Little Sage will be 3 weeks on Thursday. It dawned on me today that I better hurry and document her birth story, or I'll forget the details. I've been having so much fun just enjoying her newborn-ness. I just want her to stay my little baby forever. All three of my kids have been pretty snugly, but she just seems to be the champ. All my free time has been spent cuddling, admiring, and staring at her that I haven't wanted to sit down and update my blog, but I'm definitely feeling like it's time!
Dorothea Sage Egbert was born December 6th, 2012 at 3:08 pm. She was delivered by nurse midwife Cindy at Northwest Hospital Birth Center. She was a whopping 8 lbs 8 oz and 19 inches in length. We feel very fortunate to have had all three of our kids with the UW Midwives (they moved their offices from UW to Northwest a few years ago, very conveniently for us :)
Sage's due date was December 1st, so when I went in my appointment on the 5th I was feeling very overdue and ready to have the baby. I asked the midwife if she would strip my membranes (if I was dilated and it was possible to do so). She was able to successfully do so. I spent the rest of the afternoon feeling crampy and having contractions, but nothing consistent or very painful. My friend Taylor took Gideon for a play date that morning so I took a nap and got the hospital bag packed. Later in the afternoon Taylor Mad and Asher came over to make salt dough ornaments which was fun and took my mind off the increasing discomfort I was feeling. I tried to go to bed early, but had a hard time falling asleep (probably because I had taken a nap earlier), so I didn't fall asleep until around midnight. At 3 am, I woke up having pretty strong contractions. I hopped into the bath, hoping to slow down the contractions. I really didn't want to have to drop our boys off with our friends in the middle of the night! I stayed in the bath till around 4:30 am, dozing in and out of sleep. Around 5 am, I got back in bed and tried to fall asleep. I could tell that I was definitely in pre-labor. My contractions were about 15 minutes apart. I was able to doze in and out of sleep between contractions for about an hour. Around 7 am the contractions were about 8 minutes apart, so I woke Rob up and told him that we should start getting ourselves and the kids ready. Around 8:15, we had out kids fed, clothed and packed. My contractions were now about 6-8 minutes apart. We called our across the street neighbors, the Fryes, and asked if we could drop Jasper off at their place so he could go to the bus stop with them. We them drove to our friends the Christensens to drop Gideon off. Jonathan and Gid are best buds, so that was the prefect place for Gideon to play while mommy went to the hospital. They also picked Jasper up after school and the boys had a sleep over that night with them.
Rob and I got to the hospital around 9:30, I think. They checked me around 10. I was at a 4 and fully dilated, so they told me I could stay! Hurray! I was telling Rob the entire way to the hospital that I was afraid they'd tell me to go home. It was so much work getting our boys to where they needed to be, that it would be a huge disappointment to have to go home. But they checked me in and got a doze of penicillin in me (I was strep b positive). The contractions were getting really strong and painful at this point. I got into the jacuzzi which took the edge off the contractions. Rob read me the newspaper. We read about these drunk policemen/women at a Sea hawks game. Rob also showed me these hilarious pictures of babies with witty captions his cousin Karen had sent him. I was laughing hysterically in the jacuzzi inbetween contractions. Rob and I also talked about what to name her. We still had not 100% decided but were pretty sure about Dorothea Sage. We wanted to meet her, before making a concrete decision. At some point I got out of the tub. I think it was around noon. When I got out, my contractions became incredibly painful and very, very close together. I think they were 2 min. apart for awhile. I labored out of the tub for about an hour, and then asked to get back in the tub. The midwife checked me and I was at a 7. I wasn't laughing at funny jokes anymore. I was beginning to get very focused. I felt myself turning inward and going into more of my meditation mode. I got back in the tub and the contractions were still very, very strong but the hot water helped them feel more bearable. I was probably in the tub for 45 min. then it was time to get out again. The last hour was so tough. I started telling Rob that I was done, I couldn't do it anymore, that I thought I was going to die. Once I got through those really, really rough hard contractions (I think I counted about 30), it was time to push. Oh my goodness- I love the pushing part. Seriously, I do. It is the most amazing thing. I went from telling Rob I was going to die, to feeling like the most amazing woman on the planet and feeling like I had super powers. I pushed Sage out in three or four pushes! She came flying out and the midwife immediately put her on my chest. She was so beautiful and healthy, I just cried and cried. We had been told there was a chance she would have downs syndrome. I was emotional and mentally prepared for whatever child God would send to our family, but it was such a rush of relief to see that she was just healthy as could be. She latched on immediately and has been a champion nurser since.
Sage is just the most precious, lovely little baby in the world (in my very biased opinion). She's a good sleeper, good eater, good poop-er, very meek and mild. I just love her so much. We named her Dorothea after my dad's mom who lived to be 104 (she died a year ago). She was a smart, kind, and wise woman and I'd love for my daughter to live up to her namesake. We are calling her by her middle name for the time. When she is older she may want to go by Dorothea or Dora, whatever she likes. Sage means "wise and healthy". The name is also associated with sagebrush, cowboys, and the Wild West :) I hope this little one has a fiery and adventuresome disposition.
There is nothing in the world that compares to motherhood. I am so grateful to have three healthy, beautiful, kind children. I just read an article on the DINK lifestyle (Dual-income, no kids). I am not one to be critical of the lifestyle choices of others. I am also sensitive to the fact that there are many, many women and couples who want to have children but can't. But, personally, I'd rather be the poorest, least travelled, shabbiest dressed woman in the world and have my three children, than be the richest, best dressed, hippest, most world-travelled woman among my peers. Having these three people in my life brings me so much joy. Teaching my boys about plants, the garden, and the earth makes me SO happy. Star gazing and watching for falling stars on summer nights and to see their excitement and enthusiasm- there is nothing like it. Teaching my kids about fairness, kindness, and goodness in our home and watching them apply that in their own little world. Waking up on Christmas morning with my three kiddos and hearing my boys exclaim on the top of their lungs that "this is the best Christmas EVER!!" makes everything all worth it. Sure, motherhood is hard. It is really, really hard somedays. Sometimes I want to just crawl into a hole and not come out for a few days. But there is this immense, incredible joy that out balances that. It's a wonderful life and I wouldn't trade it :)
Welcome to the world, little Sage. I hope you read this someday and know how happy and lucky I am to have you for a daughter (finally!! :) I can't wait to play dolls with you, climb trees with you, stomp in puddles with you, and grow flowers in our fairy garden together someday!
