A Shaylee Story

Well, as most of you know from Elliott's blog, Shaylee Ann Innes was born Tuesday July 10th at 6:53pm. She weighed 8 lbs 0.5 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long, and she is beautiful! Thanks to all of you who were praying with us for a safe delivery. (Disclaimer-may contain material considered sensitive by some.) So without further ado, here is the story of Shaylee...

We were staying at a friend's house in twin beds in their guest room, since the floors in our house were just being finished. I woke up at 12:30 very early Tuesday morning feeling very wet. I wasn't sure if my water broke or what, but I turned on the light and asked Elliott to go get a towel. Sure enough, my water had broken. We decided we would just go back to sleep and wait for contractions to start, but since sharing the only dry twin bed was very hard (especially with my big belly) we decided to go home. We arrived home to beautiful new floors and very little odor. We managed to get a few hours sleep, and still woke up to no contractions. Elliott called the doctor and she said for me to walk, walk, walk to get labor going. So I went outside and did a few laps in the back yard, got bored, so I swept the driveway. Still waiting for contractions, I swept the kitchen, did some dishes, vacuumed the hallway, the stairs, then finally took a shower and got ready for the day. We had no groceries, so Ell suggested we go shopping. Well, walking all over the grocery store did it. As we were paying at the cash register I had my first contraction. It was almost 1pm - a little over 12 hours after my water broke.

The contractions weren't very strong yet, so we sat down to eat some lunch with our friends and spend a little time with Micaiah before the real work got started. Then I cuddled on the couch with my little guy until I needed to go to bed to concentrate on the labor.

The contractions were hard to get an average on. I would wait 8 minutes, have an intense one, wait about a minute and a half, have a weaker one, then repeat the cycle. The doctor came around 3:00pm to check me, and said I was only at about 2-3 cm, and the baby was still at station -3. We figured it would be a long labor, so I settled into bed and anticipated a birth sometime after midnight. After a few hours I got in the birthing pool we had set up in our bedroom. I was having another contraction as I entered, but the second the water hit my belly the discomfort greatly decreased. I spent a little over an hour in the water just relaxing through the contractions. Elliott was great to coach me when I needed it and stay silent when I needed that.

We called the doctor about 5:30 to give her an update. She asked if I wanted her to come then, but I figured we had several hours ahead of us so I told her she was fine to wait. About ten minutes later I realized everything was getting more intense and I was starting to feel the "self doubt" that lets you know you are getting close. So we called her back and told her she better head over. Then it seemed that maybe the water was not helping as much as before, so I got out of the pool to see if laying down on the bed would help.

As soon as I laid down I had one pretty intense contraction. The next one came a few minutes later and I could feel I needed to push. The doctor was not at the house yet, so I asked Ell to call to see where she was. Just then the door bell rang. All I wanted was for the doctor to confirm I was at 9 or 10 centimeters so I could push. She took a while getting to our room and I was wondering if this baby was going to beat the doctor. She checked me quickly and then started talking to Elliott. All I wanted was to hear a number. I told her a couple times that I wanted to get back in the pool, but no one could hear me. So I finally yelled, "water, now!" The doctor jumped out of the way as Elliott helped me stand up and walk two steps to the pool. As I was doing this the baby's head came halfway out. I was scared I was going to tear like crazy since she seemed to be coming so fast. I got in the pool and waited, for what seemed like an eternity, for the next contraction to come. Elliott got in the pool with me and waited. The next contraction came, I pushed twice, and out she came -- right into Elliott's hands! The umbilical cord was loosely around her neck, so the doctor helped turn her around to free the cord.

Elliott handed our daughter to me, and we sat there in the tub in awe of what had just happened. I was a little shocked at how quickly our "long" labor had progressed - about 6 hours from the first contraction. And I didn't tear at all! I held her in my arms and she immediately began rooting. So at three minutes old she nursed for the first time, right there in the tub. After delivering the placenta and cutting the cord we all got out. I laid on our bed and cuddled with her under blankets to keep us both warm. After about a half an hour Micaiah came in and we had one of the most precious moments of my life as our new family spent time getting to know each other. Micaiah immediately wanted to give her kisses, and seemed very happy to see his mommy after several hours apart.

The whole birth was a wonderful experience. It was such a blessing to give birth to her at home. Elliott was amazing -- timing contractions, coaching me through labor and even catching Shaylee as she came out. Everything was perfect. Thank you, Lord for a safe and healthy birth, for an amazing husband, and these two little miracles.

*Check Elliott's blog for many pictures*
www.globalinnes.blogspot.com