To put into the words the birth story of our fourth and final baby is such a bittersweet thing. I have replayed it over and over in my mind for the last week and a half. I want to remember every single detail of it for the rest of my life. It is no secret that I love being pregnant so to end that era of my life has been a feeling that I am trying to take in stride while being an emotional postpartum, sleep deprived momma. I liken pregnancy to a wedding...there is months and months of hype, anticipation, nesting/planning, and waiting. Then the grande act comes and goes just as fast as can be while you work hard to live in the moment and enjoy its entirety. You work savor every single detail from start to finish, grasping tight to the euphoric feeling it has on you. But no matter how hard you try to hold onto that moment, it comes and goes quicker than you can imagine, and all of the planning & preparations are over. The climax hits high and fast leaving me wanting more time, more pregnancy, more savoring.
So that is what I am doing. I am documenting and savoring the details here on this blog and in my mind each night before I go to sleep.
Her birth story is a bit different than the others for many reasons: our first time delivering in KY, our first time delivering with Dr. Stewart, our first time not using a balloon to start induction, our first time having a baby's head be so low that my cervix couldn't be gotten to making it extremely posterior (and unable to break my water). The night before her birth, we went in to be induced. They used cervidil to begin. It is recommended to leave it in for 24 hours so that is what the doctor ordered. At 10:30am they removed it and I took a quick shower before being set up with pitocin. That all began around noon when all was said and done. I had been feeling contractions on and off for a few weeks but as they continued to increase my pitocin every 30 minutes my contractions were ramping up and coming every minute to minute & a half and lasting roughly 30-35 seconds. About 2 hours later, the doctor came in to break my water. But he couldn't even get to my cervix to see if it was dilated or not nor could he reach it to break my water. I began to get anxious and nervous thinking we should have gone the balloon route that had always worked in the past.
After some consideration as the contractions became even stronger, the team felt it might be helpful to go ahead with the epidural in order to cause less pain while trying to eventually get to my cervix. I had never gotten the epidural until my water had been broken with the others so I was hesitant but I prayed to God to be with us as the birthing plan I had in mind took a different turn.
By 3:20, I was prepped with my epidural and laid back to start feeling the effects. The nurse turned me on my side and said she would be back in 15 minutes to check me and hopefully break my water. I immediately felt something warm down my leg and realized that my water had broken on its own. I could feel the pressure down under and knew that I needed to start pushing soon as I could also feel the contractions in my stomach. She checked me at 3:45 and I was 10 cm. My mom could literally see her head just hanging out there!
One tiny push once everyone was in place and out she came with a loud cry to greet the world! I asked to have her right away, uncleaned. It was magical and there were a lot of tears of joy & wonder & amazement.
Weighing in at 8lbs 2 ounces and measuring 19 inches long, she is the most gorgeous baby girl and the completing piece to our family puzzle. She looks like a mix of her big sister Adelaide and big brother Aspen. She has brown hair, big blue eyes, beautiful skin tone, long fingers, and just rolls with the punches.
Following suit like her older siblings, Salem is named after a city. It has always been our 2nd girl name and I have adored this name since I was 13 years old & met a girl from North Carolina on the tennis circuit named Salem. She had the best demeanor and was such a cool chic. It stuck with me all these years. Plus it means "peace" and this baby girl of ours has brought a tremendous amount of peace to my heart & soul since the day I found out she was growing in my belly. Lucille, meaning "light", is the French form of Lucy which was my Mama Collins' mom's name.
We are over the moon in love with this precious child from God. She is perfect in every way and she has joined our family seamlessly. She is loved and adored by her big sister and big brothers. And this mommy is holding on to every single day & moment with her. Soaking up the newborn smells, relishing in her tiny newborn clothes (and tearfully folding her Halloween outfits but not able to put them out of site), cherishing the late nights together. For I know that this phase only lasts for but a short time and I want to remember how the feels that it brings!
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