We can give you drugs and do this for a few hours or I can break your water and we can have a baby.
This one sentence is how baby James came into this world at 5:53 a.m.
Laboring at home from 7:40 pm until 2:00 am was a breeze. My contractions were slow and heavy and I could walk through them. Tripping over the three animals that did every lap around the house with me was frustrating but part of me was happy I knew we were in this together. At 2:00 my contractions quickly went from seven minutes to five and by 2:40 they were barely three minutes apart. I realized we needed to get to the hospital so I got my husband out of bed and sent him into a- I'm going to act calm but I'm completely freaking out - panic as I called the birthing center to let them know we were headed in.
It's funny how things work out. I wanted to go into labor naturally, I didn't want to be induced but I was 6 days past my due date and swollen beyond all belief. My doctor had me scheduled to be induced the same day in just a few short hours so naturally the gal who answered the phone asked me if I was just coming in early for my appointment.
I wanted to say, why yes, I thought coming in at 3 a.m. instead of our scheduled 7:30 appointment time would be appropriate. But instead I let her know my contractions were less than five minutes apart and getting stronger. Then after making Chris take another chalkboard photo of me we were off to the hospital.
Arriving at 4 cm dilated I progressed to 6 within an hour and a little after 5 am I was 8 cm dilated and ready to be done. Contractions were hard and strong and the intensity was lasting longer than I thought my body could take. I distinctly remember standing in the bathroom saying, "Drugs. I want the drugs."
Than came the one thing that was promising enough for me to say lets do it and then immediately regret it afterwards.
My doctor came in and said, "We can give you drugs and do this for a few hours or I can break your water and we can have a baby." Guess what I chose.
After 15 minutes of monitoring in a bed they would not let me get out of and a few curse words later I was headed into the shower ready for any form of relief from the pain. Well, 30 seconds into my shower my little baby was ready to come out.
Looking back I honestly believe "not pushing" takes more will power than pushing itself. Your body is finally ready to finish what it started but 60 people need to come in your room and convert a simple bed into a birthing table before you start so every second you can't push is harder than the last.
When I was finally told to crawl back up on the table I hated with all of my being I gave two solid pushes. I wanted to be done, I wanted a long john donut, and I wanted my beautiful baby to be born. My doctor quietly said one more and I think we will have a baby and that's all I needed, one more solid push and I heard, "It's a boy!" and I knew the perfect little miracle that was born would change my life forever.
Somewhere in this mix my husband had to sit down. I remember glancing over looking for him and he was sitting in a chair with his head in his hands. Later he said he didn't want to be a liability and after being told I had second degree tearing I thought he made a wise choice.
James Mark was born at 5:53 a.m. He was 20 inches long and had the most beautiful blue eyes you've ever seen. As my husband held my hand and we looked at the miracle that just happened an overwhelming amount of love poured over me. I was reminded that there is no greater love than Gods and I thanked Him for once again taking care of my family.
