Cosette

Ever since I found out about you I had a feeling that we would meet on the most rare of days. February 29th, 2016. A leap year baby. I joked that you being due on Feb. 22nd surely 1 week late would be plenty vs the 2 weeks I waited for your brother. As time got closer I hoped it would actually happen. Daddy didn’t think so but I said we could celebrate your bday on February 28th and March 1st so you wouldn’t be upset about actually missing your birthday.

As time approached I thought for sure that you would be born early. From about 36/37 weeks on I would have braxton hicks contractions everyyyy single night. I kept thinking that THIS night would be THE night. How would I know that it was the real deal when it finally did come? These contractions were annoying. Some were even mildly painful and uncomfortable enough that I’d lie awake wondering if I should time them…. till I would convince myself to just roll over and go to sleep. It was mental torture :p As your due date approached I knew that we had to pick an end date as your daddy was going to be deployed again. I wanted to have a few weeks with you here and have daddy still home to help me recover from delivery. So I picked 41 weeks - Feb 29th - to be the day that we would encourage you to come out and join the world.

That weekend we spent relaxing and enjoying time as a family of 3. I scheduled a massage for the morning of Feb 29th so I’d be relaxed for induction. I kept hoping though that I wouldn’t need it. Sunday morning (the 28th) I felt cranky, crampy, but I decided to ignore it and go to church anyway and sure enough like every other time they went away.

Sunday night I went to bed and hoped I could get some good sleep like the midwife Kate told me. After turning off my brain and relaxing I finally settled in.

3 am the braxton hicks were irritating me again. I thought about timing them…. again…. but I opted to not as they weren’t regular and I didn’t feel like it was real.

6 am I woke up to use the bathroom and this time noticed some spotting… I remembered from last time that was a sign of dilation…. this for sure is the start of the real deal. I woke tyler to tell him. I needed to make sure I ate breakfast soon before it got bad and I had no desire to eat. I also called Kate and we chatted about when I thought she should come. We decided sooner rather than later JUST in case because of traffic rush hour etc if labor decided to move quickly.

Kate arrived around 8 am just as we were finishing up breakfast. She asked what the contractions were like and I really just felt like they were sporadic, not time able, made me wish almost that I hadn’t had her come so soon. They felt so mild in comparison to my first birth. I felt I was in such early labor. this would clearly take forever and she’d be waiting forever. So me and daddy went on a walk around the neighborhood for a short bit. I didn’t notice any significant increase. We went back home and my friend Melody came around 9. She was here to see what home birth was like and to take pictures for me so I could remember this day vividly. Me and her went on a walk. It was laughable. After every circle we made around our block we both had to pee…. mind you she is pregnant too… just 10 weeks behind me. haha thank goodness for 2 bathrooms. The midwives went out for breakfast. I took a break from walking and decided to pump to try to speed things up. When the midwives came back I asked them if I was far enough to break my water. I was so they did once my mom came to get titan.

I decided to shower to get some comfort in the water as I knew I wasn’t dilated enough to get in the tub anyway… it wasn’t filled yet to begin with. After daddy started to fill the tub. I kept walking - up and down the stairs, pacing the living room, squatting during contractions, and hovering in the kitchen… I thought I might be sick at some point but it never happened. I kept thinking this had to get way worse. It was nothing intensity wise in comparison to your brother. However, I reached a point where I felt like I should be progressing but I wasn’t. It was dragging. I knew I was close but I just wasn’t there yet. Kate convinced me to get in the tub. I floated around in there and she kept asking if I felt pressure/the urge to push. I kept saying I knew you were ready just about but I didn’t have the urge to push. I asked Kate to check me to see if I had a cervical lip or anything holding me up. Sure enough I did. She told me to get out and I sat on the birth stool in the hopes gravity would remedy the situation. I reached a point where I was almost dozing in between contractions. It was becoming more and more intense however and I still had no urge for you to come out. Kate told me she would move it for me and if I pushed past it then I’d be ready. I did. OUCH. It was also really hard to push without the urge. Once we moved past that Oye bay you were ready to come out. 2 solid pushes and you joined this world. I remember looking down and seeing you were a girl. I teared up. A mini me. I was no longer the only female in the house. You were too cute. All red and smooshed. A head full of hair. Perfect color and you latched within 10 minutes of being born. You were so strong already…

We both got cleaned up and then snuggled into bed where we’d stay for the next few days. :) it was a beautiful and memorable experience. Meeting you my lovely Cosette Dion. My rainbow baby - your name means victorious God. I feel so blessed to have you in my life.

PS- I missed my massage because of you… but there couldn’t be a better reason to miss a massage so I’ll let it slide ;)