Introducing Tatum Grace Dishman!

The skinny: Tatum Grace Dishman, born Oct 18th, 2010. Weight: 7lbs 8oz. Length: 19 3/4 inches.

The Birth Story: A few months ago, I decided I wanted to take a studio lighting class, so I can take Tatum's baby photos myself. I signed up for a class to be held on Oct 17th, 6 days before her Oct 22nd due date. I'd been talking to Tatum, asking her to stay put until after the class. (The class, btw, was AWESOME! I learned a ton and have since been having fun experimenting and learning with Tatum in my "studio" which is really our bedroom). The pictures on this blog post, however, were provided by Ty's mom - thanks Nana! Our little Tatum has already proven obedient - she waited till exactly 8 hours after the class to begin her journey into the world.

Anyway, at 1am on Oct. 18th, my water broke. I actually wasn't sure at first - I thought maybe Tatum had moved in some weird way and maybe I peed? (This has never happened before, fyi ;) About 15 minutes later, more water gushed out, and I knew my water had broken. I wasn't having any contractions though, so just went back to bed. Water kept leaking out over the course of the next hour and after the 4th time, Ty stirred as I went back to bed, so I told him my water had broken. He asked if I was having contractions, and since I wasn't, advised me to go back to sleep. That was easier said than done! I was excited that most likely, today was the day to meet Tatum! Also, knowing that the baby should be born within 24 hours of the water breaking, I started to worry about what would happen if contractions didn't start soon. I also knew that my hospital bag wasn't fully packed and I had yet to get the groceries that the Birthing Center recommended to bring to sustain me for labor (remember we just signed up there a few days prior). I eventually drifted off to sleep around 3am.

At 4:40am, I woke up having contractions. My contractions were ranging from 3-5 minutes apart, but weren't very strong. I woke Ty up at 5am and we both got ready for the day ahead. We called Chez and Cody at 5:30, to come watch the boys. They showed up around 6am - super speedy getting to our house! I continued to labor rather easily (packing and cleaning the house) but was having some mild back pain, so tried to position myself during contractions to turn Tatum if she was posterior (like both boys were). Around 7am, I began to feel myself becoming more focused and serious about the labor, and the contractions were becoming more intense. I needed Ty to put counter pressure on my back because of the back pain. Ty called the Birthing Center, the midwife talked to me to make sure this was the real deal, and we hopped in the truck. The housekeepers showed up as we were getting ready to leave and were giving me sympathetic looks. On the upside, the house would be clean when we got home!

For the second straight time, I experienced the transition stage of labor in the car. Ugh! This is the hardest part of labor; the part where you just want to give up. It hurts SO bad and the end is not in sight. The way I see it, it's somewhat nice to be in the car because I'm somewhat distracted. However, the Bradley method advises that you should try to be relaxed though your contractions to help manage pain and it's pretty much impossible to be relaxed in the car during contractions with all the bumps and braking, etc.

We knew we were going to beat the midwife to the Birthing Center and since I hadn't grocery shopped for the things I was supposed to bring, I suggested that Ty stop by a convenience store and pick up some Sprite and Gatorade for hydration. There is a store right next to the Center. As he was hopping out of the truck, I said, "You better hurry - I feel like I need to push!" He bought those drinks in record time. We pulled into the Birthing Center at 7:40am and were the only ones there. I was about to have another contraction and since I hate laboring in the truck, hopped out to labor on the sidewalk on all 4s. During my first contraction, the midwife assistant (Dana) drove up. She ran to unlock the building and set up! I had one more contraction on the sidewalk, then went inside. (The next day I had some scrapes on my legs and couldn't for the life of me figure out how I got them - but now I'm pretty sure it was from the sidewalk).

I knew that I should try not to push until the midwife (Vicki) got there, but that was really hard! Fortunately, Vicki showed up right then and assured me everything would be ok. I moved to the bed so Vicki could check the dilation, and she gave me the go ahead to start pushing. Vicki, Dana, and another new midwife (can't remember her name) were SO encouraging. They really wanted me to listen to my body and gave me coaching when I needed it. I guess I was pushing pretty well because they kept saying so. With each contraction, I could feel progress being made playdate scheduled that day, so asked Ty to text the hostess and let her know we weren't going to make it.

This is Colt playing with his gift from Baby Tatum. 

Anyway, after a few more pushes, Tatum made her grand entrance! They put her directly onto my chest (which also hadn't happened in my previous two births). I asked them if they were sure they didn't need to take her to examine her. They were very much into letting us bond, so we did! They worked to deliver the placenta and Ty was busy sending posting pictures on Facebook and emailing family. After several minutes, Ty asked, "Are you sure it's a girl?" No body knew because Tatum and I had been cuddling the whole time. Over the course of the pregnancy SEVERAL women (mostly strangers) had commented that they thought the baby was a boy because of how I was carrying. I was worried that after I had washed all the girl clothes and stocked up on bows, etc. that Tatum would come out a boy (hey, it could happen!). We proceeded to unwrap her and our worst fears were put to ease.

After a couple of hours of bonding and nursing, Tatum was weighed, examined thoroughly, and bathed. I also showered before our family showed up (with food, thankfully!). After the family left, Ty and I took a nap, then were discharged home around 2:30pm. It was awesome to be able to go home the same day and sleep in our own bed and not be disturbed by nurses coming into our room all night long, as would have happened if we birthed at the hospital. Overall, this was a quick birth (though you wouldn't know it by how wordy I've been on the blog) and we very much enjoyed our experience at the Austin Area Birthing Center. We wish we would have delivered all our babies here! This birth was an answer to prayer as Tatum was in the proper position to be birthed and I had little back pain compared with the boys. 

Levi is receiving his shape-sorter gift from Tatum. He LOVES it!

We are now home and doing well. Ty's been off work the last 2 weeks, so the real test of 3 kids for me will come next week when I'm parenting solo during the days. Colt seems to be adjusting really well. He loves to say Hi to Tatum and is very sweet to her. Levi, on the other hand, has a love/hate relationship at this point. He loves to hold Tatum and give her kisses. But in the same breath will begin to head butt her and hit her. :( Hopefully this stage will pass quickly! I'm trying to make sure I give him extra attention so he knows he's still loved. Tatum is still in that 2 week window where babies sleep all the time, though today she was alert quite a bit, so that might be ending. Anyway, the journey with 3 kids has begun. We are excited to begin our life as a family of FIVE!