Welcoming Selah Marie (in Pics)

On Wednesday October 17, Naomi and I took 2 Palestinian buses to get from home to Saint Joseph Hospital for my 40-week check-up. I knew the doctors had already been concerned about the baby's potentially large weight, so in my backpack, I carried a change of clothes, toothbrush, book, snack and water bottle.  

We arrived around 3:15 on October 17, but after 45 minutes of having the baby's heart rate monitored, I was told to go for a walk. Naomi and I walked for an hour, both exploring around the block, and visiting a Palestinian fair trade craft shop. This is heading back into the hospital around 5:30.

When the baby's heart rate stayed high for a long time, the doctor wanted to admit me and try to get labor going. We started with a procedure called "sweeping the membranes" around 6:30. Steve and the boys came to join us in the labor/delivery room around 10:30 PM. There was only one actual guest chair, so we had to get creative with seating (including using the birthing ball and the shower chair). 

Steve read "A Country Between" aloud and we finished it by 1 AM. The later it got, the more inadequate the room felt for 5 tired people!!

The guys headed to the waiting room and a midwife brought Naomi a pad for the floor. Having my membranes swept twice had begun contractions, but they didn't last too long or progress. I was getting frustrated and really just wanted to go home!

Eventually more pads were found and the guys tried to sleep in the labor/delivery room too. We decided to rupture the amniotic sac around 5 AM on October 18. I was told to stay sitting on my bed for the next 90 minutes and could breathe through all the contractions, resting in between.

Once I started walking around, contractions really got strong and frequent. I woke up Steve and Naomi around 7:15 to let them know things were getting painful and the birth would be happening soon. Before long, I was in excruciating pain and begging for any help the midwives could give me. Samar told me some positions to use, and also got me a gas mask so I could breathe in some pain-relieving gas during the worst of the pain.  

I'm not sure exactly when I got out of bed to start pushing, but I do know it felt like the hardest thing I'd ever done and I wanted to die! Two midwives and Naomi encouraged and helped, and at 8:30 AM, I got to first hold my new baby!

We hadn't known the gender ahead of time, so it was a joy to discover she was a girl, and we named her Selah Marie. I kept her with me, skin-to-skin for a very long time, not even having her weighed or cleaned. (After at least an hour, she was weighed and found to be 4390 g, or about 9 lbs 11 oz.) 

After delivering the placenta and getting stitched up for 2nd degree tears, I called for the boys to come back in and they got to meet their new sister. Selah nursed right away and we all treasured the beautiful moments of seeing such a fresh new person, especially one with so much hair and such roly poly cheeks, arms and legs.

"Selah" is a term used many times in the book of Psalms, and is a transliteration of a Hebrew letter. No one is quite sure exactly what it means, though it is thought to either be a musical instruction (meaning perhaps "interlude") or something along the lines of "pause and reflect." We're pronouncing it SAY-luh.

Selah Marie was very content to lie on my tummy for as long as I'd let her. It was such a privilege to welcome another precious person into this world! She made all the months of waiting and the hours of labor very worthwhile!

Miriam had spent the night with friends, so didn't get to meet her new sister until later that day (Oct. 18). Our sweet neighbor, who has a car, drove Naomi and Miriam to the hospital to visit Selah and me in the late afternoon, and Miriam was thrilled!

To keep costs down, I'd chosen to have a shared recovery room instead of a private one. And because Saint Joseph Hospital is in East Jerusalem and primarily serves an Arab Palestinian population, Steve was not allowed to stay with me. Due to the combination of limited visiting hours and the difficulty in the family getting to the hospital (mostly because Steve's back is so bad right now that it's hard for him to walk and take buses), I hardly got to see Steve or the kids during the 2 days of recovery. Thus this 45 minute time with Miriam and Naomi was precious. They were my only visitors that day (Thursday). 

This is Samar, the midwife who most helped during labor and delivery. Despite the fact that I'd been quite loud and discouraged during all the pain, she insisted I'd done a great job and that it had been a joy to 'deliver me.' 

By Friday October 19 (my 2nd full day of recovery), I had no phone minutes, no internet and was feeling very lonely. Not only was I out of touch with everyone I knew, but I was surrounded by Arabic-speakers (who had very large visiting parties!) and thus felt quite isolated. Steve surprised me by visiting that evening and seeing him was such an encouragement!

The morning of October 20, Tantur's rector Father Russ drove Steve to the hospital to help bring Selah and me home. Saint Joseph had pampered me that morning with a manicure and hairdo, and also sent us home with gifts for the baby. Despite how nice the hospital had been, I was overjoyed to come home! By that point, I was quite tired of people telling me what I could and couldn't do with my baby, tired of medical tests/checks being done all day, tired of not understanding Arabic, and tired of being on a bed in a tiny half-a-room.

Our big kids and the neighbors joyfully welcomed Selah home! Here's our friend and neighbor Allyson, and her 3-month-old daughter. Allyson is the friend who'd kept Miriam overnight during the birth. Emory and Selah are the 2 youngest residents of Tantur.

One of the best things about bringing Selah back to Tantur has been seeing so many varied people enjoying her. Father Russ has been the one to cuddle her the most, and it's a true joy to share the wonder of a newborn with others!