Friday, February 7, 2014

The Tiniest Rosebud

Our precious second daughter, Rosamund Irene, was born right on her due date, February 3, at 2:37pm! She weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces and is 21-1/2 inches long. We are so thankful for this beautiful little blessing in our lives.

Rosamund

I didn't mean to neglect my blog so much in January, but we ended up having quite a month. In the middle of week 37 of my pregnancy, I came down with a case of respiratory influenza -- fever, chills, cough, sore throat, congestion, laryngitis -- the whole shebang. Thankfully my fever didn't last more than a day or so, but I lost my voice and had a bad sore throat for close to two weeks. My voice gradually improved and by the middle of week 39, I felt well enough that I could handle the thought of going through labor! So it was truly an answer to prayer that Rosamund stayed in the womb longer than my other children, to give me plenty of time to recover.

Now I can say I've done it all -- birthing center, homebirth, and hospital birth! Rosamund was my first baby to be born in a hospital and I'm thankful that all went well and I was able to have a natural birth. The laws in our state are not favorable toward homebirths or midwives, so options are limited here. When I became pregnant, I began seeing the only practicing midwife in our area for prenatal care, with plans to give birth at the hospital under her care. However, when I was seven months along, I learned that she was leaving the local practice to work 2-1/2 hours away. We were torn about what to do but eventually decided to continue the local care with a female OB who was sympathetic to my desires for a natural birth.

I still wanted some naturally-minded support at the birth and one morning, God gave me the idea of using a doula, something I have not done before. He even planted a specific person in my mind -- my friend Hannah from church. I didn't know her that well, but I knew that she had attended her sister's birth and supported her in a difficult labor, and that she had had natural hospital births herself. I approached Hannah about it and was delighted to find that she truly has an interest in helping women give birth, as a gifting from the Lord! This was to be one of the biggest blessings of Rosamund's birth. Hannah was so helpful, calm, and encouraging to have with me at the hospital; honestly I'm not sure how I would have gotten through my toughest labor without her support.

I was expecting that my third labor might be the quickest yet, but it wasn't. I woke up at 2:30am with contractions and labored through the night at home. We decided to head for the hospital around 11am and I got checked in about half an hour later. When the nurse gave me an exam, she proclaimed me to be 9cm dilated with a bulging bag of waters! We all thought the birth was imminent, but it ended up taking another three hours of hard labor before she was born. My water just would not break. Eventually, I decided to ask the OB to perform an amniotomy because I knew, based on my past births, that things would go very quickly for me after that. As we were waiting the 45 minutes or so for her to come, Douglas prayed that my water would break soon. When the OB did arrive, I was going through an intense contraction so she waited, instrument in hand, ready to break my bag of waters. Mid-contraction, I felt that familiar gush and an urge to push! One more pushing contraction and our daughter had entered the world. I couldn't believe God's amazing timing!

Rose
[Roses for Rosie -- one of a dozen sent to us by a friend after her birth]

I'm used to recovering at home so we decided to stay just 24 hours and then head home. It was nice to have the staff to wait on us, but it was hardly a restful environment to recuperate with lots of nurses in and out, plus construction on the floor above us and outside our window starting promptly at 7am! I'm so thankful for yet another smooth, complication-free birth and a healthy baby. I am recuperating well and enjoying cuddling a newborn again. Edmund and Lavinia love having a sister and we're all adjusting to life as a family of FIVE!

52 comments:

  1. Congratulations Laura! She's beautiful. :)

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  2. What a sweet little girl! So many congratulations! I'm so glad you were able to recover from the 'flu in a timely manner - I had the same kind you describe back in November and was out for the count for a whole week!

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  3. Once again, congratulations Laura and the rest of your family! So thankful that the birth went well for you and your sweet little girl!

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    1. Thank you, Cheri, and thanks for your prayers! :)

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  4. Congratulations, Laura! Rosie is just beautiful -- what a precious little girl (those cheeks!). I'm so glad to hear that the birth went well, and that you were able to have the natural birth you desired (and just the right person to help you get through!).

    I pray that God will give you as much rest as possible in these sleepless early days, and that you and your family will have a peaceful, wonderful time as you get to know your newest blessing!

    Much love,
    Shannon

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    1. Thank you so much, Shannon! Rosamund is a dear and we are sleeping relatively well. :) The time is flying past but I'm really savoring having a newborn again.

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  5. Congratulations on your baby girl! :)

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  6. Congratulations on another sweet baby girl! I always love finding out your name choices. I'm sorry your state is not pro-midwife or home birth - here in the UK I've found if you're classed as "low risk" then home births are fairly easy to achieve and aeven a hospital birth will likely be midwife-only care. I'm glad that you hospital experience was relatively positive though. I pray you will enjoy your new little one and have a chance to rest and recuperate.

