When I think back on the stories of each of my children's births, I am amazed. They have all been extremely different. Here's Chloe's.
This picture was taken about 2 1/2 hours before Chloe was born. I am 39 weeks, 6 days. My mom came and picked up the kids. They were excited to get to go to grandmas for the day. We left as soon as they left, and I thought we had plenty of time. We arrived at the Birth Center at 9:00 a.m. and I got into the tub. I remembered that had helped me to relax when I was having Brooke, so I wanted to do that again. While I was in the tub my midwife tried to get an iv in my arm because I needed an antibiotic. She wasn't having any luck getting it in, and I was to the stage where I was telling Scott, "Don't make me do this again." They kept telling me, "There's not much longer, you can do it, she's almost here." But after the experience of Brooke's birth I didn't believe them. I thought I still had the rest of the day to be in labor. Brooke took a really long time coming.
I finally knew that I was almost through and could do it when my body just started pushing. It truly is amazing how God creates our bodies to know what to do, even when our minds are saying we can't. The midwife told Scott to go catch the baby, but she was already out. So she passed the baby to Scott to hold while she unwrapped the cord from her shoulder, and then I took her. I couldn't believe I was already holding my baby! It was only 9:30 a.m.! It was a 3 1/2 hour labor.
Meeting Chloe for the first time. I am in shock that I am actually holding her already.
The warm water was an easy adjustment for her to the world. She was relaxed and calm.
Bonding with the baby. Thinking about the miracle that just happened.
Here is my midwife Norla holding Chloe.
Chloe getting some daddy cuddles.
And lots of mommy cuddles.
At about 1:00 p.m. we headed home.
We made it home nice and healthy! At this point we still didn't know what we were going to name her. For the past few months I didn't think I was carrying "Chloe". But when we saw her we thought she looked like Chloe. When we looked up what the name meant, it helped us to decide.
Chloe is greek and means "blooming". Because flowers bloom at just the right time, it reminded us of how so many things for this birth had the perfect timing.
First she had the cysts in her lungs. We knew that the bigger she got and the closer to term she was the better. All the other kids came earlier, she was the one that made it the closest to her due date.
I really didn't want to have a baby on Valentine's Day. I just didn't think that would be a fun day to have a birthday.
She decided that grandmas birthday would be a good day to come. My mom took the day off and my sister Amy was also here visiting. Mom was able to come get the kids quickly so we could get to Topeka.
Scott had a day off on Friday. This allowed us to head to Topeka when we knew that this was the real thing. He didn't have to go to school to get plans ready for a sub.
I started having contractions at around 6 in the morning, so I had just had a full night's rest.
Althought the contractions were steady they didn't accelerate until we got to Topeka. Once we got to the birth center, everything just took off. I never felt rushed, I had time to get into the water. We didn't have to wait or hurry, but she came when I was ready and didn't think I could do it anymore.
Chloe is like a beautiful flower that blooms when the time is right. She came at the perfect time, in the perfect way. Everything happened exaclty how God planned, and we got to see it all unfold.
Her middle name is Grace. God used Chloe to show us His grace. The cysts on her lungs, not getting the antibiotic in time, the quick delivery, the timing of everything... He protected her through it all. He continued to show us that He is sovereign throughout the pregnancy, labor, and delivery. She is a reminder for us of His infinite grace and mercy. We are looking forward to raising this precious little girl and seeing how He continues to use her life for His glory.
