Levi’s Birth Story
 

This birth story of my third child started much in the same way as my second… a big surprise!  After my first two boys were born only 12 months and 2 days apart, we had planned to wait at least 2 years before having any more children.  However, like most of the ladies in my family, I guess I’m what most people call a “fertile Myrtle”!  So while trying not to get pregnant, I did just that.  We found out in February that we were expecting our third little blessing from the Lord.  This helped Jay and I to change our plans to stay at the foster care job in Arkansas and we moved back to Tennessee. 

The pregnancy was mostly a repeat of the first two with preterm contractions beginning very early.  I saw the Vanderbilt midwives for prenatal care and was able to get progesterone injections weekly throughout my pregnancy in hopes that I could carry this baby full term.  My first 2 boys, Josiah and Isaiah, were both born a month early and had severe jaundice because of that.  We had lots of family and friends who were praying for a good outcome and no complications, but at 26 weeks I took my first trip to Vanderbilt for regular contractions.  Thankfully they stopped and I did not dilate.  Then at 32 weeks while I was in Crossville I began having stronger regular contractions so we went to Cookville hospital where they decided things were too serious to stay there.  They sent me by ambulance to Vanderbilt, an hour and a half in the back of an ambulance having regular contractions at 32 weeks (2 and a half months early)…. Not my idea of a good time!  I ended up having an IV of Magnesium Sulfate for about 10 hours, also not my idea of a good time. But praise God it worked and the contractions finally stopped.  After this I was on strict bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy.  I was stuck in Hendersonville at mom and dad’s house while Jay and the boys were staying in Crossville.  Jay was still trying to get a job and he along with his parents were taking care of Josiah and Isaiah.  I would have to say this was the hardest 2 months of my life being hugely pregnant, hormonal, emotional, and away from my husband and children.  I did get to see Jay and the boys a few days here and there, but it was not enough.  I am very thankful for all the help that our families were able to give, and that they were willing to help as well. 

Another thing with this pregnancy was that I was diagnosed with polyhydramnios, which means I had too much amniotic fluid.  Generally this is not a problem, but it can be an indication that there is a digestive or urinary problem with the baby.  I had many ultrasounds to measure fluid and also to check out the baby.  I decided to find out the gender of this baby after the first 2 boys we didn’t find out the gender until they were born.  Jay really didn’t want to know still, but I really wanted to know this time, so we found out that we were expecting another sweet little boy!  We were thrilled.  We knew from all the ultrasounds that the little boy wasn’t so little, he was growing by leaps and bounds along with the amniotic fluid level. 

