The Birth Story of

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Catherine Louise King

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Saturday, March 28^th

+ Since my middle two sons have birthdays very close together (March 26^thand April 1^st), we generally have a joint party for the two of them on the Saturday between their birthdays. This year we had a pirate party, and everyone had a lot of fun dressing up and running around on a treasure hunt. It made for a long day, though, and I was definitely tired by that evening. As I was getting ready for bed, I went to the bathroom and noticed I had a small amount of bloody mucus. I was quite surprised by this, as I generally don't start having any sort of bloody show until just a few days before the birth, and I wasn't expecting this baby any time soon. My due date was April 6^th, but I generally go 3-5 days past my due date. I went in and told my mom, because I knew she'd want to know. She laughed and said that she had only packed to be up here for the weekend, not for two weeks (the amount of time she usually stays with me after my births), and so I'd better not be having this baby yet! I told her I really didn't think it meant anything, and that she didn't have anything to worry about. We talked for a few minutes, and I headed off to bed.

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Sunday, March 29^th

+ After the usual Sunday morning scurry to get us all out the door, we made it to church. While we were sitting there I had a really hard time getting comfortable. I wasn't having what I would call cramping exactly, but more like general discomfort low on my belly. After church we went out to eat at Chili's, and I continued to be uncomfortable and just felt out of sorts. As the afternoon progressed, I did have some sporadic contractions, but nothing really regular. I also had a little more bloody show. Read was getting somewhat nervous, and would have preferred that I call our midwife, Christy, to give her a heads-up, but I didn't see the point of bothering her on a weekend for nothing more than was going on at the moment - especially since I still completely believed that this baby was still over a week away from actually being born. I think he was starting to get suspicious that the baby would come sooner, however. I did tell him that I would feel better if we went ahead and got the birth tub set up, though. I hadn't planned to do that until the next weekend, but I decided that I wanted to go ahead and get it in place, even if we didn't fill it yet.

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+ By the evening I really wasn't feeling well at all. I wasn't hungry, and just felt sort of blah. When one of my doulas, Delilah, saw me post about not feeling well, she messaged me and said: “Not feeling well AND having bloody show!? GACK!!! Please wait for me!” (She had another client who was being induced the next morning.) I laughed, and told her she had nothing to worry about. I was very tired, though, and went to bed early.

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Monday, March 30^th

+ I woke up around 4 a.m. to go to the bathroom and realized I was having contractions. They weren't horrible, but definitely enough to keep me from sleeping well. I had them pretty consistently every 15 minutes or so for the next couple of hours, and then they spaced out and eventually went away. When Read got up to go to work in the morning, I let him know what had happened during the night. He asked me if I thought this baby was going to come early, and by that point I was starting to wonder myself. I told him that I didn't think birth was imminent, but I was starting to doubt that I was going to go five days late this time around. The experience reminded us both of my labor with Joshua; I had contractions that were pretty far apart starting for a lot of the afternoon on a Sunday, and then had a run of contractions in the wee hours of the morning on Monday. He ended up being born Tuesday evening. So I think we both wondered if we might be headed towards a similar experience. I called Christy to let her know what was going on, and updated my mom and doulas as well. Mom had left our house Sunday afternoon to visit other family in the area, and was planning on heading home to Huntsville Tuesday afternoon. She asked me if I thought she needed to change her plans, and I told her I had no idea! Read went ahead and filled the birth tub before he left for work so that it could start heating up.

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+ The rest of the day went by uneventfully. I really didn't have any other contractions after I got up in the morning (though I did continue to have bloody show), and I felt pretty good, which was a blessing. The house was still a mess from the birthday party, and my bedroom was the worst of it, because I had tossed a lot of stuff in there trying to clean up the downstairs for the party! This was not a good thing, as I am stressed out by a dirty house, and planned to labor and birth primarily in my bedroom. My mother-in-law, Florence, had come up for the birthday party as well, and she was staying on for a while to help out. So I put her in charge of watching the children while I got busy cleaning my room. By the end of the day I felt much better about how things were looking. The rest of the house still needed work, but my bedroom and bathroom were in good shape, at least.

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+ Mentally, I was still trying to wrap my mind around the possibility of a baby coming sooner rather than later. I had so many little things that I still wanted to get done before the baby arrived. I tried to go over the list and prioritize everything, to figure out what I really needed to get done, and what I could be okay with letting go of. I told the baby that all of this stuff wasn't really important, and that if (s)he was ready to come, that was okay with me. I went to bed that night listening to the rain, and kind of expecting to be woken up with contractions overnight.

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Tuesday, March 31^st

+ I had a few contractions overnight, but not a lot. Around 4 a.m. I woke up feeling a little like I was getting another urinary tract infection. I took some UriCare and went back to bed, and didn't have any more issues with it. It may just have been irritation from the baby sitting on my bladder. I didn't sleep well though, and so I took advantage of the fact that Flo was here and stayed in bed until 10 a.m. I got up and began getting ready for an appointment with Christy and then the chiropractor. Then the phone rang; Christy was calling to let me know that she had been at a birth all night and was going to have to cancel my appointment that day. She had been a little concerned that I would go into labor that night as well, but clearly God had everything under control. She asked if I wanted to reschedule my appointment or just skip it on the assumption that I'd be having the baby soon. I decided to reschedule for the next day, because I really didn't know what on earth my body was planning to do.

