All the gossip (intrepretation is optional read - this is a labor post with details :) )

Thank you SOOO much for all the prayers, scriptures, and encouragement while we went to the hospital for delivery of our precious new blessing!!! I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post - there is a lot to say. I will try to get everything in and still be succinct.



I was very anxious about this delivery for some reason -- I know it is weird. You would think that after seven times this would be old hat but I was not handling things as well as I should have. Maybe my age is a factor, maybe the weirdnesses we have had with this pregnancy....... whatever the reason I definitely gave Satan a foothold to make me uptight.



It was a busy few days preparing the house, the kids and my heart for our baby's arrival. Things did NOT go as I hoped - I had hoped for no induction, a small baby.... okay, I had a list of how things were SUPPOSED to go and right down the line it didn't go my way. However, as my mom aptly reminded me I still had no reason to whine. God prepared the way in every aspect.

The evening before our new neighbor Natalie brought us dinner and in all the hustle and bustle of last minute preparations Tina called to let me know that they were praying for me also.


We had some wonderful ladies who helped keep my home running in order and were so marvelous with the kidlets. My older kids really are old enough to tend the house and themselves very remarkably; however I was nervous to leave them with no ability to drive to town for emergencies and no relief authority for when the sibling issues arise :) Teresa, Jodi, and my sister-in-law Thresa all came. They took care of things beautifully and loved my family in my absence.

The morning of our induction our family gathered together and prayed for a healthy delivery for our new baby and for me. I was blessed that they would come together and do that so early in the morning. We arrived at the hospital and got registered. We were in our room by 7 am. Lana called and prayed with me which was such a blessing. I walked into our labor room and was DELIGHTED to see my favorite nurse. We had her with Bekah and I think she is COMPLETELY fabulous!!! She also recognized us from our last delivery. Orpha is the nurse you want - I cannot sing her commendations highly enough. She worked with us all day on Thursday and even was late on Saturday to stay with us through delivery. It was an extra gift from our Heavenly Father to give us Orpha for our labor and delivery!!!!

One of my big issues is needles. I HATE needles (at least the ones that are designed for poking people :) ) My veins are small and they move around a lot so I am always a difficult stick. Unfortunately as much as I wish I could tell you that was different, it was not. It took three sticks and a specialist before they could get my IV threaded up high on my hand by my knuckles (YUCKY!) We labored hard all day but we couldn't get progression. My midwife said that our baby had retreated from a station at about -2 to -3. Koliah just didn't want to be born yet :) They finally turned off the pit about 6:30 or so Thursday night and settled us for the night. While the pit continued to work for a few hours they also instilled a balloon in my cervix which they fill with a solution through a Foley cath to help it have pressure to dilate. The goal was to get things moving at about a 4. When I was admitted I was almost fully effaced but hadn't really dilated (I was at 2). We had to do this before with Judah - although it is uncomfortable it isn't a huge event.

Tim went and got us some dinner and we just rested. Our friend Georgia came up and played the harp for us as we got ready to sleep. What a precious gift her visit was. I could have easily fallen asleep as she so beautifully played "Come Thy Fount" listening to the sweet lilt of her voice and the gentle notes of her harp. Tim had never heard a harp played before, much less have the opportunity to hear Geo play. We were both tremendously blessed.

I will admit I was still anxious about another day of labor. I got some ambien about midnight and slept for four hours :) We started on pit again at 6 am. The cath had done its job and things started to progress. About lunchtime the midwife felt it was safe to break my water but we stayed pretty sedentary for an hour or so to make sure that we didn't get a prolapse in the cord until Koliah moved down another station. Baby started moving south but the midwife and nurses said because of Koliah's position everything was moving down off-center. They had some trouble checking my cervix for example because things were off to the left instead of center which made it a father reach. We labored standing up and doing some yoga-type maneuvers (lunges, squats, and moves with one leg on a chair, etc that the nurse showed us) to get things centered again. It took a few hours of concentrated labor but things did center up nicely. Koliah still stayed a little out of position - he ended up coming through diagonally is the best way I know how to say it -- he wasn't sunny-side-up but he looking more up and out my left hip instead of at the floor.

