The Birth Story of Phoebe Christine

I have sat here for a few days with "The Birth Story of Phoebe Christine" written at the top of the screen and a blank page, not knowing where to start. While Lily's story was about peace and God ushering me into a new stage of life, and Norah's story was about letting go of my pride and fear and completely trusting Jesus, Phoebe's story is about the support and love God's given me through my family here in Ft. Worth. Some small, irrational part of me feels that if I write it down, it means that this time here that God's ordained for us is really over, and I just don't want to face that.

But there is so much Love and Joy in Phoebe's story that I can't not share it.

I went into the last trimester of my pregnancy with this baby expecting to go into labor "late" like I had with Lily & Norah. I knew by now that my body takes a while to warm up, but when it is ready, someone better be there to catch my babe. Labor signs started at 39 weeks with the first two, but Phoebe's started at 38 weeks. I assumed that this just meant that I would going through early labor a week longer than before.

But on the evening of the 2nd, a few days before my EDD, I noticed that I had 10 min apart contractions from about 4 pm. They were manageable  nothing I couldn't just breath and sway through, but I let Eamon and my birth team know what was going on as I figured that I'd probably be giving them a call later that evening. I was able to sleep in between contractions that night, but by 4 am, they were about 6 mins apart so I hopped in the bathtub to see if they'd stop. Nope! They kept up, so the calls were made. 

Eamon was more convinced that I was in labor than I was. He duct taped the hose to the water faucet in the kitchen and began filling our birth tub. I was still terrified that once again my birth team would show up and my labor would stop like it did with Norah.

At about 6 am Angela, Ceci (our birth cinematographer), Michelle (our birth photographer) and Katie had quietly arrived. Angela was supposed to be assisted by her student midwife, Lanette. Throughout my pregnancy I had gone back and forth about whether or not she was supposed to be there, finally deciding that I should know by now that the Lord will have whoever is supposed to be there come. It just happens that Lanette was out of town that weekend so she wouldn't be there.

I was cheerful between contractions, able to keep up normal conversation with these women that I love.
I was consistently having bloody show, and couldn't quite tell where the back side of my cervix was, so I requested to be checked. I had started throwing up and was hopeful that this was transition. Angela held me as I threw up into a bowl and pushed back my hair. Her presence and the fact that I was probably in transition kept me cheerful though. I laid down to be checked... 4. I was 4 centimeters. That, is quite a bit away from transition. And I was pretty discouraged.

I crawled into the birth tub struggling internally. Eamon assured me over and over that we WERE going to have a baby that day, and it was okay if we stopped and started, that it's what this baby needed, but I didn't really believe him. Michelle came to my side and tried to encourage me to regain my confidence and joy. I knew she was right, and I knew not to let pride in like it had before, but this was hard.

The girls woke up with the sun shortly after.
Lily was very excited that I was in the tub. Norah kept asking "BABY?!" It was very sweet.

I labored on around my home.
Most contractions brought me to the floor, all I could do was fold completely in half in child's pose and keep a low moan in my breaths.

8, 9, 10, and 11 o'clock ticked by.

My contractions were consistent, but weren't progressing.

I'd been here before. I hated that I was here again.

Angela said that some of the birth team was going to go get lunch.
As I was sitting in my bath tub at 4 am, I thought I'd surely have a baby in my arms by lunch...

Lunch time came and went. Katie entertained the girls while Eamon and I labored in my room.

The team returned and I told Angela that if by 2 I wasn't in transition that the team could leave
Dr. Cindy came and gave me an adjustment to help alleviate some pain and possibly increase the contractions.

Many contractions later, 2 pm arrived and I requested to be checked again.

Four centimeters. No change.
I went into the bathroom and sobbed alone.
Again, my body was "doing this to me."
I got on me knees and begged Jesus to meet me. To bring me my baby. To give me strength and confidence and patience and trust, because I had run out of all of them.
I asked Angela to pray with me and to tell everyone to leave because I couldn't face them.