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+ I got a little more cleaning and baby preparations done, and then went to see Chandra, my chiropractor, in the afternoon. She said that everything looked good – I was aligned pretty well, and the baby was starting to get in position for birth. She didn't think, however, that birth was imminent. Her guess was Friday. We talked for a little bit, and I set up an appointment for the following Tuesday in case baby didn't decide to come after all. I talked with my mom that evening; she had decided to stay one more night and then head home Wednesday morning. Depending on what was going on she would either pack her bags and head back up, or wait at home until I called her.

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+ I had a few contractions throughout the day, but nothing regular. They were definitely moderately painful though – I often had to stop what I was doing to deal with them. By the end of the day I was uncomfortable physically, and pitiful emotionally. I wrote an email to my doulas asking them for prayers for my state of mind. I was feeling somewhat apprehensive about labor, as each contraction was like a reminder of what was coming. I was anxious to meet my baby – but not especially excited about having to go through labor again. I soaked in the bathtub, read bits and pieces of The Lord of Birth by Jennifer Vanderlaan, and prayed a lot before going to bed.

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Wednesday, April 1^st

+ I woke up at 2:15 am with a contraction. I got up to go the bathroom, and had some diarrhea. I tried to go back to bed, but ended up back in the bathroom with more diarrhea. I felt really out of sorts – couldn't think straight, flustered, emotional. I had more contractions, but I couldn't time them as I couldn't see a clock from the toilet, and I was stuck there for a while. I was also shaky and feeling a little nauseous. I wondered whether or not I might be in labor. (Now, I know that those of you who are reading this are thinking – well, duh! But I am notoriously bad about calling such things, which is why Read is the designated “it's time to call the midwife” person.) I thought – surely I'm not going to have anotherApril Fool's Day baby – what are the odds of that?

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+ Finally I was able to get off the toilet, but I couldn't go back to bed. I decided that if things didn't settle down by 3:30, I would wake Read. I wandered around the bedroom and bathroom, trying to find a place to get comfortable. Finally 3:30 a.m. came, and few minutes later I went to wake Read up. He asked me if I was in labor, and I told him I didn't know, but that I needed him up with me. He got up and came into the bathroom with me, and tried to assess the situation. I'm afraid I wasn't much help. While I was having some discrete contractions, I was also having a lot of just uncomfortable cramping, so it was hard for him to get a feel for just how often they were coming, and how long they were lasting. After watching me for ten or fifteen minutes, he decided that he was going to call my mom and Christy to fill them in on what was going on. He told them that while he hadn't been able to watch me for long, I had “the look”, and he really thought I was in labor. My mom said she was going to head on over, and Read told her he thought that was wise. She later told me that she had woken up suddenly at 3:30 am, and was lying in bed wondering what to do in the morning. She prayed that God would give her a clear sign in regards to whether she should stay up here or go on home. So when Read called a few minutes later, that was truly an answer to prayer!

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+ After making the calls, Read hopped in the shower to wake up and asked me to tell him when I was having contractions so he could time them. I tried to oblige, while searching desperately for a position that seemed right to me. I walked around, leaned against the wall, got down on hands and knees, and tried knee-chest. Nothing seemed to work for long. Read got out of the shower and said he was pretty confident that this was the real deal, so he called Christy back and told her to come on, but she was already on the way. He also called my doulas, Lesley and Delilah, and our birth photographer, Elizabeth, and told them to come as well. Believe it or not, I still wasn't sure I was really in labor, and worried about getting people out of bed for nothing.

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+ At this point my memories of things get a little fuzzy. I was just an emotional wreck, and couldn't think straight. I whined pitifully about how lousy I felt, and how I seriously didn't think I could go through labor again. Read did a great job of telling me yes, I could, and that I always did great. He suggested that I get into the birth tub, and unlike the last time where it gave me flashbacks to David's wicked labor, this time it actually made me feel a little better. He decided to put on some music for me, and offered to put in my standard labor faire – Transitions by Burt and Joe Wolffe – but I told him what I wanted was The Night as Bright as Day by Joel Clarkson. Unfortunately he couldn't find it, so I had him just turn it off instead. The silence was nice.

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+ I don't know at what point my mother-in-law came into the room with us. I was really unaware of everything except for me, Read, and the baby. My mom, Christy, and Angela (the midwife who would be assisting Christy) got here around 5 a.m. They checked my blood pressure and the baby's heart tones and confirmed that we were doing fine. I was vaguely aware of them setting things up in the bedroom. I labored in the tub, and alternated between tailor sitting between contractions and leaning forward on the edge of the tub during them. Read got in with me and stroked my hair, massaged my back, and pressed on my hips, while continuing to whisper reassurances to me. I prayed a lot, and recited Psalm 121 over and over in my head. It's been a favorite of mine since I was a child, and it did help me to feel more at peace. At this time I had become convinced that I was indeed in labor, but didn't necessarily think I was anywhere near the end.

