Sunday, March 12th, 2023.

~39 weeks pregnant

• I woke up feeling exceptionally tired. Tired isn’t the word. I felt exhausted. We ended up streaming church that day, while I tried to lay on the couch as much as I could. For the remainder of the week, I woke up closer to 8AM, barely able to open my eyes. If I could, I would have easily remained in the bed until 11 AM…but you know, I had three other little ones to care for. Apart from my first trimester, I hadn’t felt this level of exhaustion throughout the pregnancy. But the level of tiredness I felt did feel reminiscent to the end of my first pregnancy with my firstborn son. Considering that my last two pregnancies were girls, it made me more convinced that I was carrying a boy this time around.

Wednesday-Thursday March 15th-16th, 2023.

• Mild cramping and lower back pains began. At this point, I could only manage to get through our usual morning homeschool activities. But after lunch, I let the kids independently play with one another while I laid on the couch until my husband came home. I hadn’t experienced period-like cramps with my other pregnancies and the level exhaustion seemed to have been increasing at this point.

Friday, March 17th, 2023

• I had a sudden burst of energy. My mother came over to watch the kiddos while I went out and bought a few plants for the house. I did a few house projects and felt oh-so-satisfied.

Saturday, March 18th, 2023.

• Stronger contractions began anytime I moved around the house. Most noticeably, I began to become easily irritated by the smallest of things. I was very snappy towards my husband, and I didn’t want my kids to touch me. I simply felt annoyed allllllll day and didn’t know why. The contractions weren’t consistent, nor were they very strong, but something was bothering me.

• That night, I went to bed early and slept with a peanut ball between my legs in order to create more room in my pelvic area for the baby to move on down. At this point, I felt very much ready for our baby to be born.

Sunday, March 19th, 2023

12:00 AM

• I woke up out of my sleep due to a very intense contraction. I grabbed my laptop and began watching Abbott Elementary, Season 1 Episode 1. Months prior, I made a list of shows to watch during intense contractions and postpartum nighttime feedings. Well, the contraction I experienced at 12:00AM constituted itself as an “intense” contraction, and so the episode commenced.

• For the next hour, the contractions came and went. They were intense but not super consistent. I used the restroom (i.e. diarrhea) and saw that I had lost my mucus plug. At this point, I reasoned that if I were to go into the labor within the next few hours, I wanted our kitchen and living room to be clean. We planned on having a home birth and the downstairs was a mess. I grabbed my robe and waddled downstairs, where I found my husband asleep on the couch. I began washing the dishes and woke him up to take out the trash and to help me tidy up the living room. My husband had been through enough births to know that when I was operating in a certain “mode,” he didn’t ask questions. He just obliged to any of my “absurd” demands. By 1:30 AM, everything looked to my satisfaction. I texted my midwife and doula to let them know that I had lost my mucus plug and was having more intense contractions-but nothing unbearable. I let them know that I planned on going back to sleep and would update them in a few hours.

5:30 AM

• I woke up again due to contractions and couldn’t lay back down. I texted my midwife and doula again. I knew that these contractions weren’t super intense and so I didn’t tell them to come over just yet.

6:30 AM

• Contractions ceased completely.

• All 3 kiddos woke up.

7:30 AM

• My two oldest got up and got dressed, while my husband made their breakfast. They were excited to go to church, but I knew that I needed to stay home with my husband nearby. I texted my parents to see if my two oldest kiddos could go to church with them. My husband then dropped our oldest two kiddos off with my parents while I stayed home with our one-year-old.

• At this point, I was having contractions- but again, nothing unbearable.

12:00 PM

• I laid back down and began watching Abbot Elementary. Somewhere in the middle of the episode, I fell asleep with the peanut ball in between my legs.

1:00 PM

• I woke up due to a VERY intense contraction. I went to the restroom and straddled my legs around the toilet in reverse to open up my pelvic area more. The contractions began to come full throttle.

1:40 PM

• Within a group chat with my doula, husband, and midwife, I texted my doula and asked her to come over.

• My midwife called me and said that she was on her way. I couldn’t talk through my contractions anymore.

2:15 PM

• My midwife and doula arrived. My midwife checked me and I was 7-9cm dilated. FYI: You only need to be 10cm dilated to begin pushing. My midwife began setting up her equipment and informed her assistants to head on over. My doula and I began to do abdominal lift and tucks during the contractions to help the baby engage the pelvis. After our fourth or so abdominal lift and tuck, I felt lots of pressure in my pelvis and wanted to move downstairs (away from our carpeted floor) in case I was ready to begin pushing.

3:00 PM

• After moving through several contractions downstairs, I moved to our 1/2 bathroom to straddle my legs around the toilet. My midwife reminded me that I typically made the most progress in this position. Sure enough, my water broke minutes later. My baby was moving on down. I recall my midwife saying, “Jessica, do you need to push? I need you to get up.” I wailed back, “I CAN’T. I don’t want to get up!” With this being the third pregnancy that my midwife has overseen, I’ve learned when my midwife is being firm, despite her very very gentle approach. “Jessica, I need you to get up for the safety of the baby.” I got up and went back to the living room for her to check me. I recall needing her reassurance that my contractions were not in vain. “The baby is going down right?” I asked. My midwife retorted, “This baby can’t go any further down,” she looked up with a smile. Even still, I didn’t believe her. I wanted everything to be over. I felt so tired.

I knew I could begin pushing but I felt so tired. I asked my midwife if I could just lay down for a second to rest up. She told me I could. She asked my husband to support me from behind. The moment I felt my husband’s touch, my entire body just relaxed all-around. I asked my midwife if I could push from that position and she said I could. I usually pushed my children out on my hands and knees, but I felt so tired and that position on my husband felt too good. I began pushing.

To any beautiful mama about to have her baby. Eat your dates, do your squats, get chiropractic care, go through child birth education classes. But you better not forget this…

“ …apart from me you can do nothing.” -Jesus John 15:5

So pray my sister. And ask those around you to do the same. You got this :)!

Eli James Stephens

7lbs 12 oz

March 19th, 4:04 PM.

Psalm 127:3 “Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.”

Thank you for the prayers, the gifts, the cards, the food, the love. Thank you.

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