Everyone left and Eamon put the girls down for a nap. My contractions slowed to ten minutes, then to fifteen and I was able to rest for maybe an hour and a half between contractions.

When I woke up, the girls were in their room, and Eamon was with me in ours.
Something in me knew "my baby needs help".
I needed to help her. My body was trying, but my baby needed some encouragement.
Something switched in me at that point. I went from feeling sorry for myself to having a renewed determination to meet my baby.
I texted Angela saying that my contractions hadn't stopped. I either needed them to stop so I could get some real rest, or I needed to get this show on the road.

I decided that in between contractions I would start nipple stimulation (which, I'm not gonna lie, was super awkward and embarrassing  even though it was just Eamon and me) and then to start a contraction, I would begin pelvic tilts on all fours.
It worked.
My contractions got back down to 6 mins apart very quickly and I called Angela. Anyone else would have given me benadryl and sent me to bed, but at about 4 pm, Angela made her way back into our home to support me in labor. I told her that if I still hadn't progressed that she could go home and we could do whatever possible to try and stop this marathon labor.
While it wasn't much, all that work had done something! I was finally at 6 cms!

Angela gave me a napkin with some Clary Sage on it to help intensify my contractions in addition to what I had already been doing.

The next hour, it was just me and my baby.

Angela rested on the couch in our living room, Eamon couldn't stay awake and had fallen asleep in the bed next to me.

The work was hard.

I prayed between contractions, moaned into my pillow, but finally had hope that I was going to meet my baby.

By five, I felt my contractions start coming right on top of each other and finally felt comfortable inviting the rest of my birth team back.
Michelle had gotten a stomach bug and had to stay home, and was sending our friend Keri in her place.
I wanted Michelle there since she was such a good friend and because she had been at Norah's birth, but I wanted Keri present throughout my pregnancy, but thought it probably wasn't an option. Once again, God had ordained exactly who was supposed to be there to greet our new baby.

Contractions were very painful at this point, and consistent so I figured it was safe to get in the tub without the warm water slowing them down.

I had Eamon turn on some music for me and I got in the zone.
It was beautiful.
The evening sun was shining through our living room windows. Our girls were playing with their Auntie Katie, picking me dandelions. The back doors were open letting in fresh air that I would fill my lungs with before embracing each contraction. Two of my best friends were supporting me, my midwife who never gave up on me sat nearby...This was labor. It was here.

Eamon whispered soft encouraging words to me as I worked. Each wave that came was met with a low moan. I concentrated on keeping the same note throughout the contraction and trying to stay on top of them.
I couldn't see her, but Eamon told me "Ann's here, you can have your baby in twenty minutes now." and I didn't know what he meant, I was in my zone. But a few minutes later I looked up and saw my sweet Ann there. She was present for Lily's birth and was supposed to be at Norah's (but her husband was in the hospital that night with a heart attack) but made it for this birth. Everything was rolling along.
I started feeling really uncomfortable, at this point with Lily and Norah, I got out of the tub, but I really wanted to experience a water birth this time, so I stayed. When I started hearing myself saying things like "I can't do this," and "it just hurts too bad" I knew I was in transition. I could feel a small bubble (still very high up) in front of my baby's head and I knew I was okay with my water being broken, so I asked Angela to check me with the hopes that it would agitate my water bag.
Angela confirmed that I was 8 cms (THANK YOU JESUS!!) and while she checked me my water broke. On it's own or with a little help didn't matter to me, I knew what came next. The contraction that came with it was intense and left me light headed. I thought I was going to pass out, I had never experienced this before. My whole body was tingling and shaking. I thought I needed oxygen, but my midwives kept reassuring me it was because I was getting so MUCH oxygen and to breath into my hands.
The girls came in and were starting to get curious. Norah was checking the tub to see if there was a baby floating in there, and Lily was making sure that I was okay.
I got myself into a very unfamiliar position. Eamon was behind me outside of the tub with his hands supporting my back as I floated up at the top. It was very strange not having anything to brace myself up against. In my head I was encouraging my body to get that "one contraction" that would make me push. I knew that if my body would start pushing, my baby would be here in just a few minutes.