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+ Elizabeth arrived a little before 5:45 a.m. and started taking pictures. I asked if Lesley or Delilah had made it yet and was told no, they hadn't. Somebody finally thought to turn on the video camera that was set up on a tripod near the birth tub. A few minutes later Christy asked if she could check heart tones again, and I said sure. But then I had to say no, wait, because I had a monster contraction – long and hard – and I felt the baby moving down. I was even a little grunty at the end. It was at that point that I thought to myself, hmm, maybe this is closer to the end than I thought. Christy looked at Read and whispered, “She's pushing.” He said, “I know! Someone needs to go and wake the kids.” With the next contraction I was pushing full force, and I felt the baby moving down quickly. By the time that contraction was over, the baby's head was out! I just sat there, leaning forward over the edge of the tub, breathing hard, and cupping that sweet little head in my hand as I waited for the next contraction to come. Geren, David, and Sarah all hurried into the room; they couldn't get Joshua to wake up in time. I remember thinking, Lesley and Delilah are going to be so mad that they missed the birth! Then I was pushing again, and at 5:51 a.m. the rest of the baby came out rather quickly. I remember thinking to myself – I sure hope that somebody is back there to catch, because it felt like the baby went shooting across the tub! Read did indeed catch, lifted the baby out of the water, and unwrapped the cord from around the neck – twice. Christy helped me turn over and he handed the baby to me. I looked down and said, “It's a girl!” Geren was supposed to announce the gender, but I was so surprised that I just blurted it out. I don't think he minded, or even noticed for that matter.

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+ We sat in the tub for a while, just snuggling and getting to know each other. Joshua finally woke up and joined the other children, who were all hanging over the edge of the tub trying to see the baby. My mom called my dad and told him the good news as well. After the cord stopped pulsing, Read went ahead and cut it. We left it long, though, so that Joshua could do the official duty later on. He took the baby for a few minutes so that I could sit a little more upright for a minute to see if the placenta was ready to come, but it wasn't yet. About 6:15 a.m. I climbed out of the tub and into bed; it's always weird to me how my legs feel like Jell-O right after birth. Once I got situated in bed and into some dry clothes, we settled in and nursed. She latched on well right away and took to it like a champ. The kids all piled onto the bed with us and had fun getting to know her as well. Sarah was absolutely beside herself over the whole thing, and was just beaming and talking about “her new sister”. One of the first things she said was “she's mine!” The boys were all equally pleased with our new addition.

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+ Delilah arrived just before 6:30 a.m., and we had to tell her that she missed the birth. She was pleased that things went well, but bummed to have not been here. Apparently there was some miscommunication when she talked to Read, and she didn't understand that I had already been up for a while before he called, so she didn't leave as quickly as she would have otherwise. She told us that Lesley had been having trouble arranging a babysitter for Austin, so she hadn't even left yet. Delilah sent her a message to let her know that the baby was already here, and so Lesley opted to just wait and come see us in a few days.

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+ The children went down to have breakfast, which was chocolate gravy and biscuits in honor of David's birthday. Once they were gone, Christy checked my perineum, and I had no tears – hooray! I finally birthed the placenta at 6:50 a.m. As she and Angela checked it over, they saw that there was a true knot in the umbilical cord. Christy also let me know that the anti-E titer we had drawn at 38 weeks had gone up from all our previous results; it was 1:4 at the beginning of the pregnancy, and had stayed at 1:1 or 1:2 throughout the remainder of the time, but this one had been 1:8. Our consulting OB, Dr. Cummings, had told us we didn't need to worry unless it approached 1:32, so it wasn't a problem. But I was still glad that she decided to come sooner rather than later.

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+ I drank some orange Recharge while Delilah rubbed my feet. Then the kids came back in, and Joshua did the official cutting of the umbilical cord. Christy started the newborn exam around 7:15 a.m. and our sweet girl checked out fine. Before we weighed her, everyone was trying to guess how much she would be. My mom and Christy both guessed just under 8 lbs. We all agreed that she looked a lot smaller than any of our other children, who were 9 lbs 7 oz (Geren), 8 lbs 12 oz (Joshua), 8 lbs 12 oz (David), and 8 lbs 9 oz (Sarah). Read did the honors, and she turned out to be only 7 lbs 2 oz! She seemed so tiny in comparison. Christy measured her next; she was 20 inches long and had a 13 inch head.

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+ About this time we realized that David was starting to look a little deflated. After all, it was his birthday too! We had set out his present and decorated the kitchen the night before, but nobody had really been down there to celebrate with him. So, we decided to have him bring his present upstairs and open it with all of us. He got a Chipmunk rifle, which he was very excited about. Each of the others boys had gotten one when they turned five as well, and they get use them for target practice when we go to visit their cousins. He looked so cute and proud standing next to the bed with his safety goggles on, holding his rifle. He got a crocodile birthday card, and a big gummy crocodile, which were also a big hit.

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+ After our mini birthday celebration was over, around 7 :45 a.m., I got into an herbal bath with the baby. Read came into the bathroom to sit with us, and everyone gave us some time alone. We talked about the birth a little bit, and then started trying to decide on a name. We had pretty much settled on Catherine, after my father's mother, a few weeks earlier. We were having a hard time finding a middle name, though. My mother's mother's name was Mary Louise, and Read had previously suggested Mary Catherine, but I told him that sounded way too Catholic for me! However, a couple of factors made us really want to tie her name in somehow. First, April 1^stwas her birthday as well! And second, she had just passed away last October. We finally agreed that our new little girl should be Catherine Louise, in honor of both of my grandmothers.

