For nine long months Rusty and I had anticipated the arrival of our baby boy. We had both been feeling like he was going to make his debut early, but on February 11 I had an appointment where the doctor told me I had not progressed at all since the last week. He also said that it was possible for me to be late now instead of on time like he had previously thought. This was definitely not what I wanted to hear! I left the appointment and texted Rusty and my mom saying that this baby was coming late. So that freed up some time for me and Rusty to spend just us. Or so we thought.
It was my turn to plan Valentine's Day so Friday was spent getting everything ready. Rusty told me that he had something planned that he would like to do Saturday afternoon, so we did part of what I planned on Friday night. I blindfolded him and drove him to a city we had never visited before that has a great downtown with a bunch of really good restaurants. We walked around for a little while and checked out some stores, and then did a scavenger hunt in a bookstore. I started feeling kind of sick so we cut the hunt short and went to get dinner at a Mongolian BBQ. Dinner was great but I was still not feeling well so we went home right after and watched a movie. We didn't get to bed until a little after midnight, which is really really late for pregnant me.
At around 4:00 I woke up in that half delirious state where you are kind of aware of your surroundings but not really. The thought crossed my mind that maybe my water broke and I remember thinking, it's a big deal if your water broke. You better get up and check... And then I went back to sleep haha. At 4:30 I woke up to bad cramping that I thought was just from eating too much Mongolian. I got up to go to the bathroom and when I got there my water broke! I wasn't really sure what that would be like, and it doesn't happen on its own for very many pregnancies so I was just not expecting it. And it was really early in the morning. So I just sat there really confused for a while. Then when more came I yelled at Rusty and woke him up. I called triage to ask them because I expected the water to be clear but it was greenish brown. They told me to come in right away so I rinsed off in the shower and then Rusty and I grabbed all of our bags and drove to the hospital. It didn't really feel totally real and we weren't even sure that we would be staying, but we were excited! And nervous. I was feeling contractions that lasted a minute long and were three minutes apart. On the drive I remember timing them: 5:31 to 5:32, 5:35 to 5:36. What if this was it?! By then I was pretty sure that it was happening!
We pulled up to the doors and left the car parked there with the hazard lights on. We went up to the fourth floor and checked in. Our first nurse wasn't very nice and kept getting after us for not doing things right. Rusty moved some things off the bed that she told me to get on and I didn't sit back far enough on it, so she kept saying, "No, no. We do things here this way for a reason. Just do what I say." We didn't know that we were being rebellious, we just had never done this before haha. She did some tests and found out that my water really had broken, and that it was that dark color because there was meconium in the amniotic fluid. That means that my baby had passed a bowel movement in the amniotic sac, which can be a sign of stress. The doctors were concerned about this and would do extra monitoring through the labor and have NICU staff in the delivery to check his lungs and make sure he could breathe. They said if he came out screaming it would be a really good sign, so we started praying that he would be safe and that his lungs would be strong and he would scream. Then some other staff came in to do my IV and after two nurses and three attempts they finally got it. I got moved down to the third floor and checked into my room while Rusty went to move the car. It was a beautiful sunny and clear day and my room had a view of Mt. Baker. I'm sure I would have loved it more if I wasn't so distracted by the contractions, but Rusty really enjoyed it. :) That's not to say that he wasn't busy!
By this time it was around 7:00. Rusty and I spent the next few hours walking around the hallways trying to get things moving even faster. After a while I didn't want to go out of our room because it got so painful, so we stayed in there and walked around. Rusty texted our friends and family and let them know that it was happening! My parents got in the car that was already packed just in case and started driving. At around 10:30 I got an epidural and then had to stay in bed. After that I tried to relax and get some rest because I knew it was going to be a long day, but my mind was racing! I was so excited and so nervous. I was finally going to meet my baby! But I was scared that he would have some complications. Rusty gave him a blessing and it promised that he would be born healthy so I relaxed.
I still couldn't believe he was coming on Valentine's Day; the one day I didn't want him to be born because I wanted him to have his own special day. But this little man had his own ideas, and this definitely wouldn't be the last time that he stubbornly did what he wanted to do. I'm finding out just how many ideas of his own he has. At 3:45 my nurse (who I just absolutely loved!!) came and checked me to see how much I had progressed. The last time I was checked I was only 2 centimeters, so I was hoping to be above a 5. When she told me that I was a 9 I was shocked! That was the best news! Surprisingly I wasn't even nervous or worried that now it was time, I was just ready. By 4:30 my nurse told me to start pushing. Rusty was great and stayed with me the entire time counting to ten for each of the three times I was supposed to push for each contraction. I remember thinking, "Count faster Rusty!" Later he told me that he did count fast because he knew it was hard and then the nurse told him that he had to watch the clock and count with it haha.
Sometime around 6:00 the doctor came in, and around 6:30 I started to really struggle. I had been pushing for two hours and I didn't feel like I was making any progress or that I could do it any better in order to get him here. I didn't know if I could keep going. I was so tired. I also had the epidural be really light so I could feel enough to push, and I could feel a lot :) It got to a point where I started to check out mentally and I couldn't hear the nurses or Rusty anymore, but I remember thinking that I couldn't do that because I had to get this baby here. Rusty was the best coach and truly I don't think I could have done it without him. I love that man. Then my precious baby was born at 6:43 PM on Saturday February 14, weighing 7 pounds 15.5 ounces and 19 inches long. He came out screaming and passed all of their tests with flying colors. Our perfect Valentine.
When the doctor held him up I was shocked at the incredible amount of love that I felt for him. It was absolutely overflowing and there was so much that I didn't feel like my heart could even hold it. I just kept saying, "I love him! He's perfect! It was all so worth it!" Rusty was teary and really excited too so he had a hard time cutting the cord because he couldn't see haha. I finally got to hold my baby boy and it was perfect. He looked just like Rusty's twin and we both knew right away that we wanted to call him Henry. The middle name came the next day: Tyrel, after his daddy. My parents were out in the waiting room and got to come in and I was so excited to show my baby off. My mom told me later that my eyes were shining with an excitement she had never seen before, and I believe that based on how I was feeling. It really is a miracle.
Our first picture :)
I couldn't stop crying!
I loved seeing these two together
He was beyond happy and excited
My whole world
I had dreamed for months about those tiny fingers holding one of mine. This was one of the best moments.
The proud new grandparents!
Our first family picture
His really long feet :)
We were discharged the next day with no complications. I'll never forget putting Henry in the car and talking to Rusty about how we were taking him home with us. Forever. We were his parents. It was such a surreal experience. When we got home my mom had cleaned our apartment, made dinner, and bought Henry's first birthday cake :) We also had some balloons and a banner that were made by some of our friends. A wonderful welcome home!
Getting ready to go home!
