I was suddenly, painfully awaken by contractions at 2am on your due date. Your brother had woken up at midnight wanting to cuddle with your dad in his room leaving me alone in our room. Your dad had no idea that you would be here soon until the next morning. The contractions were very inconsistent ranging from five minutes to fifteen minutes apart and only thirty seconds long. This continued throughout the night and into the morning. It wasn't until mid morning that they got closer together and longer but still not your textbook when you are five minutes apart, a minute long for an hour.
Grandma Carole picked up your brother to get his haircut and play at the park while I labored at home for a few hours. Around lunch your dad came home and we attempted to watch TV to distract me. It wasn't until I had been having contractions for 12 hours that I decided to go to the hospital. I was almost certain they would send me home but the pain was getting intense but again still not consistent.
Once at the hospital, I still thought they would release me back home from triage so we didn't even bring up any of our bags. Triage was completely full and they had to find another room for us. The full moon was sending all of the moms into labor! The nurse hooked me up to the monitor and said she would be back soon to check on my progress. I think she too believe I would be going home because I hadn't had a single contraction since she put us in the room. As she was stepping out to check on the other moms a contraction came and your drop in heartbeat stopped her in her tracks. The drop singled a few things but it let her know that your head was getting squeezed. She checked my progress and to everyone's surprise I was 6 cm dialted. We weren't going home! I instantly teared up. You were going to be born soon!
They moved us to a labor and delivery room, got an IV going, took my blood and filled out paperwork. I was anxiously awaiting the blood work to see if my platelet count was high enough for an epidural. It was! The same anesthesiologist was on call that gave me my first epidural was there and that was a relief. The epidural took just how I was hoping and I could finally relax. Your dad was now able to go downstairs to get our bags and your cord blood kit.
At this point I had only progressed another centimeter and was waiting on the doctor to break my water. The hospital was extremely busy and I could tell that no one was in any rush to break my water knowing that I would progress quickly after that. Each nurse had multiple patients and the nurse that was at my side when I delivered was the fifth of the night to come to our aid.
Dr Moreno was the OB on call and she did a wonderful job ensuring that everything went smoothly. She broke my water and over the course of the next couple hours I was dilated fully.
It was time to push and I broke down emotionally. The pain of the contractions had returned on half of my body but I knew you were going to be here soon. I didn't realize how soon though! I was mentally prepared to push for well over an hour and was pacing myself. I even pushed the button to give me a little more pain relief. I didn't want to use up all of my energy in the beginning even though the doctor told me it wouldn't take that long. Less than ten minutes later, you were placed on my chest. I was holding my baby boy. There were no words. You were perfect. You even had a full head of brown hair!
I found out later that one of the reasons your heart rate kept dropping was that your umbilical cord was wrapped around your neck. This didn't cause any additional issues and you took your first breath perfectly. You were a perfect 7lbs 10oz and 19.5" long. You felt so tiny in my arms. I will always remember looking up at your dad while I was holding you and seeing the love in his eyes.
We felt nothing but blessed. You are truly a blessing. We will always love you.
