Piland Pages: Paige Ruth Piland

Whew. Tears are already forming and I haven't even started writing yet. Beautiful, perfect, baby Paige arrived in the wee morning hours of October 18th, 2013. October 18th... does that date sound familiar? Norah and Paige shared the same due date (Oct 12), both decided they weren't in any hurry, and both arrived 6 days late... on the same day. They now share a birthday, 2 years apart. God pays attention to the details. We couldn't have planned it that way if we tried! At first I was disappointed that they don't each have their own special day all to themselves, but the idea has grown on me... they have something even more special now. Not many siblings can say they share a birthday. We'll make the most of it and have fun with it over the years. Instead, now I find myself worrying that Avery will feel left out because she doesn't share a birthday... ugh! I need to just stop worrying. (In the words of Pete the Cat, our favorite literary feline, "It's all good")

So, Paige's story... I was 6 days overdue and had been feeling some mild, uncomfortable, contractions off and on for a couple of days, but nothing that made me think she was coming any time soon. It was a Thursday and at a doctor's appointment that morning my doctor encouraged me to set an induction date for the following Monday, but said she thought she'd be seeing me over the weekend. I did not want to get induced, so I prayed with all my might that God would bring that baby SOON ("but please God, just not tomorrow since that's Norah's birthday. Today would be fine, Saturday would be fine. Just not tomorrow please? Okbye") We went about the day as usual. Erich was off work and went to meet a friend for coffee about 20 minutes away. Around 4pm I texted Erich and said, "I just had a contraction that brought me to my knees. No need to rush home, just thought I'd let you know". He immediately called and said he was going to leave the coffee shop, run into the store to buy Halloween candy (priorities?), and would be home soon. I didn't really think I was in labor, but I was relieved he was coming home. About 10 minutes later when another one hit, and a few minutes later after that... well then I believed I was in labor. My texts to Erich became more urgent. A little while later he called and broke the news to me... he was stuck in a traffic jam on the highway. Completely stopped, car in park, not moving anywhere any time soon. He was in panic mode. I was in pain. Norah had no idea what was going on. Avery was being my little labor coach. Daddy had explained to her several days earlier that when it was time for the baby to come out she might see mommy hurting, that it was normal and it was a good thing, so she wouldn't be scared if I started having contractions when he wasn't home. Smart man! Avery was fully prepared to take on this challenge and delighted in "taking care of me". She rubbed my back through contractions, helped me walk up the stairs, brought me water... I'm still in awe of our little 4 year old nurse. Following in Daddy's footsteps! The next few hours are a bit of a blur. I know that I baked bread with the girls (apparently nesting doesn't kick in for me until I'm in full blown labor), put them to bed, and took a shower... stopping every 3 to 5 minutes to breathe through a contraction. Meanwhile, Erich was in his car calling and texting all of his friends (he's a guy who needs to talk it out) and imagining me at home having a baby on the living room floor. He finally decided that he couldn't sit still any longer and drove over the highway median. Long story short, because of this huge traffic jam backing up all the other streets in town the 20 minute drive took him over 3 hours. He got home around 7:30 pm, called my parents who started the 2 hour drive to our house to take care of the girls, and called a neighbor to come babysit until they could get here. He packed a bag, we said goodbye to the girls (and changed a last minute diaper), and off we went! I will mention that Erich hadn't had anything to eat since lunch and it was now 8pm. Erich without food in his belly is not a good thing. What do you know, he had Halloween candy in the car from that stop at the store. Ha! God's provision in the form of mini snickers bars. We got to the hospital around 9pm, I got my epidural around 11:30pm (I'll spare you the details of that horrible story, but it didn't go smoothly. I was still thankful to have it!) and with just a couple of pushes Paith Ruth Piland was born at 12:58am on October 18th. Between Erich not being able to get home while I was in labor and the epidural issues, it wasn't a boring delivery story, but it was an exciting one! Paige weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces and was 21 and 1/2 inches long. She had a full head of dark, dark brown hair and she had nursing mastered in about 5 seconds flat. She is a great eater, great sleeper, super smiley, content little baby. She has made our lives better and our family complete. We love her so much!

Erich took a minute to do a quick interview with Avery and Norah before we took off for the hospital. You can hear the urgency in his voice. It cracks me up.

A quick disclaimer - With Avery and Norah I went to the hospital for scheduled inductions which means I was showered, had my hair done, and make up on in all of my labor/post delivery photos with them. Paige came without warning so I grabbed a quick shower and showed up at the hospital with wet hair and no make up. The photos aren't quite as flattering. I don't care.

The last photo of Paige on the inside

The first photo of Paige on the outside.

The best husband, father, labor coach there ever was.

If you live in the Toledo area and Dr Vannuyen is not your OB, I suggest you switch. I couldn't imagine anyone better to see me through pregnancy and deliver my babies.