to "help"
me a long but I did most of the work myself. Labor was several hours.
I am trying to remember how long. I labored with Valiant about 10
hours. He was born at 6:20am Saturday Morning. We were treated to
really nice meals and a very decked out dinner. We left the hospital
that evening and were home as a family around 8pm. It was a much
better birth experience than with Nehemiah and one I wouldn't have
any problem with doing again. Having the right doctor really makes
the difference.
Here
is a Facebook post that I posted around the time of Valiant's birth.
"Happy
to be home sitting in my own comfy couch. I am so thankful to God for
watching over me in the hospital and that the experience was so much
better than my first. I am so thankful for my Christian Doctor who
was there the whole time and checked on me and even prayed with us.
The nurse that the Lord gave me through the process was such a
blessing as well and we had a good amount of laughs together. She was
super supportive and helped me more than she will ever know. I
very much enjoyed my day stay in the hospital, but was glad that
we could leave whenever we wanted and that my doctor was in charge.
The food was super yummie too and they even gave us a celebration
supper right before we left last night at 7:30.
The
40 minute drive wasn't too fun and I was praying for safety the whole
time. We were the third person in a row to pull over due to hitting a
tire that was in the middle of the road. That gave me a bit of a
scare, but Lord willing, our car is okay; we couldn't see very well
in the dark.
The
night was beautiful last night. The moon was shining full and bright
and the sky was breathtaking.
So
yeah, thanks for all of your prayers, God was with us the entire time
and really blessed. We are very much enjoying our little Valiant and
Nehemiah gave me a big smile when I showed him his present that we
brought home for him. <3 "