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    1. Thanks Rachel! Yes, I'm mostly bemused by the laws here, quite odd when so many other states are more favorable toward midwifery -- hopefully we'll catch up soon! :)

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  7. She's beautiful, Laura! Congratulations!

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  8. You don't know me, but I found your blog through a friends... CONGRATULATIONS! She is adorable! I love new little babies. They're so cute :) I'm glad it all went safely! Such a darling little addition to the family! I love her name :)

    Ruth

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    1. Thank you so much, Ruth! I'm always glad to "meet" new readers. :)

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  9. Oh Laura- she is DARLING! :-) And I don't often use that word to describe newborns, but she truly is. :-)

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    1. LOL, thanks Lily! My dad's partner at work once got into the doghouse for making a remark (to a new mother) that all newborns resemble Dwight D. Eisenhower... which is sort of true, but definitely a more cuddly, adorable, sweet, and lovable version of the former prez! ;)

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  10. oh so sweet! I love her name and your birth story is amazing. Congratulations!

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  11. Oh, Laura! Congratulations! She's so beautiful and I love her name! It's perfect!
    May the Lord bless you and this beautiful new blessing.

    Warmly,
    ~Shannalee

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    1. Thank you so much, Shannalee! So glad you like her name. :)

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  12. Congratulations to you, Laura. I'm glad things went so well.

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  13. We are captivated by this sweet beauty! Rosamund Irene is lovely and we know you are delighted in the goodness of our Lord!! Thank you for sharing your birth story with all of us. I pray for you all so often. May the Lord bless you and keep you all close, close to Himself! Love you in Jesus :)

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    1. Thanks so much, Jacqueline! I miss you but I'm glad we can stay connected through blogs and Facebook! Blessings to you, too!

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  14. Congratulations, Laura!! What a darling baby girl! And she is quite a healthy baby! I look forward to seeing some pictures of her with her beautiful mama at some point. :)

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  15. What a wonderful testimony to God's gracious dealings! So thankful He has blessed you with three wonderful, healthy children and grateful to find your blog today. I am your newest follower. :) God blessings to you and your family!

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    1. Amen, Cheryl! Thanks for introducing yourself and for your kind words!

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  16. Rosamund is beautiful and so pretty in pink! Congratulations to you and your family.

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  17. CONGRATULATIONS, Laura!!! What a beautiful baby! Enjoy this precious time.

    Hugs to you.....

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    1. Thanks so much, Carol, I am really enjoying my time with Rosie! :)

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  18. Many congratulations on the safe arrival of your beautiful daughter. What adorable little rosebud lips she has!

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  19. Congratulations to your family! She is so beautiful. One of our possible name choices for Arabella Rose was pretty close to your choice-Rosalynd. I just knew I wanted to have "Rose" in her name. Pam

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    1. Thanks, Pam! "Rose" and its variations seem so feminine, don't they? I hope Rosamund doesn't mind being bombarded with flowery clothes, decor, etc. because I'm afraid that's her fate for the foreseeable future. ;) I love pink floral prints.

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  20. Sending my most sincere happy congratulations! She is gorgeous, and I'm so happy you had a pleasant birth. Right on her due date? How about that!! :)

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    1. Thanks, Janel! No kidding -- to be honest I was expecting a very late January baby but I'm so glad she came when she did! :)

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  21. Those CHEEKS! Oh, my. She's beautiful. Congratulations. :-)

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  22. Hi Laura,
    She's gorgeous--congratulations! May you not be too busy (and too tired) in all the care of the rest of yor family to treasure those newborn snuggles and that sweet newborn smell. I love her name too--what a precious darling :-)
    Priscilla

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    1. Thanks, Priscilla! I'm finding plenty of time to cuddle and enjoy her - other things can wait. :)

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  23. Congratulations! She is such a beauty! I didn't think anything could give me 'baby fever' but that sweet precious photo is definitely doing it. She's just so lovely! I'm very happy for you!

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    1. Oh thank you, Polly! It's hard not to catch baby fever when confronted with a newborn, isn't it? ;-)

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  24. Congratulations Laura and the whole Singer family! She is absolutely beautiful! Laura, as a woman soon (within the next four months) to give birth, I wanted to know what your definition of a natural birth is. I have read various articles and they all seem to differ to varying degrees, so I would see how you define natural birth. Thanks.

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  25. Oh, congratulations to you too, Janell! I had no idea you were expecting! I hadn't really thought about my definition, although I suppose I mostly mean a birth without drugs or medication. It's important to Douglas and me, but it's not at all something I'm dogmatic about when it comes to other women's choices. If you have any questions, feel free to email me or message on FB.

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  26. Congratulations, Laura! She is a beauty!

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  27. Congratulations Laura! I keep forgetting to add your blog to my reader, so I'm just checking in now. Rosamund is gorgeous, and I'm so glad you were able to find help from a doula. It's amazing how our God works!

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