The Chamberlains

Ever's birth was completely different from any of my other children's. This girl was only going to come when she was ready, no one else would dictate otherwise. From the beginning of this pregnancy I decided that I wanted to do this one naturally, without any kind of pain medication. Each of my previous birth experiences led me to this point. I had an epidural with all four previous births, and honestly, if I could go back and change it, I probably wouldn't. Annicka's and Park's births were blissfully easy. With Indie, before I got my epidural I had taken some Percocet and it hadn't worn off before he was born and I had a really hard time connecting and staying grounded. At least that's what I thought. I hated that feeling. So with Milo I didn't take any and I still felt weird and disconnected, I realized later that I hadn't had the epidural in long enough before he and Indie came for the weird side effects to wear off before they were born. And with Milo it only worked on half of my body and I only had it in about 20 minutes before it was time to start pushing. So this time I decided I wasn't going to bother. My labors have always been fast, and I thought I'd save ourselves the money. I read a hypnobirthing book and practiced the relaxation and breathing techniques for several months before Ever was born. I am so glad I went naturally this time! The hardest thing I have EVER done physically, but it was so rewarding! Without pain there is no joy. Let me begin at the beginning of her labor.

 

For several days before Ever was born I would have contractions for a couple of hours every night and then they would stop. On the night of the 20th they finally felt like they were going somewhere. We headed into the hospital at about 1:30am. I had progressed to 4 1/2 cm and 70% effaced and so I was admitted. My contractions didn't get any closer together and eventually they began to slow down until they finally stopped. At 7:30am I opted to let my doctor break my water. Contractions picked up again for a while and they felt stronger than before. At about 10:30a they had slowed again, and there had still been no progress made since I had been admitted. It was time for Pitocin...something I didn't particularly want to do, but I felt it was time for some help. By about 12:30p, with lots of good strong contractions, I had progressed to 5 cm. My nurse encouraged me to up the dose of Pitocin, but I declined and said, just give it an hour and we'll see where we are at. Less than an hour later I was at an 8 and I could feel the pushing urges with each contraction. The nurse called the doctor, but he didn't make it over from his office in time. Little Ever had decided that it was finally time to make her entrance into this world. The nurses had to catch her, she was not going to wait for anyone. That last hour was incredibly hard! My neighbor and friend Summer was my doula and she knew just what to do to get me through the transition and delivery period. She was amazing! At 1:49p Ever Loraine was on my belly instead of inside it. The relief and joy I felt after all of that pain was indescribable! It was incredible and amazing and nothing like anything I have ever experienced before. At 13 1/2 hours, this ended up being my longest labor.

Transition!

We took Indie to an open night for BMX racing. He got to ride on the track over and over with all the big kids that were practicing and warming up for their races. He loved it! We plan on entering him into the outdoor racing this spring.

Indie is FIVE! We had a fun day! We went out to lunch with Dad, decorated cookies (because Indie won't eat cake), and he got a new bike for BMX racing that will start up in the spring!