Covenant Motherhood

I don't read much. In fact when I do I RARELY actually finish a book. I tend to skip chapters, read spark notes or just fully skip to the end (I do that with reality television too, I like to get the gist and then skip to the reunion show ;).

So books that are easy to read and short are my kind of reads. When I saw Covenant Motherhood in the book store I knew it was something I could finish and hopefully enjoy.

I LOVED it. I read it before Avery even came along and I feel like it prepared me for what was to come.

Something I have come to realize the past nine months as I had a lot of time on my hands and my whole world changed was how insignificant so much of what I cherished before is. And I realized how important the things to come were going to be.

Convenant Motherhood talks about all the things one might think as insignificant like changing diapers, cleaning the house, cooking dinner, etc. are actually in line with how Christ lives his life and how he wants us to live.

Charity is a Christlike atribute that we should be striving for, and how much more charitable can one get than wiping someone else's butt?!

A favorite quote from the book:

                       "One of the important messages that emerges from the history of great women in all ages                  
                        is that they cared more for the future of their families than for their own comfort...
                        Selflessness is a key to happiness and effectiveness; it is precious and must be preserved
                        as a virtue which guarantees so many other virtues...It was never easy to bear and rear                
                        children, but easy things do not make for growth and development."

Anyways, you should all go read it.

Avery Keyo Singh

I had a feeling for most of my pregnancy that Avery would come a little early. But so many told me not to jinks myself because the first usually comes later and you don't want to get to week 40 and dread every moment he wasn't there. 

I tried to to keep in mind that it was possible for him to come late but believe me I tried to do everything I could to naturally induce the labor. 

Sunday May 18th I started to feel unbelievably fatigued and then began contractions. I went to church and through out the day felt pretty good until about 7pm when the contractions became more consistant. Soon they were coming every 5-10 min but deep down I knew I wasn't ready to head to the hospital. At about 11pm we went for a walk, I came home and took a warm bath and tried to get comfortable. We didn't fall asleep until about 4am. But the fact that I was able to fall asleep told me I was in false labor. 

Monday May 19th at about 10am I realized that the contractions were coming on stronger and called to see if we could meet with the Doc. We headed to get some Kneaders french toast to celebrate that we might be having a baby that day. 

We got to the Docs at 1pm. He asked how I was doing and informed me that I was dilated to a 4 and in labor. We already had our bags packed and headed next door. 

Excited and nervous we checked in and got situated. The contractions were consistant for the next few hours but didn't hurt much at all. I thought to myself that I must have a high toleration for pain...BOY was I wrong. 

At about 5pm the Doc came to check on me and break my water (I have the best Doc, he wasn't even on call and still came to deliver my baby). I hadn't dilated much or even at all and was a little worried the process might take longer than expected. 

Then the contractions started to intensify. Soon after I heard a lady SCREAM BLOODY MURDER down the hall and I was informed that she was having a natural birth.

Tears began to flow from my eyes uncontrollably as I thought to myself there is no way I can willingly put myself through what I just heard down the hall. 

And then the contractions felt like they were coming on even tougher. EVERY. SINGLE. MINUTE. I didn't even have time to breath, I couldn't relax, I couldn't stop crying, shaking, all my breathing practice went out the door. I literally felt I would DIE before the baby came. 

I looked at my husband feeling totally defeated and said with tears "I NEED that epidural". My mother wanted me to wait and see how much I had dilated before I decided to get the epi, so we waited for the nurse to come and check. And that's when I learned that I had not dilated AT ALL, not even a little. 

I knew I would HATE my labor if I didn't get the drugs.

So fast came the drug doc and I signed my rights away. I tried to make it through the next twenty minutes before the drugs kicked in without freaking out too much. And then all of a sudden, warmth settled over my body, peace and calmness filled the room and I instantly knew I had made the right decision.

One hour later I had only dilated to a 5 but I didn't care, I had hawaiian music playing, and I was just enjoying everything around me while I felt like I was on a beach. Seriously. 

They came back another 45 min later and I had dilated to a 8.5. And soon after that I was at a 10. And then we waited for the doc to make it to the hospital before I started pushing. 

The Nurse told my Husband and Mom what to do to coach me and my brother (yes my younger brother wanted to be in the room, and I didn't care) stood towards the back to try and avoid too much detail. 

Aaron was awesome at counting to 10 (the nurse told him he was better than most dads who cant stay focused lol) and my mom with helping me breath and push correctly. I could feel the pressure and had enough movement and strength in my legs to be apart of the process. I knew when I needed to push because I could feel Avery pushing up on me. Something that many told me I would miss out on by going "natural" (my doc thinks its funny that people say natural vs unnatural considering all vaginal births are natural, it's just one is with drugs, the other without) and to be honest I don't feel like I missed out on anything (other than pain). I feel like I was able to be apart of the whole process in my own way and enjoy it in my own way. 

I pushed for just under 30 min (they had to slow me down a bit so doc was ready to go). And then came out Avery. He had the umbilical cord wrapped around him 3 times but doc wasn't worried, it was tight and didn't cause any damage. At 10:52 pm he was born. 

They quickly got him on my chest and the first thing he did was pee on me haha. He cried of course, I put his face close to mine and all of a sudden he stopped, there was an immediate connection and I fell desperately in love. 

We are desperately in love.