Then, just 3 or 4 contractions after my water broke, I felt it :]

My body started pushing and I was excited.
I yelled to my team "I'm PUSHING!!!!!" and Angela came right over and said "The head is out, Mae!"
Everyone else was still on the other side of the room, but when they heard this they all started running over.
Shortly after she said "There's the body-MAE! Reach down and grab your baby!!!"

It was surreal.

After one push, my baby came into the water where I scooped it up.

It was warm, slippery, and so very, very tiny.

The midwives unwrapped the cord from around our baby's neck as I lay in Eamon's arms in euphoria.
My praises of our faithful Lord rang out in our home as Lily and Norah came to see their new baby.
We excitedly checked to see if our babe was a boy or girl. With her swollen lady parts and cord coming up through her legs, we both momentarily thought she was a boy, but excitedly announced that it was indeed, "Another Girl!!"
Lily was thrilled :]



Our baby came to be one night during a meteor shower, so I knew that I wanted his/her name to reflect that. "Phoebe" means "bright and radiant . Phoebe is also considered the first woman decan in the church. She aided Paul in the early days of church planting. When searching for a middle name, I decided to name her after my friend, Keri, whose middle name is Christine. It means "woman of God." and during my time here in Fort Worth, Keri, the first person I met, has shown me what that looks like. I was thrilled that she and her mama were there to welcome our little lady and told Ann the meaning of her name while we were sitting in our post baby high. There was no blood in the water, all of the women who had taken on the roll of Mother, Sister, and Friend were surrounding us, and my family felt complete, again.

Phoebe Christine Burke
05/03/2013

7:04 pm

6lbs 15oz | 19.5 in 

Lily, who has been preparing herself for the "scary placenta" turned to me and said "Okay, mama, now it's time for the plusempta!!" The placenta came just a few minutes later. I always find it very amusing that I cannot actually push, ha, but we got it out eventually. The only blood that was present in the tub came when Angela tipped over the bowl with the placenta and some blood came out of the sack. I think that kept the girls both very calm and made the after birth less traumatic for them.

Eamon cut the cord and wrapped our baby up in a warm towel while I got out of the tub.
We snuggled in our bed as the bathtub was filled up for the herbal tea bath. I couldn't believe how tiny and beautiful she was. I truly believe that my little lady needed help coming down into the birth canal because she was so tiny!

I got into the warm bath while Katie and Keri got a chance to hold and love on her. She was then passed into the tub with me where I cleaned her off and let her sisters get a closer look at her. We crawled back into bed with fresh clothes and my fashionable depends, prayed and gave thanks for the day, did the newborn exam and (after Angela had been there for about 15 hrs) were left on our own... as a family of five.

I didn't sleep much that night, or the following. Sweet Phoebe was ready for my milk to come in and wouldn't let mama rest until it did. But once it did, she has been the sweetest nursing baby in the world.

Angela asked me a few days after the birth how I was "processing" it. All I could say was "Well, it happened!"
We were so blessed not to have any complications during her birth. Nothing... happened.
But both Eamon and I had a sense of... finality with her birth.
Like, for now, our baby baring chapter has come to a close.
And instead of being joyous that it went so perfectly with all of the family that God's given me here, it breaks my heart. God has confirmed in me that family is beyond blood, through the births of my own. My sweet midwives who have supported me spiritually, physically, and emotionally through several births. My friends who have prayed through lean times, depression, and pain, who have cooked and cleaned, who have become my sisters... I don't want to leave them, but they have taught me what type of women that I want my girls to be.

