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Ok, this post is long overdue, baby is 10 months old now, but here I am finally wrapping up my fourth pregnancy bump comparison series. I had another girl! That makes it three girls and a boy, what a surprise! Four kids under 5 for most of this year, it’s been wild and wonderful and exhausting and fun.
Things did not go how I had expected with this labor; I expected fast and easy and that is definitely not what happened. It was my most difficult labour of all four babies, but at the end of the day it was still magnificent and I am so blessed. She was born absolutely perfect and I made it out unscathed and blissful, which is all I ever could have hoped for.
If you want to go back and see my bump comparisons of this pregnancy with the other pregnancies, you can click here for Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. And if you want to read my labour story comparing the first three pregnancies you can read that here and my comparison of labour for the first two pregnancies here. But now for a little summary of how it went this 4th time compared with the other deliveries:
one: contractions. Normally my contractions are really regular and start fast and close together. This time, they started at 5am and I thought it was go time…but once the house woke up and the day got started, they became irregular. My midwife said that’s actually very common for moms in labour at home with kids since the body decides now is not a good time, and she was right–things picked up once everyone was asleep again! Isn’t that amazing!?
two: total time in labor: This was actually what clued me in to things being a bit…off. So, baby number one was a total of 45 hours in labour. Baby number two was a total of 21 hours in labour. Baby number three was a total of 9 hours in labour. See the pattern? I was convinced that this little one was going to be about 4 hours from start to finish and it would be a breeze. Nope! When I hit hour 30, I knew something wasn’t quite right. Turns out she was not in the ideal position which actually explains why I was in so much discomfort throughout the pregnancy, why contractions were atypical, why labour was taking so long, and why the pain location was so different this time. It ended up taking 35 hours total, wow!
three: pushing: I am all natural/hippie/earthy when it comes to child birth (I even did Hypnobabies for my first two), but as with all my deliveries, we wanted to deliver in a hospital just in case of emergency, and I am so glad we did. Around the 30th hour, things were not going well and it was looking like I could have a C-section now or a C-section later–definitely not what I expected after having three natural births! I was so worried, but miraculously we avoided surgery by getting the baby into the proper position. Once she was where she needed to be, pushing was a breeze. In fact, it ended up being the easiest pushing of all four labours. I am so grateful for the amazing care I received from my wonderful midwife, obstetrician and nurses.
four: walking: Earlier in the evening before we left for the hospital, my husband and the kids and I went for a walk down the block and that definitely helped move things along. But, because of the pandemic, once we were in the hospital we couldn’t leave our room, so I just paced back and forth for hours. Walking was an essential part of my labour process for Baby #1 and #2 (there was no time for walking with Baby #3!), so it wasn’t ideal but it was necessary.
five: waiting: My babies were all overdue, and this little one was no exception. She arrived 1 week past her due date, which is not my most overdue baby by just one day–she was my largest baby though, which is not surprising by the size of that bump!
My other children were ages 5, 3, and 1 when we brought Baby C home and my 5 year old wanted to hold her constantly, just instantly in love! My 3 year old loved kissing her head while the 1 year old was less interested but still sweet and loving. The cutest thing of all was when we brought her home that first night and they naturally spoke in high pitched baby voices to her, it was beautiful.
As usual, I cannot gush enough about my amazing husband. He was attentive and supportive and so loving during my labour, with a mask on the entire time we were in the hospital. He was able to stay home and help with the new baby and the big kids which was unbelievably helpful and wonderful, not only for the assistance with all those children, but for the company, too. He truly is the best partner I could have ever dreamed of, and such a wonderful father, too.
And that concludes my pregnancy series, wow! What an amazing family we have created with our 10 year anniversary coming this summer. It’s been really wonderful experiencing such delightful pregnancies, and now I am excited for what my body has in store for me next. New goals, new dreams, here we go!
ps: you can read why I don’t post picture of my kids’ faces here.
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First Pregnancy Dress: Olian Cary Empire Maternity Dress
Second Pregnancy Dress: John Zack for Asos. It’s not maternity, just stretchy, and I got it on eBay years ago to wear to my bridal shower. This one by Seraphine Maternity looks really similar.
Third Pregnancy Dress: Vintage Diane Von Furstenberg (you can find vintage ones on eBay)
Fourth Pregnancy Dress: Olian Brooke Maxi Maternity Dress
Camera used in the 2nd, 3rd & 4ht Pregnancy pics: Olympus O-MD E-M10 Mark II
turquoise toffee 