Arrival

Baby Grace in the belly...

Valley Hospital is nicer than I expected. We first arrived here a little after dark on Tuesday and gradually figured out how to register with admitting and find our birth suite. We were still a little shocked that we'd just made such a spontaneous decision after all the planning.

We attended months of Bradley Natural Childbirth classes before we finally drafted our birth plan and had practiced and prepared for a relaxed intervention free labor:

Birth Plan Highlights:

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  We seek to have a spontaneous, natural, vaginal childbirth.



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  We desire to make informed decisions as a couple at every point a non-emergent choice for care/intervention is to be made.



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  We strive to manage pain by creating a relaxing atmosphere, use of visualization, water, prayer, music, moving into various positions.

I flipped to the third page where a few bullet points were under the section "Cesarean Birth (if necessary)". Definitely not what we had in mind, but after some scary moments, difficult decisions and more time in the hospital than out this past month, we both felt at peace with our choice.

Complications made natural labor all but impossible and even induced labor would've been incredibly risky. We decided to schedule a c-section, to eliminate the risk of Shanna being unconcious during an emergency procedure. The longer we waited, the risk of a serious complication grew. So after meeting our new doctor for the first time we drove up to the hospital and prepared to meet our baby.

The surgery went amazing, Grace Linda was born on December 18th at 10:33pm and while only 4lbs 9oz, she is healthy and strong. Shanna's is doing very well and recovering more quickly than anyone anticpated. Jordan has mastered diaper changes and is working on swaddling. We are all tired and greatful.