Phoebe, my sweet darling girl, I am so glad you are here. You were welcomed with an outburst of joy and laughter. I can't wait to introduce to the world Our Father has created for us. Your daddy and I love you so very much <3 div="">

The Birth of Norah Jean: Part Two

Go here to read Part One

It was about 7:30 pm on Tuesday night, and the work was here. All of my warm up labor, and all of the discomfort had paid off, my body was working, just in a way I hadn't expected it to. It wouldn't conform to any of my expectations that night.

My birth pool had water in it from that morning so it had gone cold. We didn't have a sump tank. Everyone looked around at each other for a minute and then someone said "Let's get some buckets!" Eamon went with me to the living room to labor on the birth ball while my diligent team emptied and refilled the tub. I actually had no idea what was going on until I heard Lily CRACKING UP in our bedroom. Apparently all of the ladies were in there with pots and bowls scooping out water little by little and throwing it over our back porch balcony. Lily thought it was hilarious.

When the tub was ready, I asked for some time to have to just Eamon and myself. I loved this. Eamon prayed over my delivery and set my mind at ease that we were going to have this baby tonight. Before we were done he laid his hands on my belly and just talked to our little unborn child. He didn't say a word out loud, but I could feel every bit of emotion that he was emitting to our little one. More than I was ready to meet this baby myself, I was ready for Eamon to meet him/her.

Us laboring together after our time of prayer

The clock continued to tick and I knew Lily would need to go to bed soon. In my head I was so upset. The night before I went to a Mom's Group and wasn't home in time to put Lily to bed. I had been making it a very special time for the two of us the past few months and it was something I looked forward to. I would bathe her, comb her hair, read to her, just made her feel extra special in case I went into labor that night. I was sad that I hadn't got to the night before and was sort of jealous of Eamon. He said "Well maybe you can read her a story before she goes to sleep?" Capital idea, Watson! As Eamon went into her room to get her ready for bed...I started to climb out of the tub. Wait, WHAT?!? Yeah, I wasn't exactly thinking that one through. Just as I started getting out Eamon walked in with Lily "WHAT are you doing?! Sit back down!" Eamon brought her to the side of the pool and through a contraction or two, I read Goodnight Moon to my baby girl one last time as an only child. 

Thank you so much Michelle, this one's hanging up in her room ♥

With Lily asleep in her bed [that's where she stayed all night, a miracle I tell you!] I knew it was time to get serious about having this baby. Contraction after contraction came...but it felt different. I remembered being in the pool with Lily. I remember what my breath felt like in my chest. I remember what the pressure felt like in my womb. I remember the relief the water gave me. Only the last of those memories were becoming familiar. My contractions were not long, they were not close together, but they were painful. The water did make them feel so much better, but there was still something off. Then I felt another change. My contractions were only down really low, and I felt like the urge to push was just around the corner. Everyone thought pushing was just minutes away.

Since I started becoming a bit too uncomfortable, I thought maybe I should try to go use the restroom and come right back out. I was still excited. I still smiled in between all of my contractions, I still cracked a joke here and there, and I still was hopeful that it was only going to be a little longer. The clock read a little before 9 as I made my way to the bathroom...
"Any minute now," I thought "Any minute..."

An hour passed.
I went back and forth from the tub, to the toilet, to the bed.
I squatted. I got on all fours. I sat on my ball.
Another hour passed.
I looked at the clock. I got mad.

