Jude's birth story

I am actually typing this at 6 AM on January 24th. The day Jude was born. I am on some type of crazy high or something. So here it goes.

Warning; This is lengthy. I wanted to write this so I would never forget the little details.

It pretty much started the night of the 22nd around 7pm. I was in so much pain from these weird cramps while we were watching some TV. They felt like the worst possible period cramps I have ever had in my life. (Seriously, I will never complain about period cramps ever again.) No one had told me that contractions might feel like that, so I just kind of brushed them off as something that happens when your body is getting ready to give birth. I thought he might come early - maybe a week early, so I really didn't believe I was in early labor yet. I kept an eye out on the cramps just in case though.

Around 10 or 11pm we were lying in bed, and of course Reece was already asleep, but for some reason I could not fall asleep! Not only was I in pain, something inside of me kept saying, "You are going to have Jude tomorrow."  When I finally fell asleep I had this wild and realistic dream about having Jude. I woke up in just a weird daze on the 23rd, and the whole day I really couldn't shake the feeling or dream I had the night before. So, I ended up calling my doctor about my cramping along with some reddish mucus that I thought might be my plug. She seemed concerned so she told me to move my appointment up to Monday instead of Friday of the following week. The rest of the day I just rested and counted the "cramps".

So skip forward to when Reece got off work. I told him I just felt strange, and that I really felt like we needed to go to L&D. I felt embarrassed because I had already been there 5 times, but I insisted we go anyway. What was weird this time was Reece wasn't bothered by it at all. Usually he kind of would groan and say okay. This time he was packing a bag, and saying we should take everything just in case. He said to me, "All day has just seemed off... I just want to be safe and bring all our stuff. Just in case." Him rushing around like a mad man made me a bit anxious because he usually is spot on with his "feelings". Driving to the hospital was super nerve wrecking because I kept trying to justify why we were going. I kept saying to Reece, "I'm not sure if this is it, but I'd rather be safe than sorry." Finally to calm my nerves I turned on Lola Montez, a song by Volbeat, to calm my nerves. I actually had to buy it off of ITunes, and Reece said, "If you need that song to be calm, just buy it. It doesn't matter!" $1.29 spent well.
 

 

When we got to the L&D wing the nurse kind of rolled her eyes at me because she didn't think anything was wrong with me. She had actually been my nurse the last time I came in all frantic (for no reason). After hooking me up to the monitors though, she realized I was having regular contractions. Which led her to check if I was dilated or effaced. Sure enough, I was 4 centimeters and 70% effaced. Apparently the look on mine and the nurse's face was complete shock, and Reece began to laugh a little (nervousness maybe?)  I remember the giddiness and anxiousness in Reece's face while we were monitoring my contractions. I remember thinking, "This has got to be it. We are about to see our son". The nurse then made me walk the halls for about an hour to see if I would dilate anymore. I don't remember much from that hour because I was in pain and very anxious. I do  remember Reece grabbing the railing with me, and rolling his hips and twerking to make me laugh though. It worked. When we got back to the triage at 6:30 I had dilated one centimeter. At that point I was taken to the main L&D and admitted because in the nurse's words, "It was baby day!" The two hours I was left in my room, I was having contractions, but they honestly weren't unbearable. I didn't dilate at all. Which did disappoint me a little. I kept listening to  Lola Montez by Volbeat to keep me calm. Along with music, I had an amazing support group there that kept me distracted and laughing.

It was at this point though my doctor decided to break my waters. The process happened so quickly to where I really had no time to process what was happening. I remember being so shaky afterwards because of the adrenaline. They put monitors in because Jude wouldn't stay still as well. All of this led me to become very uncomfortable. That was until the wave of 90 second contractions with no break in between started coming in. They were not just uncomfortable but painful! Then and only then did I hate my decision of no epidural.

I had about a hour and a half of horrible pain, and it only helped me progress to a 7. I was very disappointed and really needed some meds. I hated the fact that I was giving in, but I knew if I didn't get any relief, I wouldn't have the strength to push. I guess my face gave it all away that I was upset about not doing it naturally because Reece said something I will never forget. I had looked up at him and asked if he was disappointed or upset with me, and he said while looking me dead in the eye,

" You are so strong, and you have done so well. I am really proud of you. I can't feel what is going on with your body, so if you feel like you need the epidural I will not be disappointed. I can't believe how well you've done so far. I love you."

(Side note: having a baby with your significant other should definitely help you fall in love even more with them. That's what happened to me anyway.)

 I ended up getting IV meds to help me before the epidural came. Can I just say... those meds make you feel so high! It was just what I needed to keep going. Finally the anesthesiologist came in to give me the epidural. By that time I was so ready. He had a hard time getting it in which freaked me out completely! He did it four times before it was finally right. When the epidural was in I was able to relax. Sort of. No one told me that even though you have an epidural, you will still kind of feel pain from the pressure. So I basically sat there for three hours feeling this completely weird pressure and begging the nurse to let me push. Too bad I was still at a seven for the longest time!

 

When I heard the words, "You can start pushing." I was so happy! I only pushed for about a hour and a half. Pushing was hard work. It's like a learning on the job type thing. At first I didn't really understand how to do it, and I was completely frustrated with it all. I could feel all the burning and the pressure. I felt like it would never end. At one point I yelled at the doctor, and he just sat back. He told me I was the only one that would make this happen, and that I was the only one that could help this baby. I pushed about three more times, and  then I heard the sweetest cry I have ever heard. It's such an electric feeling. Reece's father would always say that to us while I was pregnant, and I would always shake my head or roll my eyes. It's so true though. I started to cry, and then I felt completely frustrated because I didn't get to see him for the longest time it seemed because I had to get stitches. All I could do was hear him crying and then eventually cooing. Finally, they laid my sweet baby on my chest. Talk about intoxicating! I looked down to see his blonde hair, and I thought, "He has so much hair!" Perfect blonde hair. When I saw his little eyes looking at me, I realized that this was real. He was my son! I saw his nose and lips, and began smiling because that nose was from his Papa; The lips, from me. He had us in him, and we were finally a family.  My heart was officially stolen that day.