Over the hump

The "hump" - I have known since I experienced it with Hunter that the first 2-3 weeks after birthing a baby are far more difficult to get through than the labor and delivery. It's strange to me that there is so much fear and apprehension and hype about the actual birth process, but no one talks about how hard those first few weeks with a newborn are. The physical recovery, the time it takes for your body to heal, the emotions, the hormones, the sleep deprivation, various nursing and feeding issues....the realization that there will be no real break from it all for several months yet.

We are all slowly making the adjustments. Faith is so in love with Luke - she can't keep her lips off of him! Hunter and Jesse are showing a little less interest - but they do like to hold him and talk to him from time to time. Mike enjoys him before and after work. I get to enjoy him all day and all night!! Occasionally Luke lets me sleep for 3 hours straight- which is great! I know it will get better. It's all worth it....

having your sleep interrupted 3-4 times per night..........exhausting

unable to do little more than nurse a baby all day long.........frustrating

having no choice but to let the dishes and laundry pile up.........overwhelming

rocking a warm, sweet smelling baby to sleep in the still of the night......Priceless!

Introducing Luke

Luke Gabriel Hill was born on September 27th, 2006 at 11:07am. He was born at home with the help of 2 wonderful midwives, and welcomed into the world by some dear friends and family.

Labor started at 5:30am - I woke with contractions about 6 minutes apart and within one hour they were 2 minutes apart and getting stronger. I woke Mike and he got up and began getting the kids ready for school. Since I had been having contractions on & off for a couple of weeks - I wanted to be sure this was the real thing before calling Kim (my midwife). It soon became obvious that I was definitely into stage 2 of labor. (stage 1 I had gone through gradually over the last 2 weeks and had dilated to 3cm at my last prenatal visit 5 days before). I called Kim just after 7am and called Marria, Mandie and Carol Ann - my birth support team! We put Hunter on the bus and Carol Ann came and took Faith to school.










When Kim arrived at 8:30am I was dilated 9cm!!! Mary (midwife) arrived shortly after, and Marria and Mandie showed up about 20 minutes later. By that time, I was getting to that point in my labor where I didn't really know what to do anymore to get through the contractions. I was moving around alot - changing positions - on the gymball, on the birthing stool, lying down, standing up, leaning on Mike or the counter...I decided to labor in the bathtub for a while - which was really helpful - it's really amazing that a simple tub of warm water can have such an effect on labor pains. After I got out of the tub, the contractions were pretty much coming right on top of each other, for about an hour before it was time to start pushing. It seems like I pushed just 3 or 4 times and Luke was born! 9 pounds, 2 ounces, 22 inches long.















As births go, this was definitely my easiest one - less than 6 hours from start to finish, pushed him right out - no complications, and.... the best part about a home birth - within half an hour we were all snuggled up in our own bed!! God has blessed us once again with a healthy, beautiful baby. All of my prayers regarding the birth of this child were answered, and it is truly humbling to think that God has been mindful enough of me to grant me with a safe birth and healthy child, not just once, but four times. For the most part, I had incredible support from friends and family regarding my decision to have this baby at home. There were a few "naysayers" but I was confident in God's ability to see me through the experience, and I will continue to trust in his mercy forever.