Abigail's Birth Story

Well, now that Abigail is 2 weeks old, I think it's high time to acknowledge her on my blog. :-) She arrived in her own good time, and we are so happy to have her here (even when she keeps us up at night). Here's her story:

After having an uncomplicated first 2 trimesters, I was diagnosed with Polyhydramnios (high levels of amniotic fluid) in early October. Risk factors included pre-term delivery and problems with the umbilical cord preceding the baby out of the birth canal. As a result, I had to go to the hospital twice a week for tests in addition to my normal prenatal appointments during the last 6 weeks of my pregnancy. This--and the idea that Abbie would probably come prior to her due date--made those last 6 weeks interminable!

On Tuesday, November 23, we invited my family to our house for Jonathan’s amazing Frito pie. My dad and Joann were in town for the Thanksgiving holiday, as was Maribeth. We had a wonderful evening, and the last guests left around 10 pm. Before we went to bed around 11:30, I asked Jonathan to pray with me that God would give us the gift of having our baby come before Maribeth left on Thanksgiving Day for her 6-month missions assignment in Kenya. We knew that if Maribeth didn’t get to meet her before then, she would probably not meet her until we came back from Indonesia on furlough.

At 12:30 am, on Wednesday, November 24, 2010, I woke up because it felt like I was leaking amniotic fluid. I wasn’t sure—couldn’t hardly believe it was really happening—but gradually concluded that my water had broken. I began having a steady pain in my lower abdomen but decided to rest until it turned into regular contractions. At 1:15, the contractions started and I told Jonathan what was going on. I started to time the contractions while getting my things together. At 1:35, I called my dad and Joann to ask them to come over to stay with Toby. Joann said they would be there in 30-40 minutes. A few minutes later (at Jonathan’s insistence), I called her back to say they’d better come ASAP. Jonathan and I could both tell that things were progressing pretty quickly, so we gathered our things and headed out the door as soon as Dad and Joann arrived.

We left for the hospital at 2:05, and I texted my siblings to say: “We’re having a baby! Heading to the hospital now.” We arrived at the hospital around 2:20. Jonathan dropped me off at the front door, and I headed up to OB Triage. He called Kristina after parking to make sure she and the other sisters had gotten my message. (They hadn’t.) I changed into a hospital gown, and the nurse checked me, saying I was 7 cm dilated. I almost despaired at that point because the pain was so intense and I wasn’t as far along as I had been when I checked in for Toby’s birth. Just shortly after that, I began feeling the urge to push….and we were still in OB Triage. The nurses told me not to push, but I couldn’t help it—the urge was too strong—so I pushed as they rushed me over to Labor & Delivery. As soon as we got into the room, someone cried out, “There’s the head!” I remember thinking, “Wait, the baby can’t come now; my sisters aren’t here yet!” Jonathan called Kristina from Labor & Delivery, learned that she & the other girls had arrived at the hospital, and told them they’d better run because the head was showing. They hurried in there, and 4 minutes later, at 3:14 a.m., Baby Abigail Marie made her grand entrance into this world. She weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces, and was 21¾ inches long. It was so wonderful to finally hold her and see her. I couldn’t get enough of feeling her in my arms and touching her little head.

Warming up in Mama's arms just after birth

All swaddled up and visiting with the aunties