We are officially a family of 8! We survived three-quarters of the year of years, 2020. Pregnancy during a pandemic was no fun but we received the ultimate prize late on August 31, 2020. Our sixth child was born, healthy and happy! Our fourth son, Zeke Francis, is the best thing to happen to us in 2020! Read on as I share our birth story!
OUR SIXTH BIRTH STORY
PREGNANCY DURING A PANDEMIC
Being pregnant during a pandemic was not what we had planned (nor I am sure anyone’s)! It was a strange time of limited appointments, appointments alone, masks and slight fear. I went to all my appointments alone but thankfully our hospital allowed my husband to join for each ultrasound so that was a blessing! Also, this was my first pregnancy as a SAHM so it was nice to be home all the time and to avoid much exposure!
Overall we had a very healthy pregnancy. There was one minor glitch though, at my 20 week ultrasound they found what they called a small hematoma or ‘placental lake’…which is fancy talk for a small pool of blood where the placenta pulled away from the uterine wall. These can be very minor and often go unnoticed but they can also develop into something life threatening so we monitored it. Praise be to God that it healed itself and became nothing to worry about!
MY DUE DATE
My due date for baby number six was August 30th and it came fast! Having the kids home with me almost the entire pregnancy helped time go by! We made it to our due date without much to show. I had some gnarly Braxton Hicks contractions here and there but nothing exciting. I also had some issue with the scar tissue from my appendectomy last November. It caused me quite a lot of discomfort the bigger the baby got and if he put pressure there!
August 30th was a Sunday and I had an appointment scheduled the following Monday. To this point, I had NST test twice a week for the last two weeks (since I turned 35 in October I was considered AMA which required extra monitoring) and was checked once (the Thursday before my DD) and had little progress. Normal for my pregnancies!
LABOR & DELIVERY
At my appointment on August 31st, we did the same song and dance we did with Kip. (Read Kip’s birth story here!) I showed no signs of labor, little progression and I had a choice…head to the hospital for induction or head home. My goal this round was to go as long as I could. But that day at the office, I had my husband in the car waiting, bags in tow and the week off work…plus the other 5 kids were at school and had plans to stay with my in-laws afterwards. Everything was buttoned up so it was hard to decide if we give that all up for the chance of another week pregnant, going into labor in the middle of the night, my water breaking, who knew. As a mom of 6, I crave predictability when I can get it so we chose induction.
Next, my husband and I grabbed a quick lunch, made some calls and headed to the hospital…we were having a baby! They started Pitocin at 2:30pm and increased it every half hour. We hung out there for awhile when the anesthesiologist stopped in on his way home. He wanted to know if I was ready for an epidural but things were still going fine so I declined. He then told me if he left, it would be atleast an hour once he got the call to come back. That made me nervous and knowing my history, (I am terrible at staying relaxed and the epidural helps that and helps with progression!) I went for it. He came in and placed it at 5:30pm.
At 6pm my midwife came in to check me and found me at 4cm…just a smidge more that the office that morning BUT she said the bag of water was bulging so she broke it. It’s so funny too because I tend to have a TON of water and this time was no different…she was impressed. Haha!
And that is all it took folks! She came back at 6:30 and I was over 9cm dialated and ready to push!(My husband prays My water never breaks at home!)
During this time I was having a lot of pain but it was all where my appendix was and the scar tissue there. The epidural had gone well and I could feel each contraction but they were tolerable. The pain where my appendix was much worse. My midwife looked at me and said “Let’s just have this baby Kristy, then the pain will go away!” I didn’t argue.
I only had to push a handful of times before I was able to pull out our sweet baby boy! Zeke Francis was born at 7:42pm on August 31st at 20.5” long and a whopping 9 lbs 3 oz…our biggest baby by a pound!
BIRTH STORY: ZEKE FRANCIS FIELY
We had so many mixed votes as for the sex of the baby. Most people voted girl, I think because we just had Kip and a girl would tie the team up! The boys and Vayda wanted a boy and Marlee wanted a girl. This is mostly because a boy means Vayda will move to Marlee’s room eventually…Vayda loves that but Marlee, not so much!
He is such a sweet boy! Zeke was born perfect, no flaws, a head full of dirty blonde hair, white-blonde eyebrows and lashes and baby blues just like the others! He latched on right away and nursed on and off for two hours! We are beyond blessed with him!
RECOVERY
I have had an amazing recovery! I think with experience I know what to expect and how to best care for myself. My husband was able to be home so I took one whole week of doing nothing but caring for me and the baby. The second week I did very little and eased back each week after. Knowing and listening to my body, along with taking good vitamins and supplements helped me heal!
Breastfeeding has been amazing too. Again, I am experienced and that helps a lot! I knew what to expect and around week 1 sore and cracked nipples set it but I took my time, got them healed up. We improved our latch and positioning and by 2 weeks we were good to go! We have a great rhythm down now and he is growing like a weed!
Click here to read about my must-have breastfeeding items!
LIFE AS A FAMILY OF 8
Our children welcomed Zeke with open arms! They love him so much and life quickly feels like he’s always been here! He is never short on someone to hold him, talk to him or replace his pacifier. I can’t wait to see him grow with the others and join their crazy antics! We have much to look forward to with the holidays coming and baptism! Being a mother is amazing, because a mother to 6 amazing kids of my own is magical!
Thanks so much for reading along for our birth story!
