The Birth Story

I am finally catching up on some blogging that I have been meaning to do. This story is long, but mostly for my recollection anyway...

So Friday, July 17th, started out like any other day. Eden and I got up and had breakfast and got ready to go to the grocery store. I had all my coupons clipped and sorted by store so we could make the most of the weekly bargains. We started at Kroger where Eden got to push her own sized shopping cart. She also waved and said hello to anyone we passed and frequently tried to sneak M&Ms into her cart (I would have let her except we already had some at home). We went aisle by aisle and met with giggles and "oh look how cute" down pretty much each one. And we saved a bunch of green, so all in all a good trip. We ended at HEB and then headed home to put groceries away (just the cold stuff) and then we had lunch.

At this point I was very tired...being huge and doing anything makes you tired, and the grocery store makes you especially tired on top of that. So I put Eden down for a nap and tried to rest myself. At 3:00pm I started having contractions, nothing really painful, just lots of pressure. And I decided, for kicks, that I would time them. Well, they were pretty regular right from the start...every 5 minutes. So I started walking around my living room and kitchen to see if the change in position would make them go away.

Meanwhile I am on the phone with my friend Trisha explaining that she might need to find a backup babysitter for her kids because I have started to have contractions. We were supposed to watch her kids that night so they could go out. I told her I didn't know if they were real contractions or not, but I would keep her posted. So I keep walking and timing....one hour later, no change...contractions keep coming every 5 minutes. At this point I call Daniel and ask him to come home early because I am having contractions and I don't want him to get stuck in Friday afternoon traffic.

Eden wakes up and I put a show on for her while I try to think of all the things I might need to pack for the hospital because I haven't even started doing that yet. Another 45 minutes passes and I am still having regular contractions. Daniel has made it home and we have decided to start packing a bag just in case we decide to go to the hospital. The contractions are still regular, every 5 minutes, but they still aren't painful. I am not quite sure I am in labor because I had a lot of these contractions earlier in the week and then they stopped all of a sudden. Daniel and I continue to pack our bag and one for Eden, just in case. We have also made arrangements for Eden to stay with Alex in case we decide to go to the hospital.


So we continue to pack bags and I continue to have very regular contractions. It is now 3 hours later and we decide I should go to the hospital to get checked out to see if I am really in labor. We hurry and finish cleaning things up from this morning's grocery trip and we pack Daniel a few snacks, get all of Eden's belonging's together and head to Alex's house. We drop Eden off and tell her that Mommy is going to the Dr. for a quick check-up for baby Sage. She happily goes to play with Alex and we head to Target (yes, Target) to see if we can find a baby book really fast before heading to the hospital. (just remember this is 2.5 weeks before my due date and I don't have absolutely everything finished)

Daniel hurries into Target and comes up empty with a baby book and then we hurry to the hospital, literally...ask Daniel how many times I asked him to slow down. Still having contractions that are a little more painful, but nothing worth a land speed record.


We pull into the hospital parking lot and he takes the first spot he can find, which I realize is quite a ways from the front door, but I walk anyway, all the time telling Daniel he should have dropped me off at the front ;). So we finally make it to the front (it takes forever) and up to the second floor labor and delivery area where we are very pleased to see our friend Ruth from church. She works there as a nurse and I was very much hoping she could be at the birth. She is excited to see us as well and we proceed to the triage area where I get hooked up to monitors and such.


Of course the contractions don't show up right away and she checks me and I am barely dilated. I think "great, all this activity for nothing", but Ruth says I get to be monitored for an hour and we will see what happens. We arrived at the hospital at 6:30pm and Ruth's shift ends at 7:00pm, but she says if things change and I get to stay then she will gladly come back for the delivery. I cross my fingers and say my prayers that we get to stay....and sure enough those contractions come right back...this time every 3 minutes. I get checked again at 8pm and sure enough I am 2.5 cm! I get to stay! At this point I am very excited and also in a little bit of shock that it is actually happening.

I get to my own room and all the frenzy starts, the blood work, the questions, the paperwork, etc. The contractions still aren't painful yet, but I decide to get my epidural sooner rather than later. Why wait until I am in lots of pain and may not have a chance to get one, right? I get my epidural and get settled back in bed when I start to feel like I am going to faint. Apparently, the epidural and my blood pressure do not get along. My blood pressure is pretty low and they have to give me drugs to help get it back up. I have to admit it was a little freaky, but then my blood pressure stabilizes and I feel better. Then comes the waiting. I get turned on my side to help the little girl move down the right way into the birth canal and then I wait. The nurse comes back a little while later and turns me the other way. We play this game all night. Turn, try to sleep, turn the other way, try to sleep some more, etc. Daniel and I sleep off and on, but its hard to sleep when you are so excited to meet the newest addition to your family.

I finally make it to an 8 and the nurse calls Ruth and she comes back up to the hospital. I progress quickly to a 10 and its time for a practice push. I push and Ruth tells me to stop and then she crosses my legs and says we need to wait for the Dr. I only wait 10 minutes for the Dr. and then 2 pushes later, our beautiful little Sage is born. She cries really good and Daniel and I are both overwhelmed with our new little miracle.

So there you have it. It only took until sweet Sage turned a month old for me to post it, but better late than never.