He came at 11:50pm on 02/23/2021.
Let me just start off by saying that I literally cannot believe that I have a son!
6am: I woke up that Tuesday with minor cramping in my stomach. Even though I wanted him to come early, I didn't believe that he actually would, so I didn't think these little cramps meant anything. This was my last week of work, so if baby decided to come soon, I wouldn't complain either way - it only meant that I'd get out of work sooner than later. Ha!
7am: I was able to sleep through it and then woke up again around 7am to get ready for work. I specifically remember that it had taken me so much longer to get ready. My body felt it. As Jeff and I were getting breakfast, I remember telling him that I just didn't feel right that morning. I felt so slow, but I pushed through thinking that it was just because I was obviously getting closer to 40 weeks.
8am: I eventually made it to work. My boss and supervisor were both going to be in that morning and literally, I thought to myself, "why today of all days!" Ha!
8:30am: Went to pee. Blood. I wasn't too nervous, in fact, I was a little excited 'cause it meant that there's was progress in my pregnancy. Up until this point, I didn't feel like anything was really happening or changing. Lol. I had done so many squats and ball exercises to make movement happen!
8:44am: Tried the bathroom again and this time, lots of water leaked! At first, I thought it was a gush of blood similar to having a period, but it definitely was not. When you're pregnant, what they'll look for is a clear gush of fluid if your water's broken.
10am: I called my OB to see if they could get me in to check and see if it was my water that broke even though I definitely knew that it did. They called me back and sent me to labor and delivery right away.
11am: I left work and went home. I packed the last of things in my hospital bag and ate lunch really quickly before we left for the hospital. Thankfully everything was pretty close in distance.
11:30am: We make it to the labor and delivery room and they get us in to do our check up. The nurse was incredibly kind and did all the things very quickly. We waited about an hour to see if it was truly my water that broke and surely it was. At this point, when your water breaks, they'll take you in right away since the amniotic sac where the baby is is no longer secured, so they don't want to open it up to any kinds of infections. The nurse strapped me up in all sorts of cords. One was to read my contractions and another was to monitor baby's heartbeat. I was only 3cm dilated here.
1:30pm: They transferred me over to my actual room where I'd give birth and stay postpartum. Jeff was able to stay the entire time and our hospital even had pull out beds for guests, etc. To get my contractions going, the nurse started me on pitocin.
3pm: The contractions definitely started getting stronger so much so that I was sure that I had dilated at least a few more. The nurse checked and I was literally only 3cm still! I wanted to hold out a little longer to get the epidural, but each time a contraction came, I just couldn't do it. Ha! I opted for the epidural earlier than I thought, but I have no regrets because it definitely made for a peaceful wait.
The epidural: everyone makes it out to be so scary and terrifying (which it can definitely be especially if you're scared of needles), but you don't even see it and if you close your eyes and focus on the nurse's words, then everything is good! They stick a needle inside your back and it has a burning sensation for like 20 seconds and then it's over. They stick padding on your back to secure it and then you don't even feel your contractions anymore. It's honestly amazing. Lol.
The next couple of hours, I just laid in bed, watched tv, caught up on youtube videos, and tried to catch the family up to speed with little updates. When I think about it, it all went by so quick. The nurses came in every so often to check up on me, give more fluids, etc.
10:50pm: Here's where everything gets serious. Lol. I met the doctor who would deliver me - she was nice and made everything super easy. They came in to explain how everything would go. They checked me one more time to make sure I was "ready" and felt his head super close. The doctor wanted to wait a little bit to see if Noah's head would drop a little more, so they lowered my bed to help him fall some. I did get a little nervous, not gonna lie. It felt like I was shaking a little because it was literally about to meet my baby.
11:20pm: The doctor made her way in along with all of the nurses. It felt like a party in my room! Nurses, pediatricians, doctors, a med student, nurses to take care of bodily fluids lol. I honestly thought I was going to be shy and nervous with my stuff out there on the table, but at this point, I just didn't care and wanted baby out asap. Lol. After the staff all got prepped, we started pushing and it felt so surreal! You push on each contraction about 3 times and then rest once your contraction stops. The resting is nice and when you're actually pushing, you don't feel the contraction anymore (at least I didn't) so that helped as well.
The doctors warned me for first time moms that it could take anywhere between 1-2 hours of pushing. That didn't necessarily scare me, but I was not about to sit and push for that long.
11:50pm: The docs were like "I bet you can get him out before midnight" and so that became the goal. Lol. I pushed about 8 rounds of 3 and Noah was here before I knew it! The moment his head came out felt like the biggest relief! There are no words to explain what it feels like. I tore a little, so I did have to get a couple stitches. During that time, baby was getting weighed and all cleaned up. It feels like a blur because so much happened at the same time.
Over the next couple of hours, we got to hold baby and be together as a family. There was so much running through my mind, but overall, I was just so thankful to God to have a healthy baby, a smooth delivery and a supportive husband through it all. Still in disbelief that I have a little baby!
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