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+ A little after 8 a.m. I got out of the tub and into some clean clothes. All the ladies had gotten my sheets changed and my room tidied up, so all I had to do was climb into bed and snuggle with my sweet baby. Mom helped Sarah pick out some clothes for Catherine, and then Read helped Sarah dress her. We all commented on how amazed we were that she had a head full of beautiful red hair! Elizabeth had first noticed it while taking pictures right after she was born. It was too dark in the room for any of us to notice, but looking back through the pictures she had taken with a flash, it stood right out. I wondered how red it would look after the bath, once she was cleaned up, but it was still definitely red. My mother's father had red hair, so I'm guessing it came through that line. Once she was all dressed and ready, we called everyone into the room and announced her name. I think my mom was particularly touched, as it was a bittersweet day for her.

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+ Next mom brought me a scrambled egg sandwich and some more Recharge, and I ate breakfast while Christy gave me my postpartum instructions. After chatting for a little while, she, Angela, and Elizabeth all left around 9 a.m. Delilah stayed and talked a little longer; she left shortly after 9:30. I called my friend Jill to tell her the good news. When she answered the phone, she jokingly said, “So, do you have another April Fool's Day baby?” I told her yes, actually we do! I gave her the highlights, and promised to send pictures and talk to her more later. Then we left the grandmothers in charge of all the older children, and Read, Catherine and I settled in for a well deserved nap in the comfort of our own bed.

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+ I thought that after having four children I pretty much knew what to expect, but this birth was definitely full of surprises. My other babies have been so consistently late, that I told everyone one of the few things that would throw me for a loop is if I ever had a baby come early – and she did. I never expected to have another baby on April 1^st– but she fooled me and came then anyway. (Oddly enough, Christy was born on April 1^stas well, so besides sharing her birthday with her brother and great-grandmother, Catherine also shares her birthday with our midwife!) I never expected that she would be so much smaller than my other children, and yet she was a good pound and a half smaller than my smallest previous baby. I didn't expect to have a baby with red hair, but she's got lovely red locks. And honestly, I didn't really expect to have another girl. Having Sarah, a girl after three boys, was such a pleasant surprise and answer to prayer; I guess I didn't expect to be blessed in that way again. So many things about her are unique and special. She is a priceless treasure and a joy, and I thank God every day for bringing her into our lives.

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"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end;

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they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."

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Lamentations 3:22-23

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+ <img src="show_image.php?name=IMG_2318.JPG" alt="Image" /> <img src="show_image.php?name=IMG_2321.JPG" alt="Image" /><br />

+ <a class="wiki" href="http://www.kings-realm.net/read/" rel="">Read</a> is crazy busy with politics this year. He has been very active in the Ron Paul presidential campagin, and got elected as a Republican party precinct chairperson. He'll be attending the state party convention in June, and hopefully things will slow down after that. He's still working in IT at i2 Technologies. In his spare time he still enjoys playing computer games and reading SciFi.<br />

- <a class="wiki" href="http://www.kings-realm.net/laura/" rel="">Laura</a> has been focusing most of her time on the children lately. She is enjoying being a stay-at-home, homeschooling mama! In her &quot;spare&quot; time she enjoys her work as a <a class="wiki external" target="_blank" href="http://www.lalecheleague.org" rel="external nofollow">La Leche League</a><img src="styles/strasa/img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" /> leader. Her childbirth business, <a class="wiki external" target="_blank" href="http://www.ajoyfulbirth.com" rel="external nofollow">A Joyful Birth</a><img src="styles/strasa/img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" />, is doing very well. She has done eight births already this year, including two repeat clients. She will start teaching childbirth classes out of a local massage office beginning in October, which would hopefully build up her client base in that area. Also, she still helps coordinate the <a class="wiki external" target="_blank" href="http://www.homebirthdallas.org" rel="external nofollow">Homebirth Association of North Dallas (HAND)</a><img src="styles/strasa/img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" />.<br />

+ <a class="wiki" href="http://www.kings-realm.net/laura/" rel="">Laura</a> has been focusing most of her time on the children lately. She is enjoying being a stay-at-home, homeschooling mama! She is really loving the Charlotte Mason method these days, and so we chose to use the <a class="wiki external" target="_blank" href="http://www.amblesideonline.org" rel="external nofollow">Ambleside Online</a><img src="styles/strasa/img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" /> curriculum this year. In her &quot;spare&quot; time she enjoys her work as a <a class="wiki external" target="_blank" href="http://www.lalecheleague.org" rel="external nofollow">La Leche League</a><img src="styles/strasa/img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" /> leader. Her childbirth business, <a class="wiki external" target="_blank" href="http://www.ajoyfulbirth.com" rel="external nofollow">A Joyful Birth</a><img src="styles/strasa/img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" />, is having a slow year, but that's probably a good thing considering how busy Read has been. Also, she still helps coordinate the <a class="wiki external" target="_blank" href="http://www.homebirthdallas.org" rel="external nofollow">Homebirth Association of North Dallas (HAND)</a><img src="styles/strasa/img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" />.<br />

- <a class="wiki" href="http://www.kings-realm.net/geren/" rel="">Geren</a> is 7 years old- how time flies! He's becoming quite the little man. He loves to read anything and everything; he is currently reading <a class="wiki external" target="_blank" href="http://www.kingdomseries.com/" rel="external nofollow">the Kingdom series</a><img src="styles/strasa/img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" /> by Chuck Black, <a class="wiki external" target="_blank" href="http://www.hankthecowdog.com/" rel="external nofollow">Hank the Cowdog</a><img src="styles/strasa/img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" /> by John Erickson, and the classic Hardy Boys series. Homeschooling is going well, and he is still enjoying his violin lessons. He is also working towards a green belt in karate.<br />

