Our third child, Eli Benjamin, was welcomed into our family on September 20th, 2014, two weeks before his due date. During the pregnancy, items like that maternity support belt can be of great use.
He has stolen our hearts already and fits in as though he was always here. This is his birth story.
My contractions started at 11:00pm on Friday, September 19th. It was an answer to prayer. For about 10 days, I had been monitored by the doctor because my fluid levels were dropping daily and Eli was considered to be very small for my late state of pregnancy. There was a bit of concern that he wasn’t getting enough nutrition – I knew that if I made it until Monday, they would induce me. I was okay with that, but I preferred to go into labor on my own. Since Andy had arrived three weeks early, I knew I had a good chance of going early.
I stayed in bed until 3am, trying to nap in between contractions. But yeah right – who really does that?! The only time I can nap during labor is toward the end when I am so exhausted that my eye lids can’t physically stay open. At 3am I got up and did what any normal woman in labor would do. I took a shower, shaved, got dressed, and put makeup on. That’s what everyone does, right? It seemed normal at the time. [Read more…]