Starting around 37 weeks Wade and I started to get a little nervous that Baby Wade would not arrive before my mom left for a 3-week trip and before our week-long vacation we had planned for the day after his due date. Wade also really wanted him to come before work was going to get busier. Fortunately, just like our other children, Baby Wade arrived early.
On Wednesday March 14th (I was 37 weeks and 4 days) I woke up to some contractions around 5:15am. This had been the norm for me for the past few weeks and they would feel more uncomfortable if I needed to use the bathroom. I thought this was the case again, but after going to the bathroom a few times and waiting it out, the contractions didn't go away and were becoming more frequent and lasting about a minute, although not terribly painful. After an hour or so I got super hungry and decided to eat some breakfast. By this time the children were waking up and I decided to let Wade know that it might be the day!!! Although part of me didn't want to say anything in case it wasn't the real deal. He had a dentist appointment planned for 8:30am and we decided it was better to be safe than sorry and he cancelled the appointment.
At 8am I called my doctor, got an answering machine and finally spoke to someone around 8:30/8:45. They told me to come in ASAP so we somewhat frantically got the kids ready, finished packing our hospital bags (at this point I was still not sure if I was in labor). We were so hurried we didn't even feed the kids breakfast! Whoops. We all got to the doctor's office and the NP checked me. I remember saying something like, "I'm having contractions, they've slowed down and aren't super painful so I'm really not sure if this is it." Well, I had already dilated to 6cm! I was very surprised and cried a little, because, well I was pregnant and about to meet my little baby. (This was very similar to Ruthie-my contractions weren't bad and I had dilated to 7cm when I got checked at the doctor)
My good, and equally as pregnant friend, Danielle, was so kind to watch Ruthie and Pierson. We had planned to have her come over to our house for a playdate so we could pass the time together while our kids wore each other out instead of us, but obviously things changed. It was going to take my mom an hour or so to get to Raleigh, so Danielle was really a life saver! Once we knew for sure it was the day, Wade dropped me off at the hospital and he took the kids over to Danielle's house.
I walked into the hospital alone and calmly said, "I'm here to have a baby." Haha. They showed me to my room and I got changed and ready to have a baby, at which point Wade came back. At this point, my contractions were still not very bad. They definitely hurt, but really weren't terribly painful and only came every 6-7 minutes which was completely manageable. Despite that, I wanted the epidural ASAP since I know how terribly painful it can get really fast.
Once I got the epidural (which took some time to really kick in), the doctor broke my water and we just waited. We talked a lot to the nurse (Ashley, who were really cool), and even watched a movie. Kelley arrived at some point during this time and she joined in the fun. I had asked her to come to take pictures and also so she could see a baby be born. After 2 hours or so Ashley check my progress, but had only dilated to 7cm, which was a little disappointing although not a big deal. She left and said to call her if I felt pressure. I could hardly feel anything, so I wasn't too confident in my ability to do this. Kelley decided to get some lunch since we figured she had some time before he would come. After 15 minutes or so, I thought I was feeling some pressure but it passed. I felt it again and thought I should call the nurse. She checked again and I was fully dilated and ready to push! Yes!
We called Kelley and told her to hurry it up! Ashley began setting everything up for the delivery and we waited for Dr. Deibel to arrive. It maybe took him 5-10 minutes but I was getting nervous that the baby would come before he got there. Fortunately he didn't and Kelley also arrived in time. Once everyone was there, I was ready to go!
I pushed through one contraction, which consisted of 3 good pushes and that got his little head poking out. At that point the doctor told me to wait for the next contraction (which, I was still only having every 6-7 minutes). Now, when you have your legs spread wide open and are not feeling any pain, it's a little awkward to have someone down in your nether regions, as well as additional people all looking down there. Wade was cracking jokes and making awkward comments ie "his head looks like a cat!", so we were all laughing. The doctor said, "either the next contraction or next joke will get this baby out". Hahaha. I really thought I might actually just laugh him out! With the next contraction, I gently pushed and out he came!! I cut the umbilical cord and held him right away. It was amazing to be able to enjoy giving birth!
Like all brand-spanking new babies he was blue and slimy and smelled a bit. He had a bunch of dark hair, except for on the entire top of his head. Of course we checked for the dimple chin, which he had. He weighed 6lbs 9oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. Such a tiny, sweet baby.
Obviously we love him to pieces and are so grateful he made such a peaceful and safe entrance into our lives. Ruthie and Pierson have been wonderful (at least so far) and are excited to have a new baby brother. They can often be heard saying things like, "Baby Wade is so tiny!" "Baby Wade is so cute!" "Look at his hands!" "His hair is so soft!" All of which are are expressed in very high-pitched voices. Mostly, though they are too busy playing and/or fighting that they don't pay him too much attention.
While having a newborn baby is exhausting and the recovery often uncomfortable, adding a new child to the family brings us immense joy.
I forgot that you had this blog. Fun to see the pictures.
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