Jethro’s Birth Story

Jethro Allen was born as planned at home on May 15, 2012 at 5:16am. This is the story of his birth, for those interested : ).

here I am the day I went into labor (40wks 4days)

On Monday, May 14th, Jethro still hadn’t arrived. I was hoping he would come before my inlaw’s arrived late the night of the 15th. I was 40 weeks & 4 days pregnant on the 14th. I had been having contractions on and off for a couple of weeks at that point, but obviously they were not labor. I was feeling really great and happy on the 14th all day. It was sunny and warm like summer. We did some grocery shopping as a family to prepare for Jonathan’s parents, then we went home and played in the back yard. I picked up some bubbles for the girls, so we had some fun with those. Before dinner we decided to walk to the park and let the girls play. I ran into a friend and we chatted a bit and I talked about being ready for the baby to come. We went home after that and hand dinner and got the girls ready for bed and did some reading from the Bible. It was about 7pm at that point and I was having some contractions, but they were not consistent. We put the girls to bed and I sat on the couch wondering if the contractions were leading into labor, but not real confident they were since we had been teased so much (and all my girls arrived 7-8 days past due date). While sitting on the couch and chatting with a friend via text and facebook, my contractions did seem to be getting worse, but I was still unsure. Jonathan and I walked around our back yard together for a while, then I came in to rest again. Jonathan was sure I was in the beginning of labor. I still felt unsure. When it was getting close to 10pm we decided to call my friend to see what she thought about coming to get the girls for the night. I wasn’t sure if I was really in labor, but thought I could be, so she said she would come get them. The girls were still awake and when we told them they were going to Mrs. K’s house, they were excited. My friend came and prayed with us and took the girls off to her place. That must have been some stress off of me, because after that the contractions became even more regular and intense.

At this point, I called my doula (and friend) because I wasn’t sure when I needed her to come and when I should call the midwives. She told me she would come when I was ready for more help and we could decided about the midwives after that. I decided to just continue laboring with just Jonathan for a while and that was nice. Around midnight my contractions were at the point that I wanted some more help/support, so I asked my doula to come over. She was a great support and help. She was so encouraging and really kept me focused. I’m so thankful she was there and a part of Jethro’s birth story. I continued to labor by using the shower, walking around, and resting on the couch. I have to say, it was super nice to be in my own home! I think it was close to 3am (May 15) that I started to feel a ton of pressure and the need to maybe push (I was surprised and in denial that I was ready to push because this labor was progressing much faster than with my girls). I let my doula know and she checked me. I was at about 9cm and so she called the midwives. My bag of water hadn’t broken yet. My doula told me to push if it felt better to push, or whatever I needed to do. She got things ready for the possibility of delivering the baby herself since the midwives were 2 hours away. Pushing through my contractions felt best, so that is what I did. I tried lots of different positions, which I was glad about…I really didn’t want to just stay in bed or deliver in bed. My bag of water was thick and stubborn and would not break. I knew if it would just break, my son would come out. I pushed and pushed and pushed and I was in so much pain and so tired…I just wanted a break. My doula suggested getting in the shower, but when I got into the bathroom all I wanted to do was sit on the toilet…so I did. That gave me the break between contractions that I needed to rest, and I was able to push much better. It felt like forever, but finally the midwives arrived (yes, that means I was pushing and trying to get that bag of water to break for TWO hours!). I wanted them to break my bag of water. I moved back into my bedroom and onto a birthing chair (which was sort of like a toilet with an opening in the front to catch the baby). The midwives discussed whose hook to use to break my water, and then one when to get their’s. At that point I needed to push again…I gave a good push and my bag of water FINALLY broke on it’s own (the first time for that to ever happen)! I was so happy and hoped it wouldn’t take long for the baby to come out. It didn’t…in the next push Jethro’s head was out, and immediately after he was here! I was never so happy and relieved. It was so beautiful and worth every minute of that two hours of torture pushing trying to get that water to break. He was absolutely perfect. I guess when his head came out, his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck twice and he was a little blue. While the midwife was getting the cord from around his neck, I pushed the rest of him out and the midwife didn’t have a chance to catch him, so he fell into the basin under the birthing chair. The Lord was surely watching over Jethro, because he was perfect…nothing wrong with him at all.

