It all started 3 weeks ago - wow this time is flying by! So many people have asked about Michael's birth. When they hear he was born at 3:15 in the morning, they are naturally curious about the events of that night/morning. So I thought I'd share our story with you. It'll be good to have it written down for those times years from now when I can't remember the details anymore.
Important background info:
Both Trevor and Sarah were induced, so we were hoping not to go that route again (not that anything bad had happened; we just preferred to have things happen naturally if possible). However, with the sale of our house came the urgent need to pack of our stuff and prepare to move, and we just didn't need any additional stress, so the backup plan was to induce on the due date (July 16) if I didn't go into labor before then.
Also note that I had been having contractions a lot over the previous weeks, but nothing that was consistent. However I had started spotting a tiny bit (sorry if that's TMI for you!).
Monday, July 13th 9:00 p.m. - John and I went for a walk around the block, as we had the two previous nights, hoping gravity would help things along. During our walk we settled on a boy's name, which had been a challenge to come up with throughout the entire pregnancy. After our walk we chatted with John's mom for a while, then went to bed.
Tuesday, July 14 12:20 a.m. - Sarah woke up crying. John went to help her and she demanded to see Mommy. I got up and settled her back in bed. When I got back in my own bed, a very intense contraction hit me. About 10 minutes later another one came. I got up and for the next half hour did laps around the dining room table as I continued to time the contractions.
1:15 a.m. - I woke up John and told him it was time to go to the hospital, hoping that this was the real thing and not a false alarm.
1:45 a.m. - Arrived at Fairview Southdale Hospital. Got checked in at triage, where they hooked me to monitors and determined I was 4 cm dilated. When asked if we wanted an epidural, we basically said, no it went ok without one the last time, let's do it that way again (am I crazy, or what?)
2:30 a.m. approx. - My water broke. It was weird. It felt like a really hard kick from the baby, and then I was sitting in water. Very strange indeed. The contractions began to be about 4 minutes apart. At that point the triage nurse went to get a delivery room ready for me and get the doctor there. Apparently everyone else was going into labor that night, too, and I got the last available room!
I don't remember what time we got into the room - btwn 2:45 and 3:00? - but the contractions were about 2 minutes apart (that sucked) and John was helping me get through them. John mentioned to the nurse that during my previous deliveries I had dilated very quickly, and that perhaps they should check me out. Good thing she did because I was at 8 cm already.
The next little while was a blur. Things I do remember:
1) My doctor did not respond to her page, but the on-call doctor from my clinic was supposedly on his way. However, another doctor was standing by (literally standing across the room) in case that guy didn't make it.
2) The nurse and "doctor" (I'm convinced it was a med student on her OB rotation) didn't provide much instruction to John and me, obviously assuming that by the 3rd time we were pros at this labor thing and didn't need any help. I really felt like I could have been out in the field giving birth all by myself. It was very organic and surreal.
3) The nurse joked that John was doing such a great job coaching me that he should go down the hall and help coach other women when he was done there. It's true - he was a great coach.
4) The on-call doctor didn't make it in time so the other doctor (still don't know her name!) delivered the baby.
5) I looked up at the clock and it was exactly 3:15 a.m. The nurse told John to tell me what it was - he said "it's a boy!" and cried like a baby.
6) We said his name out loud for the first time connected to a living breathing person. That is always amazing.
7) Michael cried very loudly (and still does), and it was the best sound in the world. I wish I could still say it's the best sound to hear at 3:15 a.m., but the novelty of it has worn off now.
All in all it was a wild night. We got to have our "run to the hospital in the middle of the night" labor story. I am so thankful that it was a quick delivery. I don't know how women handle laboring for hours and hours. Mostly I am so thankful to have a healthy baby and loving family and friends to share our joy.
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