Friday morning I got up at normal time (around 5:45 am) and started to get ready for work. I noticed that my back was a little tight/sore, but it was not too uncomfortable. I had been moving pretty slow, so it took some time to take a shower, have a cup of coffee, and get ready for work. Right before I left, Ben gave me my heparin shot and I headed in to the office. Seemed like it was going to be a typical Friday.
I had planned on going grocery shopping when I got home from work and Ben was scheduled to run the Best Damn Race in Safety Harbor on Saturday morning. I was planning to spectate and cheer him and some other friends on. Our mindset was that this was going to be our last weekend without a baby and we were going to relax, stock everything up, and maybe go out to dinner as well.
Around 10 am or so, I started noticing that my back pains were getting worse, but only for about 30 seconds or so. I went to a lecture given by the United Way and just tried to stay as relaxed as possible. When I got back to the office around 11 am, I started googling "How to tell if you are in labor". That was the point that I decided to start keeping track of my "contractions" to see how frequently they were coming (this task also keep my mind busy and gave me something to do as well as being able to send the information to Ben so he could see):
At this point on Friday, we started to have "fire drills" to test some system (I honestly didn't care too much to ask). Since my office is on the 3rd floor, we had to take the stairs down to wait in the safe area while the drill was ongoing. And since I did not want to get stuck in an elevator in case of an actual emergency or equipment failure, I took the stairs back up to my office when the drill was over. This happened twice. I honestly thought that I might not make it. (One of my coworkers later asked him if we named him Grayson because I looked so gray on Friday...)
It got to be about 2:00 and my coworker, Wendy, told me to go home. She went to speak with my boss and then they both came in to my office and said to go home. I thought about it for a second and then conceded. The drive home was pretty uncomfortable, I couldn't really talk on the phone and was just trying to breathe and get home as quickly and safely as possible.
When I got home, I put on some music and got in the bath. Ben was on his way home and I was not really in a condition to be doing anything. I wasn't sure if this was actual labor, but the contractions were coming pretty steadily. They would only last for a couple of seconds. We didn't really know what to do, if we should go to the hospital or if we should just try to stay at home in case these weren't really contractions/labor. I got out of the bath and we decided that we were going to watch the recorded version of Jimmy Fallon from the night before to relax and laugh a little bit.
Just as Jimmy was writing out his thank you notes, (around 4:30 pm) my water broke (all over the couch!). At this point, we both went in to panic mode. The contractions started to get more intense and we now had to drive to the hospital in Friday rush hour traffic. We had made the drive several times, and had our route planned out. I tried to call our doctor on the way to the hospital, but his office was being moved that same day and the line kept ringing busy.
I could hardly believe that this was happening - we were sitting in 5:00 traffic and couldn't get a hold of the doctor. We had agreed that Ben would call his parents and my sister and then they would spread the news to the rest of our immediate family. He made his phone calls and tried to calm me down as much as possible (not particularly an easy task). We arrived at the hospital right before 5:00 and went up to the labor and delivery floor.
The receptionist told us to have a seat and she would get our paperwork ready to fill out. I couldn't believe that this woman expected me to complete paperwork while I was in labor. I shifted the papers to Ben and told him to fill them out and then I would just sign them. At this point, we still did not know for sure if the baby had flipped or not. We indicated that we would need to get an ultrasound as soon as possible to determine the positioning of the baby.
They told us to have a seat in the lobby/waiting room and someone would be with us shortly. I could not believe that I was now sitting in the lobby of the hospital in full blown labor on a Friday evening, just waiting. At this point, Ben tried to help keep me relaxed until the woman came to get us. Basically I just remember telling Ben that I could not do this. Over and over again.
They finally came to get us to check to make sure I was in labor and see if I was dilated. I'm going to estimate it was probably around 5:30 to 5:45 pm at this point. The woman had me get undressed and checked me. I was already 5 cm dilated(!) Ben reiterated the fact that we did not know if the baby was still in the breech position, so the woman felt around and said that she felt a head. We were super relieved at this point because that means I could potentially have a vaginal delivery instead of a c-section, which is what we were hoping for.
My dad and my sister arrived at this point and came in the room. I told them that this was the real deal and we are going to have this baby today! They asked me if I wanted to walk to the delivery side of the floor, to which I promptly said no. They brought in a wheelchair we were off to the races. It was incredible how many people were in that tiny room all around me so quickly.
In the delivery room, Dr. Ancheta finally showed up! We asked him again about the breech position and he felt around and said "that is not a head, that is a bottom". At this point, everything escalated. I'm going to estimate that it was about 6:00 pm at this point and the doctor indicated that I was already 8 centimeters dilated and that I was going to have to have an emergency c-section. Part of me was relived and another part of me was terrified.
The doctors and nurses took one look at my stomach (which was extremely bruised from all the heparin shots) and wanted to know what the bruising was from. We told them that I was on heparin due to a clotting disorder and I had a shot around 7 am. The next thing I know, I'm on a stretcher rolling down the hospital hallway just staring at the fluorescent lights in the ceiling. I can honestly say that I've never been so scared in my entire life.
When I got in to the operating room, the anesthesiologist decided that I would need to be under general anesthesia instead of a typical spinal epidural. I knew this meant that Ben (or anyone else) could not be with me, but I asked them anyway. The next thing I know, I'm staring at the big surgical lights and breathing in to a mask. What occurred after this moment is a mystery to me.
I woke up a short time later to people calling my name. It was eerily quiet as I opened my eyes and looked around. I asked the nurse if I had my baby as she was wheeling me to my postpartum room (this trek seemed to take FOREVER!). She said yes. Clearly she wasn't going to give me any additional information without prompting, so I asked if the baby was a boy or a girl. She said it was a boy. I just smiled and then asked how/where Ben was. She said that he was in the room with the baby.
It was love at first sight. My first thought (and things were a little fuzzy coming out of surgery) was that he looked just like Ben, but a little more wrinkled. He was born at 6:40 pm, weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces and 19.25 inches long. I honestly thought he would be bigger! We still hadn't decided on a name since we didn't know the gender. Our boy name choices were narrowed down to Landon Henry or Grayson James and upon laying eyes on our handsome fella, he definitely did not look like a Landon. (Our girl name was going to be Jocelyn Ann). Here are some shots from the hospital:
My men:
After eating
After the first bath
Finally home and passed out
Morning "activity" time with Mommy
Suddenly, all the things that people kept telling me started to make more sense. It still feels a little strange that we are parents. The goal is to have Ben's version of events posted at some point to help fill in the blanks that I am unable to. This adventure has been such a roller coaster. There have been highs, lows, sweet rewards, and frustrations. We are trying to navigate parenthood as best as we can, but every day when I look at this sweet face, it is so worth it. More about the first couple of weeks of Grayson's life later, hopefully this makes enough sense to y'all and my spelling and grammar isn't too terrible. :)
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