Midwife Gail

Midwife Karen

Little blondie

Birthing at home was so amazing. My best and favorite birth experience by far! I’m so thankful for this experience. I still feel a little high from it all. I had my baby in my arms right away…I got to nurse him right away in the comfort of my own room and bed. The midwives didn’t take him from me until I was ready for them to check all of his stats. And I didn’t have to be in bed to deliver. It was so beautiful…

Jethro Allen weighed in at 8lbs 7oz and was 20.5inches long. I’m thankful to my husband, my doula, and my midwives for all of their support and encouragement and for being a part of this miracle we call Jethro.

And some pictures of the girls meeting Jethro for the first time:

A little update

Today I am 40 weeks 1 day pregnant. My midwife came today and Jethro is doing great and seems pretty happy in my womb still. I asked to be checked just to see if my body had made any progress yet. I am 1cm dilated and 50% effaced. I’ve had some small contractions on and off since my appointment…probably due to being checked.

Jonathan’s parents arrive on Tuesday night. We’ve been hoping Jethro will come before then…but also know he will come at just the right time.

Here’s a pic of me from yesterday…40 weeks:

39 Weeks

Today I am 39 weeks pregnant. I’m feeling good, just the normal tired. On Tuesday afternoon/evening I was feeling a lot of pressure that turned into contractions. They were 2 minutes apart for almost an hour, and then they stopped completely. I really thought it was time because with my girls when contractions came, it meant labor. Wednesday morning I woke up sick (throwing up, etc) and was sick all day. Today I am feeling normal again. Very weird. It’s just a waiting game now. Tomorrow is Jonathan’s birthday, so it would be fun if Jethro came tomorrow…but who knows?!

This is me today:

Liberty is officially 6 and very proud of it.

She requested Purple (Red) Velvet pancakes for her birthday dinner.

And a couple extra pics for fun:

Nadia requested I take this one

Leila hanging out in a box

Randoms

Liberty is turning 6 tomorrow. She is thrilled about her birthday. It’s hard to believe 6 years ago today I was in labor with my very first baby. She has requested Red Velvet Pancakes for her birthday dinner. She wants a strawberry cake for her little party on Saturday the 5th. She is so smart and beautiful and stubborn and silly and frustrating and loveable and sweet and talkative and so much more. She’s reading. And writing. She loves Barbie and Moxie Girlz and baby dolls and purple and computer games and playing with her sisters and friends and drawing, etc. She is very social. She claims everyone is her friend wherever we go. She has so much energy and determination. We just love our first baby girl ever so much!!

Libbs snuggling with Nadia

So cool Libbs and her sisters

I am now about 38 1/2 weeks pregnant. I’m feeling really good besides being incredibly tired (all.the.time.). Wondering when this precious boy will decide to join us. Getting nervous about the laboring part of it all (remembering labor with the girls). So excited to meet this little man and study every little thing about him. Due date is May 10th. Liberty came 8 days past due date, Leila 7 days past due date, and Nadia 8 days past due date. Wonder if this little guy will do the same, or be different from his sisters. Some sweet friends held a beautiful baby shower last week…was so blessed! Still planning a home birth…looking forward to being in the comfort of my own home…everything is all ready.

38wks

Did you know we are moving some time in the near future? Well, we are. Jonathan got a good job in a town about 3 hours northeast-ish of here. We have our house up for sale now and are looking for rentals in the other town (prayer for that, please, as it’s really hard to find rentals there). The move will happen when the house sells and we have a place to live in the new town. I’m so happy for Jonathan and this great opportunity, but I have to admit I’m sad to leave the friends/connections we’ve made here. This may not be the greatest town, but it sure has some great people. I’ve checked, and the new town has a MOPs group, so I’m hoping to hook up with that to meet new people. I’ve been sifting through all of our stuff getting rid of what we don’t need in preparation (I do this with every move). I love getting rid of stuff. I just gave 4 big bags of girl clothes to a friend here. I thought it would be harder to get rid of those girl clothes, but surprisingly it wasn’t.

Guess that’s all for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Lower?

