Libby Marie

I am finally finding the quiet time I needed to sit down and record Libby's birth story - not only for any of you who may be interested, but also for me to keep as a record, as I am sure someday I won't remember all the specific details. So here it is!

This pregnancy started out completely different from my other two right from the get-go. I found out I was expecting when I was just about 4 weeks. I was feeling okay, just extremely tired. But then, around 6 weeks it hit me and hit me hard - "morning" sickness. I was so sick at times - nothing stayed down and I just felt sick all the time. Finally, around 8 weeks along and after losing 6 pounds, I went to the dr. and was prescribed some medication to help, which it did. I had to take that until I was 19 weeks. Then, the pregnancy was somewhat "normal" until the end of November.

We had gone down to New Hampshire for Thanksgiving at Andrew and Danielle's house. I was doing well until the next day when Matt, Danielle and I went shopping - for most of the day. Looking back, I realize I should have taken it a little slower and not be on my feet for so long, but hey, I did have fun at the time! But it was then that my discomfort started. That is when the baby officially "dropped." I was still only 32 weeks along, so still had a ways to go. Then, about two weeks later, the false labor started and continued right up until true labor began. I tell you, I have never struggled with being patient as much as I did those 6 weeks. I could not wait to have that baby! Sometimes the false labor seemed so real. Often, the contractions would actually wake me up at night, they were that noticable. Because of this, I did not know if I would have the baby early or not. But, as everyone always tells you, "the baby will come when it is ready."

As most of you probably know, I had Liam on his due date and went into labor on Leila's due date and had her at 4 a.m. on the day after her due date. So I seem to run pretty much on time. I should have realized this time would be the same. But I thought, "Surely I wouldn't be in labor with all THREE kids on their due dates!" HA!

My due date finally arrived and I had a dr. appt early that morning. I went in, they checked everything out and all seemed calm and uneventful. They did do a non-stress test to make sure the baby was still happy and all seemed well. I was having some contractions, but, as I said before, had been having them for 6 weeks. As I was there having the non-stress test, I was talking to the nurse and dr. on duty. I told them that this was all bringing back memories because the same thing happened with Leila. I went in on her due date with nothing happening, had a non-stress test and had them strip my membranes, then went home. Then, at around midnight I returned in active labor and had Leila 4 hours later. The dr. was amazed that I have my kids "on time" and told me that really only happens to about 4% of women, and rarely more than once. Hmm.... I always have been a little different than everyone else! :-)

Anyways, the test was done and Matt and I jokingly told the dr. that we would be back around midnight to have the baby. She said that was just fine with her (the drs. here are on call at the hospital for 24 hour shifts). Matt and I went home and went about our day. I was still having contractions but wasn't getting excited about it. But I did "feel" different, and I told Matt and my mom that my instinct was telling me that I was going to have that baby either that day or the next. So we just laid low and I tried to rest. If I had the energy, I would have gone out walking, but all I wanted to do was rest.

We decided to order pizza for supper, and with that ordered their hot wings with the hottest sauce they had (I figured I'd try the spicy food thing!). As we were enjoying our supper, I made the comment that I probably should not be eating that since it was just going to come back up later when I was in labor (which I was right - not that you wanted to know! :-) ). Then we settled down and were watching a show on t.v.

At 9:30 p.m., I felt my first real contraction. I waited for a few contractions, then told Matt and my mom that I thought it was starting. I began to time them and they were 6-7 mins apart and lasted for 45 seconds to a minute. They were becoming quite uncomfortable, so Matt began to gather some things to take to the hospital. I try to stay home as long as I can when I am in labor, because it is just so much more relaxed and comfortable, but I also did not want to wait too long because my labors are never very long and I knew this one would be even faster. (I failed to mention earlier that the baby was VERY low, which increased my concern of having the baby on the side of the highway if we waited too long!! It is about a 25 min drive to the hospital from our house.)

