Preparations {Josie's Birth Story Part I}

(the line is VERY faint, but it's there!)
 

On April 27th 2012, we found out we were expecting our 4th child. I had hoped that maybe this time the birth wouldn't require us to be at the hospital, and that we would be able to have this baby at home. I had the same hopes with Dallin's birth, but chose the hospital route with a midwife, and of course laboring at home because it felt right. After a lot of prayer, interviewing providers, and pondering about our options, we felt that a home birth would be safe and good for both the baby and I. Even though the laws in Arizona limited me to two providers to choose from  (because of my previous c-section), and our insurance refused to help pay for it, we made the commitment and our preparations began.

Charting put my guess date at January 8th 2013. Dallin was also due on the 8th, but came 4 days later, so I figured there was a good chance something similar could happen. Even so, I went about preparing for this little girl to make her entrance. There were times when the possibility of her coming early ran across my mind, but I usually dismissed it, as I didn't want to psyche myself out. I did buy her a Christmas stocking with her name embroidered on it, so it could hang with the rest of our family's. It didn't feel right for her not have one, as I considered her very much part of our family already.

Christmas Day had me at 38 weeks on the dot.Three days later, on Friday December 28th, I had noticed some good practice contractions throughout the day. Nothing uncomfortable, just more consistent than before. I stopped drinking red raspberry leaf tea as my uterus seemed to be toning itself fine without it. I found myself in a nesting frenzy cleaning our house, and even vacuuming late into the night. The day to day messes and dust bunnies were suddenly my worst enemies, and I was determined to come off conqueror. The next morning was Saturday, and I had that same urge to get things done, as well as cross everything off my to-do list.

After getting ready for the day, I walked through the kitchen and noticed that my "spotless masterpiece" no longer existed. It was still "clean", but there were cereal boxes strewn across the counter, bowls half filled with milk and breakfast remnants, and random cabinet doors left open. The clutter wasn't much, but it existed, and that was enough to make me lose my marbles. I was FURIOUS. With less than two weeks before my guess date, I wanted...needed the house to be kept clean. How was I supposed to invite my providers and our new baby into a messy home? At that moment I felt so alone in my goal. I tried to keep calm, but it was no use. I promptly removed myself from the house, sat on our back porch, and cried like my dog had just died.

Kevin found me about 10 minutes later, confused and not sure how to handle my over-hormonal state. He just draped his sweater across my short sleeve shirt and skirt clad body, and walked back into the house. Eventually I came to, and apologized to Kevin for my overreaction. I blotted the black streaks from under my eyes, and we made our way to IKEA to find something to store Josie's clothes in. It was one of the last things on my list.

 After deciding on a storage option, we made the 10 mile hike through downtown IKEA with our three kids in tow. I got through the checkout line fairly quickly, but not before the cashier could remark how she didn't think my baby had dropped yet. After we got home, we had lunch and I set out to run my final errands solo. A birthday gift to a friend’s house, a few items dropped off at my in-laws, some returns and grocery shopping at Target, and a last minute trip to a nearby thrift store just for fun. After being gone for a few hours, I realized I had forgotten to bring water with me and was getting dehydrated. I bought a Vitamin Water and drank it every few minutes as I browsed around the thrift store, which was my final stop. It had been a long time since I had treated myself to some thrift store shopping, and it was the perfect way to relax and de-stress.

 As I strolled around the store, I noticed a subtle tightness in my back with each contraction. I questioned whether I was really feeling it or not, as it was easy to ignore, but the light sensation continued over and over again. I was also feeling a tiny bit of cramping with each contraction, the same kind that I felt 44 hours before Dallin was born. As I walked through each aisle, I would stop for each contraction and then glance at my phone to check the time. It was about 3:45pm, and the contractions were coming 6 minutes apart. Now the thought of this being "anything" just seemed so silly, especially being 10 days away from my guess date. I don't have a history of pre-40 week babies, and neither do any of the women in my family. Josie was coming in January, or so we thought.