+ <a class="wiki" href="http://www.kings-realm.net/geren/" rel="">Geren</a> is 8.5 years old- how time flies! He's becoming quite the little man. He loves to read anything and everything and he has an amazing memory. Homeschooling is going well; he is currently in Ambleside Online year 3 and seems to be enjoying it. He is still taking violin lessons, though he far prefers performing to practicing! He also has continued to take karate and is currently a blue belt.<br />

- <a class="wiki" href="http://www.kings-realm.net/joshua/" rel="">Joshua</a> is 5 years old and is quite a character! He definitely has the family's &quot;persistence&quot;, which can be challenging, but is also very sweet and a great helper. He is learning to read, and is excited about that. He loves nature and enjoys hunting for bugs and such outside. Laura has had to learn all about raising caterpillars and tadpoles and bug collecting in the past couple of years. Joshua is also taking karate through the Lil Dragons program, and just got promoted to a green belt! He will be starting the level 2 class now, and is excited about learning jump kicks and such.<br />

+ <a class="wiki" href="http://www.kings-realm.net/joshua/" rel="">Joshua</a> is 6 years old and is quite a character! He definitely has the family's &quot;persistence&quot;, which can be challenging, but is also very sweet and a great helper. He officially started homeschool in May, and is working through Ambleside Online year 1. It's going well overall, though it's going to take some time for him to get the hang of narrartion. His reading has come along very well, and he is beginning to devour books like his older brother. Joshua is still taking karate through the Lil Dragons program, and is almost ready to test for his purple belt. He will also begin violin lessons in July.<br />

- <a class="wiki" href="http://www.kings-realm.net/david" rel="">David</a> is 3 now, and up to quite a bit of mischief. He thinks he is every bit as big as his brothers and gets frustrated if he can't do everything that they do. He loves to play outside, and will spend hours in the sandbox or at the water table in the back yard, especially when Joshua goes with him. But his primary obsession is crocodiles, and he prays every night at dinner that they will get a bedtime snack!<br />

+ <a class="wiki" href="http://www.kings-realm.net/david" rel="">David</a> is 4 now, and up to quite a bit of mischief. He thinks he is every bit as big as his brothers and gets frustrated if he can't do everything that they do. He loves to play outside, and will spend hours in the sandbox or at the water table in the back yard, especially when Joshua goes with him. He is having a bit of trouble adjusting to having Joshua in school, and misses his morning playmate. But he's learning to play more with Sarah, and the two of them are awfully cute together.<br />

- <a class="wiki" href="http://www.kings-realm.net/UserPagesarah" rel="">Sarah</a> is one year old! She is walking well now and into everything. She has a beautiful smile, and charms everyone around her. She is a princess indeed. News flash: Sarah recently was a model for the <a class="wiki external" target="_blank" href="http://www.secure2me.com" rel="external nofollow">Secure2Me blanket</a><img src="styles/strasa/img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" />; her picture was up on their website but is down at the moment. We're told that she will show up in the flash section of the homepage again soon. She was also on television for a spot on the product; you can watch it <a class="wiki external" target="_blank" href="http://video.nbc5i.com/player/?id=0#videoid=151718" rel="external nofollow">here</a><img src="styles/strasa/img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" />.<br />

+ <a class="wiki" href="http://www.kings-realm.net/UserPagesarah" rel="">Sarah</a> is 1.5 years old. She is cute as a button, but she too gets into a lot of mischief lately. She has an obsession with lotion (aka &quot;lo-lo&quot;), which extends to liquid soap as well, so we have to watch her or she'll make a mess! She still loves shoes, and now that her hair is longer she's enjoying having it fixed with bows and such. And she loves for Daddy to brush her hair; in fact, he often puts her to sleep that way.<br />

+ And for you birth-junkies out there, here's my birth story.

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Sarah Elizabeth King

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+ We first found out I was pregnant just before Christmas of 2005. We were pleasantly surprised, as up to that point I hadn't had a luteal phase long enough to support a pregnancy. It was a lot of fun to share the news with family and friends at this special time of year. My mom in particular gave us a great opportunity to tell in a unique way; as she called to tell us she and Dad were on the way up here for Christmas, she said that if we had any more children, she was either going to have to start shipping the presents to us or buy an SUV. So Read had the clever idea of buying her a Matchbox SUV and wrapping it up as a present. She got it right away, and everyone was excited to hear that there would be another little King around.

+

+ From the beginning there were some things about this pregnancy that were different. Usually during the first trimester nothing sounds good except junk food, but this time I had an aversion to sweets, which was really odd. I had a hard time emotionally in the first trimester as well; I kept fearing that I was going to miscarry, and couldn't really let myself get excited about being pregnant until we finally heard the heartbeat at 11 weeks. Later on I was plagued by repeated UTIs in the second trimester and a couple of nasty stomach viruses in my third. Still, overall I felt well and was thankful for the little life growing inside of me.

