Simon David Foster

I know it took a while, but here is the birth story you have been waiting for.

It all started Wednesday morning. Because I was now 41 weeks pregnant, they wanted to do a NST and BPP on me and baby. Long boring morning waiting in a hospital. Everything went fine, and we passed with flying colors. One of the nurses monitoring the NST kept telling me that I was having contractions. I told her that I had been for a couple weeks now. They just don’t progress into anything. I finished at the hospital around 1pm, and hurried to the birthing center for my appointment there at 2pm.

When I got there, the midwife did all the normal appointment stuff, and also did an internal exam. I was still dilated, but she didn’t want to sweep the membranes. Sucky! Was the only thing going through my mind. All I wanted was to have a baby. She suggested going to a chiropractor. Maybe if I got an adjustment, then the baby would put some more pressure on my cervix. I was willing to try anything. I had never been to a chiropractor before, so I was a little nervous. Some people have told me that they are “quacks”, others swear by them. I have just never needed to go for any reason. I got adjusted. She said my hips were a little off. She could tell by the way I was walking. Interesting.

After the chiropractor, Scott and I went to Denny’s at about 6pm. By the time we were done eating and ready to leave, I could no longer walk through my contractions. I went home and tried to relax. I took a bath, I was dealing with the pain just fine. My contractions were steadily getting worse, so at about 10pm we knew it was time to let the midwife know we were on the way.

We arrived at the birthing center at 10:30pm. They filled the pool, and I got in. Around midnight, I was no longer able to be silent through the contractions. It hurt really bad. (There is just no other way to explain the pain I was in.) I wasn’t getting a complete break between the contractions anymore. They weren’t really stopping. All of a sudden, I was feeling a lot of pressure, and then felt a pop. My water broke! YAY! Then the real pain came. Scott said I was saying some weird stuff, like “I want an epidural.” “I can’t do this anymore.” I don’t remember that. I do remember when the time came to push, I didn’t want to. I tried not to. My body had other plans. I couldn’t control the pushing. It just happened. I was planning on pushing slowly so I could allow my body and skin to stretch without tearing. It happened really fast. In all of four or five pushes, he was out. Simon David Foster was born at 12:25 am on Thursday, September 8^th. I was still in awe of not having any control over the pushing. My body just took over, and my mind had nothing to say about it.

They had to tell me to pick up my baby. I guess I figured I was done. Nope, there was a baby to take care of now. I picked him up, and held him close. He had a ton of hair. He was adorable. He is my baby. I started nursing him, and he knew exactly what to do. No training necessary. He is my quick learner.

Before we got out of the water, I noticed a knot, a true knot, in the cord. That kind of scared me. I am not sure how common it is, but the midwife said that a baby was born earlier that day with a true knot in the cord too. Weird. I got out of the water, and just sat in the bed for a couple hours. I studied him and kissed him and snuggled him and nursed him. We were bonding.

I couldn’t wait anymore. I wanted to know how much he weighed. While they put him on the scale, I was cleaning all the poop off me. He had pooped and it was everywhere. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the numbers on the scale. 9lbs 14 oz. He is a big boy. Scott wanted to hold him, so I was able to take a shower and clean up. We got everything together, got Simon dressed, and were able to leave. We were home before 4:30am. Within 4 hours of giving birth, I was home with my baby.

The recovery is amazing as well.

Jameson was born in a hospital at 35 weeks weighing 6lbs 4oz. He had a broken collar bone. I tore.

Teagen was born in a hospital at 37 weeks weighing 7lbs 14oz. No broken bones. I tore.

Gavin was born in a hospital at 39 weeks weighing 8lbs 8 oz. He had a broken arm. I tore.

Simon was born in a birthing center at 41 weeks weighing 9lbs 14 oz. No broken bones. I didn’t tear.

I am still amazed at how easy everything was. The water birth was unforgettable. If God blesses me with more children, I will definitely be doing another water birth. Except next time I will do it at home.

4th Trimester

Okay, so I know there is no such thing. I am just so done being pregnant and I want to see my little boy face to face. I want to hold him in my arms and kiss him. However, I can't do that because I am still pregnant.

It all started in December. I found out I was pregnant on Christmas Day. It was more of a support thing for someone else. She wanted to take a pregnancy test, and bought a package with two in it. We agreed to both take one. I knew in the back of my mind that there was always the possibility that I could be pregnant, but I really didn't think I was.

Reasons why:
1. I was still breastfeeding #3.
2. #3 was only 8 months old. My kids are all 2 yrs apart.
3. Not sure I was ready.

God had other plans. She came out of the bathroom with a smile and said, "I'm not pregnant." I came out of the bathroom with a confused look on my face and staring at the test. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was positive.

After a few minutes, the excitement set in, and I couldn't wait to tell everyone.

I decided to give birth at a birthing center with a midwife instead of going to a hospital. We are still pretty excited about the idea of a water birth.

I was due on August 31st, and we thought that I would give birth before that because the first three were early. Well, God had other plans. Today is September 6th, and I am still pregnant.

I am finding it hard to believe, and hard to cope with. I am wondering if I am too stressed, too lazy, or just too fat. I am a little concerned about the size of baby, but praying that he will not be too big. I do hope he will be chunky though. I have never had a chunky baby. Mine have all been really skinny, and really tall. I hope this one is chunky. He did have a longer time to cook, so it's always possible.

Tomorrow morning I get to go into the hospital to have a non stress test. Purely precautionary. Tomorrow I am 41 weeks pregnant. We are almost positive that nothing is wrong. We think he is just very comfortable, and maybe he knows what is waiting for him out here. Three older brothers is a lot to handle. Tomorrow afternoon I have an appointment with the midwife, and she will attempt to sweep my membranes. Hopefully this will kick start labor, and we are praying that our new addition will be in our arms by tomorrow night.

Please pray with us that everything goes smooth, and baby is healthy.

We thank God daily for the miracle he is growing inside me.