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I found this little unpublished gem. I had to get it on record. How Ashlyn made her appearance.
Ashlyn's labor and birth was a total answer to prayers and a huge blessing. I was having a hard time getting into the right frame of mind regarding labor, and kind of put off thinking about what I was going to do to help make it go smoothly. Instead, I just decided to deal with it (the pain of labor) when it came. Well, when it came, I was taken off gaurd cuz it was quite a powerful beginning. My water broke at 12:30 am (which has never happened before in one of my labors) - I had a huge contraction and it just broke. From then on I felt like I just couldn't keep up. I knew I needed help beyond myself, and asked Jon to call my mom and dad and ask them to start praying for me (something I have never done during past labors either!) Contractions were coming quick and powerful and I was struggling to maintain a positive attitude. When my midwife got there at 1 am, she gave me the perfect pep talk - about how I could do absolutely do it - I was absolutely strong enough and she believed in me. Also, as she so delicately put it, there was no real alternative to the path I had chosen. Drugs and hospitals were out - even though it seemed quite appealing at the time. She breathed with me and helped to comfort me during a few contractions, and then helped me to get into a different position she thought may be more comfortable. I had been side lying on my bed. She had me move to an all fours position on my bed, with my arms supporting my weight on the soft cushy head board of my bed. This was wonderful. It seemed like only minutes later that Ashlyn made her appearance. Jon wasn't even in the room. Dinah called to him, and he saw Ashlyn's head already out and said, "Oh my gosh!" (We were both expecting an 8-9 hour labor like the others were) At 2:10 am, only an hour and 10 minutes after Dinah got there, another contraction came and Ashlyn came into my astonished and grateful arms. The two refrains I kept repeating through cries of joy and relief were - "I can't believe it!" and "She is so tiny!" (I can't beleive it cuz it was so fast - less than two hours) and (So tiny after having my last 2 babies weigh in at over 9 pounds!) Ashlyn's weigh in at 8lbs 3 oz is still a very respectable size for a baby! I felt such gratitude - as I immediately recognized this labor as an answer to prayers - mine and the combind prayers of my family and friends. Even though I know Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers, I have to admit I was still surprised at his attentiveness to me, just one of his daughters, who needed his help and got it in a big way.
Jon woke up all the kids who came and met Ashlyn only minutes after she was born. It was a beautiful scene. An amazing labor. I couldn't have asked for anything more. Ashlyn is an amazing little (big) baby. She was smiling at ME her first day of life and is very aware of everyone around her. The girls want to hold her all the time - having to time share with two other people has made the time go by even faster than it normally dose with a newborn. Even Tanner gets in on it. He has been an outstanding big brother. He is soft, sweet and only slightly jealous!
