Stop the rumors! Here is what really happened ...

First things first - Tabby couldn't wait for Solomon to wear his "Lilly colored" outfit:

With all three of my N.C. babies I have gone to the Women's Birth & Wellness Center for care.  (It is the only free standing birth center in the state.  I am so grateful for the care and support of the midwives that I have received there.)  A nurse from the center came to our house today to check up on Solomon and I.  Thankfully our exams went well.  Solomon has dropped to 6 lbs. 13 oz., but that is of course not unusual right after birth.  He's eating very often now, though usually falls asleep a few minutes into it.

The rumors are flying about what actually happened during my labor so I thought I better address that!  First up - NO - I was not in hard labor for 36 hours straight!  (Whew!)  As many of you know, my last two labors/delivery were very fast.  3 hours total with Hunter and 1 hr. 40 min. total with Lilly.  (That is from the 1st contraction until I have the baby in my arms!)  So with this baby, my main concern was getting to the birthing center on time.  Well it turned out, we got there WAY on time.

I woke up to my water breaking about 1:15 a.m. on Friday the 14th.  Twenty minutes later I had my first contraction.  The contractions began, between 5-7 minutes apart.  I called the midwife and she agreed we needed to be on our way.  So off we went.  The contractions were "manageable" which I happily credited to drinking lots of red raspberry tea.  I thought it was neat that I was going to actually have a baby on his official due date.

But by 6:00 a.m., the contractions had stopped.  I was so surprised!  Since my water had broken, the midwife wanted me to just stay at the birthing center.  (The baby and I were at risk of infection, in the 10% of women who's water breaks first - birth is then within 24 hrs., and we had close to an hour's drive.  So yes, we would stay.)  A couple hours later I started taking an herbal remedy to try and get the contractions started again.  It did, but they were only a measly 4 contractions an hour.

I did exercises and bouncing on the birthing ball.  We went for a long power walk.  Lots more doses of the remedy.  Two different midwives asked me gently if I was holding back because any emotions due to Lilly.  (I wasn't.  But I do find it fascinating that the mind can be so strong it can stop/hold back labor.)  Finally we were sent to go out to dinner and another walk!  Contractions were still only a few an hour.

The only other "excitement" was that I had fevers shoot up twice.  I drank a ton of water, and the second time was also hooked to an IV.  The midwife said it could be a sign of dehydration - or infection. And if they couldn't get it under 100 degrees quickly, then they would take me to the hospital.  Thankfully, we got it back down quickly. 

During the night Friday, contractions started a little more.  Then by about 6:00 or so on Saturday, they were much more frequent.  I'm a little fuzzy on times, but by 8:00 they were strong and frequent (5 min. apart).  After an hour or so of pushing, Solomon was FINALLY born.  (That was certainly the most horrible, excruciating pain I have ever felt.  Thanks a lot Eve!)  They say labor is like taking a 50 mile hike.  I never thought that before until this time.  But when all was over, I couldn't remember ever being so exhausted and weak in my life.

Shortly after that, M., the midwife that helped delivery Lilly called me, just so happy.  She said she knew it was the 15th (Lilly had died exactly 9 months earlier) and didn't want me to feel bad about that.  She pointed out that it was a beautiful sunny morning and that she knew Lilly was happy and God was good, and she cried.  It made me smile and cry.

We left the birthing center 5 hours later.  What an exciting homecoming we had!  And a little later in the day, as I gazed at my Lilly and Jesus picture, I just saw Lilly's smile in a whole new way.  Here's the picture again (I always love to share it!):

It looked like Lilly and Jesus were making special plans!  Like the most amazing plan of sending a surprise rainbow baby boy to us on her 9 month angel-versary.  And ... there is another surprise, concerning a "Lilly colored" farmhouse that began to fall into our laps shortly before Solomon's birth.  But that is a story for another post ....

Thank you angel girl! 

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.