In October, I was at the Jeremy Camp concert with my mom and younger sister, Lynsey, and I remember the name "Josiah" going through my mind during the concert. I knew the name meant, "God is healer, support" and it kind of turned me off from the name because I felt reserved in naming my child a name that implies healing!! So I kind of pushed it in the back of my mind!! My grandpa passed away in December 2013 and I really wanted to have Ross be apart of the name somehow but had not figured out what that entails.
In December, at one of my routine prenatal visits we heard an Arythmia with Baby boy and we were to set up an ultrasound with a perinatal specialist to make sure the structure of the heart was okay. This really kind of shook us up... I felt great peace at the same time though! I remember driving home from the appointment where we heard the Arythmia and over the past week leading up to that appt I had been praying that the Lord would really make it clear what name we were to give baby boy and I just knew that is where Josiah and the name "God is healer, support" came into the picture. I came home and shared this with Andy and he confirmed it as he said to me "well I guess that is that then huh?" At the same time we had been dealing with digestive issues with Andy and had been praying for the Lord to bring answers and healing in all that confusion as all tests were coming back normal. The Lord really taught us during my pregnancy with Josiah that he is the supplier of peace and that he is a true support to his people and that he has the power to heal!! So that is how we came to name our baby boy, Josiah Ross. The funny thing about my grandpa's name being the middle name is that my grandpa lived with a heart murmur until he was 95! The Lord granting us peace that Josiah's heart was going to be fine was brought out through naming him Josiah! We went the next week to have the ultrasound on Josiah and his heart checked out perfectly! If there was an Arythmia going on they were confident it would correct itself before birth but in the ultrasound they never detected an Arythmia.
In January, at my 38 week appt, we heard the Arythmia again and my midwife, with consultation from the Perinatal specialist I saw previously, wanted me to go to Ridgeview Medical Center for monitoring and ultrasound on the heart (again!) just to verify that nothing was missed at the 33 week ultrasound with the specialist. At the hospital we did hear the Arythmia but Josiah was doing just fine inside me and there was no reason to pursue getting him out early. So we moved forward in our waiting for his arrival!!! They had considered admitting me as I was having contractions every 2-4 minutes!!! My midwife had done an aggressive internal exam and figured that's what was causing all the contractions and the nurse checked me and confirmed that they were not doing anything to my cervix as it was still at 1 cm, 50% effaced. That next week, at my 39 week appt, I had not progressed at all, making it impossible that I would be induced that week. My midwife did a membrane sweep as best as she could we scheduled to see her at 39.5 weeks to do another membrane stripping. At that appt I was 1.5 cm, 60% making it possible for me to be induced at 40 weeks. I had an appt with her again the day before 40 weeks scheduled to decide on the induction or not. I had come down with a cold and was not sure I wanted to go through with it. We had an ultrasound to check baby's size and they estimated him to be 8 lbs 8 oz. We were able to see it in 4D which was a real treat!!! We could tell Josiah looked a lot like Valerie!! I asked my midwife what she would do if she were in my place and she told me she would wait for my body to be more ready as my cervix was not as soft as she was hoping to see! And she told me I could totally handle his size after Valerie so we decided to wait!!!
My due date passed and at one day overdue I lost my mucus plug. When I woke up the next day (7-7:30ish), Saturday the 7th of February (at two days over), to pink and brown discharge and crampy contractions with pressure in my pelvis every 5 minutes but nothing super intense. I had a feeling that it was the day I would meet my baby as the contractions were like no other contractions I had been feeling! So I called the midwife on call, after my mom strongly encouraged me to, at about 8:30 to see what she thought. She told me she thought I was probably in early labor and to wait until they intensified. She was a little unsure of what to think of my contractions being so close together since I had a 45 minute drive to the hospital and it was my third child. She told me if I wanted to go get checked out I could do that as well. So we called my mom out to hang out in case things got intense and just waited it out for awhile. At about 11am, Andy and I decided we would head towards the hospital since it was 45 minutes away and my contractions were still every 5 minutes apart but they were now lasting 40-50 seconds long instead of 30 seconds.