What was going on? We knew baby was posterior on and off. I knew that must be what was making this hard, but why were my contractions anywhere from 5-15 minutes apart? Didn't my body know what it was doing? Why was this happening to me?
I was trying to keep a brave face and with Leila holding my right hand and Eamon holding my left, I labored some more on the toilet. Adrenalin took over my body and I couldn't stop shaking. I was mad. Why was the Lord abandoning me now? I needed Him! Where was He?!
"This is too hard!!! I can't do this! I'm going to the hospital, this is not supposed to be this hard for me! Why are you doing this to me and my baby?!?"
The pain was overwhelming. My internal dialog was getting hard to hide. For quite a while, the only two things keeping me from saying, "Screw this, take me to a hospital" were the facts that I didn't want to have any of these contractions in the car and that we didn't have anyone to watch Lily.
On the toilet once more, I reached down because I could not understand what the pressure was I was feeling. I felt...bulgy, but there was no baby. I had my midwife check me.
"Can you even feel the head?" I asked her. She said she definitely could, but that my bag of water was in the way of Baby's head engaging. She pulled her fingers out and then asked "Can you feel this?" as she inserted one finger just to her fingernail. I could, it felt like she was touching me-but not. "That's your bag of water" she said. She told me that there was a lip on my cervix that wasn't melting away and that Baby couldn't engage.
I had asked my midwife to call my chiropractor midwife friend, Cindy, to come and adjust me. When I found out she made it, I made my way down the hall to the living room to get adjusted on the couch. In my head I was still yelling. In my heart I was breaking down, not knowing where to turn to. Cindy adjusted me and I laid there on the couch.
I felt my contractions slow down even more. My heart was sinking so low...I don't know where it really went. Someone started to say something and I just couldn't keep it in anymore.
"What's wrong with my body?! Why isn't it working?!?"
I was broken. My cervix, my thoughts, my heart, they were all working against each other. I looked to my midwife and my doula for some sort of answer. I didn't get one I wanted. Angela told me that they were going to stay in the living room while Eamon and I went to rest in the bedroom. As she was telling me this I searched Eamon's eyes for some answers. I wanted him to tell me what to do, I wanted him to tell me that this was going to be over soon, I wanted him to make this easy for me.
My midwives, doula, photographer, and best friend watched me walk back down the hallway with Eamon's help. I cried the whole way there and broke down between contractions. He whispered in my ear "Whatever questions you have babe, I can't answer those for you. I know you want us to, and I know we might have some good ones, but they aren't our questions to answer." We laid down on our bed, and I began to fight it out with God in between contractions.

I can't really explain what happened, but I came to a point of surrender. I had hit this pit that seemed impossible to crawl out of and I realized I needed God. I couldn't do this, but He could. I called my birth team back in to our room and told them I needed them too. Eamon says at this point in labor I sounded like I was giving a sermon...whatever that means :] But during every single contraction I had to cry out to the Lord with my heart and say "I'm not strong enough, I can't do this, but you CAN! Finish this contraction for me, please Jesus!" and with each wave of contractions I got a little bit of relief. But sadly, there was no progress.
Angela checked me, she was contemplating breaking my water for me since I had tried every single thing we could think of. Ann was supposed to be assisting, but she was in the hospital with her husband that night. Instead, her mentor and partner, Donna Miller, had come in her place. Throughout the labor she had just sat to the side praying, keeping quiet, letting my body work. Angela asked me if it was ok if Donna checked me so she could get a second opinion. During another contraction Donna tried to diagnose the situation. When we asked her what she thought was going on she said
"Well she's a 7-8"
Before she could finished I yelled "NO!!!" I had just surrendered, I had not been laboring for almost seven hours at the same 7 centimeters...
But she reassured me and said "BUT when she has a contraction, she's complete. I just know if we break her water that she can push that Baby's head down."
At my follow up appointment I found out three things. One, even when I was complete, there was still a lip on my cervix. Two, my baby was still posterior before they broke my water. Three, Donna Miller never breaks water.
So confident that my baby wasn't at risk, and neither was I, Angela broke my water while I lay on the edge of my bed, again holding Eamon and Leila's hands. I tried every position I could think of that would bring my baby into my birth canal. At one point I got down on my hands and knees. I couldn't even stay up on my own. I could hear the Lord calling me to continue to surrender to Him. He was going to help me.