I was passing the squishy, pinchy and bitey stages (the nurses laughed at my definition of the intensity of my contractions) so I asked for an epidural. That also did not go real well. Because Koliah was SOOOO long I had a hard time getting "on top" of his feet to curve my back around him for the anesthesiologist to find the right spot. It took five different attempts and some painful sticks that hit on my nerves instead of in the space necessary. OUCH! I just got a local anesthetic because I am allergic to Fentenol. I started shaking really intensely -- the nurse said they are called transitional shakes and that they are common in women during transition. New experience for me and not so much fun. I felt like someone battling with the late stages of hypothermia -- my teeth were chattering so loud and hard it was difficult to talk and my arms and legs were shaking. We tried warm blankets and Tim was rubbing my arms to try and get them settled but it was just something we had to ride out. Again not huge in the big scheme of things but definitely disconcerting :)

Transition finished and we were able to start pushing. By then the anesthetic settled in my legs and bottom-end so Orpha and Tim had to hold my legs in the stirrups because I could not keep them where they belonged - they kept falling out!!! We had Koliah out in three pushes and I was holding our precious new addition. Tim said that as Koliah was delivered the nurse, the midwife and he all started laughing together, laughter of joy and delight that we had delivered and all was well. There wasn't the urgency or pressure of danger to me or Koliah that required them to give us urgent care. Tim said he was blessed they all could rejoice together at the miracle of Koliah's birth.

Koliah had some modeling of his head (he had a big conehead :) ) from the weird position he came down in and he had a large bruise like a little cone starting at the bridge of his nose and heading down over his mouth to his little chin. Actually as I write today he still has a remnant of the worst of the bruising on his upper lip but they tell me it should resolve. The midwife had me stay in the hospital to watch Koliah and I through Sunday morning. I was grateful we didn't have any hemorrhaging but I did have a gush which prompted them to give me a dose of methergin just as a precaution. Koliahs glucose was also lower than they liked so they checked him with a heel stick four times before we left to make sure it was stabilizing.

All told - things were all good. God took exceptional care of us as He always does - why don't I rest in that better?

Tim FINALLY decided on a name for our baby Friday morning. We had looked through about five name books with Hebrew and Biblical names but nothing had really grabbed Tim's heart to name our baby. I went through the books and wrote out all the ones I liked so Tim could have my thoughts while he was looking also. I was glad for the choice he made -- so much better than Ebeneezer (which is what Tim had been threatening to name our son --- ha-ha!) Koliah is from the book of Nehemiah and means "the voice of God" We did drop one "a" to make it easier for spelling/pronouncing here in America :)

Koliah Justice was born at 9 lbs (and one tenth of an ounce but I am not counting that :) He was substantially smaller than predicted - I am so grateful for that!! He was and continues to be a LONG and lean. His length is probably what caused the larger weight prediction because they use bone measurements for the calculations.

Our complications were minimal, nothing like what we have faced before and the treasure given to us was profound. Koliah is a joy!! He has a "cruiser" personality. Little gets him too upset. His tummy is a little sensitive which means I will have to watch what I eat but other than that he likes to snuggle, he likes to be held by his siblings and he likes to sleep! How wonderful is that!?!?!? I am healing well. In fact Tim commented even the day we delivered that he thought my color, pallor, etc were much better than they were with the last two deliveries.

We are just over three weeks post now and all is going well. Koliah is growing like a weed - at his check yesterday they said he has grown another inch in length and is a strong 10 lbs 4 oz. He had a little jaundice for a week or ten days and the doctor had me check his numbers at the hospital before we went on vacation with a heel stick but that also has resolved and he is doing very well. I had some continued swelling for a couple of weeks which concerned me. My feet and legs were still extremely swollen. I talked to my midwife on Friday and she said heavy doses of pit can cause swelling and it takes a couple of weeks to fully exit your system. Another first for me but I was glad to hear it was not a serious thing - my hypochondriac concerns were surfacing imaging clots, circulation issues and other major complications :) Things are resolving and I am doing well.

I will post pictures today or tomorrow.

Thank you again for the prayers, scriptures, encouragement and helping hands during our pregnancy, labor, delivery, and post pardum seasons!!! I just laid Koliah down for a morning nap - I need to be responsible and do some dishes. All I have wanted to do as of late is marvel at his little features, snuggle his little neck, and smell his fuzzy little head.

Chores are so daily and intrusive but alas they must be done :)