Time to share the story of our sweet Fenna Dawn.
Pregnancy the fourth time around was much better than number 3. It’s always interesting to me to hear different experiences, but for me, being pregnant with the girls was like a dream compared to being pregnant with the boys.
I felt great for nearly the entire pregnancy with Fenna. Save that first trimester and it’s nausea, and the last couple weeks, which are always the most unpleasant for me.
So let’s enter the story in that final two-week window.
My midwife had warned me that since this was my fourth baby I would likely experience more Braxton Hicks than I previously had, and that proved true. Around the last 6 or so weeks I started having contractions daily, and often for hours at a time. Usually they would start in the afternoon and wouldn’t stop until I went to bed. I grew accustomed to them and didn’t pay too much attention to them after a while. However, the last 2 days of pregnancy, I noticed the contractions shifted from the usual kind and seemed to be uncomfortable, even somewhat painful. The first few I wondered if it was real labor, but as I waited, they never increased in frequency, or grew more painful. Again, they went away when I went to bed, so I dismissed it.
So now we come to April 11, and once again, the contractions started up in the afternoon. They were, once again, uncomfortable and somewhat painful, but since there was no real change with them, we carried on like normal. However, that night when I went to bed, the contractions didn’t seem to ease up at all like they had before. I told Sam that these contractions were staying consistent, but that I wanted to go to bed and try to sleep, just in case it was the real thing.
It was probably about 11:30pm by this time, so we went to sleep. Or at least Sam did. I laid there for a while and tried to sleep, but the contractions were uncomfortable enough that I couldn’t sleep. So I got up around midnight and decided to do some laundry and try to figure out if it was really labor.
I walked around the kitchen and living room and tried to rest here and there. Nothing really seemed to change much, but the contractions were definitely uncomfortable so around 1:30am, I called my midwife. I felt silly calling her because the contractions hadn’t increased in frequency but since they were uncomfortable and I needed to mildly breathe through them, I figured better safe than sorry. She had also warned me not to wait to call her, as I tend to have babies fast.
After listening to me have a couple contractions over the phone she decided she would come and check on things, since it takes about an hour for her to get to our house.
After that, I woke Sam up and told him I’d called the midwife. In his usual form, he jumped out of bed and started rushing around to make sure everything was ready.
I spent my time walking around in our bedroom and hallway to pass the time.
At about 2am, I was (finally) fully convinced it was labor. The contractions finally progressed from their constant state of discomfort and mild pain, to the more frequent and intense contractions. So by that point, I was starting to get a little nervous that Winni (midwife) would not make it. Sam calmly told me it was fine if she didn’t make it, and I agreed. We could do it.
Sam (my hero) made sure everything was ready while I just focused on each contraction until about 2:40am. My water broke with a pop and gushed down my leg.I squeaked out to Sam that my water had broken and I was starting to feel like I needed to push. He managed to get my pants off and at that moment, there was a knock on the door. Thank goodness, Winni was there. Sam told her my water had just broken and that I was feeling like pushing, so she came rushing in to get all her things ready. She quickly stepped out to call her birth assistant, even though we all doubted she would make in time.
Just as she came back in, I told her I needed to push. I had been leaning on the bed and she told me that it might be better to be on the bed, as sometimes when you deliver standing up, babies can come out too quickly. She suggested a hands and knees position, so as quickly as I could between contractions (and in a most dignified fashion, I'm sure) I catapulted my 38 weeks pregnant self onto the bed. I leaned on my pillows for support and Winni told me to push whenever I was ready, so when the next contraction hit, I started pushing.
I have no real sense of time in those moments, it seemed like a long time to me, but in a couple quick pushes, her head was out (no ring of fire this time) and Winni was in the middle of asking Sam if he wanted to catch the baby, when another contraction hit and she came out lightning fast. Luckily, Sam was ready and did catch her, and handed her to me. Sam commented later that it was about 2 minutes of pushing. I don’t know how that seemed like a long time to me, but my brain was a bit preoccupied.
So at 2:51am, there she was. Literally perfect, and the first thing we saw were her gorgeous, giant dimples in each cheek. She cried ever so quietly for a minute and then settled right down.
In retrospect, I never even experienced that slight panicky feeling that usually accompanies transition for me. Like with Kayo, I'm pretty sure transition happened at the same time my water broke, and it all moved too quickly for me to notice. Total labor time was less than 3 hours, but really only about 51 minutes from the time I was positive it was labor. It’s nice to have babies fast, but it’s definitely intense.
Best part of everything was definitely being at home, in my own bed. Our big babies slept peacefully while their beautiful baby sister joined us. It was perfect. They all slept through the whole event, Lennox woke up around 4am, and got to come see his baby sister. He didn’t want to go back to bed, but eventually he settled back down and around 5am, Winni (and the birth assistant who didn’t make it to the actual birth) headed out and left us to get some sleep.
Around 7:30am all the kids woke up and got to come meet their baby sister. Everyone was THRILLED to see her, and they have smothered her in kisses every day since she was born.
I can’t explain how incredibly perfect she is, or how she fits so exactly right into our family. It’s like she has always been here, even though she’s currently only 6 weeks old. Truly thanking the Lord for His goodness in giving her to us, and His mercy in a smooth and simple delivery.
Fenna Dawn
April 12 (10 days early), 2:51am
7lbs, 8oz
20 inches
