Welcome Porter

I think I need to say a few things about this pregnancy and possibly explain myself (aka justify my complaints). My first trimester was okay and because we weren't telling anyone, I didn't do any complaining but the nausea was about the same as with the others. I survived on hushpuppies and BBQ sauce. The second trimester was the best I have ever experienced in all of my pregnancies. I had energy. I felt great and having a boy had noticeably different effects on my body. I was not as wide and actually enjoyed pregnancy for a while. The third trimester came and I tried to stay positive. I kept telling myself (and others) that I felt great but soon it set in. I was exhausted again. I was having painful contractions on a regular basis. I got the stomach bug for the third time and I was just overall an anxious mess wondering what all the pain and pressure meant. After reading and talking with my doctors (who seemed to have no concern at all), I began to realize that it was all pretty normal, especially for a third pregnancy but that did not change the fact that it hurt! It was harder to get around. After laying in bed at night I found it hard to walk for a while in the mornings. I really tried hard not to complain but I failed most of the time. Randy was tired of hearing about all of the worry and pain but he did his best to comfort me. The last week of pregnancy I noticed I had stretch marks on my stomach. This did not make me happy! I had been blessed not to get any in the last two pregnancies so I was surprised and also upset. Carrying Porter went from the best pregnancy to the hardest during the last trimester.

I began this post on Thursday night- May 8th- the eve of the arrival of Porter. I started writing to explain what I had been going through the last month but as I began to finish it a week later, it turned into the beginning of the birth story instead.


Thursday May 8th, I guess you could say I had a feeling it was happening but with all of false labor and pain in the past, I didn't really KNOW anything. I asked Randy to come straight home that day from work as I was feeling the worst I had felt thus far. I was having a lot of cramping and pressure but no consistent contractions. When we went to bed that night I had a few but nothing regular or prolonged. Soon after I fell asleep the pain woke me up again and it was intense. It was strange though- all on one side of my body and it was more like cramping than contractions. It was painful enough to worry me and make me think I may be going into labor but with it being consistent, with no breaks and no actual contractions I did not know what to think. I woke Randy up and told him that if this was a false alarm I was sorry but the pain was bad and that it was not letting up. I tried walking around a bit to see if it would change anything. After a little while, it did let up a bit but then came in regular intervals of maybe six minutes. It only happened a few times though and we had both fallen back to sleep. As soon as my eyes closed and I relaxed my water broke- burst actually- just like in the last two pregnancies. I shouted to let Randy know but tried to stay calm. Get to the van. Get to the van. That was what Randy had coached me to do the last nine months. We have barely made it in the past so that was his number one concern. After a couple of minutes of being outside by the van, he checked on me and I asked him for clean clothes and I asked him who was coming. He said, "Nobody." I was hoping I didn't hear what I thought I heard. He continued, "No one is answering their phone." To say I was freaked out is an understatement. Randy said later he was one minute away from putting the kids in the car and bringing them with us. He got my grandmother on the phone (praise God!!) who woke up my mom and then he rang our neighbor's doorbell until they came out. They stayed at our house until my mom could get there. It was a close one but we made it there and as expected I was 9cm. No chance for an epidural and I was not happy about it. I was prepared for it but not happy. The doctor took what seemed like forever to get there. The nurses almost had to deliver him because it was happening to fast. As soon as he did get there, I was allowed to push and that was supposed to make it better. With Ava, when I was able to push, it really helped with the pain, but this time, it was no help. The delivery seemed much harder and much more painful this time. I felt at multiple times like giving up and then they would say, one more or you can do it or something like that. I will never forget the feeling of delivering my children. The feeling after they come out is blissful, especially when they lay them on your chest.

At 4:44 am Porter Noble was born. 8 lb. 12 oz. and 20 inches long.

He was blue which worried us but after asking the nurses a few times, they assured us he was fine and eventually explained that him coming so fast bruised him. The attending pediatrician later told us that it could contribute to jaundice so they would keep an eye on it and test him at 24 hours. I nursed him like crazy that day, determined to keep him from that scenario and by the grace of God, Saturday morning when they checked, he was in the clear! He was also less blue and by Sunday you could hardly tell.

As for me, the damage was significantly less that last time. The recovery this time around has been phenomenal and I could not be happier. Unlike last time, I can walk and I was able to get up and do things for myself the very day of the delivery! Praise be to God! It was truly an answer to prayer to be able to sit up and go to the bathroom as early as I could. If I am not careful, I will over-do it though because I almost feel normal! I am trying to rest and take it all in but having the two girls, I want to chime in and clean this or that and have to remind myself that I am not supposed to lift, push, or pull or take walks for a few weeks. Part of me believes that all the pain in the last trimester prepared my body and is the reason I was not in so much pain after his birth...?

Porter continues to nurse well and I am little sore- it is not as bad as it was with Bella but worse than with Ava who gave me no trouble or pain whatsoever. He is nursing about every three hours, sometimes more and sometimes less and for the most part, goes right back to sleep during the night.

The girls started out waking up an entire hour earlier the first few days just to find Porter and start touching him. Ava woke me up early one morning with a bottle of soap in her hand saying, "Soap. Wanna touch Porter!" and the way she says Porter is priceless. I love it! I love the way she calls him her "baby broduh" too. And sweet Bella helps me so much. She is so good with him. She has been peed on and spit up on already and she just laughs about it. The first time Ava saw me nurse she was baffled and said, "What are you doing?!!" and after I explained, she laughed. She still laughs when she sees me do it, saying, "Mommy? milk?" and she called them my "bellies" and now they are "boops." She also counts them on a regular basis.. "One...two!"

I am thankful to be on this side of it now. I am even more thankful for a beautiful, healthy baby boy and all the love from family and friends.

Last pregnancy picture- taken before bed on Thursday night. (I guess I was hoping I was going to bed pregnant for the last time!)