Our family was blessed with the gift of our second little girl, Chloe Madison Coulter, on Wednesday, August 18th at 3:00 a.m. This is her birth story.
I woke up at 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 17th and had to go to the bathroom, which was nothing unusual at 37 weeks pregnant. The unusual part about this day was that I almost didn't make it! This had never happened before which I thought was a little different. Shortly after that, I had a contraction with a bit of water that followed. This kept happening on and off for the next hour and I clued into the fact that my water may have broken at 2:30 and that these were in fact real contractions! I mentally did the calculations in my head as to how much *time* I thought I had since everyone said your second baby was usually quicker than the first. Being that Kaley's labor took 9 hours start to finish, I did panic a bit as I wasn't 100% ready to go! I did consider running out to the local grocery store that was open 24 hours to pick up those last few items, but decided against it as it was still really early in the morning. So, I stayed in bed and let labor do it's thing for another 4 hours. By 7:00 a.m., I thought I'd get up and get ready for whatever this day had to bring.
After getting up and getting ready, the labor and the water stopped! I thought maybe this was false labor and just hopeful thinking on my part. Regardless of what I thought, when Kaley was up and ready, we headed out to Walmart, just so that I was 100% ready whenever it did happen. We had a fun morning together, had lunch and we both laid down for an afternoon nap. As soon as I laid down and relaxed, the labor and water started up again! This went on for the entire afternoon and into the evening. At about 5:00 p.m. the contractions were about 5 minutes apart and getting a little stronger. Mark got home a little later and I shared with him what was happening and after the surprised look and shock- we started to figure out what was going to happen.
The original plan was that my dad and mom would be here and that they would stay with Kaley until our friend Carrie could come to the house. They would then make their way to the hospital until the baby came. Funny thing about our *plan* is that it wasn't starting until 4 days from now! So, we called up Carrie and asked if she could come to the house and pick up Kaley in case we had to go to the hospital. Having to get our little girl packed up and ready to leave was one of the hardest things I had to do. Our little family of 3 was going to be no more and it meant that I had to let go our little girl! After Kaley left, the house was eerily quiet and still and I missed her terribly. Funny how the contractions which were close together and getting stronger, just stopped! Again! I didn't quite expect to react to Kaley leaving as she did, and then to have nothing else happening was quite frustrating. I thought that when I knew Kaley was taken care of, that I could relax and labor would move more quickly. Boy was I wrong! For the next couple of hours, I was anxiously waiting for even a little contraction to happen, but nothing did. I took Baracus out for a walk which resulted in a few contractions, so when I got home I got busy doing meaningless things around the house just to stay busy.
Mark and I decided that we would head to the hospital around 10:00 and get checked out. The worst thing that could happen was that they would send us home and we would have a free babysitter for the night:-) So, at 10:00 p.m on Tuesday, we packed the car and headed to the hospital. I walked easily into the hospital and up to the birthing unit with not even a hint of a contraction. We sat at the nurses station for about 20 minutes waiting for a room to open up (yep, it was a busy night). When we did get into the room and were waiting for the nurse, both Mark and I gave our predictions as to what we thought was going to happen. I thought that they were going to send us home and he thought that we were going to be staying. In walked the nurse a little while later, did a test, and confirmed that YES my water did break earlier that morning and which point she half jokingly asked if I knew that we were supposed to come to the hospital when my water broke. I responded that yes I knew, but I was waiting for the contractions to get closer together. Had I gone when my water did break, it would have been a REALLY long day. I'd rather labor as much as I can at home where it is comfortable rather than at a hospital.
She also confirmed that the cervix was almost completely effaced and that I was 4 centimeters dilated. She put on the fetal monitor to see how the baby was responding to the contractions. After about 20 minutes she said something that was music to my ears - "Get up and walk around and let gravity and your body do its thing. Your baby looks strong and is doing great, so you don't need to be strapped to the monitor." They were following our birth plan exactly how I asked them to- no IV's, no continuous fetal monitoring and no laboring in bed! I was excited at the possibility of getting the delivery that I had planned and hoped for these past 9 months.
So, walk around I did and thankfully the contractions started up and continued strong. At about 1:30 a.m on Wednesday, the nurse asked me if I wanted to labor in the jacuzzi tub while I went through transition labor which I immediately said yes to. I was going to be be able to have a hot tub for the first time in 9 months!!! Considering the circumstances, it felt like heaven:-) It took the edge off the worst of the contractions which was such a blessing. I was determined to not use any drugs with this delivery and I was so thankful at the other measures that they offered for pain management. An hour later, I asked to get out as I was feeling that it was getting closer. She did another check up and sure enough, I was 9 centimeters dilated- the end was getting near!
On the way back to the room, poor Mark had to endure two hard contractions to which his shoulders felt most of the pain. When we got back to the room, I laid down on the bed and had two contractions which nearly took my breath away. I remember the nurse saying that when I felt a certain kind of pressure that I needed to let her know. Sure enough the very next contraction I felt it. It was time to push! I looked at the clock and it read 2:45 a.m. I looked at Mark and said that we were going to have a baby at 3:00 a.m. After the first push, I realized how tired I was and how much work the next few minutes or hours could take and I started panicking. My breathing sped up and as the next contraction came, I couldn't do it. Mark said something to me and I looked at him and said "I'm panicking, I'm panicking"! The next contraction that came I just breathed through it and didn't push at all. When I got calmed down, I could then hear what Mark and the nurses were telling me as they helped me through the delivery.
A couple of pushes later, and our baby girl was born - at exactly 3:00 a.m.! They put her on my stomach and I held her close. As soon as Mark and I started talking to her, she stopped crying and looked up at us with these big beautiful eyes. I'll never forget that special moment. Time seemed to stand still and everything was right in our world. Our little girl was here safe and sound. The nurses wiped her off and after awhile asked if I was ready for them to check her out. She got all cleaned up and then had her first feed which went really well. The next hour and a half Mark and I spent by ourselves in the birthing room with our new little girl taking it all in. After a little while, we were transferred to the maternity ward. We got all settled and said goodbye to daddy as it was time for him to go home and get a bit of sleep. Chloe and mommy had a much needed rest and had some special time to bond with each other.
At around 9:00 on Wednesday, Carrie brought Kaley in to see her new baby sister. She was so excited and even brought with her a very special gift that the thought was important for her baby sister. It was cute to see Kaley giving Chloe hugs and kisses and *holding* her for the first time. The visit didn't last long, but it was important to have her there and it was a precious moment to have my two special girls together!
That afternoon Chloe had three very special visitors come by to see her on her birth day. Grandpa Coulter happened to be in Ontario for just a day and it was the same day that she was born. We were supposed to drive down and meet him for supper, but God had other plans! Daddy brought Grandpa Coulter by to see her for the first time and he was very proud indeed to see his second granddaughter. And then, at about 9:30 p.m., Grandpa and Grandma Matters made it into town and came by to see Chloe. It was very special to have my dad and mom be able to see her in the hospital on her birth day and share this exciting event with us. They were proud grandparents as they saw their 4th grandchild for the first time.
Mommy and Chloe had a quiet evening together as we bonded, cuddled and got to know each other.
The next day, we were able to go home for the first time! Home sweet home! It was there that she met our other *child* Baracus and some good friends that stopped in. Our family of four was finally together at our home. Life cannot get any sweeter than this.
A couple of weeks after being home, Chloe had another special visitor- Grandma Coulter. Grandma enjoyed meeting her second granddaughter and keeping up with her first granddaughter.
Welcome to our family dear sweet Chloe. We love you so very much sweetheart!
