Welcoming Paul (Part One)

Part One: The Awesome Part

Even though I try not to put too much stock in due dates, I was fairly confident that this baby would be born before his due date. When February 24th came and went, I wasn't too discouraged. But when March rolled around I was getting very impatient. I was doing everything imaginable at this point to try to put myself into labor. Eating an entire pineapple, crawling around on my hands and knees, and lots of "the act that got the baby in there in the first place"). By Sunday, March 3, one week past our due date, it felt like this baby would never get here. My mind played mean tricks on me all day and I was really trying hard to keep it together.

When I finally I crawled in bed around 11:00 that night, I got the slightest feeling that something might happen soon. I didn't want to hope for much, but something told me that it was time. At 11:30 I felt my first contraction while laying in bed trying to sleep. I breathed through it, trying not to wake Ted. A few more came pretty close together and were starting to really hurt. I got out of bed around midnight and killed time online while standing and doing pelvic rocks. The contractions immediately faded, just like I thought they would. I got back in bed at 12:30 and had a strong contraction within seconds. I decided to count its length to see if it lasted a whole minute. When I got to eight.....

pop. gush.

I sprang up and yelled, "My water just broke!" Ted turned over and said, "Are you sure?" Oh I was sure. Absolutely sure. I felt like the baby just reared back and kicked a whole in my uterus. Although I was excited to finally be in labor (and have such a clear sign that this was really it) I was nervous about what this meant for labor. At this point we weren't sure if the baby was sunny side up or in the right position. And I knew that a posterior baby and no watery cushion in my womb could make for a very difficult labor.

I put on the depends and started talking about what we needed to do. I called our doula, Amy, and she said she was going to take a nap and then come over. I labored in the bedroom for a little while, then decided to bake some cookie dough I had frozen. I wanted to stay busy so I wouldn't focus on the contractions too soon. Before the cookies even finished baking though, I told Ted to start packing the car. Contractions were three minutes apart and I was needing his support to get through them. I felt a lot of pressure down low and was uncomfortable sitting. I found myself on my knees or squatting during contractions. I told our doula to come on over and we called our friends, Chris and Summer, to come spend the night with Hannah. I packed the last minute things in the suitcase and tried to stay calm and not get too excited or anxious. Ted thought I was jumping the gun-since we had labored at home for 15 hours before heading to the hospital last time.  But something just told me that this one was going to be different and that we needed to hurry.

Ted was having trouble getting the car packed because he had to keep stopping to help me through contractions. He was amazing. It was like no time had passed since Hannah's birth and he knew exactly how to coach me through labor. He knew just what to say and how to help me relax. I found myself going completely limp with each contraction and was gaining confidence that I would be able to handle this again for the second time around. When Amy arrived around 2:00 am she could see that things were progressing quickly and that Ted needed a chance to finish getting everything together. She suggested I take a shower to slow things down a bit. I obliged and hopped in the shower while she stayed with me. Ted finally had a chance to finish everything up and I did a great job laboring in the shower. After several minutes Summer popped her head in the bathroom to tell me they were there. A few minutes later Ted came in to tell us that we were ready to leave. Amy later told me that I asked Ted, "Is Summer here yet?" even though I had just spoken to her. I was already starting to get a little confused and out of sorts.

I desperately wanted to go in and see Hannah before we left, but I didn't want to risk waking her. I held back tears thinking about how long I was going to be separated from her. I was glad she was asleep, but it was hard to not get to say goodbye. After snapping a picture and giving Summer some last minute instructions for Hannah, we got in the car and headed to the hospital.

Ted was excited to have an excuse to speed. I had several strong contractions in the car and was forced to get off my bottom in the seat. It just hurt too much. Just like last time,we prayed on the way to the hospital since it was the first time we were able to just sit and be alone together. We made the trip,which usually takes 20 minutes, in only twelve. We parked the car and headed up the elevator around 3:00 am. Check in took forever and I stood at the counter and swayed through my contractions. From there, we went to triage which took even longer.

We were the only couple in the giant triage room, yet we had to wait at least ten minutes before being seen by the tech. She told me to get up on the bed. Which I did. Kneeling. She looked at me like I was crazy but I told her I wasn't going to sit down unless I absolutely had to. She acted like I was crazy and tried to figure out how to put the oxygen sensor on my finger when I wasn't in the usual position. Finally a nurse came and it was the moment of truth.

6 centimeters!

So much relief. So much happiness. We had only been in labor for three and a half hours and I was already a  6! Our nurse asked about our plan for pain management and I told her we were prepared for a natural birth. To which she responded, "I love natural birth couples!" When we gave her our birth plan she said, "I love birth plan couples!" I asked if she would be our nurse in the delivery room and she said no, but later she came back and said she switched duties so she could stay with us. We headed back to the labor and delivery room to have a baby! I told her to call ahead and get that labor tub ready. I was really excited to have the opportunity to labor in the tub this time around.

Ted and I may have high-fived on the way to the room. So excited to be so far along this quickly and easily. Our nurse told us she was off work at 7:00-three hours away. But I knew we'd have a baby by then.

And that was the end of Awesome.

Read the rest here.