Birth Story part 1

What a journey it has been! Our beautiful miracle Helena is here! What a gorgeous angel she is indeed! Dark almond shape eyes & full pouty lips. Sweet cheeks & a darling little nose. She completes our family in every way & we are so happy to be the 5 of us! Life is amazing & moves so fast, a timeless journey of memories & love. God has blessed us so & we are loving our babies & each other so much; our hearts are full of joy!Everyone was so sure I would go early with this pregnancy; I had been having braxton hicks since about 6 months. This is my 3rd. I was a good size & it seemed so was she. Being a high risk pregnancy I was monitored closely & had appointments every 2 weeks, blood work every 2 weeks. God kept me so healthy & against any and all odds my baby too. Every day I clung to His promises & He sustained the pregnancy. The kids were involved as soon as I had my first U/S & heard the heartbeat & saw her beginning to form. We prayed as a family every single day for us, the kids, esp Mia never forgot to pray for Mommy & the baby. We had fun talking about her & imagining what God was giving us. When we found out what we were having we were so excited; I was wrong as usual & Colin was right as usual! My mom was there with us & of course the kids. It was awesome to call her by name, shop for her, pray specifically for her. My belly grew & grew! I was proud of it & loved my pregnancy clothes. It was an uncomfortable pregnancy but not complicated. It was hard being pregnant with 2 other young ones but we kept busy & I did the best I could to spend time with them & make every day fun & still care for baby & I. Colin of course continued to take over more household stuff than usual & took over with the kids right away. I loved feeling her move; she moved more than my others & I loved knowing she was close to my heart & growing strong. The kids & I went everywhere & did everything together; it wasn't going to exclusively just be me with 2 kids anymore. We went out to dinner a few times as just the 4 of us & did some special stuff as a family. I had a few ultrasounds & even had my mom & dad both come with us & the kids once. The pregnancy went by pretty quickly until I started having contractions around 8 months. I had to go to the hospital in my 8th month bc of cramping & pressure & I was dehydrated. My hospital bag was packed & waiting at 7 months because I'm always ahead of the game. We got the kids backpacks & stuffed them with treats & such for when they came to visit me at the hospital once she was here. The contractions intensified around 9 months & every day was a waiting game. She is a stubborn girl though & loved being in my belly; she sure was cozy in there! Since 8 1/2 months I was going weekly & I was not dialating, though I was cramping & not sleeping. By 39 weeks only 1cm! I was getting discouraged & I had been exhausted & ready for awhile. Colin gets laid off from his job for a few months & I must admit I'm grateful to have him around & glad he will be here when we bring home a new baby. We go to my 40 week apt & I'm only 2cm. I voice concerns about her fluid levels & size. I go back in that afternoon; my mom takes the kids & we go in for an U/S. We are in there for over an hour & she gets a score of 4 out of 8 & it is predicted she is almost 10 pounds! Whoa! I really had not wanted to be induced but this lil lady was not budging! He told us to head over to the hospital that night. My parents took the kids & in a whirlwind, we packed up the car, left the van & all the kid's stuff with my mom & dad & kissed our babies goodbye telling them to pray & we would see them tomorrow with their baby sister!