We finally got past 36 weeks which was the official homebirth mark, then we were just waiting.  By 37 weeks I was getting restless, I was huge!  My belly was measuring big enough to have twins because of all the extra fluid and the baby was really big too!  I was trying at this point to use some herbal things to help me get into labor but ironically NOTHING WAS WORKING!  I did have some contractions and dilated to 4 cm but then just stalled.  So frustrating… I tried for 2 months to keep this baby in and when I wanted him out, he wouldn’t come!  Mom kept reminding me that my original goal when I found out I was pregnant was to make it to 38 weeks, but I informed her that I changed my mind.  She just laughed and said God was answering my first prayer for me to get to 38 weeks.  So I took a trip to Crossville at 37 weeks and 6 days (still dilated to 4 cm), I hoped this would put me into labor.  That night, every time I got up to pee, I analyzed my contractions but noting was different so I would go back to bed.  The next morning, the day I was 38 weeks, I was ready for it to be the day but nothing seemed different.  I spent the day with the boys and Faye (my mother-in-law).  Around lunch time I began having regular contractions that felt different, I was kind of excited but I didn’t want to jump the gun so to say so I just waited.  Jay had some things to do during the day so I called him to tell him things may be changing.  But I had “cried wolf” so many times, neither one of us were convinced.  After just an hour I wasn’t able to sit during contractions but they still weren’t really strong.  I think Faye was getting a little nervous… kept saying “Maybe ya’ll should go on to Nashville.”  I did think I was in very early labor but I also thought it may take a while.  By dinner time I was still having regular contractions and they were getting ever so slightly stronger, I was mostly convinced that we were going to have a baby sometime in the next 24 hours.  After dinner we put the boys in the bath and began getting them ready for bed.  Mom called and asked if I could come back to her house to help her with a birth.  I told her that was fine because I may be having a baby tonight too.  The really funny part is that it was a lady named Tammy who was in labor, we had teased each other our whole pregnancy that we would be in labor together and it was really happening!  So I loaded up my stuff and headed to mom’s house, Jay decided to stay in Crossville with the boys unless my labor really kicked in.  While I was driving my contractions were about 8-10 minutes apart and were more uncomfortable.  I talked to Jay a couple of times to tell him he needed to get his stuff together and get ready just in case.  When I got to mom’s house about 10pm I had her check my cervix, I was 6 cm dilated!  Hallelujah! Things were changing so I called Jay and told him to get on the road because my last labor was only an hour of active labor. I also called Jill (my sister), Heather (my best friend), and Shannon (my other friend/doula/birth assistant).  I still wasn’t vey uncomfortable but I couldn’t sit down for the contractions.  I went in and talked to Tammy and Michael for a little while, it was so funny.  I would stop talking to have a contraction and then she would stop talking to have one, we took turns.  In between contractions we would just laugh at the situation that was unfolding after we teased about it for months.  Within an hour I was too uncomfortable to talk anymore so I went in to the living room with mom.  About 11:15pm I had a contraction that was really hard and about 3 minutes later I had another one just like it.  It really got my attention, I looked at mom and said we’re going to have a baby sooner rather than later.  I called Jay to find out how close he was and told him to hurry.  I also called all the girls and told them to get on their way.  By 11:45 I headed up stairs because I was having to breathe through my contractions and on the verge of beginning to moan with them.  I was getting a little concerned because Jay still wasn’t there and I was feeling bad for Tammy downstairs because I seemed to be cruising along with labor and she wasn’t.  About midnight Jay finally arrived shortly followed by Jill, Heather, and Shannon.  The whole party was there and then my contractions slowed down and spaced out… typical huh?  So we got everything ready and all the stuff in order… supplies, cameras, etc. and waited.  All the girls decided to go downstairs to watch the Duggers while they waited on me to get ready to push.  I had mom check me and I was 8cm… getting closer.  Then I asked about Tammy and mom said she was cruising right along and dilated to 8cm too!  I was surprised because most of her labors had been pretty long.  So there we were, neck and neck, almost like we were racing to see who would deliver first.  I began to get a bit nervous because I knew mom couldn’t be both up and downstairs delivering two babies at the same time.  But I just prayed and trusted that God had it all under control.  I normally would have just let Jay and Shannon help me deliver but there were several risk factors involved that would need mom’s wisdom if they came to pass.  Because of the polyhydramnios there was a risk that when my water broke that the cord could come out before the babies head, this can be very dangerous if it is not dealt with properly and promptly.  Also we knew the baby was pretty big so getting stuck was a slight concern.  And we had decided to bank the babies cord blood this time, this is a very time sensitive procedure that needed mom’s attention to get done as soon as the baby was out.  So all of these things were in the back of my head as I was laboring knowing that Tammy could very well be delivering at the same time I was. 

Just a few minutes later I was beginning to feel a slight urge to push, I heard Michael call mom into their room, I was relieved because I thought “ Oh good, she is going to be ready and push out a baby!”.  But the relief was short lived as mom then came quickly up the stairs looking for her phone.  I asked what was wrong and she said that Tammy was abrupting, meaning that her placenta was separating before the baby was out and she was bleeding a lot!  This is a very dangerous emergency, and can lead to death if not dealt with quickly.  So mom made a quick decision to call 911 and send her by ambulance to the hospital for a c-section.  In another situation she may have just gone with them in the car to the hospital, but she knew they would get faster treatment going by ambulance and she didn’t feel like she could leave me knowing I was very close to pushing too.  So at this point I was very stressed knowing that mom had to get her taken care of and sent off in the ambulance before she could attend to me.  I just prayed that God would stall my labor and stop my contractions until Tammy was taken care of, I also prayed continuously that Tammy and the baby would both be ok.  It took about 25 minutes to get Tammy out the door on the way to the hospital, Michael and Shannon followed in the car.

Mom walked upstairs and we all breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Tammy was within a few minutes of being at the hospital and getting the medical care she needed. 