I took a new pic of my baby belly today and I don’t know if it’s just me, but it’s looking lower already…yikes. And I keep having people around me telling me I’ve dropped. Here are the pics I’ve taken so far in the pregnancy, then you can tell me what you think .

9 weeks

12 weeks

16 weeks

21 weeks

23 weeks

25 weeks

26 weeks

28 weeks

30 weeks

34 weeks (this is from today)

My First Fair Isle Project

I knit my first Fair Isle project. I’ve been wanting to try fair isle knitting for a while now, but the patterns look so intimidating. Then I found a cute baby sweater pattern for a girl that I just had to knit for our new niece due in April. I decided it was time to quit fearing the patterns and just try it out. And it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. However, there were plenty of mistakes in the finished sweater…but I still think it turned out cute…and my sister-in-law is happy with it as well. This was also my first cardigan sweater.

The front while blockingUp close of the TulipsI added a little card with extra buttons and yarn, and a note about washing care.

A Good Day

Today was a good day. The sun was shining, the skies were blue, the air was warm, and the wind was minimal (which is great for Wyoming! I opened the back door while the girls played outside and let some fresh air flow into the house. The girls keep asking if it’s spring now, but I tell them no because I’m sure this is just a teaser and we’ll get another snow storm yet, ha!

This morning I cleaned out the girls’ room (again…I tend to do this every month or 2). I got rid of more toys, and then of course got rid of any papers and random things they thought they should keep but were really garbage. And I reorganized their closet. I also tamed our laundry room, haha! In planning this home birth they would like you to keep your washer and dryer empty when you go into labor so things can be soaked/washed, etc. I keep looking in my laundry room thinking that will NEVER happen with 3 little ones around…but I at least keep up better with the laundry so it doesn’t look like hurricane of dirty laundry in there. Today I made that happen…now to keep it up for easier access and labor/delivery time.

The girls ate lunch out on the deck today…they were so happy out there basking in the sun.

Leila & Nadia

Liberty posing

Basking in the warmth of the sun! (Nadia & Leila)

After lunch, outside time and quiet hour, we decided to head to the park. I sent a text to a couple of friends and they met us there. We spent over 2 hours there and it was a lot of fun. I have to admit, my back is super sore from all the playing I did with the kids (like bringing tears sore), but it was totally worth it. The kids all had fun and I enjoyed visiting with my friends, too. I didn’t bring my camera, so no pics. Afterward the girls and I stopped at Subway for dinner and ate there (Liberty’s request)…which turned out to be nice b/c it was less mess for me to clean and no dishes (sorry wonderful Subway employees!). We came home and did baths, stories and bed. They were all so worn out. Perfect. Now I’m getting ready to take some Tylenol and knit before I go to sleep.

Here are a couple other pictures just for fun. The first is Nadia posing for Liberty to take a picture. In the other 2 pics the girls are playing with some knitting needles and yarn “knitting.” They were watching me knit and wanting to learn how to as well…so I just gave them some yarn and needles to play with…I think I will try to teach Liberty some time in the near future.

Leila & Liberty

Nadia

That’s about it. Just wanted to share about our good day…I think getting lots accomplished, having lots of outside time, and the kids not needing much discipline today made it great! Thank you LORD for the beautiful day!

A Taggy and a 30 Week Belly

Taggies are one of my favorite baby gifts to make…so of course I planned to make one for Jethro. I thought it would be perfect if I did one side Philadelphia Eagles fleece (hubby’s fave team), and the other with Detroit Lions fleece (my fave team)…hubby agreed. Here’s how it came out:

What do you think? I think Jethro will love it . I like to joke with Jonathan that Jethro will get older and pick a completely different team, ha!

And here I am at 30 weeks (I’m almost 31 now).

Not much time left now. I’m feeling anxious to get everything prepared. I think I’ve started a little bit of nesting already. I am really feeling the need to get everything together for the labor and delivery (remember, we’re planning a home birth). I’ve been gathering what I need to be prepared. Just tonight I had the overwhelming urge to (spot) scrub some walls after dinner. So I cleaned up the dinner mess, switched over the laundry, and scrubbed walls. I was wanting to do them all, but made myself stop when I knew my energy was waning.
Jethro is quite the mover. He especially likes to move around a lot at night, little stinker.

That’s about all for now…