Thora Grace

After about 8 hours of labor, Thora Grace was delivered into her daddy's waiting hands... and I couldn't have been happier to have her out! It was not a hard labor for the most part... only the last hour was really, truly, painful... we (being me, Chris, the kids, my midwife and my friend Caroline) sat around talking, facebooking, and blogging until about 7 or so when I started getting the transition shakes. That's when I (or more my midwife) decided a nice hot shower might keep things moving along and ease the pain a little... she was right. I got into the shower and, with Chris' counting skills, I made it through the next however many contractions and finally felt like there was not much more time before she would be born.
After the shower I got into a night gown and headed for my bedroom... for about an hour and a half my contractions got worse and worse and worse until finally it was time... if you've had a baby then you know what time I mean... the time when your brain finally says "GET THIS BABY OUT NOW!" And I did just that... Stacy, my midwife, had just finished a story about how she has seen woman just push so hard that they have their babies before they are even fully dilated... and I thought to myself "I am fully dilated so all I need to do is push super hard and it will all be over!" so I did... and it was! Praise the Lord she was finally out!
Chris caught her and gave her to me, and after making sure she was actually a girl (because I always have to check to be sure), I snuggled with her for about an hour while her cord drained and I called and texted family and friends.
Now, I can't take all the credit here, I mean I did do a really awesome job, but there were others in the room making it all happen. Chris was amazing! He was a great birthing coach/partner... counting with me through contractions, giving me mints and water, putting on my chapstick, pushing on my hips to help with the pain, holding my leg, catching the baby... he was simply amazing! And Caroline, who was there to be our photographer, even got in on the action! What an awesome friend! She took photos, pushed on hips, was dubbed the "chapstick girl", gave me water, held my leg, and even made me some of the best tasting eggs for dinner when it was all done! And of course my midwife extraordinaire, Stacy! She is seriously incredible! I can't even write all the things she did during this birth... adjusting Thora's head, getting my through the really though contractions, making sure I didn't tear, making sure Thora was delivered safely, making sure I got a shower, unloading my dishwasher, and even making our bed at the end of it all so Chris and I could go to bed!
It was a good birth! Not that it wasn't painful... because it most definitely was... but it was everything I wanted and it ended with a beautiful healthy baby!