6 days late, but God's perfect timing...

Drum roll, please!

Announcing...


JoyHannah Jubilee....

Born: June 29th, 2009 at 11:55 p.m.

Weighing in at 8 lbs. 0 oz.
Length: 21 1/4 inches




As you all may know, I was quite anxious for the birth of our 8th baby. I had experienced complications with a trip to the ER at 14 weeks and another trip at 33 weeks & 5 days with premature labor.

Well, my goal dates came and went. Then my due date came and went. I tried everything to go into labor as my emotions and my physical well being was not the best. I expected an early baby, but that was not God's plan.

So finally, Monday evening, June 29 just after finishing supper I felt my first contraction (probably around 8 or 8:30 p.m.)....a good, STRONG contraction. With that first contraction I felt the baby descend into my pelvis about 1 inch. I alerted my husband, and then with contractions about 10-15 minutes apart, helped my daughter clean up dinner dishes (I did pause with each contraction). My husband wanted to work in the shop until about 10 p.m., but I wasn't so sure about his "plan"...

I could tell that the contractions were getting stronger and stronger, so I told my son that he needed to tell his dad that we needed to get ready and GO, NOW!!! to my midwife's home (where I was planning to deliver). NOTE: My midwife lives 1 1/2 hours away, so it was essential that we worked quickly to get things packed in the van, including the children.

We got things together and were ready to leave at 10 p.m. I called my mom, who had been calling me everyday asking the same question, to let her know that contractions had begun and we were headed out. Then once we hit the road, I called my dear friend, and we talked nearly the entire trip.

You see, her plan was to "distract" me so I didn't notice how strong the contractions were or how well they were working... although, I must say, those contractions were working VERY WELL!!! And I kept telling her, that yes, they hurt and yes, they were working! So, during our conversation we laughed, and enjoyed our time on the phone...

On the home stretch to the midwife's house, I ended the call with my friend and called my midwife to let her know that we would be arriving soon.

At 11:30 p.m., we pulled in and parked our van at my midwife's home, then my water broke... (of course, in the seat of the van!) Thankfully, clear water...

I made it upstairs to the bedroom where I was going to deliver, used the bathroom, was checked by my midwife to find out that I was dilated to 8 c.m. I had planned on using the birthing stool for this delivery, but just after my midwife checked me, I had another contraction, one that dilated me to 10 c.m. and gave me to urge to push (as I could feel the baby's head coming down!).

My husband had stepped out of the room for just a minute to check on the children and was urgently called back up so that he could see the delivery of his 8th child. Once he came back in the room, she was crowning... and with the next few pushes (less than 5 minutes) she was out!
Perfectly formed, breathing and looking around, but not crying.

Our 6th daughter... WOW! Six girls!!! One more daughter to sew for, one more daughter that will get her hair fixed by mom, one more daughter to marry off... WOW!!!

The afterbirth pains were AWFUL!!! My contractions felt better than the afterbirth pains. I went from "superwoman" as my friend was calling me to "SUPER WIMP!!!" I even had to be helped to the bathroom! But thankfully, with the rest of the night ahead of me to sleep, and with the nourishment I received, I began to feel better and better. And today, I feel great... my only problem now is my blood pressure.

I am currently dealing with postpartum high blood pressure. It is not edema, and doesn't seem to get better with low carbs or low sodium... My mother had this same thing after she had me and eventually her's went away. I am hoping that this is all hormonal and will go away soon, too!

Right now, my blood pressure has leveled out to be around the same numbers all the time. It is not super high, but I will continue to monitor it. If it does not resume back to normal soon, it will mean a trip to the doctor's office.

My prayers are that it will get better with moderate exercise and a healthy diet. But, since high blood pressure runs in my family, I may end up needing medication... and hopefully my experience with medication will be better than my mom's as she has struggled with finding the right combination of meds to control her blood pressure.

Thank you again for your prayers! And when things settle down here, I may start posting again... but times are busy!

Blessings!
Heather

P.S.: C, (you know who you are, but I will only use your first initial)... I sent you and email a few days back! Hope to talk soon!