Birth Story- Finley James Purser

If you wish, read on to find the birth story of our son Finley James Purser, although- I'd like to warn you that details and pictures might be slightly graphic-if this makes you uncomfortable in any way, please do not continue. 

We laid down to sleep around 10:00 pm Sunday night... about 10 minutes later I think I feel my first contraction...(maybe not, I can't decide) I continue laying there....about 15 minutes later I feel it again...weird...I start goggling  'Real Labor vs. False Labor'....about this time I get a text from my midwife saying that another one of her clients is having some activity-I write back saying that I might be having contractions but they are far apart and not intense so I was thinking that they would peter out...She writes back saying real labor will get longer and stronger and closer together and to try to get some sleep...I decide that maybe I'm just not in a comfortable position and went to sit on the birthing ball to text my sister...this is what was said...

me-I think I've had 4 contractions-10 minutes apart I think-not too intense and I don't really know how to time-just letting you know...might be Braxton Hicks-not sure...we'd have to go to the coast if I'm in labor..

her-that was alot of information

me-I know right...Just had another one..not intense at all but definitely one...

her-hmmm...should we start packing a bag?

me-debating-I haven't packed anyone here...and everyone's asleep..haven't told Paul anything just yet..Sitting on birthing ball..

her- text if anything changes and if you need me to come get P or ride with you tonight call me..

me-k

me-It's been 15 min now and no contraction-gonna lay down and try to sleep...

her- Be still and know...;)

me- :)

These messages happened between 11:21 pm-right before Midnight

I lay down...for like 5 minutes....

Then these series of texts happen with my friend Jessica...

me-Just had the 7th contraction...I feel like it's getting stronger..should I try a bath? Should I wake Paul-he knows nothing yet-I'm kinda scared just cause I don't know what's going on....

(Let me remind you why I didn't know I was in labor-With Piper I was admitted to the hospital the night before where they did Cervedil and the next morning the doctor broke my water. contractions started because I was induced...and she was spine to my spine so the labor was so intense on my back I could barely feel what was going on in the front- from both experiences- I don't recommend being induced if your planning on laboring naturally..just sayin')

her-okay text midwife and let her know what's going on and ask about a bath-If you think Paul could be a voice of reason for you-wake him

I decided to wake Paul about this time...It's about 1 AM... I go in the bedroom and nudge him around a little until he "wakes up" He looks straight at me, moves his hands behind his head like he's sitting up and says Hey babe-What's up?" I say- I think I'm having some contractions-still unsure. I don't feel comfortable in the bed so I'm gonna go sit in the rocker in the guest room for a while. Oh yeah and If I am in labor we're gonna have to go to the coast... He says okay...turns over and goes back to sleep.  I shrug my shoulders and go sit in the rocker...

It feels like eternity passes but it was probably only a couple minutes...I fell asleep and awake to our 1 year old crying out "Daddy, Daddy"...wow-I had a big contraction...I feel like her crying put me in some stress so I go sit in the bath while Paul gets up and puts Piper back to sleep....

I call for Paul to come to the bathroom(4 times) and then he finally comes...He had fallen asleep putting P back to sleep.  Trying to think logically I tell him we need to start timing the contractions with this handy app I just downloaded, because I felt like they were getting closer together...

i tell him we need to probably start packing a bag-and he asks why? i tell him because we have to go to the coast because another mom is having some signs of labor...(side note: why were we going to the coast? the midwife is 3 hours away so when 2 moms are in labor at the same time there is a cottage you have to go to, to deliver since she can't be in 2 places at once :) )

you dont remember me telling you that when i woke you up?

him-you woke me up?
me-oh dear.....

wow...2 minutes apart now..what on earth happened...we call my midwife...she says get something to eat and come on...

I got out of the bath and start packing frantically in between contractions....I would drop to the ground to make it thru the contraction then get up and start packing again for 2 minutes...then drop again...it was crazy...but we managed to get everything packed in about 20 minutes...By that time my sister comes in her van and Paul loaded everything up downstairs...He comes up to get me and P and I start being really problematic ..I run to the bathroom and sit on the toliet to have another contraction..I start taking off my shoes and ripping off my dress and tell him I have to get in the bath-(water helped me to relieve the pain slightly) 

"I don't think we're gonna make it" i tell him...

