I had Colin post that last post for me, as I am sure that the whole world was as excited as I was that Caden is here and I am not still pregnant. Happy Days!!

Now I am getting around to telling "the rest of the story...."

I woke up Wednesday feeling a bit hyper. I suppose that was "nesting." I cleaned all three bathrooms, did all the laundry, vacuum/swept/mopped all floors in the house, harvested the herbs from the garden and put them in the dehydrator, cleaned the kitchen, washed and replaced all kid sheets.... Gads if I could get that much done everyday, imagine the possibilities.
Contractions were coming about every 15-20 minutes all morning. Nothing painful or anything, just present. When Randy came home for lunch I told him that I wanted to have a baby TODAY. He didn't really believe me because I had been saying that for weeks.
He went back to work planning on coming back home around 3:00 to go on a bike ride with his brother, Sam.
Around 1:00 the contractions started making me stop and focus when they hit but they still didn't really hurt or anything. I called Sam and asked him what he was doing. He said he was just "napping." I asked him if he would come a bit early for the bike ride and just "nap" at my house. He said, "ok, why?" I told him that it was possible that I was in labor and just wanted somebody around, but to bring his bike anyway just in case this wasn't really "IT."
Around 2:00, I called my mom and asked her to come. She told me to wait until Friday so she could finish her accounting test. I told her that I didn't want to and I wanted her to come now. She said to call back when I knew more.
Sam showed up at about 2:30. I was just finishing up the kitchen floor about then. I was glad to have Sam there. He read to Robyn for a bit while I got Grace down for her nap. I started feeling really chatty and Sam and I talked about books until Randy got home around 3:30.
I called my midwives at 3:20 and asked if I could come in to be checked when Randy got home. I was pretty sure this was it, but wasn't sure how far I come so I just wanted to be checked before Randy and Sam left for their bike ride.
When Randy got home, I told him the plan to go get checked and I asked him to put everything in the Jeep in case Sam needed the van while we were gone. Silly Me!
My contractions stayed about 15 minutes apart until we got in the Jeep, then they were every 5 minutes.
We arrived at the birthing center at 4:00pm and I asked Colleen to check me. She asked if I wanted to use the prenatal room or if I thought I was ready for a room of my own. Before I left the house, I had been thinking that the prenatal room would be fine, but by the time she asked the question, I decided I was ready for my own room.
We went back to the birthing room and she checked me. I was at a 9!!!! WaHoo!! The midwives jumped into action and got that room ready for birth in no time. I called my mom and said, "I'm dilated to a 9, will you please come now?" and she did. Of course, she was five hours away so she didn't make it for the birth or anything, but she was to my house by 10:00 to get the kids to bed.
Our midwives were awesome!! There are three of them there and they make an awesome team. It's like they can read each others minds or something. There was another lady at the same stage as me there so they kept pretty busy between the two of us. Mostly they left Randy and I alone to work while they kept very quiet and in the background - available when we needed them but out of the way. Fabulous!!
Randy brought in my bags while I called my mom. After that, my contractions got pretty intense. He kept busy pushing on my low back through each contraction. I spent most of the next two hours alternating between sitting on the ball and pacing the floor. I wanted gravity working for me so I stayed upright most of the time. I particularly liked sitting on the ball while leaning on the bed with my head under a pillow. I am sure I couldn't have made it through without Randy putting immense amounts of pressure on my tailbone region.
My thoughts alternated between doubt of whether I could do it or not and remembering to surrender to the contractions instead of fighting them.
The other lady gave birth just after 5:30. Her baby cried loud and for a while. It was very helpful to hear that baby cry.
I had told Brittney, one of the midwives, at my prenatal appointment on Tuesday, that I wanted to give birth at 6:00pm so I could labor during the day, have the baby just before dinner, eat dinner and go to bed at our regular time.