So, it was now almost 11 p.m. and I knew we would need to leave soon, since they were now about 5 mins apart and getting quite intense. I was just sitting in a chair, breathing through each contraction. My mom started Skype-ing (not sure how to spell that!) all my family to let them know so they could pray that all went well. Then, about 11:30 p.m. Matt and I headed out. As we were driving to the hospital, we talked about how weird this was - that it was almost EXACTLY the same as with Leila. Kinda strange!

I got to the hospital, checked in, and then went to labor and delivery and got all hooked up to the monitors. Contractions were coming a little closer together, but I was still able to just deal with the pain. It usually doesn't get too bad until my water is broken. The nurses checked to see if I was dilating (oh, by the way, that morning when they checked I was 3 cm, completely effaced), and now I was 6, almost 7 cm. I told the nurses briefly about how my other labors had gone, and they decided to call the dr. in and started getting everything ready for delivery. The dr. came in about 12:30 a.m. and the first thing she said was, "I've been waiting for you! You told me you would be back around midnight!" We all laughed (well, they all laughed a little more than me - I wasn't into the joking mood too much at the time! :-) ).

The dr. checked me again, then asked if I wanted to have her break my water. I said yes and my water was broken around 1 a.m. It is then that the contractions became very hard and I asked for the "gas." I can't really remember the name of the gas, but I used it with Leila and it really helped. You just breathe it in during a contraction, and it really just helps you to relax. You still feel pain, but you are relaxed enough you can get through it and your body is relaxed enough to let the contractions do their job.

About 30 mins later, I began to feel the need to push, but was still not quite 10 cm, so I had to wait. That, to me, is the hardest part of labor - NOT pushing when everything in your being is telling TO push. I had to concentrate really hard, but was "cheating" a little and giving little pushes just to relieve that urge. The dr. was on to me, though, and told me it was okay, just not to give a really strong one. I really liked that dr. She was very relaxed and understanding.

Well, FINALLY at about 1:52 a.m. I was ready to go. I was so stinkin' ready to have that baby out of me that I gave it my all! And at 1:57 a.m. - after three pushes - Libby Marie came into this world! That feeling when you first see them is one of the best in the world! She was screaming - such a beautiful noise to me! They laid her on my chest and I looked down at my precious, beautiful baby girl.

The first thing I noticed was her FULL head of DARK hair! I thought, "Where in the world did that come from?" Then I thought, "No wonder I had so much heartburn!" They took her over to be checked out and weighed. She looked a bit chunky to me - a lot more chunky than my other two. And sure enough, she weighed more than either Liam or Leila did.

Libby Marie weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces, and was 21.5 inches long. I was able to start feeding her right away. I can't tell you how relieved I was that all that was over. Those long weeks of false labor were really hard for me, and I was just so happy to be holding my little girl.

I felt great afterwards, was able to get a shower and move to my room and we settled in for the night. My mom brought Liam and Leila to meet their little sister later that morning. Liam immediately was enthralled with her - wanting to touch her, kiss her, and such. But Leila was not sure. She wouldn't even come to me at first. I didn't take it personally, though. I know this is a big change in her life.

Overall, Libby is perfectly healthy. She does have a heart murmur, which we are still having checked out. Liam had one when he was born too, but that has since gone away. We are hoping the same will be with Libby. The drs. are not too concerned with it right now.

All throughout this pregnancy, Matt and I have gone back and forth on what to name her. We seemed to have trouble this time deciding what it was going to be. One day, Matt was looking names up on the internet when he came across the name Libby, which means "My God is bountiful." When we thought about how blessed we are with three children, a wonderful church, great families, a nice house, our health, etc. We also thought of our past year and all that God has done in our lives and brought us through, and decided that that name was perfect. We use family names as middle names, so we gave her my middle name, Marie.

We are so blessed to have Libby in our lives. She is a precious baby girl and we treasure the time we have with her. God truly is good in giving her to us. Wow. Matt and I have three children. I am the mother of three, beautiful, precious children. I still can't believe it.

First Picture

Love those cheeks!

Me and my girls.

So beautiful.

She's almost 2 weeks old!