I want to write this down before I forget all the details. So here goes. . .
I first started having contractions early in the afternoon on Thursday, November 10th. I just thought they were Braxton Hicks contractions because they didn't hurt and they would come and go. I walked the boys to school like I normally do and then put Vienna down for a nap when I got home. I also climbed in bed and rested for a little. I didn't have any more contractions for a few hours so I thought that was it.
Joel and the boys got home from school a little after 5 and then our midwife, Thalia, shooed us out the door so we could go on a date. We ordered some pizza for her and the kiddos to be delivered to the apartment and then we hopped on a dolmus (a shared taxi) and went to find some dinner for ourselves. We ended up also eating pizza since a Little Caesar's opened up near us and we wanted to try it. Turks really aren't great at making pizza and we've really missed good pizza. Turns out Little Ceasars wasn't so bad. We ordered our pizza and took it to the park to eat. I was having some contractions during all this, but still not too painful.
After we had finished eating our pizza, we decided to go home since the contractions were coming closer together and getting more uncomfortable. We got back on a very crowded dolmus and headed for home. Right after we got off the dolmus I had another contraction that was very painful and I had to stop and breathe through it. Then we continued walking back to the apartment. Thalia and the kids were surprised to see us home so soon, and they were actually still finishing up their pizza. They had spread out a picnic blanket on the floor to eat and the boys were having fun putting as much ketchup and mayonnaise on their pizza as they wanted (just like the Turks do).
The kids watched a movie and I kept track of my contractions, about every 10 minutes lasting around 30 seconds. Around 8:00 we got the kids ready for bed, read to them, sang with them and prayed with them. They all laid hands on my belly and prayed for me and the baby, it was so sweet. Then we tucked them in bed and my contractions started getting more painful and were coming about every 5 minutes.
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| Smiling between contractions - my last pregnant picture, taken a few hours before Isaiah was born. |
After we got the kids to bed, I was pretty uncomfortable so I took a warm shower and it felt good to have the water running on my back. Joel was also amazing and would rub my back and pray for me through every contraction.
Around 8:45 Thalia checked me and I was 5cm. It felt good to know I was halfway there, but I thought it would be the middle of the night before our baby came. Things kept moving along though and around 10:15 I felt so much pressure and told Thalia I felt like I needed to push soon. She checked me again and I was 9 cm. Soon after that my water broke and then I was ready to push. I pushed through two contractions and then he was here - born at 10:29pm! Right away I heard Joel say, "Honey, it's a BOY!" We were so surprised, but thrilled. I just thought it was so funny because we had absolutely NOTHING ready for a boy (Isaiah's first pictures are with a pink hat on). Thalia handed Isaiah to me right away and what an amazing feeling it was holding my son! I got to nurse him right away and after a little Thalia weighed and measured him - 8 pounds 13 ounces and 21 inches long, my biggest baby!
The whole birth experience was by far my best. It was painful, but it was so quick! I loved being able to labor and deliver in the comfort of my own home (Vienna's birth was also great, but it was at a birthing center rather than at home. And Colson was born in a hospital). It was an incredible experience and little Isaiah couldn't have come at a better time. Over the summer when we were talking everything over with Thalia, we weren't quite sure when to book tickets for her, but everything worked out perfectly and Isaiah arrived right in the middle of her time here. I'm also thankful he came at night and the kids were able to stay at home, they actually slept through the whole thing (just two doors away) and when they woke up the next morning they got to meet their little brother. We have that on video, and it's just so cute!
We're so thankful for God's provision for this birth and that everything just went so perfectly. We feel so blessed by our sweet little Isaiah!
Now for some more recent pictures of our little man
The proud big brothers and sister . . .
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| Love love love him! |
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| So cute! |
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| I still can't believe I have four kids!! |
