Bronx's Birth Story: Part 1

I think in order to truly begin this story,
one must first view the following picture:



Yes,
that would be Bird and I running with Tank while Erin snaps a pic for proof.
Note the gleeful look in Bird's face...like she thinks it's funny she got me to run with her.
That was Wednesday evening.

I already was having mild pain (cramping feelings) starting up earlier in the day,
and after that little run I definitely felt more coming on.
I watched SYTYCD,
and felt a contraction at 11.
I got ready for bed,
talked to Kevin on the phone,
and then fell asleep.....only to be woken up by another contraction at 1:30.
Then 2:30.
They really started coming consistently (about 10-15min apart) at 3:11am.
I didn't know what to think but:

"Oh my word oh my word, what if this is it?"
and
"Kevin's not gonna be so happy to drive all the way back up here..."



Around 5 I decided to shower,
and I packed everything up,
and at 5:45 I finally gave in and called the hospital just to tell them where I was at and ask when exactly I should come in....and got the answer I knew I would:
"Wait until your contractions are lasting about a minute and are about 4 minutes apart."
Oh goodie.

I thought for a sec that I'd be doomed to have them stay 10 minutes apart,
but right when I got off the phone I had another...and another...and another....
All within 5 minutes of each other.
Bronx must've heard her too.
The last thing I wanted to do was go to the hospital and then get turned away for not being "progressed enough".
So I played the waiting game.
I texted Kevin at 6:15am:

"Just a heads up: I think I'm going to have the baby today."

And then when I threw up after two really strong contractions I told Kevin's mom I wanted to go.



I said goodbye to Tank.
{Look at how ratty he looks.i cannot wait to give him a bath!}

We checked in at Madison Memorial Hospital at 7:30am.



A nurse took me into a little side room where she helped me try to breath through the contractions better.
I still threw up.
She checked me and I was dilated to a 4 and 100% effaced.
I was staying!
yessssssss.
I got Kevin on the phone and told him it was real.
Get driving and get your butt up here!


The nurse then took me to what would be my delivery room.
All I could think at this time was:
"Gaaa I hate these stupid contractions!"
They were coming real steadily and I made it through a couple but then started throwing up again.
Jill,
the nurse that would end up taking care of me the entire day,
hooked me up to an IV with Zofran which helped me not puke anymore,
but after a short while I started up again and Jill said:
"Okay, we can get you your epidural at any time. You just say the word."
I thought I'd be tough for a few more rounds and told her I'd wait a bit longer....but the second I felt the next contraction coming on I said:
"I changed my mind. I want it now!"
{who was i kidding}
I was at a 5.
So the anesthetist came up with his big fancy cart and all I was doing was praying that I don't become paralyzed from this.
I was a little scared to say the least.

Now I've got to pause and say that this whole time my dear sweet mother-in-law is along with me for the ride.
She's seeing everything.
Lovely....haha....and awkward.
{okay, really i didn't care at the time because i was in pain}

So there I sat with my naked back and butt exposed waiting for that blessed epidural,
and when it came I was LOVING LIFE.
Wow.
I was soooooooooo happy I got it and couldn't even imagine how some women go all natural.
Props ladies,
but I will for sure take that epidural any day of the week when having a baby.
It was 8:55am.
For a moment or two after getting the shot,
Bronx's heartbeat dropped and the nurses hooked me up with an oxygen mask and said they had to break my water to moniter his heartbeat closer.
That was a weird experience.
I was already numb so I just kept thinking that I was peeing!



Thankfully we heard his little heartbeat pick right back up again,
and it was about this time that I was able to text my family and Kevin a little of what was going on.
Kevin was booking it with his hazards on,
and he said he had already flown past 2 cops without either blinking an eye his direction.
Nice.
He arrived at 11:15am.



Diane headed home.
The nurses kept coming in and telling me that I needed to get some sleep while I can,
before I started pushing.
Easier said than done.
Not because I wasn't comfy,
but because each time I'd drift off - my brain would snap back awake to the sound of Bronx's heartbeat on the moniter.
I couldn't help but listen to every pulse.
I was at a 6.



Here's the IV that kept me hydrated.
Another IV that I had was pennicillin because I had tested positive for strepB.
I was glued to that bed until I had the baby,
so Jill would come in and drain my bladder.
Another one of those great "hello world, here's everything" moments,
but OH so relieving!
haha...I wish I would have gotten every face{grimace} on camera that Kevin pulled throughout all this.


{here i am laying, watching the computer screen and every contraction and heartbeat line}

About 12:30 my contractions had kicked back into high gear and I was feeling them in my right side,
but not my left.
I was shaking like a leaf and holding onto the bed support for dear life {or so it felt like}.
The anethestist came back and fixed it and that made me oh so happy again.
I was at a 7.

Around 3 o'clock I'm checked again and at a 9!
Jill goes and calls the doc to get the okay to start pushing.
I didn't even have to go on PIT.
It wasn't till 4 {and i was a 10} that she came back and we {I} really started the part of this labor story that made me want to die.
Honestly,
I didn't know quite what to expect.
Jill had told us that most women-with their first baby-push an average of about 2hours.
I guess I thought I was wonder woman or something,
because I laughed and thought:
"Oh, he'll totally slide right out and I'll be done with this before 5."
What.a.JOKE.
I pushed from 4-6 and wanted to freaking kill myself.
Ha. {but it was in no way funny at the time}
Kevin will tell you that at this point I kindof became a beast and was ordering peeps on how to hold my legs....yadayada.
It was HARD!
I remember Jill saying at one point:
"I see some dark hair poking through!"
And Kevin and I looked at each other and were like, "Huh?"
haha - Totally unexpected,
but I think that made me more excited for like .2 seconds and push harder.
I was completely baffled {and now in awe} that women have been doing this for zillions of years.
They didn't even have pain meds then....HOW DID THEY EVER HAVE MORE THAN ONE?!?!
And yet,
even now as I type this and am staring over at my sweet little boy,
I think:
"That wasn't so bad. Look how stinkin cute he is."
Heavenly Father sure puts that magic block on our mother-brains fast.


At 6pm another 2 nurses came in to help while Jill went to call Dr. Meredith {who, by the way, is exactly who i wanted to deliver my baby - yes!}.
All I remember at this time was saying over and over:
"I just want him here now! I just want him here NOW!"
{and i'm not sure it was the doc or Bronx that i was referring to}
Dr. Meredith showed up in moments and all of a sudden things went into a "turbo-like" mode.

At 6:36pm I gave one last "hurrah" and felt the biggest relief I've ever felt.
BRONX WAS BORN!





The next few moments will forever be etched into my mind.
They threw him up on me and I was so happy to see him,
I didn't even cry.
{and that surprised ME. i am like the biggest bawl baby EVER}
I felt like I had just done five triathalons {or what i imagine five to feel like},
and was just SO HAPPY to have him out.
Pure Joy.
He didn't even cry either,
but just stared around wide-eyed.
After that sweet moment,
they wisked him off of me to clean him up,
and I heard Kevin follow them and say:
"Are his eyes supposed to be open? I thought they all came out closed and didn't open for like a week."
Oh honey.
The nurses just laughed.
They then gave him back to me and left us three alone for a few minutes,
before coming back to give him a more thoughrough bath.



Then Kevin held him while my new nurse helped me into the bathroom to take a shower.
Luckily my legs were already getting feeling in them,
and I was able to walk by myself.
It felt SO good to get the IVs and tape and everything OFF of me,
stand up,
and rinse off.
I felt a million times better.
Then we got moved to another room down the hall.

{to be continued...}
*click here to read part 2: Bronx's Birth Story: Part 2