I woke up on Saturday morning at 5:15 to a small gush. I knew it wasn't my bag of waters but it felt like something so I made my way to the bathroom and sure enough, there was bloody show. I was having contractions 8 minutes apart but laid back down and tried to go back to sleep because I knew I had a long day ahead of me. As hard as I tried, sleep would not come. I eventually turned Downton Abbey on and laid in bed watching it on my phone. Just before 7:00 I decided I should take a shower and get dressed.
My plans to look decent after giving birth to Lucy were completely foiled so I decided I would try again this time. I showered, got dressed, put on my makeup and breathed through my contractions.
My mom passed by the bathroom around 7:15 and asked how I was. I replied that today was the day and that I was having pains. She told me that I needed to let Jared know so he and my girls could start making their way down as well as Heather. I figured I had time to wait but she cautioned me. At about 7:30 I texted Heather and apologized that she would have to miss her diving class that day but assured her that for the time being, I was fine. I think I even used capital letters for the word fine. She knows me better than that and by 8:00 she was at mom's house.
Just after texting her the first time I called Jared. No answer. I called the house. No answer. I sent him a text. Nothing. I called his phone again. Still nothing. I called the house one more time at 7:40. Finally!
"Hello?"
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"Sleeping."
"Well, don't hurry but you might want to get the girls up and start heading down here. But seriously, this could be a long day, so NO HURRY!"
"Okay, I'll get them up."
And bam! He had them up, dressed, fed and out the door by 8:10.
(Yes, I took a picture of myself during a contraction!)
I walked and walked and walked and breathed through my contractions. Eventually I asked my dad for a blessing because I knew what I had in store for me and I was already exhausted. In the blessing he kept using the word "endure" which scared me because I thought it meant I could be all day long.
I worked through my contractions by counting backwards from 30 but after the blessing I started saying 30 endure...29 endure...28 endure....
Then I decided I needed to endure each second so I changed my counting to endure 30...endure 29...endure 28...endure... and by about 15 the contraction was gone because of the addition of the word endure.
Lucy woke up around 8:30 and I announced to her that we were going to have a baby today! The look on her face was confusion as I had been telling her all week that we would go home once we had the baby. She sat by me while I laid on my mom's bed and quietly watched. I was so glad to have her there. Aunt Yvette came and picked her up around 9:15.
At about 9:30 I used the bathroom and when I came out Heather and I looked at each other and at the same time both said that we felt it was time to go. It was all so calm, such a change from Lucy. I called Jared and told him that we were heading to the hospital.
At about 9:45 we got to the ER (where you have to enter) and Heather told me that they would not believe me that I was in real labor if I didn't amp it up. She told me I needed to let her do the talking and act like I needed to go NOW! I was hurting and it was actual labor but when I labor I try to stay as calm and relaxed as possible so it was likely they would not believe me.
I was so thankful for that advice! They had me admitted and in triage in about 5 minutes. I was blessed to have a fantastic nurse, Pam, who took me serious when I said I would be doing it without an epidural. She told me I was dilated to a 6/7 and just about that time my sister Bethany, whom I had asked to be there, walked in. I could have cried! To have my two big sisters there was a gift. They were calm and did anything I asked. They fanned me, patted me with cool wash cloths and encouraged me. When I got to the L&D room the discomfort was at it's peak and all I could think was "this is the last time I am doing this!" The contractions were right on top of each other and pressing so hard on my ribcage that it was impossible to get comfortable. I kept asking my sisters when I would get the rush of adrenaline that I so badly needed. They assured me it would come when I needed it the most.
The Dr. came in and sat on the edge of the bed to check me. I believe she said I was about an 8/9 and then told me she had a c-section to do then she would be back to check on me. Her bum didn't even leave the bed when I said I needed to push! Just a few short pushes later, at 10:39am I was literally yelling "yay! I am so happy! yay!" I was thrilled it was over and he was finally in my arms. I did have to check to assure myself it was actually a boy.
And just like that I was smitten. I had always felt love for him but it was an instant burst of more love than I could have ever expected.
I called Jared and told him that he might as well bring the girls with him to the hospital because he was here! The baby was screaming in the background so there was no doubt in Jared's mind that he was actually in my arms.
I wanted to cry I was so happy. Bethany sat by me and held my hand and talked to me after it was over. She was such a comfort. Heather was amazing the whole time, as always. She is so calm under that kind of pressure and has a true gift for helping women achieve their goal of a natural birth experience.
I held him and held him in my arms for as long as I could before I finally requested they weigh him. My eyes almost popped out of my head when I saw the scale, 8lbs 11 ozs! I had only gained 15 pounds and over half of it was baby?
About 20-25 minutes later my girls and Jared walked in the room. It was so sweet. Those are the moments that make it all worth it. They were instantly smitten by him as well.
After it was all said and done and it was time for Pam to move on to the next patient I thanked her from the bottom of my heart for being so wonderful. Her response was one of the sweetest things I have ever heard, "you were amazing. Thank you for letting me be a part of it. Now, could you come teach the classes? Because that would make all the difference." And with a giant hug she was gone.
Throughout my 24 hour stay I was blessed to have amazing nurses. I appreciated each one of them- a stark contrast from my stay at Chandler Regional Hospital. In recovery I had Tiffany who was so sweet. I kept apologizing for the gross aftermath of having a baby. She reminded me that if she thought it was nasty she wouldn't have that job. She was calm and made the recovery easy. On Saturday afternoon I had Myrna who was loud and fun- a breath of fresh air. Saturday night was Lynda who had worked at a birthing center as a doula and nurse and praised me for doing it naturally and for having a VBAC. She was awesome and such an encouragement! Sunday, I had Lynette who was friendly and got me discharged quickly- a fear worthy of a gold medal. At CRH they were brutal about breastfeeding and diaper changes but these nurses rarely checked the paper they so badly want you to fill out to document your feedings and diaper changes. They were all so relaxed and put no pressure on me to do anything. They made my stay a decent one.
Just in case I have to do this one more time here are somethings that made this delivery special and manageable.
Things that helped:
About 10 days before I was due (which is the day he was born) I saw a lady for reflexology in hopes that being aligned would help with my back labor. It worked WONDERS! This is the first time my back labor was manageable. Too bad I didn't know that with my other babies.
Counting from endure 30 down to endure 1.
Trusting my feelings and Jared's that he would not make it. We had discussed these feelings for months and the night before I left he asked me if I was sure I was okay that there was a chance he would not be there. Of course, it would have been wonderful if he was but having that impression made it easier.
Taking it easy at my mom's house and enjoyed my last few days with Lucy as my baby.
Not delivering in the middle of the HOT summer!
Surrounding myself with people at my birth who remained calm.
Having a L&D nurse who worked WITH me and allowed me my space to labor the way I wanted.
Inviting Bethany to be there.
Having Heather there once again.
Not having to labor at the hospital for long.
