My heart is full of so much love and my car is now full of…

a bunch of Nicholson babies!

On June 9, 2014 at 2:51pm we welcomed Kollin Darren Nicholson to our crew. He was a whopping 9lb 8oz & 21.25in long! I am so happy to say that I was able to have a drug free, vaginal delivery. I wouldn’t say it was easy, but with much support, strong mind, and prayer, I was able to achieve what I set out to do. So here the story begins…

Here I was, 40 wks pregnant with my third child and so over being pregnant. Back pain, bladder pain, swollen everything, and the knowledge that I was going to have a big baby…let’s just say I was ready. When I got home from church that Sunday afternoon, I was determined to bring on labor lol. What did I do you ask? It probably wasn’t the smartest thing, but because my yard needed some TLC at the time, it seemed to be a win win. Yes, I cut the grass in 100 degree weather. I’m sure my neighbors thought I was a bit cray, but I could’ve cared less. Needless to say, I was worn out. Later that night I took LESS than a tbsp of castor oil and before I knew it, the bathroom was my new hangout spot for the next couple of hours. (I wouldn’t recommend this for everyone, especially before 40 wks because it’s not always guaranteed) Once the side effects of the castor oil were over, sure enough….the contractions began. I knew it was different from the normal everyday Braxton Hicks that I was having before. They were stronger and more consistent. Before I knew it they were 5 min apart. After a couple of hours I woke my husband up at 3:30am, dropped the youngest off at my parents, and we headed to the hospital.

  

FINALLY!!! IT’S HAPPENING!!!!

Once I arrived, I was monitored for an hour or two with consistent contractions and then was finally admitted. Of course, once in my room the contractions slowed down. I was feeling discouraged and it was discussed to me by the nurse about the potential of receiving pitocin. I was very adamant about not wanting any sort of drug induction during labor. I did feel the pressure, but I knew what I wanted and prayed that it would all work out. So they agreed to wait just a little longer. During the wait, I busted out my essential oils and started diffusing Thieves to purify the air in the room. Every time someone new came in the room they would always compliment how amazing it smelled and would say how relaxing it was for them. I love my erls! : )

The wait continued…

Two hours later, my doctor (whom I absolutely love) discussed my options after no cervical change (I started at 4cm coming into the hospital). I agreed that it was okay for her to manually break my water bag. I just knew once that happened it was on like donkey kong! After a little struggle, she broke my water bag (which made me feel better because that was pretty much proof to me it wasn’t going to break on it’s own). As soon as my water bag was broken I hopped on the birthing ball next to my bed and swayed back and forth until…

THE PAIN SET IN….INTENSE CONTRACTIONS BEGAN

I knew it was GAME TIME. I needed to focus. I popped in my headphones and swayed to the sounds of Bethel worship Loft Sessions. It was just what I needed. I allowed God to just set in and I became overcome with emotion of what was happening. I’m so blessed I thought. God was giving me the strength to overcome the pain. With each contraction the pain became more intense. I knew I needed something. I asked my hubs (who was so supportive) to hand me the bottle of frankincense. I took the bottle and just smelled it. I also poured a few drops on a face towel and held it in front of my face. It was so soothing to me. It took me to a place mentally where I was able to zone out of reality and just rest in peace with all what was happening.

  

30 minutes later…7cm!

I eased back into the bed because I knew if this labor was anything like my last, I didn’t have much time left. Sure enough the unbearable pain began. I knew I had to be actively progressing because of what I was feeling. When the thought in your head vocalizes out of your mouth “why am I doing this again?” or “I can’t do this anymore”, you know you’re close. When I notified the nurse of the pressure I was feeling she called in the doctor. Before I knew it I was fully dilated and the staff came piling in prepping for delivery. Everyone in the room braced themselves and became anxious for the arrival of the new baby Nicholson (we waited to find out the sex 🙂 )

Kris’ mom and my mom waiting baby’s arrival!

Big sister got to sit in too!

Yep, definitely feeling it…

 

This is the time where everything becomes so surreal and blurry with emotion. The pain was so intense I didn’t think I could do it. I was squeezing the life out of my husbands arm and calling out the name of my Savior lol. Not fun. I knew I had to literally PUSH through to get rid of the pain. With encouraging people around me, the pushing began and the determination set in. After 4 pushes it was finally over and HE was finally here!

IT’S A BOY!!!!

Kollin Darren is here!!

We all became overcome with emotion.

It was indescribable.

Tears of joy were down all of our faces…mommy’s, daddy’s, grandmothers’, and even big sister’s. I felt so BLESSED.

The next hour I just soaked every moment in. As Kollin laid on my bare chest I anointed his forehead with frankincense and prayed over him. The most incredible feeling. God has given me so much and I couldn’t feel more complete in this moment of life.

Then again, maybe I can…

My “baby” for the past almost two years came to visit. With a blink of an eye, he’s a BIG BROTHER. Of course I cried. The way his face lit up when he saw him and said “brubber” I couldn’t even tell you how amazing that was.

The next 24 hours were spent just cherishing every moment and every visitor who came to see our new addition.

Once everything settled down and big brother and sister left to go to grandma’s, Kris and I were getting some Q-time with our new little munchkin. Post-partum has it’s ups and downs for sure. You get to spend some amazing time bonding with the baby through breastfeeding and cuddling. On the other hand (especially the aftermath of delivering a 9.8lb baby), you feel like you’ve gotten hit by a Mack truck. I relied on two things: back rubs from my hubby and my oils. The hospital staff offers you your choice of two things for pain: Motrin and Percocet. Since I wasn’t comfortable with either, especially now breastfeeding, I chose my oils.

These are all what I used. PanAway was my postpartum obsession. It was the only thing that took away my back pain. I was able to get up and walk around just an hour or two after delivery and discharged 24 hr later. Not to mention, it helped drastically with after birth contractions. I’m so grateful for having been introduced to these oils. It’s so nice and reassuring to know there are other alternatives to deal with physical issues besides toxic synthetics.

Don’t ever feel weird or abnormal when choosing to do or be something different in these situations. It’s incredible to know that you have more control than you think. I know things happen and you can’t always prevent certain things steering you away from your original plans, but knowing that you can potentially CHOOSE something DIFFERENT is comforting. Go in with a strong mindset knowing what you want, but prepped for a potential curve ball. Every birth story is different and that’s okay. As long as you allow LOVE to overcome you, sometimes that’s all that matters. I feel so blessed to be able to achieve what I wanted and how I wanted to do it. I pray for blessings over everyone the way I have been blessed. It’s truly incredible and I can’t wait to proceed with my journey as a wife and parent of now THREE!!!!

LOVE to all!!!!