He holds my face and speaks sternly to me saying "Rachel! We're either getting in the van and heading to the coast or we're going to the hospital..." I really didn't want to end up there again so I put my shoes back on and we head out the door to the coast...

I'm having some contractions in the van but I'm managing them for the first 20 minutes or so... I think to myself If it stays like this, I think I can make it.  (The Lord was having ALOT of mercy on me at this point is all I can think of- why else would they not be so bad...I was probably about 8cm at this point...so glad I didn't know that...)

The next 5-10 minutes got really intense and I laid down in the van... Let me set the scene for you-It's pouring down rain...my sister is driving with her flashers on and we're going what feels like 150....Paul is in the back reading the literature on "What to do when the baby arrives before the midwife" and throwing out supplies(betadine and gauze-haha) onto the pallet we made of tarp and sheets in the van...Piper is blissfully unaware snacking on veggie sticks... My sister looks in the rearview mirror and sees all  of this going on  pushes the petal to the metal thinking "Oh no-we're about to have this baby in my van!" 

At this point labor is getting super intense and I ask how far we are from the nearest hospital...Forrest General was about an hour away they tell me...I ask how far we are from Jackson and Emily says 30 minutes tops...."TURN AROUND"  I say.....

Em is driving all crazy-making illegal turns and going 90 to nothing trying to make it there...We pulled into the emergency overhang at 4:01 AM....Paul jumps out and runs inside to get a wheelchair...I jump out with nothing...no shoes no purse nothing-excuse me for not remembering :)

We talk to the people at the emergency room door for a minute and then a nurse takes us up to the maternity ward... they wheel me into the admissions space to "Check in".... WHAT?????

Name?....types in computer....Social?...types in computer....Can I see your Driver's License? We don't have it...she sits there a minute puzzled about what to do since we don't have my driver's license...At this point I yell- "CAN YOU PUT ME IN A ROOM?" I'm having a baby! I have another really hard contraction....somehow I maneuver my leg up onto the seat of the wheelchair...Paul looks down and says "UHHHH- THERE'S A HEAD!"   

At this point the maternity ward looked like a true movie seen...Nurses come flying out of nowhere and I'm being rolled on 1 wheel to the nearest room....I somehow manage to get on the bed...Questions and legal papers are everywhere...I reply to most of them with "I don't know"  

They tell me to lift my hand so they can give me an IV- to which I reply NO! (I hate IV'S) They don't push it any further...AMAZING what you can get away with while being in intense labor....

I ask for an epidural to which everyone in the room laughs and a nurse says "darling he's halfway out"...I then ask for Tylenol....haha-I didn't say I was in my right mind...

He was in my arms about 2 minutes later...

It was beautiful...I had some kind of endorphines going because I said right after- "I feel great! I feel like I can get up and walk right out of here" (and I truly wanted to do that...) They allowed him to stay nuzzled on my chest for 2 hours after birth and no one asked to weigh him or bathe him or take him away in any way and I'm so thankful for that...He had a head full of dark hair and very pink in color and screaming! Perfect! 

Finley James Purser

09.19.2011

4:31  AM

8 lbs. 2 oz.

20 inches

 

 

I've never felt more loved in my entire life: Labor and Delivery story

This would normally be something I'd write in my journal to hide but the Lord did so much I can't help but to declare his name among men!

Psalm 22:22
I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

Starting back when we had our first concerning sonogram we knew that nothing would help but to just trust in the Lord... He was the only one that could help us or heal her..

Proverbs 3:7-8
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and depart from evil.
It will be health to your flesh,
And strength to your bones.

Money was a slight issue but we know his name is Provider so we had no fear..

Psalm 50:10 For every beast of the forest [is] Mine, [And] the cattle on a thousand hills.

Psalm 50:15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me."
He provided in abundance...Thousands

----------------------------

Labor was tough.. It started at 10:30 am. An hour after the doctor broke my water, which had meconium in it. Paul and I danced through contractions as the tightening began....it was a sweet time with my husband whom I couldn't have done without...we smiled and talked about how we couldn't wait to see her and cheered Piper on!

Things progressed rather slowly but it did get harder with no turning back

It felt like sudden destruction- ....then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape it. (Referring to the day when the Lord comes back) 1 Thessalonians 5:3

Around 4:30 things felt really bad.. The worst pain I've ever felt in my life...

