Happy Birthday Annabelle!!

Today Anna is ONE! She has turned into such a sweet little girl. She is always quick to give kisses and is such a loving little thing. She's just started walking too ( which is the CUTEST thing) She got a baby doll for her birthday and when she saw it she started kissing it over and over and saying BABY!!!! Since it's her first birthday I thought I would share her Birth Story and some pictures. :)
Annabelle Sophia's Birth
Annabelle Sophia's Birth March 14th, 2008
I was 42 weeks and 3 days pregnant and starting to get a little impatient to meet my new little one. This was going to be my first homebirth which both thrilled me and made me a little anxious. This same week was the week of the Churches Teacher Appreciation dinner that Joe cooks ALL the food for (over 150 people). I was terrified all week I was going to have the baby at a time that would make it impossible for him to fulfill his commitment to cook the dinner Thursday night. He also had 8 fancy desserts and other prep work to do during the week. Well the prayers of many for things to work out well must have been heard.
Thursday started off normally until I was on my way home from dropping off the boys at school. I realized in the car my contractions were different than they had been. Uh oh I thought .... The dinner was that night. I quietly labored gently throughout the day. The contractions weren't painful yet just different. I didn't bother telling Joe yet because he was running around like crazy preparing for the dinner that evening. Well things seemed to settle and I got the boys from school and went up to the church for a bit. Came home feed the kids, cleaned up the kitchen and decided to go back up to the church and help clean up after the dinner. As I was driving to the church the contractions came back but were starting to ache a little. After being at the church for about an hour I realized it was truly labor and told Joe. I am still amazed my labor started just as the dinner he needed to cook ended, God truly does have perfect timing. We both got in our cars and started driving home. It's about a 5 min drive which about halfway home I realized I could barely complete.
We got home and put the kids to bed, which was no small task. By then they realized the baby was coming and it was worse than Christmas Eve they were sooo excited. Joe called the midwife- Nancy but I told her not to worry because I was sure we had plenty of time. At this point it was almost 10 PM. Shortly after that during a contraction I told Joe to shut up and quit talking to me. He laughed and called Nancy back and said on second thought you had better hurry LOL. Nancy arrived around 11 PM. We sat and talked and laughed for quite a while. By this point I was thinking it was going to be a looong night. At some point I told Nancy she should check me because I didn't think I was very far along and we probably called her too early. Well she said I think you'll be happy. I said am I at least a 6? Well you're a 9.. Almost 10! I was in shock. I was in very little pain and still in total control even during contractions! It was so comfortable being at home and was such a vividly different experience. I went back to my comfy chair (this time with a chuck pad under me) and we talked and laughed some more. I started feeling some intensity and wanted to get in the tub. I was in there for a while when I decided it had stalled my labor. I was about to call to Nancy and tell her I though things weren't progressing when my water broke. At that point the pain hit the roof. I had a contraction that seemed to last an eternity and I started screaming to get me out of the tub. Joe and Nancy got me on to the bed and Nancy told me she was crowning. At that point I decided no I didn't want to push LOL. Since there was meconium and Nancy could tell from the size of her head she was big and her head was grey looking she was anxious to get her out. She had Joe help me get on all fours and started very intensely insisting I had to push. I realized at that point she was worried but I was too lost in pain to cooperate. Finally they got through to me and she was out in 3 pushes. From the time my water broke to the time she was born was only about 15-30 minutes. Nancy suctioned her out to prevent her from inhaling the meconium and she promptly started to scream and gain color .... oh and hasn't stopped yet LOL. She nursed immediately with the cord still attached. We snuggled and nursed until I felt the urge to push again. Nancy delivered the placenta and Joe cut the cord. We took a bath together and then went back to bed. I was bleeding a little more than Nancy wanted so she had me drink some Shepard's Purse tea (BLECH). Then put a tincture of it under my tongue .... worst thing I've EVER tasted. It made me sick to my stomach and made my uterus start contracting very hard so I vomited a couple times. After that Joe was able to take the baby for a little while after I nursed her again while I took a nap and Nancy slept on the couch for a bit. When I had a chance to recover from the intensity of the quick birth we woke up the other kids. They were SO thrilled to get to see the baby so quickly after the birth. At that point Nancy checked on me again and declared we were doing well and left us to enjoy our time as a family. I will NEVER birth in a hospital again. I am still mourning the loss of that special birth I never got to experience with my other children. It was so wonderful and perfect. We laughed we cried and we shared a joy I have never before experienced. The true form of birth is something that cannot be interfered with. It is quiet and peaceful yet the most intense and exhilarating thing I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Instead of fearing the next time I can't wait to experience it all again. Giving life to a being is supposed to be like this!

Just Born

Anna on her Blessing Day

7 Months

10 Months

What's In there?

Kissing her baby