I felt like I needed to get back on my bed. Suddenly I found myself in the same position I was in when I birthed Lily. Angela wanted to check me one more time to see if I made any progress. Then a powerhouse contraction hit me. I remembered this! This felt familiar, this felt good! I couldn't control my voice and I let out every breath of air in my body. I heard Angela say "GOOD MAE! Baby's head is coming down!" I couldn't stop! The contraction kept going so I kept pushing! This was right. This was the way I remembered my body working. Everyone started to cheer me on. I heard Eamon say "We're about to meet our baby!" I got my excitement back, I reclaimed my joy. Another contraction hit. "Ok, the head is crowning, Mae!" Angela started to say. I still could not stop! "There's the head! The head is out!" Eamon was sitting up and I could hear the excitement in his voice "I can see it!" Another contraction hit right after that and I could hear everyone tell me to slow down, but I couldn't!

I felt the relieving familiar feeling of a warm, slimy baby slip right out of me.
I heard Angela say "Your baby's out Mae!!!"
The buzz around me was unreal. My body did NOT fail. It remembered exactly how to do this, and it did amazing! In three pushes [less than five minutes] I took my baby from a negative station, to out on my chest.

Angela brought this tiny, squishy being up to my chest, just like she had with Lily. Eamon got to see the face before I did and with ecstatic joy in his heart he said "It looked right at me!" [Lily didn't look at Eamon for weeks, it broke both of our hearts] Angela asked "So is it a boy or girl, Dad?!" Both of us knew as soon as she asked, and Eamon said "It's a girl! Norah!" He laid down close to me as she wiggled around on my chest. I said "We have two girls, babe!" and he said "I have THREE!" 

As she rooted around on my chest, I said "I'm done! Yes! Praise Jesus!" and Angela reminded me "You still owe me a placenta, Mae." I had nothing to else to say but an emphatic "Shit." Everyone laughed, I was embarrassed :]

Finally, she was here. My arms were full. My Lord finished what He started. I wasn't bitter. I wasn't mad. I was full of joy. She was here.

While Norah was waiting for me to get out of the bath, she decided she needed to eat...now.

I couldn't believe that I had done it. I also couldn't believe that Lily [who wakes up at even the mention of any...uh, night time schinanigans...] slept through the whole thing. But right on queue, she woke up just in time for Norah's newborn exam. She looked at me like "OH! Angela finally brought that baby you guys keep talkin about!" This was the first time she got to see and touch her baby sister. I'm so glad she woke up.

Norah Jean Burke

March 31, 2011

2:18 am

 7 pounds 15 oz

22 inches long

 Everyone got a good night's sleep that..well, morning. The birth team left by about four, and Lily was back in her bed. I woke up to see her laying there next to me, remembered what I had just gone through to get her, and thanked God for every second of it. Donna came by later that afternoon to get her purse and said
"I am so proud of you, you are such a strong woman. Not many women can do what you did."
I said "No, I'm not strong, that wasn't me, that was Jesus."
She laughed and said, "Ya, but you have to be willing to let Jesus work through you."
I took her compliment and said "Well maybe THAT'S why it took so long!!!"
We both had a good laugh. I knew what she meant, but it's still really hard for me to say "I did it" after all I went through. He did it.





I love Norah's story. I don't feel like I got jipped. I don't feel like I would have done anything differently. My baby is here and she taught me things that I don't think I would have wanted to learn any other way.

I can't wait for you to get to know her with me :]

Mae

You can go here to view Norah's slideshow.

The Birth of Norah Jean: Part One

"This Baby is just gonna fall right out of you!"
"Call me as soon as you even think something is happening, I don't want to miss it!"
"As soon as your body gets going, WHAM! Baby is gonna be here"

Since the moment we found out I was pregnant, these are the sort of things that were said to me on a daily basis.

So why was I sitting on my toilet, during my sixth hour of transition praying to God
"I can't do this. I'm not strong enough, Jesus. Finish this contraction for me."?