Around 6 I asked if I could get in the shower as a last resort to the pain... I took Paul with me to tell him I was giving up.. He didn't let me... He reminded me to keep my mind stayed on Christ!

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.

I pushed for about 45 minutes 30 of it on hands and knees. I had the best support system with me helping me. Around 12 people in the room helping me through. (Total violation if the doctor had been in the room) From standing on the bed pressing my back as hard as they could to counteract the pressure...to reading scripture.. To praying in the midst.. I flipped over right at the end and let the bed hold my weak and tired body. But I know who was holding me the whole time..

The next contraction came and I told myself that I wouldn't stop bearing down until my little girl was out..

She made her turn and flipped anterior right at the end and landed on the bed...

The nurse was in a frenzy a bit because there was baby but no doctor in sight..
Do not trust in man but in God alone for the Lord is the deliverer!

I could feel God's presence everywhere in that room... Through every contraction...through the body of Christ...through every dollar given to us for the birth..through prayer.. The steady hand of the lord over Piper's life through it all.. The hand that reached back when I reached to Him when I had nothing left..Praise the Lord!


Sustainer of life
Deliverer
Provider
Healer
Merciful father
Rewarder

update from the delivery room

Well we had another appt. today. We had a sonogram done and it showed that she had no amniotic fluid left. He said, go eat a light dinner and go on over to the hospital, we have to get this baby out.

So here I am. They are monitoring her and her heart rate seems to be a little high (170s) but they say it's varying so it's okay.

We also have another slight problem..I have a weird shaped pelvis.. it's called an android pelvis.

An android pelvis is more triangular in shape at the inlet, with a narrowed subpubic arch. Larger babies have difficulty traversing this pelvis as the normal areas for fetal rotation and extension are blocked by boney prominences. Smaller babies still squeeze through. This pelvic shape usually results in a C-section.

Still though, with all odds against me...He's still allowing me to try for the vaginal birth I long for...

The Cervidil was put in around 8:30 pm and I had to lay flat for 2 hours so that they could see how she reacted to it. It seems she did fine because Paul just left to find me a milkshake! YUM!

At this point, the IV feels the worst (I KNOW this will change later). The nurse blew the first
vein so it's down on my hand and it pulls every time I move. OW!

Still no contractions yet. He will be back in here in the morning (not sure on the time) to "rupture membranes" which is to break the bag of water. He will give me some time to see if I begin contracting on my own before he starts the Pitocin.

That's all I know for now...

Please pray for my heart and for Paul for strength. This isn't the most comfortable of situations but I know that the Lord is in control.

I pray I get to hold my baby girl in my arms tomorrow....still though, it seems too good to be true...
Psalm 127:3 b says The fruit of the womb is a reward~

update on Piper..CST test

Just had another CST (contraction stress test) done this morning.. We went a little longer today because he wanted to see some contractions that were at least 60 seconds long to see what her heart rate did. It was a little higher today but didn't decrease so he said that was okay. (Her heart rate was 150s-160s range)

He checked my cervix and said it was 2cm now...and a little softer.. she's still anterior though which could cause alot of back labor if she doesn't flip.

We are going back on Monday at 1:30 to do another sonogram to check fluid levels. He said that if she hasn't gained any fluid from last time that he would have me come in Monday night to have a dose of Cevidil and will start me on Pitocin Tuesday morning to start contractions...

I honestly don't know how I feel about this..I want to see her so bad, but I also want to wait on the Lord who is The Deliverer.. Isaiah 66:9

Please pray that she will come on her own sometime between now and Monday before 1:30...


Psalm 143:1-8

¹ Hear my prayer, O LORD,
Give ear to my supplications!
In Your faithfulness answer me,
And in Your righteousness.
² Do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For in Your sight no one living is righteous.

³ For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in darkness,
Like those who have long been dead.
⁴ Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;
My heart within me is distressed.

⁵ I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your works;
I muse on the work of Your hands.
⁶ I spread out my hands to You;
My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah

⁷ Answer me speedily, O LORD;
My spirit fails!
Do not hide Your face from me,
Lest I be like those who go down into the pit.
⁸ Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.

update on Piper

so we went in for the non stress test and sonogram on Monday and it appeared that everything looked good...

He will have me back on Thursday at 8:30 am to do another contraction stress test and we will talk from there...

Bed rest isn't the most fun thing on earth.....

Pray she comes before Thursday...I want this girl out...I wanna hold her in my arms...