Hooray hooray Edward John Konicki is in the world!

And boy is it a sweeter world with him in it. Oh you guys, he is the best. His chubby little cheeks and his long frog legs. Every single thing about him makes me in awe of God, thankful that we get to call Eddy ours.

Today I want to share with you his birth story. Every single minute of this story is so worth it. I mean, c’mon, look at that face. I just want to kiss it a hundred times over. And I do. And I love it.

So it all started on August 21, 2014 at 1:30 in the morning. I got up to use the washroom for the hundredth time that night and my water broke. Finally!! We were going on the 6th day being past due, nothing was really comfortable anymore, and I was wondering if I would ever see my ankles again. I remember Victoria, our doula, saying that it will be really important to rest as much as I could when things started, so I went back to bed and just lay there. Praying, not really sleeping, but trying my best to rest my body. My water breaking wasn’t some big gush you see in the movies. It was little by little. So, a couple hours after it broke I noticed there was his meconium (baby’s first poop) in the water which is concerning which lead us to call the midwife which lead us to go the hospital. We were hoping to labor at home longer, but we wanted to make sure Eddy was a-ok. We then ate a good breakfast, I drank a whole thing of gatorade, and off we went.

When we got to the hospital at 7am we checked in, found out that Eddy was doing awesome, but they wanted to keep him monitored so for the next 12 hours we walked and walked and rested and rested and that’s when our midwife suggested we up the ante with the dreaded Pitocin. We spent time asking question after question, praying, talking to the nurses about it (I learned that one of my nurses had all three of her kids non medicated so we felt like we could trust what she was saying as she helped us process). We decided to do it. The meconium was still present and even though he was stable, he needed to get outta there.

At about 9pm it started gettin’ real. My body wasn’t messing around and all hands were needed on deck during EVERY contraction. Victoria putting counter-pressure on my back and doing her doula thing, while PK was at my face praying with me, praying for me, and helping me to concentrate on my breathing and incredibly loud moaning. Side note: You guys, sounds came out of my mouth that I didn’t know existed. Moans and growls that were not dainty nor quiet. During active labor I labored everywhere. In a bathtub for a couple hours, on the toilet, squatting, on my hands and knees on the bed, on my knees hugging the back of the bed, on my right side, on my left side. Upside down. Just kidding on that one. Wanted to make sure you were still paying attention. While we’re distracted…

Then the time came to push. And push I did. FOR THREE HOURS. Lord have mercy. Worst pain ever, you ask? Why yes. And defining it by “worst pain ever” is an understatement. My contractions weren’t close enough so I would push and he would then decide to stay back for a bit. So it was one step forward and two steps back for a LONG time. I was so exhausted. PK kept praying strength over me and it was by God’s strength (and how he used everyone involved) that I got through this. So then our midwife got her gown on which indicated Eddy was coming soon. They then wheeled out a mirror and I never thought I’d be one of those people to watch the birth of my baby. But it was SO empowering. I remember the midwife saying at one point “Christine, wake up, (I fell dead asleep in the middle of pushing. Isn’t that wild?!) lift up your head and look at your baby.” I could see his head and that’s all I needed to be able to push one last time and meet him.

He was finally born! 8:07 am on August 22, 2014. 8 lbs 1oz. 21 in. long. They placed him on my chest  and I’d like to tell you I bawled my eyes out, but I was too tired. I prayed and I thanked God for this sweet boy. I remember telling God “he is YOURS Lord” and thanking Him that we get to be Eddy’s parents. You guys, he was so cute right out of the womb. He was so alert and wide eyed and his cry was the best thing ever. There was so much going on after that. It was placenta time, so there was that, then all of a sudden I was feeding him thanks to Victoria. Thank God for her because I was so tired I couldn’t do anything for myself. He latched like a boss and I am SO grateful for that and don’t take that for granted for one minute. Our parents then came to see him and the rest is history.

It all was unreal. Crazy unreal.

And then there’s this man. My amazing, strong, faith-filled husband who was with me during EVERY contraction. 31 hours of contractions, by my side praying with me, coaching me, making sure I was breathing and staying hydrated. In the tub with me, face to face with me. Looking me in the eyes and telling me I could do it when I thought I had absolutely nothing left in me. My gosh I love you, PK. We did it and I could not have done any of this without you. My love for you has grown in such an intense way after experiencing what we did to bring Eddy into the world, and there’s no going back to the way it was. You are an incredible man, and I am the luckiest.

So there you have it. The remarkable story of Edward the Brave.

Thank you Lord for the sweetest boy a girl could ask for.