the Birth

There is always something the Lord wants to teach us. He ordains events in our lives to build character and trust in Him. So many times we cannot see what He is doing, but we learn to trust Him completely and fully...and when we are past our trial we can look back and see how every little event led up to His plan being revealed and His trustworthiness being so evident!

Courtney and Nate hired the best midwife in Georgia to attend the birth of their first child, Hannah. They loved her so much that they hired her again for their second child's birth. (Claudia also attended the births of our first 4 sons). She is a wonderful midwife who is full of love for her clients. This is not her job...it is her calling. 

During Courtney's prenatal visit on the Monday after her due date (she was 3 days "late" at that point) Claudia said that she had some news...she would be leaving to go out of town due to her daughter having surgery. She would not be leaving till the following Monday, but she wanted Court to know.

The freak out ensues. Isn't this a big reason we hire homebirth midwives??? So we KNOW who will be at the birth? Why is this happening? The planning was so careful and deliberate.

Odds are that Court will have her baby before Claudia leaves. At that point she would be 9 days "late" with her 2nd baby. We try and calm down, all the while thinking WHY. Claudia can not help the timing and is devastated even at the thought of missing this birth. She is totally committed to her clients and to miss out on a birth is not a small matter. However, her family is paramount and she must go to her daughter.

Court and Nate go through a lot of soul searching during the next few (laborless) days. What is God doing? Why? Do we really trust HIS plan instead of our own?

Courtney prays and decides not to try and 'induce' labor. God is in control and He already has the future written...and that includes this baby's birthday! (I personally found this to be very cool. Seeing that kind of trust in the Lord coming from my brother and his dear wife strengthened my own trust in Him)

A week comes and goes. Ups and downs occur when thinking of a Claudia-less birth. The back up plan is for her midwifery partner, Debbie, to attend the birth. Debbie is a wonderful midwife and Nate and Court know her very well. At least there would not be a stranger there! (I personally had Debbie at two of my own births and really liked her a lot)

On Sunday night I get a call from Courtney...her waters have broken! It is 2:15 a.m. She describes it feeling like someone with a 2-liter Coke bottle pouring water everywhere! Ha! She is planning to just go back to bed and sleep for as long as she can. After her first birth lasting 3 days, she now knows the importance of sleeping when you can sleep!

I fitfully sleep as well...praying for Courtney, the baby, and the fact that Claudia doesn't leave till mid-morning the next day. Court gets some sleep on and off...her brain is going as well!

She calls later that morning to say that she has started having some sporadic contractions and they are cleaning the house, hanging out with Hannah, etc. It is apparent now that Claudia will not be attending the birth and Courtney seems very fine with that fact. She is confident that the Lord is in control and she is trusting Him.

All through the day her contractions continue. 15 minutes apart, 10 minutes apart. By that afternoon they are getting a bit stronger and she has to think about them. Her and Nate go to the bookstore and the library...enjoying the day they have together with the fun anticipation of their new child!

That evening they settle at home again. Court's mom makes a delicious pot of chicken soup for dinner...yumm-o! Contractions are getting closer but not to bad yet.

My mom has gotten my kids and left, knowing that I will soon be going to be with Nate and Courtney. I decide to grab a salad from Zaxby's (yummmm!) and read a book there. While sitting and eating, Court calls and says things are getting more serious...could I come over now? 

I hop in the car, grab a Starbucks and head on over to their home. It s 8 p.m. when I arrive.

When I get there Debbie (the midwife) is there as well. Courtney is contracting about every 7 minutes and they are lasting about 55 seconds.....right on the verge of active labor! I try and help her body jump over the cliff...so I have her walk stairs (she loves me for this) and suck her thumb (way better than pitocin!). Wow. This does it! Within an hour or so we have contractions that are over 1 minute and about 4 minutes apart. 