+

+ Since we already had three boys, we figured the odds were good that this baby would be a boy as well. We warned everyone that asked if we knew what the gender of the baby was that they should assume it was a boy until proven otherwise. It became a subject I was rather defensive about; I got very tired of hearing “Are you hoping for a girl this time?” or similar comments. Most people assumed that the reason we were continuing to have more children was because we were trying for a girl, and I wanted them to understand that we just wanted more children, regardless of the gender, and that if we had a houseful of boys that was fine by us. Still, our oldest son Geren had been hoping for a sister for about 4 years, and he prayed regularly that God would give him one. He knew that this baby could very well be another brother and he would love him if he was, but his heart's desire was for a sister.

+

+ For a large portion of the pregnancy I never let my mind entertain the idea that the baby could be a girl, and didn't acknowledge even to myself how much I would like to have one. Then one morning while sitting at church, there was a sweet little baby girl a couple of rows up who spent a long time staring at me. I found myself asking “Lord, why don't I have a girl?” Suddenly James 4:2 came into my mind: “You do not have because you do not ask.” It was at that point that I realized that in my haste to defend my love for my boys I had never allowed myself to admit that I would like to have a girl as well. So, I kept it quiet, but I began to pray that God would give me a daughter, while at the same time telling Him that I would joyfully accept whatever child He saw fit to give me.

+

+ As my due date grew closer, I began to have some anxiety about the birth as well. My last birth, while quick, had been really difficult for me, and I was a little afraid of a repeat experience. So I decided to pray for some specific things in regards to the birth as well. I prayed that I would have a little longer early labor phase this time, so I wasn't hit so hard and fast; that everyone that I wanted to be here would be able to make it; that I would be able to cope well with the contractions; and that I would have a pushing stage of less than 20 minutes. That last one was a big one for me, as the least I've ever pushed is 40 minutes, and I've always hated it. Again, I asked all these things in an effort to pour out my heart before the Lord and to share my desires with Him, but was also willing to accept whatever birth experience I had.

+

+ Wednesday, August 30th was my official due date as calculated by ovulation. In the past I have tended to go about a week past my due date, but this was the first time I had been charting when I got pregnant. If I had calculated my due date by LMP instead, I would have been due three days earlier. So Read and I were both guessing that the baby would come sometime over Labor Day weekend, September 1st-4th. On the morning of the 30th I went to the bathroom and had a small amount of pink tinged mucus. I emailed Read, my mom, and my doulas, Lesley and Delilah, to let them know. I told them all not to make too much of it, but that things seemed to be moving in the right direction. Later that night I had what I would definitely call bloody show, but still didn't have anything other than Braxton-Hicks contractions.

+

+ Thursday morning I woke up around 5:30 in the morning with a contraction that was more like what I have experienced in labor. I continued to have contractions every 15-20 minutes for about an hour and a half. I expected them to go away when I got up around 7 am, and they did. The boys and I got ready and headed out to homeschool park day around 9 am and played until nearly 11. Afterwards we came home and ate lunch, and I tried to take a nap, but the phone kept ringing, so I finally gave up and went back to working on things around the house. I emailed Lesley and Delilah periodically throughout the day to let them know how things were going, and my mom called to check in as well. My mother-in-law, Flo, arrived around 4:30 in the afternoon; she had come up from The Woodlands to stay until after the baby was born and help keep up with the boys a bit. Once she got here I was finally able to lie down and get a nap. I had some contractions off and on throughout the afternoon and evening, as well as some intermittent bloody show. I talked to my mom about 9:30 that night and let her know that while it still looked like things were getting ready, there was no real sign of progression at this point. She opted to go on to bed early and get some sleep, hoping I would wake her in the night.

+

+ The contractions continued throughout most of the night, which made it hard to get much sleep. Read elected to work from home on Friday so that he would be close by if I needed him. My mom checked in with me around 8:30 that morning and decided that she and my dad were going to go ahead and leave around 10 am to head up here from Huntsville as well. As I got up the contractions took a break for a couple of hours, but then started back late morning. I tried taking a walk to see if that would help things along, but it didn't seem to make any difference, and it was too hot to walk for long. The contractions continued to be about 15-45 minutes apart on average; sometimes a bit closer, sometimes a bit longer. Though they weren't all that frequent, by this point when they did come they were fairly intense and uncomfortable. My parents arrived around 1:30 in the afternoon, and I think my mom was surprised to see that things really hadn't changed. She was anxious to get this show on the road, and I was too. I spent most of the day by myself in my room; I just wasn't feeling very social and needed to be alone. I tried to rest some, but wasn't very successful. By Friday evening I was feeling very tired and frustrated. I wanted things to either pick up and go until full blown labor, or to stop long enough for me to get some real sleep. I felt like I was hanging out in some sort of labor limbo land – not really in labor, but not really NOT in labor. I emailed Lesley and Delilah with another update and vented for a while about how discouraged I was feeling, and they promised to pray for me and offered to come sit with me any time I needed them to. Read was a gem, and went out and got me a chicken ranch sandwich from Chili's when nothing else sounded good to me. He kept assuring me that our baby was going to come soon, and that I would do great.

+

+ After the boys were all in bed my mom and I headed out for another walk. It was much cooler now, so it was tolerable to walk for a longer period of time. Still, there was no real change in the contractions. When we got back Lesley called to encourage me, and let me know again that she was happy to come sit up with me during the night if I needed her, even if I didn't think I was really in labor. I thanked her, and told her that if nothing had happened by morning that I would probably ask her to come over for a while on Saturday. Afterwards I decided to get in the birth tub for a little while to see if I could relax there and at least rest. Even that didn't seem to help though, and I got out feeling just as annoyed as when I got in.

