2008 October « katey hage

how it all went down

for those that have been following the saga of baby Josiah (now you know his name) these past few weeks, here is the final story of how he decided to show up!

some of you may know, ezra was 8 days early so though my due date for siah (as we call him) was oct 12, we expected him to show up at least by oct 6. on oct 4 i was “certain” that siah would come anyday so my mom decided to come up early. after 4 days of waiting we sent her home to portland because there was no baby…but on oct 9 at 1am i had some really strong contractions for 3 hours so we called mom and dad excitedly, packed our bags and threw them in the car, called the babysitter, and waited for the signs to go to the hospital. we fell asleep instead and by the time my folks showed up an hour later the contractions had gone away. by early the next more i was sure they’d start up again and we’d be on our way to the hospital…oh no, no baby yet. my dad went home after three days of waiting and my mom decided to stick around. each day we woke up thinking today is the day, and each night we went to bed thinking tonight i’ll go in labor…oh no, no baby yet. After 8 days of this waiting (oct 17) i woke up frustrated and discouraged (as other late baby moms know) and decided to send my mom home. siah was now 5 days late and who knew when he would come. my mom had only planned to spend 2 weeks with us she had already been with us for a total of 11 days! granted we’ve eaten well, the house has been clean and we’ve had great distractions like mile long hikes, knitting lessons, and game playing time.

so my dad drove up friday morning, oct 17 and took mom home. this was after we decided to walk at discovery park, near our house. we estimate the hike to be about 4 miles from the parking lot to the beach and back. there was a killer hill at the end that i wasn’t sure i’d make it up, but i just kept thinking that maybe my water would break and we could get things going. no, no baby yet. my parents left at 3 and didn’t get to portland until 7:30 because of traffic. in the meantime, corey and i put ezra in the car and drove to our friend’s house who also just had a baby to eat dinner and try to enjoy life while waiting. at about 6:30pm while holding our new little friend cash, i felt a contraction, the kind i had been waiting to feel for weeks, but didn’t want to believe was really happening, lest i get disappointed again. after 30 minutes i was definitely not feeling well but also wasn’t sure what to think of it all. by 7:30 i was having a hard time focusing on packing our bags and saying good-bye to our friends, but still had know idea how close together the contractions were. we got in the car and i started timing them right away…5 minutes apart, oh boy, is this it?

we called the midwife and the on-call babysitter (thanks Jenny!) and said we’ll keep you posted. we called my parents, who had just arrived in their driveway and told them they might want to turn around soon and come back…oh boy, 4 minutes apart, um call them back…actually, we think you need to come NOW and Sally call the hospital we’re coming in! We got home at 7:45 put ezra down and called our dear neighbor, Jess, to sit with him and wait for our sister to arrive for the night. we arrived at the birthing center at swedish ballard by 8:30 and got hooked up. i was 6 centimeters and moving along quickly. mom and dad arrived just in time at 11pm for me to start pushing and 40 minutes later, Josiah George Hage was here. 11:39pm, weighing in at a whopping 9lbs 6oz- we were a little shocked at how big he was, but he came out with surprising ease (okay, relatively speaking)!

after a night of watching his low blood sugar level rise (common among big babies apparently), getting blood drawn after every feeding, and being hooked up to a heart/respiration monitor because he was breathing faster than normal and had fluid in his lungs- by morning the doctor and nurses said he was just fine, eating and sleeping well and doing everything babies are supposed to do, so we went home sunday morning. after all that anxious waiting, 5 hours of labor was definitely worth it…though if i do get pregnant again i will definitely not think i am going to have an early labor. it is the most mentally and emotionally exhausting thing in the world!

Josiah is a joy! Ezra loves his little brother and has done amazingly well adjusting to having a little one require all of moms attention and distract his other favorite people…his favorite thing to do is hold baby budder as he says and he’s been a great helper with picking up loose blankets, hats and socks that find their way all over the house. ez still isn’t sure he likes to see his brother eating, but he’s just gonna have to deal…

Comments (4)

is ‘waiting’ a spiritual discipline?

i borrowed my dads copy of celebration of discipline (richard foster) several years back and have yet to finish reading it. I only got through the first few chapters. it’s the story of my life- unfinished books that I sincerely want to finish reading! can anyone tell me if there is a chapter in there about WAITING?

corey and i are waiting for our little guy to be born. i’ve had this “feeling” that his arrival is emminent…for the past 2 weeks. no baby. maybe other mothers can attest to this. “they”, whoever that is, always tell you to trust your instincts and what you feel. but when it comes to waiting to deliver your child there is a combination of wishful thinking, anxiety or excitement (depending on how you look at it), and then the whole physical element (pain, bloating, back ache, cramping, braxton hicks, you name it). has my wishful thinking led me to be convinced that my baby should have been born days ago? and why can’t i just be patient, for goodness sake- my due date isn’t until the 12th of october!

patience, apparently, is not my strong suit. i never really thought of myself as an impatient person, until these past few weeks. so is God trying to teach me something? some would say, don’t read too much into it, your just an emotional pregnant woman, but if every moment is a teachable moment, then shouldn’t i be learning something from this? maybe how to let go of my own agenda. hmmm. somehow i don’t see this lesson being an easy one to learn.

so, if waiting is a spiritual discipline, i have a long ways to go. maybe i should go find where i put that book…

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