The answer is pretty simple now, that's what I prayed for.

Monday night I started having bloody show and contractions that were about 7-10 minutes apart.
On and off they went all day Tuesday.
By Wednesday morning they were getting strong so I had Eamon stay home from work. My contractions weren't getting longer, but they were getting stronger and a little bit closer together. When they hit 6 minutes apart, I called my birth team. I think I even texted Michelle, our birth photographer, "Today's the day!!! We're finally going to meet my Baby!!"

Eamon and I were both excited, we labored quietly throughout the morning for a few hours and started welcoming our birth team as they came in, all anxious to see this butter birth we were all expecting.
About an hour later...I felt my body slowing down. I began to panic a little bit inside, wondering if anyone else had noticed. They had. Angela sent me to go on a walk with Leila, my doula, to see if we couldn't get the contractions to get longer and closer together. It didn't work. They were still only coming every 7+ minutes and were only 45 seconds long. I told Leila as we walked back to my apartment that I was scared that I was stopping, that it wasn't time, that everyone was going to go home and that my body tricked me again. She told me not to think about it and to just keep breathing.
Sure enough, the talk came soon after that.
Angela told me [just as I've told other women] that sometimes a woman's body will feel like it's under pressure to preform, and that just makes things slow down. All I could think was "Ya...other women...You've seen me have babies, you know I'm not 'other women'. Why am I doing this??"
She explained to me that everyone was going to leave, but stay close by to let my body rest and hopefully make a strong come back. I was told to call if I felt like I needed anything.

I felt betrayed by my body.
Again, I gave into the "trick" of false labor, is what I kept thinking. I sent out a text to my prayer team that today was probably not the day after all but to keep praying that it would be soon. I was so afraid that I wasn't going to call my team in time, or that it would be fast and I wouldn't be able to deal with the emotions that come along with a fast labor so I prayed that my labor would progress gradually like Lily's to allow "God to do what He needs to do with me" Sometimes, I don't really understand the things that I'm praying for :]

I went to my chiropractor's office to get adjusted that afternoon which brought on some nice, strong, close together contractions. Baby was still feeling posterior, so my midwife had me start taking a homeopathic treatment that could possibly help turn them into the right position.
We went home and tried to nap. I was already exhausted and knew that since it was Lily's naptime that I better try and get some rest since I wasn't sure how many more days of this nonsense I was going to have to put up with.

Naptime came and went and while Eamon was preparing supper, I found myself doubled over on the floor.
"What is going on?!" I thought. My contractions weren't any closer together, they were anywhere from 7-10 minutes apart but I felt exactly like I did during the 20 mins of transition with Lily. I texted Angela "I feel like I'm in transition, I know that's probably not right, but these are getting really painful" She called and told me to time some contractions and give her a call in about thirty minutes.
Ten minutes passed and I knew I was in transition. I called her and said "I can't wait thirty more minutes, I need you now." Then I called Leila and said "I think it's time for you to come!" during a really intense contraction. I let my friend Katie know what was going on and asked her to come and help us with Lily. Supper time is not the most convenient time to have a baby when you have a toddler ;] I told Michelle that everyone was on their way over and that I'd let her know what my progress was once I had Angela check me that way she wouldn't have to come all the way out here for nothing again.

Everyone was here, and I wasn't slowing down.
Eamon set supper up for Lily with Katie, and came back into our bedroom for Angela to check me. I was a little bit nervous...ok, I was scared out of my mind that I wasn't progressing. But with Eamon on one side of me, and Leila on the other, Angela let me know that I was dilated to 7-8 cms!
The room let out a unanimous "PRAISE JESUS!" and the Hallelujah chorus was ringing in the background...well, at least it was in my head.

I figured being a second time mom I had a few hours, TOPS, before I met this cute little mystery baby, and I was ready.

It was time to work.

Go here to ready Part Two