The Kunkel Family: Grace Christina Kunkel

Grace is almost 5 months old but I still want to put her birth story into words. It was amazing and I still think about it often. I am in awe of the miracle of birth and how the Lord saw us through each step of the (geriatric) pregnancy and birth.

This was a whole new experience for us. When I was pregnant with Luke, he was breech so was born via c-section, then my water broke twice, and I was induced twice. We didn't have to time contractions and decide when to head in. We went to the hospital and I was dilated to 1 or 2 and it took a good 12 hours before the babies were born. But, I always had an epidural so it really wasn't terrible, just took a while.

I did have false alarm at 37 weeks and then didn't go into labor until 40 weeks and 5 days. I was so tired and ready to not be pregnant anymore! I had just about given up and decided that she wanted to live in there forever, but she finally changed her mind.

My parents had already been here with us for almost a week and we had hoped that she would make her appearance long before they came so they could enjoy as much time with her as possible.

I woke up on December 18th, 2018 and started having some spotting. I was having contractions, but nothing too strong or frequent. I kept spotting and the contractions increased throughout the day. I did try to rest in the afternoon but the contractions kept getting stronger. We decided to head to the birth center at 4:30. Tony stayed at home with the boys and mom came with us. There was quite a bit of traffic so it took us an hour and a half to get there. I think Ben was nervous about delivering a baby in the car but I was calm since it had taken so long with the boys. We got settled in and Hannah (the midwife) checked me and I was dilated to 7cm! I was SO incredibly grateful to hear her say that!!!!! It gave me hope that it wouldn't take 12 hours this time. I did some walking up and down the stairs and bounced on the ball. I was starting to getting really uncomfortable so Hannah checked me again to see how things were progressing and to see if it was time to get into the birthing tub. I was at 9cm at 8:40. So, into the tub I went. I had never felt the urge to push so I wasn't sure what to expect. At 9:15 I was very uncomfortable, labor is like that..... My mom asked if she should start to video so I asked Hannah how much longer she thought it would be. She very quietly said that if I got into a squatting position it would probably only take minutes. I can still hear her saying those words. Wow, was she right! I squatted and felt the urge to push and a few pushes later my sweet baby was born at 9:31 pm. Grace Christina weighed 8 lbs. 9 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long.

I was high risk for many reasons and was accustomed to doctors and hospital protocol. I had experienced a c-section and 4 medicated births. This was by far the easiest, fastest, and most beautiful and peaceful birth experience and recovery I have had. I never thought that I could give birth naturally, nor did I really want to. God is amazing that way. He gives us the strength to do what we can't do on our own. I am so grateful that He helped me through each contraction and kept me from being overwhelmed by fear. Ben and my mom were amazing too. They cheered me on and encouraged me throughout the whole birth. It was such a blessing to have my parents here during this special time with Grace. I am grateful for Hannah who was so encouraging and calm as she walked us through one of the most precious nights of our lives. We also had some sweet friends, Kim and Cindy, and then Ben's mom here during the first few months. I did have some issues with blood clots in my legs postpartum and was supposed to be resting so it was a huge blessing to have so many people here who helped and friends who brought us meals!

Grace was born with quite a bit of brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. She reminded me of Joel and Caleb when they were born. She slept well and woke up on her own about every 3 hours during the night. She nursed well from the very first feeding! We came home the next day. The boys were anxiously awaiting her arrival! It was so precious to see them with her. She very quickly became spoiled. She was used to being held ALL day long by someone, so naturally at night she wanted to be held. We did that for a few weeks but I knew we needed to change that. She wouldn't sleep on her back or stay on her side so she started sleeping on her tummy. She was a good sleeper for a while, only getting up once during the night and even slept through the night for a few weeks. But now at almost 5 months she is getting up more frequently. I think she may be teething.

First time at church as a family of 8

Miss Kim

Miss Cindy

MaMaw Jane

Andrea and Cesar

Grace is so strong and active, she's always moving, even while she is eating. She is so very sweet and precious. It has been a joy to watch the boys with her. She is so playful and fun! She's the princess around here for sure! It is so different with her than it was with the boys. When the boys were little I didn't have help during the day and it was crazy. I had to make sure the baby was seat belted somewhere and safe from his brothers while I was doing other things. Luke and Levi were sickly and had multiple surgeries and therapies throughout their first 5 years. With Grace I have so many helping hands and we are all enjoying her so much! I cannot adequately put into words how grateful I am to the Lord for giving us this precious gift at this time in our lives when we can all enjoy her so. His plan is far better than ours. After experiencing so many losses and heartache we know that she was worth the wait.

It is SO MUCH fun having a girl! I love the ruffles, sparkles, adorable shoes, etc.! I am enjoying dressing her up and putting bows on her, in case you hadn't noticed :) We even got her ears pierced a few weeks ago.