*this is long, read at your own risk*
I had walked the mall, twice, Jeff came home and we ate a spicy dinner then went out for some frozen yogurt. We strolled down to Publix and I grabbed a whole pineapple, came home and ate almost all of it. I was still two days away from my "due date" but was ready to meet my little girl. I forced myself on Jeff one last time, per doctors orders, because Lord knows I was not
in the mood. After talking and giggling for a while we finally crashed at around 12:30.
It worked!! All of the wives tales of labor inducing tricks worked, and at 1:35 am I felt it. My first
real contraction. I froze...partly in pain, but mostly in shock thinking,
holy crap, is this it?? I laid there completely still staring at the clock on my bedside table. Sure enough, 1:42 another one. Ok, up and at um. I decided to time the contractions myself for at least an hour to make sure things were consistent before waking Jeff up. So, around 2:30ish I shook Jeff and said,
Honey, wake up, I think I'm in LABOR! He was cool and calm and asked me about the contractions. How long were they, how far apart? I had been using contractionmaster.com to track them so it was all laid out for him. {Seriously, I love that website, it was so easy to use} I had had my bags packed for weeks. Jeff?? Not quite. He looked at me and was like
I have to do a load of laundry, all my clothes are dirty. I'm not gonna lie. At first I was like
you have to be f-ing kidding me! Then I took a couple deep breaths and thought to myself that it was a good thing we were going to have to be home for a little while longer. I didn't want to rush to the hospital too early. I look back on it now and laugh. Oh, Jeff. I love him. I decided to take a shower to relax myself and get one last good shower in before the madness.
All the while contractions were consistent, strong, and becoming closer together. They were about 4-5 minutes apart. Some lasted a full minute and some not as long. At 4 am I called my doctor and gave her the lowdown. She said
You're gonna have this baby, you better go to the hospital. I broke. I started sobbing like a scared little baby. I was nervous and excited and just so overwhelmed. This was it, it was happening. There was no turning back. I was about to have the baby I had been waiting on for so long.
5:30 am, I am in my labor and delivery room, hooked up and getting settled. I was 3cm. I can remember listening to the rhythmic sound of her little heartbeat while contractions came and went. I was able to get through them ok if things were completely quiet, I had Jeff's hand to squeeze, and my eyes were closed. At 7 am I met my nurse, Meredith. God bless her. I loved her, she was wonderful. Young, and reassuring, and in a great mood. I needed that. My brother and sister-in-law came in and were a great distraction. My brother turns into the funny-guy in tense situations. I guess seeing his little sister in a hospital bed about to give birth made him a little tense, because he was on fire! The problem was that every time he made me laugh I would get a really strong contraction right along with it. Thanks Gray for speeding up labor! My mom joined us and was right by my side giving me encouragement and rubbing my feet between contractions.
At around 10:30am the nurse came in to check the progress. I was shocked, 6cm!!! My goal throughout labor was to get to "active labor" before asking for an epidural. I didn't want drugs to slow my labor down at all. So when she told me they were doing to break my water now too, I told them to go ahead and call for the anaesthesiologist. I had a few contractions between the time they broke my water and the drug-man came and OH MY GOSH, wow what a difference! I was glad I made the decision when I did, the contractions were really intense and I was having a lot of back labor. Ouch! I was really proud of myself for making it that far, but was in need of some relief and rest.
Right before I got the epidural, Jeff took over and kicked everyone out for a while so I could get some rest. I was secretly happy about this. I never would have told people to leave, especially not my family, but I'm glad he did. I needed some time to rest. I was going on practically no sleep and nothing to eat since the pineapple the night before. I spent the next few hours napping on and off. I could still move my legs and roll from one side to the other, but the contractions were faint. I could still feel them, but they weren't painful.
At around 4 pm the nurse came back in to check on me. Then she said the magic words,
you're fully dilated. Let us know when you feel the urge to push. Seriously, the next few contractions went by and suddenly I
wanted needed to push. Once nurses and doctor were ready, Jeff was in place next to me counting with the doctor, I gave it my all. On May 12th, 2010 at 5:06pm, after 35 minutes of pushing, I saw her pink little body for the first time, held her, heard her little cry and melted into a weeping mess. I looked over to see Jeff balling his eyes out and heard one nurse say
C'mon dad, take some pictures, your job is over.
I simply can not express how much I love this little girl. She has changed me in every way possible. I have grown as a woman, as a wife, and as a Christian because of her existence. She makes me laugh everyday, and is just such a joy to be around. I have been amazed to watch her grow and discover her world. I have been proud at her every accomplishment and milestone. She has been a happy and healthy baby from day one, and I thank God everyday for that. I have been blessed beyond measure to have this sweet girl
as my daughter. What an incredible year it's been. So, to my sweet Blakely Anne, I love you to the moon and back. Happy 1st Birthday!
