It’s amazing, really, how fast time flies. Exactly one week ago, we welcomed sweet Cary Hope into our lives and hearts. Over the past seven days, we’ve made a few adjustments and I’ve had some sleepless nights. But all in all, I couldn’t be happier. God’s faithfulness abounds, and it’s true that his mercies are new every morning! I’m so thankful for a healthy family, a husband who has the flexibility to take so much time off of work, and parents who just flew in from Florida to be with us during this time of transition.
At the moment, it’s just me and the babe lounging at home on a Saturday morning. Mom, Dad and Mike took the girls to hunt for yard sales. Of course they had their purses in tow, stuffed with two dollar bills from grandpa! They were just itching to find treasures to buy. I hope they do! What a simple yet profound thing it is to sit here in my quiet house while Cary sleeps and be allowed this time to jot down her birth story!
Cary Hope Wolfe was born on December 2, 2017 at 12:25am. She weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces, and was 21.75 inches long. Waiting for the actual moment seemed like ages, but now that she’s here it seemed like a blink.
Just as I did with my other two girls, I wanted to record her birth story while it’s fresh in my mind. Details in the memory fade over time, so I want to remember everything for Cary’s sake. Care Bear, this is for you:
My due date with Cary was December 3rd, so basically since the week of Thanksgiving we’ve been on alert. Lily came two days early and Emma arrived eight days ahead of schedule, so I had a feeling she’d come in November. She obviously had other plans. I had my 38 week appointment with Dr. Kawelo on November 16th, one week before Thanksgiving. Everything looked good, but when she checked my cervix, I was only 1cm dilated and still pretty high. I saw her again the next Tuesday, the 21st. I didn’t want to give birth on Thanksgiving, so I opted to not be checked that day. We also got invited to a wedding on the 25th for one of Mike’s co-workers and were really looking forward to going. Well, Thanksgiving came and went along with the wedding, and still no Cary!
My next appointment with Dr. Kawelo was on November 30th, a Thursday. I thought for sure this was the day! Mike accompanied me to the appointment to help with the girls. The doctor asked me if I wanted to do the membrane sweep like I had with Emma, but I told her it depended on my body’s progress. When she checked my cervix this time, it hadn’t changed in two weeks! Still high and only 1cm dilated. I opted not to do the sweep since my body didn’t seem ready. I’ll admit I was a little distraught. We talked about another appointment and when we’d induce if it came to that. She told me all about how induction works and it just sounded awful! I didn’t have to be induced with Lily or Emma, so I really didn’t want to have to go through that with Cary. I was praying she’d come naturally when she was ready.
I didn’t feel much different that day or night, but the next morning I started to feel some tighter pains. They didn’t quite seem like the real deal yet, but I could tell my body was getting ready. I took the girls to our annual MOMS Club cookie exchange on Friday morning. There, a friend gave me some Evening Primrose Oil. I took two capsules and ate a ton of cookies! Afterward, I stopped by my favorite Thai restaurant and ordered Curry Pad Thai with extra spice! That afternoon I was very anxious for Mike to get home from work. At that point, it was really hard to help the girls with food and snacks and naps… and their whining was really getting to me. When he came home I was super relieved! The neighborhood kids all played outside in the cul-de-sac and my friend Kayla offered to give me a pedicure and food massage! What a gal
Whether she hit a pressure point or not we’ll never know… but by the time five o’clock rolled around I wasn’t sure if Mike should go to AWANA with the girls or if we should be heading to the hospital. I was timing my contractions, but I could still do stuff. So, I kept busy with laundry and making dinner, etc. The contractions were coming more frequently, yet they were still sporadic if that makes any sense. I’d have a painful one, then it’d be 18 minutes before another one came. Then the next might have only been 6 minutes later.
Anyway, I decided to drop off the family at church around 6pm. After some encouragement from friends there, I went home to rest by myself instead of walking around the store trying to get things moving. I timed the contractions while sitting on the couch watching TV and waited until it was time to pick up the fam at 8pm. By that time, I had decided it was time to head to the hospital. We got home, put the girls to bed, cleaned the playroom so the spare bed was accessible for the night, and asked our neighbor to come sleep at our house. With impeccable timing, we rolled out of the driveway around 9:30pm. On the 35 minute drive, I had about five or six painful contractions. And by the time Mike dropped me off at the front of the hospital they were coming every four to five minutes.
I was taken into triage quickly (around 10:15pm) and all the friendly nurses and aides got me hooked right up to the monitors. I was super nervous when the nurse checked my cervix this time because I really didn’t want to get sent away. Low and behold, even though I was still high, she said I was about 6cm dilated and they planned to admit me. Praise the Lord! No walking the halls or bouncing on balls. I just had to get through the contractions for a little bit longer and wait for the epidural! Dr. Harvey came right in and introduced himself as the O.B. on call for the night (since my doctor is part of a group). I said I was ready to get the epidural as soon as they admitted me. I didn’t want to miss my window like I did with
Emma’s birth. Of course, they had to do my labs and insert the IV and have me sign a bunch of paperwork. It seemed really quick though, and by 11:15pm I was in a delivery room with a wonderful nurse named Katrina and a delivery team that was prepping for Cary’s arrival. The anesthesiologist was this sweet little Asian thing, but she was all business. Everyone raved about how she was the best they had. Though she finished quickly, I wasn’t feeling much relief and I could still feel my feet and legs thirty minutes later. As the tears streamed down my face even after I was given the epidural, the nurse could tell it wasn’t really helping. I guess medicine doesn’t have as much of an effect on me as it should. It wasn’t until I was given another three doses that I started to feel some relief, around midnight. And good thing, because just as my legs started to go numb, my water bag started bulging out on it’s own. It literally looked like a balloon coming out of me! Everyone marveled for a few seconds because apparently a bulging intact water bag is a rare sight. (Side note: It’s funny that my waters have never ruptured on their own with any of the three pregnancies). The nurse called Dr. Harvey and the resident who actually delivered baby. They ruptured the water bag, and on the next three contractions little Cary emerged at 12:25am!
What a beautiful thing to witness. I’m thankful for the epidural because I was able the enjoy the moment so much more than with Emma. That moment when your baby gets placed on your chest is so surreal. You just can’t imagine what this human child will look like. Though she was growing inside of my womb for nine whole months, I didn’t know her. I couldn’t picture what she’d look like, smell like, feel like… then, in an instant, all of my questions were answered. All of my wondering quenched. As I gazed into her newborn eyes I was overwhelmed with gratitude and thanksgiving for baby Cary, but also for our Creator. What a wonderful gift that God would grant sinful humans–the ability to conceive and bear a child. And what more of a miracle that Christ–the living God–seated in Heaven before time began, would humble himself and take on flesh, totally dependent on sinful humans to care for his every need as a newborn baby. It makes me think of the line in the popular Christmas carol, Hark the Herald Angels Sing:
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”
I know in the next few months and years we’ll experience mountains and valleys. There will be hardships, days I’ll want to pull my hair out and punch someone in the face, but also victories and many reasons to rejoice. Through it all, I pray that God would be glorified and we would lead a life pursuing holiness. I pray that he uses my girls to refine and sanctify me making me more like Him!
Cary girl… you are loved. Now here are some pictures to savor!
