Ezra L.

Yes, HE IS HERE! Our E.L.F. arrived on December 11, 2012, at 9:32AM. And while his birth is fresh in my mind, I'm going share...

Nine months ago God blessed us with the knowledge of a child. We were thrilled, elated, overwhelmed, amazed! Nine months is a long time and I guess most soon-to-be-parents entertain thoughts of what labor might be like. Not really for us. I never thought about labor. I knew that it would hurt, but it would be temporary and then we would have a baby in our arms. I never feared labor. And at 40 weeks pregnant I was so completely ready for the experience to begin.

On December 10th, at 2:00am, Ezra's due date, I began having contractions. I had been having Braxton Hicks for weeks, but these were "different." These, I recognized immediately for what they were. REAL labor. I was so excited I couldn't sleep! I waited almost three hours before waking Derek, or rather before the pain of my contractions woke Derek up. His response to me was, "I really need to sleep. I don't feel good." He didn't feel good, but I felt contractions coming on stronger and I was dancing with joy. They became painful pretty quick and somewhat regular at 10-15 minutes apart. By morning, we knew that Derek was sick. I called Nancy. She brought him medicine immediately and her husband took Derek to the doctor. He didn't get in to see the doctor, but immediately came back home and went to bed. I settled onto the couch to count contractions. I remember at one point cleaning the house and organizing the cleaning supplies under the sick. I did some last minute laundry and later Derek woke up. Contractions were getting stronger. We had been talking with the midwife and she wanted me to wait to come in until contractions were 4-5 minutes part for an hour. By evening I had cabin fever so we went out for dinner. We walked into Jason's Deli and I had several contractions while fixing my salad at the bar. Fun times for those around us. After we went to the mall to walk. It was a cold night here so inside walking worked best. What doesn't work is having to stop walking to breathe through a contraction. We had to leave and go home and "rest."

Rest does not come easily to a laboring woman. A few more hours went by and I was in so much pain I got sick. I couldn't sit, lay down or walk through contractions. The only comfort was to stand in the shower under the hot water. Derek diligently timed each contractions, attempted to do counter pressure and watch as I was in pain. At 2 he called Kelli, our midwife and said he felt like we should come in even thought we weren't 5 minutes apart consistently. 30 minutes later we were at the birth center and I was measuring 7cm dilated. The midwife said, "why did you wait so long to come in?" WOW! I wanted to scream!

I labored on a workout ball for a while and Derek laid down for a nap. Three hours later I had not moved from a 7 so we decided to break my water. Kelli said things would become intense fast after my water broke. She told the truth. I was on my hands and knees screaming to get in the tub so I could have this baby. Derek was a superstar, holding my hand, massaging my back, praying in my ear. It took a long time to fill the tub, but then I waddled in and begin transition. Two hours later I was only an 8. AND IN PAIN! I was so exhausted at this point that I was falling asleep between contractions. I kept asking if it was time to push and the response was no. You need to get up and move around. After many squats in the tub and what I would consider maternity contortions, I had such a strong contraction that my body naturally pushed...and...then...life...changed. Pushing became my sole focus. Derek held my hands the entire time. He prayed in my ear and encouraged me with each push. I pushed for over an hour and still no baby. Kelli kept saying, he's right there. You just have to push. I ended up having to get out of the tub and on the bed to push more. I still couldn't push Ezra out there. I was beyond exhuasted. So, Derek sat down on the birthing pool steps and I squated inbetween his legs. I set a goal in my head to push Ezra out in three pushes. More like 30. But, in time, Ezra started to crown. Those last pushes were both the hardest and the easiest. The moment Ezra came into this world, all the pain stopped and all the love rushed in. He was immediately put on my chest and Derek cradled us in his arms. Sweetest moment ever. The other details of our natural birth are for another time, but the end result will always be the same. God gifted us with the most precious baby boy. Our son was born at 9:32AM, 6.1lbs, 19"long. We love him so much and are honored to be his parents.