Josiah

This Birth story i have the honor of presenting from the moms point of view- This is Katies beautiful story of her sons birth.

The photos were just a handful a snapped on my iphone like i try to do for all clients-not nearly as comprehensive a birth story told via images as i have started doing now! But it works:)

At 3:56pm on Monday, December 7th, my son, Josiah David, entered the world. One of the meanings of Josiah is “Jehovah has healed,” and the Lord has most certainly healed my heart and spirit from the trauma from my firstborn’s birth 2.5 years ago. She was delivered via cesarean after I pushed for 5 hours (she was so close that her hair was sticking out). She was 9lbs, 11oz, and I was encouraged to schedule a 2nd cesarean since my first was so unexpectedly large and my second was “probably” going to be bigger. At 37weeks, an ultrasound pegged my son to weigh around 9lbs, 4oz, which wavered my resolve a little, but his actual weight was 9lbs 1oz. (Take that, incorrect ultrasound!) He was born 3 days before his “due date,” one day before the day I could’ve opted to schedule a cesarean, and labor was 16hrs total, almost a quarter of the time I labored with my firstborn.

My son’s birth was unmedicated, I had no hospital interventions, and it was the VBAC I had been believing for with God. It wasn’t pain free, but Josiah’s birth was the icing on the cake after months of journeying with the Lord through lies and re-learning truth. He helped me see the deception I’d believed about Him and myself, and we pushed into what is true. My faith is stronger than it was three years ago. It IS the Lord’s kindness that leads us to repentance. I went into labor at 2am on Monday, and by my husband’s wake-up time for work, I was decently certain it wasn’t the Braxton hicks I had been experiencing for weeks beforehand. From my last appointment the week prior with my OB, I knew I was already at least 3cm, 90% effaced, and my son was at station -1. In the delicious comfort of my own home, I labored rather easily, breathing through the surges and doing whatever I wanted around the house until close to 9am, when my husband shot off to the store to grab some sweat pants for the hospital stay. I had been chatting with my doula via text, and when I told her my contractions were getting to be less than 7 minutes or so apart, she reminded me that my OB told me to come in at 5-6 minutes apart or when my water broke (it hadn’t.) and that maybe I should go in. So when I told my husband that we should probably go now, he was surprised and although I was handling the surges fine, I decided we shouldn’t “dilly dally,” per my OB’s recommendation. We arrived around 10am. The walk from the ER entrance to the L&D floor is a hike as they were doing construction, and at first I declined a wheelchair, thinking that walking is still really good at this point. I both panicked and amused a hallway of onlookers when I sank to a knee to handle a contraction. I could hear the giggles behind me as I was wheeled onward. In the L&D receiving, I was absolutely FLOORED (and subsequently SO thankful) when the dr. told me I was 9cm! Sure didn’t feel like it! An hr later I was in a delivery room with my husband and doula, 10cm dilated. Then came the intense time. I declined a hydration IV and someone popping my water, and was only hooked up to a fetal monitor for some of the time. I LOVED being able to go into different positions without restriction. My doula and nurse encouraged me to change positions every half hour, coached me to breathe, vocalize low with the contractions as they intensified, to REST between contractions, and to FOLLOW MY BODY, which I don’t remember experiencing with my first birth. Even though it was hard work, it was soo much better than my first labor. Because I’d had an epidural before, I’d never felt my body, my uterus working to expel my baby on its own, and therefore I was able to choose to work WITH it instead of simply trying to avoid the pain. After a few hours, I started to feel pushy with the contractions. They got me prepared to deliver and my nurse thought she saw his hair or his head, so she checked with the next surge…and my water broke all over her! Once the contraction waned, we had a good laugh (I apologized, lol, and she said it had happened before and she should know better than to be that close). And then, after some pushing through the ring of fire, out came my son! Thank you, God, for my precious boy and my sweet daughter, and for the GREAT healing You have worked in me through his birth. To YOU be all the glory and praise for delivering me as I delivered Josiah. You have redeemed me on so many levels and I bless Your Name!