My Heavenly Moment in Time

Here is my baby story! It starts from the moment when I went in to labor to when they laid my sweet baby boy on my chest. I can't believe that I have this story to tell, because child birth is such an amazing thing and I'm so grateful that I am able to be a Mom. So here goes!

June 25th was a normal day...

I've been pretty active my whole pregnancy, and even on this day Michael and I woke up, did a few things around the house, went to the movies, Costco, and even Lowes. While Michael put some finishing touches on Hunter's room, I went to AV Idol to support one of my students and of course my town! I felt perfectly fine...I even sat down on the grass and was able to get up without anyone's help LOL

IT BEGINS...That night at about 9:15pm while I was driving home I started to notice a little bit of pain in my lower abdomen. It wasn't bad, but enough to notice and kind of wonder if something was going on. I felt it again probably about 15 to twenty minutes later, and then one more time when I walked up the stairs to my bedroom. I started get curious about the pain, so Michael and I googled it. Well, people always say that when you're having a contraction, your stomach gets hard and you definitely KNOW, but that was NOT the case for me. When I read that it could feel like a menstrual cramp lasting anywhere from 30 to 70 seconds, I knew that I was having them. I told Michael that I may be starting to have them, not really thinking TOO much about it, but I thought I should start paying attention to them. A few minutes after that one came a little bit stronger, and then...MY WATER BROKE!!!

IT REALLY BEGINS!!! 10:15 pm My first thoughts...NO WAY!! This could not be happening! We all thought he was coming late. Only 4 days before at my 38 week appt. I was not even checked for progress because I wasn't feeling anything, and then all of sudden he decides to surprise us and come!?!? I immediately start crying because I did not feel ready...mentally I was NOT ready to have this baby. I just had a regular day that was about to end in a not so regular way, and that was NOT supposed to happen. Well, my dear sweet husband kept telling me, "It's okay, it's okay". I took a quick shower...cried...got dressed...cried...and then got a priesthood blessing...I distinctly remember sitting in the chair, of course crying, shaking so uncontrollably that Michael's hands could not rest on my head. I was nervous...BEYOND nervous, but I kept telling myself, "I can do it...I'm going to meet Hunter today...I can do it...I can do it..."

Quick SIDE NOTE For those of you that know me well, know that I am a HUGE woose! (spelling? lol) A pansy, cry baby, low tolerance of pain etc. I have NEVER had one stitch, broken bone, trip to the hospital for being sick, minor surgery, etc. I've pretty much had a physically pain free and healthy life. Also, I have a phobia of needles, so much that I pretty much cry even when they take a little bit of blood, and I can't stand hospitals, doctors, or anything medical (I DO have a strong appreciation for it all, but they freak me out! Oh and both mine and Michael's Mom's are nurses and I STILL love them ha ha ha) SOoooo hence all of the nervousness, shaking and crying! Okay, now back to my baby story!

THE HOSPITAL 11pm So we made our way to the hospital...I was already packed and pretty much ready to go so it didn't take us too long to leave and get there (Plus Michael's professional driving skills got us there pretty quick) First thing we do when we get there and I started the whole paperwork process. I pretty much stayed really quiet, which is how I get when I'm REALLY nervous, and when the nurses saw me and asked if I was nervous I would just quietly answer..."ya..." and shake my head "yes".

TRIAGE 11:30pm After checking in, I was lead to the triage room...there was no turning back now. I put on the gown (backwards mind you, by accident lol), and after some time they checked me to see if it was really my water that broke, and then they checked to see if I was dialating. This is where the pain began. Not to get too personal, but I have a weird cervix that's placed a little farther back then normal, so for them to check me is a little bit harder than an average person and VERY painful. I just closed my eyes, Michael rubbed my forehead, and bared through the pain, and only cried at the very end when she REALLY had to reach...I was at a 2. (After she left and I wiped my first "pain tears" of the night, I thought about if I would ever be able to do this again. So far it was starting off harder than I ever thought...but knowing that I was going to be able to meet Hunter soon made everything somewhat bearable) Finally, they took my blood and put in my IV. (I didn't cry...I wanted to...but didn't...I was REALLY trying to be brave because these things were the least of my worries at the moment, and I knew that I had to start being strong somewhere!)

LABOR AND DELIVERY Approx. 1am This is where I started asking tons of questions trying to get a clear picture of how everything was going to go. "What happens next? What is that for? When would I get my epidural? When do I get checked again to see if I'm progressing? Etc." At this point I started to notice my contractions getting stronger, and closer together. My doctor left it up to me when to get the epidural and so when I felt like I couldn't take the pain much longer I would tell the nurse. When that time came my hopes were that I was at least half way to 10 so I could be half way done. When she checked me, it was an excruciating pain, especially since I started having a contraction while she was checking me and I was finally at a four. She gave me some pain medicine that completely knocked me out, and then when I woke up from the pain it was time for an epidural.

THE DREADED YET SATISFYING EPIDURAL Approx. 4am Like I said before I have a needle phobia, and I was not looking forward to the epidural...but when those contractions started to get stronger, I was ready. People say that it doesn't hurt, or that it's a small pinch, and yadda yadda, but this is what it was for me. It was an extremely uncomfortable feeling, that felt so awkward that it almost hurt, or pretty much hurt just a little and the process took a little longer than I thought, especially because people would say that it took only a few seconds. Lastly, just the thought of the procedure was terrifying in it itself. It's a very serious procedure that can have VERY serious consequences, but mine went well. I was grateful to be able to relax and rest for a few a hours before I had to start pushing.

TIME TO PUSH When it comes to what time everything else happened, it all seems a blur. At about 6am there was a shift change and I got a nurse who ended up being SO wonderful. I will always remember her! At this time I was at about a 6 and after a few more hours I was at a 10. When it came time to push it didn't seem real. I felt like there was going to be some sort of climax to pushing but there wasn't. All of sudden I just started doing it! Pushing was a lot harder than I thought and since I was already up the whole day and night before I was beyond exhausted. In between contractions all I want to do was sleep...it was SO hard to find the energy to push. Near the end I could feel that my epidural had either worn off, or my body wasn't taking to it anymore. The last few pushes were excruciating and although I was pretty quiet the whole way through, at the end I just started yelling at my Doctor, through sobs and tears, "Get him out of ME! Get him out of me!" I pushed and pushed, and finally he did the episiotomy (cut me) and it was over.

MY BABY After pushing for about one hour, they laid my baby boy on my chest...all I could do was cry, partly because the pain was over and also because my baby was here...he was finally here. All I thought was, "My baby, it's my baby". I remember looking up at Michael and seeing the smile on his face. It was a smile that I had never seen before. He stared at Hunter and then Michael gave me a big kiss on my forehead and then my lips. There are so many words to describe this moment and all of my feelings. I honestly could write, think and talk about this moment in time for years, but if I could choose only one, single word to describe this moment, it would be, Heavenly.

heav·en·ly

1. of or in the heavens: the heavenly bodies.

2. of, belonging to, or coming from the heaven of god, the angels, etc.

3. resembling or befitting heaven; blissful; beautiful

4. divine or celestial: heavenly peace.