Nate and I alternate between helping courtney and Facebooking to keep everyone in the loop  :)

Courtney would alternate between walking, stair climbing, the birth ball and the birth stool. She was quite determined to keep the labor going and NOT to end up with a 3 day birth again. She was worried that things were just not progressing, so around 10:30 p.m. Court asked Debbie to check her cervix. This was the ONE and only exam during the entire birth and it was such good news...Court was 5 cm and the baby was at a +1 station!!! Things were happening perfectly. I think that this info helped Courtney to just relax and have her baby.

Around midnight things became pretty intense. Courtney really wanted to get in the birthpool so we began to fill it with nice warm/hot water. She laid on the bed, bundled in her favorite quilt and continued to labor beautifully. Nate was right there with her, rubbing her back and supporting her. The music in the background was Psalms set to music...beautiful.

We were also excited once midnight arrived because we knew this baby would be born on our (mine and Nathan's) dad's birthday! What a cool thing  :)

The tub is finally ready and Courtney jump in. Well 'jumps' may be pushing it a bit  :)

We had discussed her contractions slowing down for a bit once she gets in and that if that happens it is normal and they will pick right back up. Well, no slowing this kid! They continue to come every 2-3 minutes. Courtney is in "labor land" and sleeps in between contractions. She awakens to work at relaxing during the contraction and then falls back asleep in between. A great way to labor.

Transition: the hardest part of labor but the shortest! Courtney is doing awesome! She is relaxed and allows her body to work.

At one point she turns her head towards me and says, "Tiff, I do not think I can do this anymore..." and a contraction begins...and she relaxes...and continues to labor. I am, of course, happy to hear this because it means labor is almost over!

Pushing begins slowly. Court is feeling 'pushy' and just goes with what her body is saying. No one is counting, no one is telling her what to do...she is just allowing her body to do it. (less pain, more progress!)

Towards the end she begins to push will all her might! Nathan is holding her up as she is floating in the pool. I am on the side of the pool with 3 digital cameras and a video camera! Ha!

The baby's head emerges  perfectly. A small rest and then the body follows...Debbie guides the baby out of the water and into Courtney's waiting arms. She takes a second to evaluate things and announces that it is a boy! Nate is so excited, he keeps saying, "A son! We have a son!!!!"

Rylee Chandler was born on April 7, 2009 at 3:42 a.m. on his Grandfather's birthday. Chandler is our dad's name and is a family name we have traced back to the 1500's!!! The name has been used in every generation since. My first son is Ethan Chandler.

Looking for Mama. Little Rylee did not cry at all...he just looked around at mom and dad. So peaceful. So perfect.

Nathan holding his son for the first time.

So sweet!

Let's weigh this baby! 9 pounds and 3 ounces!!! 22 inches long...WHEW. Where did she keep this kid?

The baby exam is done on the bed, next to mom, gently and with everything explained. Rylee did not even fuss once!

The midwives dated him at being 40 weeks gestation, NOT 11 days "over due". Had Courtney been under the care of a doctor or hospital based midwife she would have been induced...the baby forced to be born on the date the doctor decided...and he would have been early. This can cause many problems, one of which is an NICU stay due to his lungs not being ready, a common risk of induction. Nor did he have the jaundice that usually accompanies a pitocin induced birth. Thankfully the midwives know the best outcomes come to babies who are born when they are ready to be born!

My Boyz were very excited to meet their newest cousin!!!

Aunt Tiffy sure does love her new nephew  :)

All in all, the birth went VERY well. All of our prayers were answered...shorter labor (it was a total of 25 1/2 hours from water breaking, 8 hours of actual labor, less than an hour of pushing), no bleeding (she hemorrhaged last time) and a safe birth for her and the baby. The Lord had this planned prior to the foundation of the world and was brought glory and honor through Nathan and Courtney trusting HIM during difficult circumstances and decisions. Having Debbie at the birth was wonderful. She was absolutely fabulous and Courtney really bonded with her during the whole labor/birth. Praise the Lord for TWO awesome midwives serving families in Georgia and Tennessee!!!