a winner and a story.

first things first.  the winner of our vintage couture give-a-way is:

: joeylee :

if you're reading this and that's you, e-mail me so we can get you hooked up with your goods!

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next up, i have some really sweet friends who have been harassing me asking me kindly if i would share olive's birth story.  i keep meaning to do it, i just haven't found the time to sit down and write it all out.  so, here is the "condensed-not-too-many-TMI-details-because-my-dad-reads-this-blog" version.

i had been having off and on contractions for a few weeks...and on saturday, dec. 3rd, they were coming a bit more frequent, and a bit more intense.  nothing that i was concerned for, but they were there none-the-less.  but the aggravating thing was that i would think i was in labor, timing contractions and such, and then they would stop.  this happened quite a few times.

so, saturday evening, i decided to mow the grass.  weird, i know.

when i was pregnant with kohen, i mowed the lawn and went into labor that night.

i figured this time around, it was worth a shot.

on sunday, my contractions were doing the same thing.  this time though, they were "stop-and-breathe-through-them-worthy".  i figured that was a good sign.

but they were random. 

i'd have 3 in an hour and then not again for 3 hours.  and then 1 really hard one and then not again for 2 hours.  really sporadic and random.

i wasn't entirely sure i was in labor, so about 8:00 that night i called my midwife and told her what was going on.

she thought that the baby was just dropping and shifting, causing my contractions, but she did not think i was in labor.

so, i proceeded to go to bed, and as soon as i laid down, i had 3 intense contractions that were very hard to breathe through.

i went out to the living room to tell mr. anderson and i broke down into tears.

i wasn't sure if this was labor or not...i was tired of thinking i was in labor and then it stopping...i just wanted it to be the real thing...and i kept thinking "this is my fifth baby, surely i would know."

so, i called my midwife again---asking her if i could at least come in and be checked.  she told me to meet her at the birthing center in an hour.  so, we packed up our bags, even though i was sure i'd probably be sent back home.

our good friend arrived to stay with our other kiddos, and we headed to the birthing center.
on our ride there (about a 45 minute drive) i only had 1 contraction.  so, i continued to think that this wasn't the real thing and that we would definitely be sent home.

we arrived at the birthing center and my midwife checked me.  i was dilated to a 7.

it was definitely labor.

i deliver at a birthing center, and it's as natural as it comes.  i am never hooked up to anything.  i am free to roam, soak in the tub, eat and drink whatever i'd like.  it's nice.  every hour or so, they will use the doppler to check the baby's heartbeat.  and they are a stone's throw away from the hospital should any complications arise.

i delivered my first 3 babies in hospitals and with epidurals.  when we were pregnant with kohen, we chose the birthing center because of financial reasons, and it turned out to be a great choice for us.

don't get me wrong though.  natural birth is scary.  well, birth is scary.

it's hard and it's painful and while i'm in the midst of it, all i can think about is how i want to be done with it.  i don't enjoy it.

but, the outcome is so worth it.

and my recovery has been much quicker than when i had hospital/epidural births.

(and with 5 kids waiting at home, i needed a quick recovery)

so, that's why i chose natural birth.  and i realize it's not for everyone, and i'm most definitely not judging or thinking that my way is best.  it's just what works for me.

so, after i had soaked in the tub for about 30 minutes, i had 1 contraction where i felt like i had to push, so i got out, dried off and proceeded to the bed.

turns out, i was not quite ready to push.

so for the next 2 hours i labored, leaning on mr. anderson for every bit of support that i needed.  i'm pretty sure i could have broken the bones in his hands---that's how hard i was squeezing.

i get to this point in labor where all i can think about is being done.

after every contraction i ask my midwife "how many more?"  "when can i push?"  "how much longer?"

of course she doesn't have those answers, but i still ask them.  i am a "tell me now and how" type of person.  i just wanted to know how much longer i was to expect this pain.

about 2:00 (in the morning) it was time to push.

after a few pushes and screaming cuss words that i shall never have the nerve to say again, little olive was born.

i delivered her on a beautiful, victorian, king-sized bed...with a norah jones CD playing in the background...lights dimmed...mr. anderson by my side.  he got to be the one to tell me that she was a girl.

i burst into tears.  i couldn't believe that the lord would give us another girl...and yet, there she was.

all 7 lbs, 14 ozs. of her.
 (i'm convinced 4 of those pounds were in her cheeks).

we got to spend the next 5 hours or so, sleeping in that big bed (well, mr. anderson slept, i pretty much just laid there and stared at our beautiful new creation)

around noon, less than 12 hours after she was born, we packed up and went home to the troops, where they proceeded to squeal with delight that we had a baby girl to add to the mix.

so, that's about it---the condensed version.
and see---that mowing the lawn thing turned out to be a labor starter, again!
i'm sure my neighbors think i'm crazy.  or better yet, they think mr. anderson is crazy for letting me mow the lawn. 

oh little olive.  we're so glad you're an anderson.

{all photos were from my instagram feed.  you can find me over there as "theandersoncrew"}