Caden was just a smidge late - he was born at 6:20pm. The midwives just had time to change their shirts and come in when I started to feel like pushing. I got on the birthing stool - very cool contraption made out of a metal bar that allows you to sit like you are on the toilet while allowing perfect access for the attending midwife. Brittney sat on the floor in front of me to catch and Randy stood behind me so he could keep up the counter pressure. I pushed through the next contraction and my water broke. The next contraction birthed his head and I had to quit pushing while she slipped the cord off his neck. One more quick push and he was out! He cried out enough to let us know he was breathing and then quieted right down as I held him to me. We had warned the midwives that I was a bleeder. I started bleeding too much so they immediately clamped and cut the cord. Then Randy took Caden so I could concentrate on delivering the placenta. Brittney coached me through pushing out the placenta while Colleen and Jerusha shot me with pitocine to contract the uterus.
As soon as the placenta was out, I lay down in the bed and Randy laid down by me with Caden in between us. The midwives cleaned up the mess while we enjoyed our new baby. Jerusha massaged my uterus one more time to make sure it clamped down and the bleeding problem was handled.
Randy and I were very impressed with how efficiently the midwives worked together to handle the bleeding problem so quickly. It was great. I had spent the day tanking up on water and drank two more water bottles full to be sure to keep my blood volume up - I did not want an IV and I certainly didn't want to pass out! Everything turned out great!
We rested for a while. Caden nursed like a champ for about 40 minutes. Then Randy made us soup to eat for dinner. Caden nursed again for a good 30 minutes. We called the kids to tell them that we'd had the baby. They were very excited.
I felt pretty good and I wanted to sleep in my own bed so we asked what needed to be done so we could go home. The birthing center policy is that the baby has to nurse and the mom has to go to the bathroom without passing out before they can go home. The baby had already been nursing so it was my turn to pass the test. I got a smidge light headed on my way back to bed the first time I tried to go to the bathroom so I laid back down for a bit. Randy paid the bill and Brittney got the paperwork done. I tried again and passed the bathroom test. So Randy loaded the Jeep and Brittney did the PKU screening on Caden. Then we were off.
It was a little bit tough to get the baby seat in the Jeep - we should have brought the van. Anyway, we made it home. We pulled into the driveway at 11:00 pm. We were gone a total of 7 hours. Colin and Robyn were still awake so they got to see Caden really quick. My mom was there and Sam was still there. I went straight up to bed while Randy showed off Caden for a minute. Then everyone went to bed.
It was so nice to sleep in my own bed. Ok, so I didn't actually sleep very much because I was busy looking at my baby, but it was sure nice to be in my own house to do it.
The next day, Sam went back to his mom's house and Randy went to work. My mom was here and she took the kids swimming so I could sleep. Caden and I have been resting and sleeping for five days. Randy took Colin and Robyn to a family reunion on Friday and Saturday and Grace and my Mom kept each other busy. I loved having the kids in and out. I would get very bored and lonely if the kids were gone all the time, but it was very nice to have them gone enough to let me rest.
Everything went just perfectly. I couldn't have asked for a better birth or recovery. My birthing center birth was my best by far. I would highly recommend that route. I was in control but the meds to deal with the bleeding problem were available and ready. Perfect!
(Grace's water birth was less painful but the water made it tough to deal with the bleeding - if you are not a bleeder, water birth is the way to go.)
Caden is a very calm baby - he rarely cries and when he does, it is just for a second. I hope that lasts! He sleeps, eats, fills his diaper, and looks around just taking everything in.
His big sisters just can't get enough of him and Colin thinks he's pretty cool too.
Now it's back to real life. My mom left this afternoon so I'm on my own again. I think we will be fine. The kids played quietly so I could nap this afternoon and the freezer still has a week's worth of meals in it. Life is good.

On a side note:
I am very excited to have my lap back! I never knew my legs were so long! I love being able to hold Grace comfortably to read stories. My legs are even long enough to hold the baby in my lap to finish typing this post. WOW!