Let me just start out saying that the entire pregnancy (overall) was AMAZING! For the most part, I enjoyed it...a lot!
Tuesday May 19th @ 6am:
The day after the long weekend. About to start my last week of work, hooray! I had moved my last day of work up by a week. Originally it was set for May 29th! Crazy. So at 6am I felt like I might have peed my pants. Went to the bathroom and *gush*. Not a huge gush, but enough to know that I didn't pee my pants! Woke Matt up and scolded him (excitedly!) for wishing for a May baby the night before! Called our doula Fiona (LOOOVE her!) and said, "so I guess I'm not going into work today?" Uh huh!
Our goal was to stay at home for as long as possible and to bring labor on naturally in a relaxed comfortable environment. From the time my water first leaked, I knew I had 24 hours before we needed to show up at the hospital. Time was tickin' baby! As long as baby was doing well, I wanted to avoid drugs, induction, c-section, anything that was medically unnecessary. It sure was relaxing at home because I didn't really have any contractions all day to speak of! Just eating and napping....like a normal day for me! Except the tiny little part about gushing!! How come nobody told me that when your water breaks, you could be gushing ALL day long?? I thought there were 2 choices: You get the BIG gush like you see in the movies, or you get the slow leak you barely notice. I was in neither category. EIGHT pairs of pants/shorts/underwear later I realized I should've just sat on the toilet all day long. I could be sitting down or laying down and then get up and have to RUN to the bathroom while Matt laughed and saw me wet my pants. It's ok, he can laugh since he does the laundry!
Tuesday May 19th evening:
Still no sign of baby yet. Fiona told us to get a good night's rest so my body is ready for what's to come. Like most nights, we popped in a movie so Matt could watch it and I could fall asleep during opening credits. Zoolander! It was about 11:30 when we decided to turn the movie off and get some shut-eye. We had the alarm set for 5am so we could be at the hospital around 6am. Sleep baby sleep, we will meet you soon....
Wednesday May 20th @ 1am:
I woke up to a sudden 'pop' sound inside of me. I thought the Swedish Berry might have punched me but later found out that was probably my cervix opening! Went to the bathroom and felt a huge pressure to poo, but not really to poo. HOLY CRAP!! I THINK THAT'S A REAL CONTRACTION!! Went back to bed and noted the time. Let's see if another one comes....
Wednesday May 20th @ 1:20ish: (disclaimer: times from here on out are highly inaccurate because I was in the twilight zone)
OMG....another contraction, I think?! This time I woke Matt up. I called Fiona because I really didn't know if this was the REAL deal (duh!). I was just getting really bad back pain every once in awhile. I don't know how close they were, I wasn't timing! I asked Fiona if we should start heading to the hospital and she said yes. Call her when we're on the road so she can meet us there. So I'm packing up my toiletries and Matt TRIES to pack up the car. It was pretty difficult for him to pack up since I kept calling him back when I would have a contraction!
Wednesday May 20th @ 2-something-ish:
I finally made it down the stairs and Matt's cell phone rings. It's Fiona and she asks why we're STILL at home!! Why? How long has it been since we spoke? What?? 40 minutes??!! OMG! Told her we're on our way!! I wasn't paying much attention during the drive to the hospital. Just tried to breathe through each contraction and to stay as relaxed as possible. I think we made it to the hospital in record time!
Wednesday May 20th @ almost 3am:
Fiona met us at the hospital and checked me in. Matt and Fiona brought me up to my room, stopping for contractions. Once in the room, the most comfy spot for me was the toilet! Funny side note: I remember saying (while in pain), "This toilet paper is soooo cheap!! Next time I'm bringing my own!" WTH??!!
The next part is all pretty much a blur. I just remember LOVING the counter pressure that Fiona was putting on my hips through the contractions.
Wednesday May 20th @ 3:47am:
FIN IS BORN!!!
I remember him coming out and immediately feeling relieved and Matt yelling, "it's a BOY!" Then my wonderful doc tells me to look at my baby. On the bed between my legs was this beautiful little boy crying. I had to touch him to make sure he was real. He belongs to us!! With all the struggles we've been through, at times we thought this would never happen. Now we can't imagine life without him. He belonged to us all along....it just took awhile to make his appearance.
Welcome to the outside world!
Proud dad
My dream team: Fiona (wonderful doula), super doc, me, Matt, and Fin!
We love you, Fin.
