As I sit here (finally) writing this post, I am beyond baffled that we have had a baby for three weeks. Before I begin to back track on the most wonderful, yet fastest weeks of my life, I would just like to say that when everyone tells you there is nothing like being a parent and having a baby- they are right. The last three weeks have been full of more diapers, bottle washing, snuggles, kisses, alarm setting and, most importantly, love than any of the weeks of my life thus far. This little boy has stolen the hearts of his mommy and daddy, and now let's take a trip back to the miraculous day he arrived!
After all of my fears of Hayes arriving too early, the little man proved that he and God had other plans when we reached the 39 week mark and he was still sitting nice and cozy in Mommy's belly. I must admit, at this point I was anything but comfortable, a good night's sleep was a thing of the past, and I was incredibly lucky to be able to nap for 45 minutes solid without the aches, pains and intense need to pee setting in. Not to mention even my fabulous maternity clothes were starting to get snug, which had this fashionista pretty limited on ensemble options in the last few days of pregnancy. I also forgot to mention that my legs and feet had pretty much taken on a life of their own thanks to an added 15 pounds of water weight, which had us in and out of the hospital for preeclampsia testing. Thankfully, my doctor saw no signs of this and just chalked it up to me being one of the lucky few that experience a little extra ballooning in late pregnancy. When it was all said and done, I gained a whopping 47 pounds… and those who know me know that I eat healthy (minus my constant need for a little something sweet), so you can imagine how thrilled I was about this. :)
I continued to work until the day before our Hayes entered this crazy world-- in fact, on Monday, February 10th I stuck it out as long as I could (4pm) before heading home to put up my feet and seek some relief from the intense nausea that I'd felt all day. At about 7pm that night, I wasn't feeling the normal stanky leg, twerking and leaning like a cholo that little man typically performed at this time of day, so I called labor and delivery (my BFF's at this point) just to see if this was normal. The doctor on call suggested that we go ahead and come in for monitoring, just to be safe, so we reluctantly headed to the hospital for the umpteenth time hoping that this might actually be the beginning of Hayes's big debut. Little did we know, this time it was!
Large and in charge at 39 weeks
I was admitted to the hospital and kept over night due to the fact that not even the best nausea meds could prevent me from vomming. Needless to say, my last supper after a day of very little food was the tiniest bowl of rice krispies that were promptly removed from my system upon being hooked up to the IV. Cody and I camped out in the labor and delivery room for the night, where I experienced my longest and worst night of sleep yet. The monitor on my belly felt like it could not be any tighter (even though it was as loose as it could be without falling off), I was starving, real contractions were coming-- but not regularly enough to cause further dilation… goodness, could this get any more dramatic?? The next morning we anxiously awaited the call from my doctor to see what the verdict would be. I hoped it involved some kind of food, followed by the news that I was dilated more than when I arrived, but this just wasn't the case. Dr. Speck gave me two options: 1. Begin Pitocin immediately. Mind you, this meant that I would be entering labor head-on with no food in my system for the last 12 hours. It could be a long day. OR 2. Go home, eat and continue to wait on my body to naturally go into labor. Oh friends, this was not what this girl wanted to hear at that point. I immediately began to pray-- and panic-- until my amazing husband brought to my attention that if I tried to eat anything I would probably not be able to keep it down anyway, so we might as well induce. I was terrified that after so much anticipation, the day was finally here, but after a casual stroll down the hallway in my fabulous hospital gown, I decided it was go time.
At 8:15 am on Tuesday morning, we began the Pitocin drip. My wonderful husband turned on Mercy Me's Pandora station to give me a little extra peace and tranquility as I embarked into the adventure of childbirth, and I must say this was truly just what I needed. A sudden flood of peace overwhelmed me, eliminating every fear I had up to that point. It was as if God himself had whispered in my ear "Trust me, I am here." I sat on pillows in a rocking chair as my nurse casually informed me that "we'll be having a baby before 1pm". I didn't believe it was possible, but it sure sounded good to imagine labor going that quickly! My parents and Kirby were on their way, and I knew at this point that if things did move that quickly they might not make it in time for the birth, but much to my surprise, I was OK. I knew they would be here shortly after little man arrived, and it would be just as special as if they had been with me from the beginning. Within 15 minutes, I had dilated from 3cm to 5cm and it was time to call my doctor. She came in, broke my water and pain ensued. Luckily, my BFF the anesthesiologist was at the ready with a lovely epidural, allowing me only 30 minutes of intense pain as my body continued to prep for labor. At this point I would just like to say that any woman who has delivered a child without pain meds, intentionally or not, you are my hero. Once the epidural was in it was time to party! I proceeded to apply makeup for all post-delivery photo ops (priorities, people), and determine that I could definitely twerk like a champ thanks to the post-epidural numbness in my bootie. Tami and Cody got a lot of entertainment out of my drugged up state!
8 cm… almost time!
By 12:00, I was ready to start pushing, so Dr. Speck came in and it was time for the biggest performance of my life. I'm going to go ahead and enter the disclaimer here… for all of the women out there who have labored in intense pain for hours on end before meeting their first child… I'm very sorry because what I'm about to say will surely irritate the heck out of you. After twelve pushes, Hayes was here! I don't know if it is my intense athletic background, my will to push myself to the limits regardless of the pain or discomfort, or just pure supernatural power that only God can provide (I'm going to go with this option), but my labor experience was truly better than I could have ever imagined, and I've honestly had workouts (think mat drills and off season) harder than delivering our baby boy. Again, I apologize to all the women out there who may not have had this kind of experience. You are my hero and I applaud you!
Our perfect baby boy was placed on my chest and I was instantly overwhelmed with more love than I could have ever imagined. Yes, the feeling was instant, and yes, I'm lucky to have experienced that so quickly, too. Our 6 lb, 15 oz bundle of perfection was 19 3/4 inches long and arrived at 12:48 pm, just before 1:00 as the nurse had predicted. A few minutes later, Mom and Dad arrived and greeted their first grandchild, and the next moments were a blissful blur. We were moved into a postpartum room about 30 minutes later where we settled in and I finally ate the most delicious Sonic grilled cheese sandwich of my life. We ended the day with visits from Lynn and Tami, Kirby, Cale, and Heather & Jared and then embarked on the adventure of our first night as a family of three. The next day we were released from the hospital after our champ of a son performed well on all of his screenings and tests (he's a fantastic student, of course). I must also add that he slept through his circumcision AND did not even make a peep when he had his first shot or his heel was pricked. Talk about hardcore! This little angel has blessed us more than we could ever imagine, and we are so thankful for the journey that led us to this point. God's timing is truly perfect, and I could not have asked for anything better. It's amazing how such a little body can teach you so much about BIG faith and trusting God, and Hayes William did just that for his mommy and daddy. We love you, buddy, and are so happy you're finally here!
