Kerilyn Kanani arrived on October 1 at 7:20 AM. She weighed 9lbs. 4 oz.- my biggest baby. It all started at 3:42 AM when I had gotten back into the bed after putting my 5 yr old, Levi, back into his bed. I felt the first contraction & thought, “Okay, that was pretty strong, I’ll see what happens.” 10 minutes later, another, 10 more minutes another. I woke Mitch up because I knew this was it & I didn’t want my midwife (who lives an hour away) to not make it in time or get stuck in any morning traffic ( if I waited any longer). I texted my wonderful
doula then she called back & said she was on her way. I called
Susan to let her know- that’s a story by itself. ;-)
I was in the bed when they arrived. I had been listening to my Hypnobabies tracks, but I wanted to strangle the lady speaking, so I turned her off & just concentrated on the contractions & “relaxed” myself. I have to add here that listening to these in the weeks prior had helped me focus on relaxation & have a “mind over matter” attitude. When my midwife arrived she checked me & I was @ 7 cm- 2 days earlier I was at 3-4. I got into the birthing tub soon after & it was great! It really helped cut the edge off the pain. Things were moving along very quickly & it was getting pretty intense. I started vomiting with every contraction which lasted about the last 5 minutes or so- those of you who were present can correct me. ;-) Kristin had the ugly job of holding the barf bucket. I had not eaten anything because I had done this with the last natural birth I had (Carly), so I was expecting it & tried to only drink juice. I’m glad I did & pretty sure Kristin is glad, too. I kept wondering where
Susan & her clan were, but I figured they’d be along any time.
I began feeling pressure, so I (as lovingly as possible) let that be known. Next thing you know Mitch was delivering his baby out of the water. While the midwife was suctioning her out, I was trying to figure “what” we had. I kept trying to look w/out messing with the midwife’s job. I finally had a good look & announced, “We have a girl!” I was crying, Mitch was crying, my girls were crying, "Oh, Mama.” & trying to take pictures. ( BTW
Susan & girls made it just in time! ;-) )
I was SO glad my kids could be there for the birth & my MIL – it was truly special for her because we hardly ever get to see her & she’s never seen any of the kids so soon even after their births, so to witness it was great!
We named Kerilyn Kanani after my sister
Kerry & my sister Stephanie & SIL Debbie, who both share the middle name Lynne. I hadn’t even looked up the meanings of their names beforehand, but decided afterwards just for curiosity. I found a really cool factor in them for me. Kerry means “the dark one”- Kerilyn has a headful of DARK hair; Lynne means “dweller by waterfall or pool”- she was a water birth baby! Kanani is Mitch’s sister’s name & is Hawaiian meaning "the beauty”.
I had such a great experience being in the comfort of my own home. (From start to finish to have a 3 ½ hr labor was great!) I wish I could have done it with the others even though I had great hospital experiences, too.
We‘re doing well & Kerilyn gets ALL the hugs & kisses she’ll ever want & a lot she doesn’t want. ;-) God never ceases to bless over & over again!
(And seriously...double thank your hubby, and thanks to you, for him working on my mess on your birthday! I can't believe I texted you about that and didn't even think about your birthday!!! Where is my head these days? LOL)
Well, ditto Kathryn :P