Baby Austin

Austin Logan born September 10, 2015 at 10:48pm

8 lbs. 4 oz. 19 3/4 inches tall

Daddy holding Austin for the first time

Getting ready to leave the birthing center at 2am

All home sleeping in our own beds

The boys meeting Austin for the first time the next morning before heading off to school. They went to bed with no baby and woke up to a baby!

Love this picture of both boys

Carter always wants to hold Austin

This little boy constantly wants to snuggle with Austin as well.

 Cuddles with Daddy

Austin's arm looks a little awkward, but we've made progress with Bryson conscious of holding Austin's head :)

A few newborn pictures that a photographer friend from church took. Austin had trouble cooperating, but they turned out awesome.

[Long] Birth Story:

Thursday morning I got up early and took a very vigorous walk for a little over a mile; I was over a week past my due date and more than ready for baby to come! I rollerbladed the older boys to school then came home to get ready for the day. At 10:30, Bryson and I went to the library to catch the trolley as our fun activity that day. Not soon after I had a contraction, though I was skeptical if I remembered what a contraction felt like! Contractions continued about once every 30 minutes for the next several hours. I was afraid to mention anything to Matt in case it turned out to be nothing, but mid-afternoon I texted both him and my mom to let them know an update. Around 6pm, contractions finally started becoming regular about 10-12 minutes apart. We ate dinner at 6:30, then I texted my mom to have her pack an overnight bag as it looked like she would need to spend the night at my house. I waited longer to tell her to actually come as I finished up piano practicing with the older boys and packed lunches for school the next day. My mom arrived around 8:15 pm and was practically shoving us out the door as my last two labors were 3 1/2 hours once contractions became regular, but contractions were still 10 minutes apart. The midwife advised to wait a little longer until they picked up in intensity as they weren't too painful yet.

Matt and I left around 8:45pm to head to the birthing center and met the midwife and birth assistant there at 9:15 pm. The midwife checked me, and I was dilated to 7cm, 90% effaced, and the baby was positioned at 0. She predicted I'd have the baby within the hour and started the water in the tub.

The atmosphere at a hospital is quite chaotic--bright lights, people in and out, signing papers, answering questions, uncomfortable bed, IV in the hand, a nurse checking your progress, etc. The atmosphere at the birthing center is quite the opposite. The lights are dim, relaxing music in the background, a few candles, idle chatter in between contractions, no needles, no progress checks, warm bath. Being in water really did help ease the contractions. I was able to take deep breaths through each contraction and only became vocal when my water broke and it was actually time to push. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with being in water or if it was just a different experience this time, but while doing natural childbirth with Carter and Bryson, the pushing part felt good and was a huge relief from the pain of the contractions. This time with Austin, it was the opposite. However, because the pushing was so painful I pushed slower which helped with Austin's head shape and no tearing. After 4 minutes of pushing in which I was saying things like, "This hurts really bad!!" Austin was finally in my arms at 10:48. Matt actually let me have my moment this time, and I cried as I held Austin out of relief that he was finally here and healthy and an overwhelming sense of love. I held him against my chest for about 30 minutes until the cord stopped pulsing and then Matt cut it. (Being connected via umbilical cord for that long was probably the weirdest part for me.)

I didn't believe them at first, but both the midwife and birthing assistant repeated a few different times that this was the most peaceful labor they have ever witnessed. I guess that's a compliment. :)

Austin and I got cleaned up, then the midwife weighed Austin and got his stats and Matt was able to hold the baby for the first time. After that, Austin and I took an herbal bath together which was neat. As soon as Austin and I were checked out thoroughly, we left the birthing center at 2am which put us arriving home at 2:30. I felt great and it was sure nice to come home and sleep in my own bed! I was a little nervous about this part though simply because I'm used to being in a hospital for 2 days with nurses checking on baby constantly.

{Funny story to remember for the future: we actually would have been home sooner but when the birthing assistant pulled out of the birthing center, she cut the turn too close and a wheel went into a ditch. Matt spent about 30 minutes helping her get her car out so that she didn't need to wait for a tow truck.}

Having done a birth with an epidural, natural birth in a hospital and now natural birth in a birthing center, would I do a birthing center again? The answer is yes. The whole experience felt natural and as peaceful as birthing can and should be.

We needed to go to a pediatrician within 48 hours, so that put us going to the doctor when Austin was 12 hours old since offices are closed Saturday. He was too young to get his PKU and newborn screening done, so I had to go to a lab open on Saturday to get those things done. On Sunday, the midwife stopped by to check on both me and Austin (heart rate, monitor breathing, etc.).

The after-birth pains are much more intense and lasted longer this time around. With Bryson they lasted 2 days and with Austin they lasted 5 days. The healing process after having a baby is never fun--the after-birth pains along with blisters from nursing. On top of that, Monday I experienced some pain that was separate from the after-birth pains plus a really bad persistent back ache. I just shrugged it off and dealt with it thinking that I was over-doing it and needed to rest more. However, Tuesday morning I woke up to do the first feeding of the night and had trouble standing up from my bed because the pain was so intense. Walking over to get Austin from his basinet required holding on to something while I walked. Same thing happened for the next feeding of the night. When I finally woke up for the day to get the older boys off to school, the pain was so intense that I couldn't walk and finally started crying. Matt helped me to the bed, got the boys off to school, called my mom to come get Bryson, then insisted we were going to the ER. I wasn't sure what was going on but wondered if it might be a large blood clot or some other complication with birth. Because the pain was lower in my abdomen, I had the thought that it might be kidney stones though I knew nothing about them besides that they're extremely painful. I convinced Matt that we should see my midwife before jumping straight to the ER. They fit me into their schedule and I got checked out. 

Though it wasn't 100%, everything pointed to a kidney stone. The ultrasound proved that there was nothing wrong with my uterus but that there was something that looked like it could be a stone in my bladder. The pain I was experiencing that morning was the stone going through my ureter to my bladder. I rested the remainder of the day and drank a lot of water but didn't experience any more of the excruciating pain. The results from my blood work also indicated a kidney stone.

My mom has been such a wonderful help this last week. Matt took Friday off of work and then started back to work on Monday. He has helped me get the kids off to school each day and has also come home an hour or two early each day. Tuesday he cancelled meetings because of my ER scare and stayed home that day. Because he's had to work, my mom has taken Bryson each day so that I can focus on resting and taking care of Austin. It's been a huge blessing as I've adjusted to a new baby again.

We are all loving on baby Austin! A new baby is just such a miracle and blessing from God. We are so grateful to have him in our family.