+

+ I told Read I was going to bed a little before 11 pm, and hoped again for rest to come. This time however, the contractions really started to pick up. By 11:15 I went and got Read out of his office and told him I needed him as I was having a hard time coping by myself any longer. After finding out how regularly the contractions were coming and seeing how I was acting, he decided to go ahead and call our midwife, Molly. (Since I have a history of being in denial about when I'm in labor, we had all previously agreed that he got to decide when it was time to call.) They talked for a bit about how things were going, and the plan was for him to call her back in about 30 minutes to report on our progress. Within about 20 minutes he decided to go ahead and call her again, as well as Lesley and Delilah, as he really felt like things were moving right along at this point. Labor had gone quickly for me last time, and everyone was a good 30 minutes to an hour away. Read also woke up my mom and she came in to help me as well.

+

+ From this point forward I have no real recollection of times. My labor was very different from anything I had had previously. Physically and mentally I felt done before I ever really got started. I have always felt my contractions more in my back, and counterpressure and hip squeezes help a lot with that. This time around most of the pain was low and in front, and I couldn't find anything that seemed to help. It was like my uterus was already sore from all the contractions prior to active labor, and it just hurt so much with each additional contraction. They seemed to spread out from my belly around to my back and also down my inner thighs. Read suggested that I get back in the birth tub and see if that helped, so I did. The water was a bit warm, so he turned on the bubbles to cool it down. I normally don't care for that, but at the moment it was actually helpful. There was something hypnotic about the rhythm of being bounced around by them and the noise, so we left them on.

+

+ Molly arrived and listened to the baby's heartbeat and took my blood pressure. I lamented that the water didn't seem to be nearly as helpful this time as it had in the past, and whined to Read that I really didn't think that I could do this again. I told him that an epidural was sounding good at this point, and he told me if I transferred for that he was taking me to Lewisville Medical Center! (For those of you not from around here, it doesn't have a great reputation for being very natural birth friendly.) I got out of the tub to go to the bathroom, and then decided to labor sitting backwards on the toilet for a little while. Sometime around this point Lesley and Delilah got here, and various people took turns staying with me and rubbing my back. When that stopped working for me Read asked if I wanted to get back in the tub, but it just didn't sound appealing, so instead I got into bed. Read sat up near my head and talked to me, and Delilah and Lesley took turns rubbing my feet. It was obvious that I was reaching transition – I was shaking uncontrollably and the contractions were coming hard and fast.

+

+ A little while later Molly asked if I was feeling pushy, since I was starting to sound that way. I told her maybe a little, and she asked if I wanted her to check me. I said fine, and she found me to be 7 stretchy to 8, with the baby pretty low. It wasn't very much longer though until I was moaning a lot more loudly and feeling a stronger urge to push. Someone asked me if I wanted to get back into the tub to push, and I did. I really wasn't looking forward to pushing at all, as that has always been the toughest part of labor for me. Delilah reminded me that this birth was not my past births, and that she had faith that things would go great. Someone went to wake up Joshua and David so that they would be here for the birth.

+

+ It took me a contraction or two after getting in to get settled on my knees leaning over the edge of the tub. Read got in with me and did the hip squeeze, while Delilah kneeled by my head and quoted some of the scriptures I had said that I liked. The first time I tried to push it just felt all wrong, and I kind of freaked out for a minute. Molly told me that if it hurt to push that my cervix might not be completely out of the way yet, and to back off. I told her that it didn't feel right to push, but it didn't feel right NOT to push either. By the next contraction pushing did feel like the right thing to do though, so I went at it full force. After that first push people were already saying that they could see the head, and all I could think was that they were crazy! But Molly told me to reach down and touch the head, and I realized they were right. She suggested I keep my hand on the baby's head while I pushed, that it would help me with my pushing and help prevent tearing. It did, and I was amazed to feel how quickly the baby was moving down. I've never been able to feel that before, and it was really cool. Within just a couple of pushes the head was crowning, and it was tough to slow down and give myself time to stretch a bit. But I did, and then was able to birth the head while holding it in my hand the whole time – very neat. At 3:33 am on Saturday, September 2nd, I pushed the rest of the body out and Read was able to catch the baby all by himself. He had never really expressed an interest in doing that, but I think he was glad to have done it and found it a pretty special experience. The umbilical cord was loosely around the baby's neck, and Molly had tried to help him remove it while just the head was out, but apparently I pushed too quickly for them to manage that. So they had to somersault the baby out of the cord afterwards instead.

+

+ Geren had the job of announcing the baby's gender, so someone asked him if it was a boy or a girl. I still had my back to the baby and couldn't see, but I heard him say it was a boy. (In his defense, he didn't have the best viewpoint, and I think the umbilical cord confused him. Plus I don't think he had ever seen a baby girl before.) Someone said no, that it was a girl, and I couldn't really believe them. When I turned around and sat down and Read handed her to me, I had to check for myself! I was totally in shock, both at how quickly pushing had gone, and that we really had a girl. Everyone was excited, and Geren was just beside himself. Flo had brought a little soft baby doll, just in case, and she gave it to Joshua for the baby. He kept trying to give it to her while we were still in the water. She started sucking on her fist almost immediately, which explains what she was doing with her hand up by her face for the past month. Then she started trying to nurse through my sports bra, so I decided to go ahead and get out of the tub and get settled in bed so we could do so more easily. When I stood up, Molly asked if it felt like the placenta was ready to come yet; I wasn't sure so she told me to give a little push and see. It came out easily, and she was officially on her own.

