Elinor Rose Freeland arrived in the wee hours of this morning under some very scary conditions. Wow, I don't even know where to begin. My family and I are all feeling extremely thankful for our little miracle. Right now I am on bed rest and too tired to give a full account. Thank you all so much for your companionship and wisdom throughout our pregnancies. More to come later.
At 7lbs 8oz and 21" long, my baby was the exact same weight and height as both me and my mother when we were born.
I made it through 23 hours at home of natural labor with ctx 3-5 minutes apart and at least 1 min in length for the entire time. An anterior cervical lip which my midwives tried to manually remove 3 times, having my waters broken, periods of back labor, prolonged transition, and a baby who was born gray. In the end, she lost her little heartbeat and I was told through my exhausted haze that I would have to get her from cervix to out NOW!. I never will know where my strength came from. My baby girl is alive because of her amazing will to live and midwives that knew their shit and never gave up. The complications came on suddenly and I have no doubts that we wouldn't have been safer or better cared for in a hospital. In the end Elinor's life came down to 3 women (mama, midwife, and baby) who all made the decision in a split second to work harder than they ever had before and there is no technology that trumps that.
I hope all you December mamas are doing well, enjoying your babes or resting up for labor. Trust your bodies, your babies, and your support because you can all do this.
Blessings
Edited by Gucci&Granola - 1/3/11 at 6:55am
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