Once we got near the hospital we decided we would head right there as the contractions were getting a little more noticeable but still steady at 5 minutes. We got to the hospital and as we walked into the birthing center we met paths with my midwife who I had been seeing, which was a bit of surprise as I wasn't sure that she had been contacted since she was not on call that weekend but she was sweet enough to come in for my labor and delivery! In my 3 pregnancies I have seen at least a dozen midwives, if not more, and I finally found one I bonded with and adored! Apart of me is really sad that I don't have weekly appointments anymore because I enjoyed her so much! Anyways, my midwife checked me upon arrival to the hospital and I was 3 cm and 75-80% effaced. Shawn, my midwife, stripped my membranes and then said she would probably put me at a 4. Andy called my mom and told her I was being admitted so that she could head towards the hospital to be there for Josiah's arrival! My dad headed out and took over watching the girls at home. My mom got to the hospital around 1:30. We had just gotten settled into the room and I was getting some food in me before all the fun began! I felt like I was "faking" the whole thing... like there is no way that they should have really admitted me because it did not feel like much was going on!
Well, that thought was about to come to an end! Shawn broke my water at about 1:45pm and sent me out to walk the hall and see if we could get things moving along a little faster! I walked the hall with my mom and Andy. Andy was on the phone with his mom, Diane, to get her up to date on what was going on! He told her that he thought the baby would be here by no later than 4:30 and my mom and I just laughed at that thinking there is no way that would be the case! At about 2:30pm we headed back to room as the contractions were intensified and I felt more comfortable laboring in the comfort of my own room. I sat on the birthing ball and finished signing some admission papers. (The never ending piles of papers to sign to have a baby! Not what one wants to do when laboring...) I got to a point where I really had prepare myself when a contraction came and focus on breathing through them. At about 3pm, my midwife Shawn, checked my progression to see if I was able to start laboring in the tub. She told me I was 5 cm and 100% effaced. One of the other midwives was there as well, Renee, to observe the waterbirth because Shawn just moved here from Colorado and need to have 5 waterbirths shadowed in order to do them on her own for Ridgeview. Shawn is not new to waterbirths though, as she spent some of her time as a midwife doing home births. She actually has more experience with waterbirths than the other two midwives with Western OBGYN. Anyways, when she had told me I was only 5 cm, I thought to myself that I had at least 4 hours because thats how long it took with Valerie to go from 5 to 10. When Shawn told Renee what my progression was at, she told me later that she knew that things would be pretty swift.
I got into the birthing tub shortly after 3pm and things got very intense! I went from being able to relax inbetween contractions to being uncomfortable without relief. My mom told me later that she was afraid I was going to pass out with how deep and fast I was breathing but it was the only way I could sustain through the contractions. I remember being to the point at about 3:30pm where I did not know how much longer I could keep up with this. I kept moving around in the tub trying to get comfortable. My mom was putting a cold wash cloth on my head and neck. Then at about 3:40(ish), I felt Josiah go into the birthing canal. Which was such a sensation and one that I do not remember feeling with the girls. I told my Shawn what I was feeling and she kept saying to me relax and let him come down. So I tried to just relax as best as I could to not hold my baby back from being closer to being in my arms! At this point the nurse was not in the room and Renee was just coming in and Shawn asked me if I felt like I needed to push. I told her "Sort of" as I was not sure what was going on as things were going pretty quick! Well the next contraction came at 3:45 and without any control I started to push! Shawn did not have gloves on and had no time to worry about that... she told me that baby was crowning and the head was coming out! The second contraction came and she told me I could push the rest of his body out. And at 3:49pm, Josiah Ross Hentges entered the world! His cord was wrapped around his head twice. He had an EXTREMELY long cord my midwife said. She unwrapped his cord and placed him up on my chest. The tears rolled down my cheeks and I said with extreme joy, "I did it! I am done! He is here!!!" I could not believe how small Josiah was as I was expecting him to be about 9 lbs by this time as 3 days before his birth they estimated him to be 8.5 lbs! Well they were a full pound off as Josiah was only 7 lbs 10 oz and 19 1/4 inches long! His birth was the smoothest and best birth I have had yet! It lifted a lot of fear of birth for me and showed me what my body can do all on its own! It was a beautiful experience and I am still on cloud nine over the birth and Josiah being here! He is such a good baby and his sisters adore him! We have so enjoyed welcoming him into our family! I am grabbing every moment I can and cherishing it as I can not believe how fast it is going already! Josiah is 3 weeks old already today!! Thank you God for this precious life! Thank you for answering my prayers and pouring your grace out on this time and this whole experience!!!
35 weeks
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Born February 7th, 2015
at 3:49pm 7lb10oz 19 1/4 inches
