A much awaited prize

It is amazing what one day can bring.

And how very long one day can be. Yes, I had a request for a "40 week" picture. I took this not 14 hours before Iris was born.

And this one not 14 hours after.

But who really cares about what my body looks like!?

Iris Sophia arrived at 1:00am on May 12th after 12 very long and may I say miserable, hours.

Her labor was nothing like I'd imagined. I went in for a normal appointment, my midwife checked me and we found I was dilated to 4 and 70% effaced. The baby was at +2 station. We discussed it a bit and decided it would be safe to have my midwife break my water and a few minutes later I was contracting 2 minutes apart.

It was a very long day. My contractions never did get to be any closer than two minutes apart, I never went into transition... but I have never in all the previous 5 labors ever had such horrible pain. I did not use pain medication and birthed at my midwife's birthing center. I have had two other births without pain medication and so I felt prepared. These contractions were not tides of labor to be worked through, they were stabbing pain to be survived.

We were all very very surprised as the hours ticked away and the contractions grew stronger and stronger that the baby had yet to descend any further. My cervix didn't seem to want to make any sort of movement on it's own and thus began a very painful journey of getting my cervix "massaged". Yes, not like a massage at all. Yes, I cried many times.

It was 12 hours later, two dips in the tub, many contractions and many position changes that I finally felt the small glimmer of hope that I was getting ready to push.

The next contraction brought on that "special" feeling and I pushed, cried, yelled and pushed again. I decided to yell, "I can't do this!" at which time the midwife plopped the baby on my stomach, "Well she's already here!".

Two pushes. I was in shock. Literally, I was in shock.

But she was here. 6lbs, 18 inches tiny.

I did it and honestly for a few hours I really wondered if I could. I really considered even for a few minutes that death must be around the corner.

Her head was turned "funny" - which I did not think was funny, and that was why she refused to come out. She had a little help in the end being pushed gently.

We have noticed because of that she has a swollen and slightly protruding lump on the back of her head that is slightly purple-ish. For this reason she cries terribly when we put on her hat.

We left the birthing center around 3:00am and arrived home right before 4:00am.

We are all doing very, very well. Iris is born to breastfeed. She latched on immedietly and has since had wonderful, long feedings. She's had some very nice looking diapers and I feel very confident in her health.

We refrained from giving her a bath for the first 24 hours and her skin is just amazing because of it. She is not greasy, no pimples, no flakes and no scratches.

She is so very peaceful, calm and so very loved.

My parents drove over on Thursday after they got off work and I couldn't be more grateful. My mom held Iris this afternoon while I took a long two hour nap, she folded my laundry, made lunch, my Dad dropped Sam off at school and picked him up and my mom even finished some of my sewing projects. Ha! Jackpot! :)

This afternoon one of my Mom's best friend, who happens to live 4 minutes away from me, came over for tea with her sister and the three of those Grandmas gave Iris her first bath.