By this time I was really feeling like I needed to push but I was fighting the urge because of all of the uncertainty.  About 3:20am mom checked me and I was completely dilated, praise the Lord, I was almost finished.  I had planned on pushing in the bed lying on my side.  I tried this and it was not working… I just couldn’t push right.  At some point Shannon called and said Tammy had delivered shortly after getting to the hospital.  The doctor on call allowed her to deliver vaginally and she and the baby were fine.  Tammy had lost quite a bit of blood and they had to suction lots of blood out of the babies airways, so they were thankful to be in the hospital.  Tammy and Michael had a beautiful baby girl, Elizabeth Grace weighed 9lb 14oz. and mom and baby were both healthy only by the grace of God’s healing touch. 

After the phone call I had a renewed energy to get my baby out.  I finally got up and squatted in the floor next to the bed.  It seemed that was the only way I could get anything to happen.  The baby had stayed really high and not moved down into my pelvis, this is one of the other things that happens with polyhydramnios.  Finally I just gathered my strength and pushed with all my might and I felt that pressure of the baby moving down.  What a familiar feeling, WOW the pressure is intense.  I took a breath and pushed again…. POP, there went my very strong bag of water right under the bed!  An instant replay of Isaiah’s birth, everyone laughed.  At this point I couldn’t stop pushing, it felt like forever.  I kept thinking why isn’t the baby coming out?  Is he too big?  Is the cord too short?  Then I felt the burn of my skin stretching, I knew he was close… with one more big push, his head was out.  I wish I could describe the feeling of a baby in the midst of your pelvis, partly out… the pressure is amazingly intense, and the emotion of knowing a life is coming in the world is beyond words.  It takes all the strength available in your entire body to push a baby out, and then in one second… the rest of the baby is born.  Relief.  Joy.  Love.  Awe.  Amazement.  Peace.  Thankfulness.  A flood of emotions filled me as I took my third precious little boy into my arms and cried out, “Thank you Jesus, he’s out!”  Then I heard the wonderful sound of that first cry as he filled his lungs with air for the first time, the gift of life that only God has the right to give.  I am so thankful to God for another wonderful peaceful home birth experience.  Levi Solomon Meadows entered the world at 4:18am on October 17^th 2009, he weighed 9lb 1oz, and was 22 inches long.  He was perfect!

Mom busied herself with the tasks of being a midwife while Jay and I adored our newest son.  Mom collected the cord blood and got 4 times more than the minimum required amount to be banked, amazing.  Then we delivered the placenta.  Shannon arrived back at the house just after the birth, I wish she had been able to be there. But she was where she needed to be with Tammy and Michael.  I got cleaned up and in the bed and had a very early breakfast of eggs and homemade whole wheat toast, yummy.  That is our normal after birth meal around here.  I nursed my sweet baby boy and the world was a wonderful place.  Everyone rested and snoozed for an hour or two, it was a peaceful time.  My sister Jill got to snuggle with Levi and slept while I got up to potty and got on the computer to post all the info on Facebook.  We had lots of anxious family and friends waiting on the news.  Everyone was thrilled to hear of Levi’s arrival.

Later that day as I nursed Levi I realized that he was tongue tied like his biggest brother Josiah.  So we went on Monday morning to see Dr. Browing our family doctor for a check up and to the ENT to get his tongue clipped.  It was sad, but we were both thankful as the days went on.  We also visited Dr. Clifford our favorite Chiropractor to get adjusted.  I was very thankful that Levi didn’t have severe jaundice like his brothers.  His biliruben stayed within a normal range in his first week.  Also he nursed very well and gained weight like a champ.  He was almost a full pound over his birth weight at 2 weeks old, which is when they should be just back to their birth weight.  At one month old he weighed over 12 pounds which was more than both of his brothers when they were 3 months old! 

At 7 weeks old we did have a small set back when Levi got very sick and had RSV.  He spent 5 days in Knoxville’s Children’s Hospital.  He got better slowly, but he is doing very well now.  Currently he is 2 ½ months old and weighs over 14 pounds.  He smiles all the time and loves to coo and talk when you interact with him.

Jay and I haven’t come to any conclusion about having more children, but if we do… I hope it is at least a few years from now J!  Three boys in 2 ½ years is quite a handful!  We are truly blessed and favored by the Lord. 

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