Meet Georgia Anne!

Short version for the guys: Last Friday, we welcomed a new little one into our family. All in all, I was in "active labor" for 44 minutes as Chris recalls. I was in "labor land" where time stands still. :)

Georgia Anne Olsen was born at 5:28 pm. She weighed 9 pounds 6 ounces, is 21 1/2" long, she has lots of hair though we're undecided on the color (dark brown or auburn? give it a day or two!). She has blue eyes and is a precious part of the Olsen fam already!

For all the girls, here's the longer version, though the full thing (with emotions and all) will have to wait for another time, when life slows down (ha!): My labor started with my water breaking at 1:30 in the afternoon. Chris rubbed my back and shoulders while I sat on the birth ball. They weren't too sore- but labor is one of the few times I get as much back rubbing as I'd like, so I wasn't turning down a backrub! :) I was 5 cm dilated. The rest of the birth team arrived, Katie and Kristin, and got set up- we were ready to have a baby!

Well, they were ready but my little one wasn't quite ready yet! (That's a good order, by the way. Birth team ready and waiting for the little one, not vice versa!) The wonderful thing about a homebirth is the relaxed atmosphere while we all wait for my body to do what it was created to do. So we talked, I walked around the house, sat on the birth ball some more, my sweet sister rubbed my back and then Sharon checked me again- I was 8+ cm and though the contractions were still around 3 min apart, they were getting much more intense.

I decided to get into the tub to help ease the intensity of the contractions. Andrew came in to check on me. He loves taking baths and really wanted to join me in the tub! But I had to turn my little buddy down because they were really getting strong and it was almost time. Granny took him out to play with Ben, Lauren and Timbo upstairs and the birth team came in.

This is where the relationship with my midwife is such a blessing. Sharon is so steady, soothing and encouraging. I know I can trust her and that she isn't only relying on her own strength, but on that of the Lord. When I started to push, she helped me get in a position that both felt good to me and was productive in pushing out our baby! Katie, a student midwife, was a huge blessing there as well- she was encouraging and super helpful. (Thanks, Katie!) I pushed for about 10 min (according to Chris, time was standing still to me). I couldn't feel this baby move down the birth canal as obviously as I did with Andrew, but when I looked in Sharon's eyes, I knew things were going just as they should. Perseverence!

Chris offered to sit behind me so I could brace myself on him, but I decided no since I was almost done. Sharon told me to reach down and feel my baby's head- that is so encouraging! Another push and her head was out. (That felt much better!) Then she told me to reach down and get my baby. Sweet relief! I reached down and lifted my little one up and onto my chest. My baby!

Smiles and thanks to the Lord abounded- my new baby was here. The children came in and Lauren was the one to nervously look and then gleefully announce, "It's a sister!" GeGe, Daddy & Lauren were right! She is named after my GeGe, her great-grandmother. Georgia Anne Olsen. Timbo cut his new sister's umbilical cord. What a big boy!

There is so much more that I love about birth- the excitement of sharing birth with my hubby, Mom and sister (who is due in February with her first!)... A nice warm shower and then snuggling down into clean sheets on my own comfy bed afterwards... The children being the ones to do the newborn exam with Mrs. Sharon- what a privilege! The Lord was kind to us and birth was, once again, a sweet time of waiting, trusting, working and welcoming new life into our family.