+

+ I handed her to my mom to hold while I got out of the tub, dried off, and settled into bed. We let Geren announce her name to everyone: Sarah Elizabeth King. Joshua was going to cut the cord this time, and he tried, but I think he was afraid he was going to hurt her. So Geren took over instead. Then we spent some time nursing, and she was a pro right from the start. After she was done Molly got out the scale so that Read could weigh her. Molly had guessed that Sarah was about a 7 pound baby before she was born, so she was surprised to find out that she was actually 8 pounds 9 ounces – pretty close to the size of our boys when they were born. Molly then took her other measurements: 21 inches long, 13 1/8 inch head (a full inch plus smaller than any of the boys have been), 14.5 inch chest. She finished up the newborn exam and proclaimed her in perfect health.

+

+ By this time I was ready to get cleaned up, so Kara, Molly's apprentice, got my herb bath ready. David woke up about this time and was obviously confused about why all these people were here in his house in the middle of the night. He sat with Read for a while, trying to wake up and take it all in, before he finally went over to check out his new baby sister. I went to go soak in the tub and chatted some with the girls about the birth. Meanwhile, my mom and the boys helped get Sarah dressed. We did have one little pink sleeper that a friend had brought to David's birth; after he was born she had told me to hang on to it, that I might need it one day. Flo has also given all of her grandchildren a Baby Morgan waffle knit blanket, and she had sent up the remaining three colors she had left, so they were able to wrap her in a pink blanket as well. Later I got out and got dressed, and had my post-birth meal: chocolate gravy and biscuits, yum. Geren brought me my crown that he and his brothers had given me last Christmas, as he thought I needed to be wearing it.

+

+ As things settled down, Molly went over my postpartum instructions, and then checked me for any tears. Everything was great – not even a skid mark really. Everyone finished cleaning up and packing up, and Read, Sarah, and I snuggled into bed around 6:30 am. The boys were wide awake, and stayed up with their grandparents, who I think at least got to take turns dozing a little bit.

+

+ I am still somewhat in a state of disbelief. I find myself double checking that we really do have a girl every time I change her diaper. Her birth was just such an amazing answer to prayer on so many levels, and I am in awe that He saw fit to grant the desires of our hearts so fully. Geren has been going around telling everyone that he prayed for God to give him a sister, and God said yes! Not only were we blessed with a daughter, but many of my other birth related prayers were answered as well. Instead of being caught off guard, we had plenty of warning that labor was starting up this time around. (Though I would prefer something between no warning and two days of prelabor – perhaps I'll be more specific next time!) Everyone that we wanted to be here for the birth was able to be here. While I don't know that I would say I coped well with the contractions – they were really tough for me this time around – God did give me the strength to get through them, and those who were here with me were a real blessing to me in labor. They all claim that I looked very relaxed and composed, even if I didn't feel that way inside. But the most amazing answer to prayer, second to the fact that she was a girl, was how easy the pushing stage was for me this time. I only had to push for 11 minutes, and while I still wouldn't say that it felt great, it was an awesome experience this time around, and definitely the best part of my labor. Considering how much I have always hated pushing, that is nothing short of miraculous.

+

+ This pregnancy and birth has certainly been a time of spiritual growth for me. It wasn't the easiest path to walk, but the view from the top is worth it. I am so thankful that I was given the opportunity to become a mother again, and for the blessing that Sarah is in our lives.

+

+

+ “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

+ <div class="simplebox">&quot;And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a curse.&quot;<br /><br />Malachi 4:6</div><br />

+ Homebuilders

+ a. Ad-Aware <a target="_blank" class="wiki external" href="http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/">http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/<img src="styles/strasa/img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" /></a><br /><br />b. Spybot Search &amp; Destroy <a target="_blank" class="wiki external" href="http://www.safer-networking.org/en/home/">http://www.safer-networking.org/en/home/<img src="styles/strasa/img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" /></a><br /><br />c. Microsoft's Spyware Removal Tool <a target="_blank" class="wiki external" href="http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx">http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx<img src="styles/strasa/img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" /></a><br />

- 7. If you want to see what it would be like to run an operating system besides Windows, you can try running Linux on your computer without even getting rid of the Windows by using a &quot;Live CD&quot; which you boot your computer off of and runs Linux off the CD instead of your harddrive. This is a no risk way of seeing what else is out there. The one I would recommend for beginners is Ubuntu. You can download a CD image for free at <a target="_blank" class="wiki external" href="http://www.ubuntu.com/">http://www.ubuntu.com/<img src="styles/strasa/img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" /></a><br />

+ <br /><br />If you want to see what it would be like to run an operating system besides Windows, you can try running Linux on your computer without even getting rid of the Windows by using a &quot;Live CD&quot; which you boot your computer off of and runs Linux off the CD instead of your harddrive. This is a no risk way of seeing what else is out there. The one I would recommend for beginners is Ubuntu. You can download a CD image for free at <a target="_blank" class="wiki external" href="http://www.ubuntu.com/">http://www.ubuntu.com/<img src="styles/strasa/img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" /></a><br />