Au Naturel, Part 1

As promised, here's the birth story of precious little Sawyer.  It's a good thing he's so handsome because there were definitely some questionable moments on that fateful Tuesday morning.  Back to the story...

My actual due date was Monday, July 12th.  I had an appointment that morning and was hooked up to the NST monitor to make sure we were getting good movements.  All was well on that front.  Then I went for an ultrasound to check the fluid levels and again, everything was just fine.  We briefly talked about induction and I was told to call on Wednesday if I wanted to schedule for Thursday or Friday.  My sister looked at me and told me there was no way I could wait until Wednesday and expect to get on his schedule the next day.  So after much debate back and forth between Thursday and Friday, Wes and I ultimately decided Thursday would be the big day.

Off I go to work.  I joked with everyone that I was still there and as I left for the day, I said I would see them all tomorrow.  Fast forward to Monday night around 9:30pm.  I had my first contraction.  I didn't think anything of it.  If anything, I was excited because my sister had been asking me for weeks whether or not I had experienced any yet and I always had to reply "no".  As a side note, I never experienced the first contraction with Colin until I was induced so I really didn't know what I was waiting to feel.  So I continued to have sporadic contractions about every 30-45 minutes for the next couple of hours.  I kept hoping in my mind that I didn't go into labor in the middle of the night because I didn't want to have to wake my mom, my sister, or my doctor.  Then I began to wonder if any of them would even hear the phone ring if I did call.  I think I must have drifted off to sleep dreaming of all the possibilities because I don't think I woke up again until 1ish.  I recall getting up like every 30 minutes to go to the bathroom but that wasn't that far off track from any other night.  Every time I woke up it seemed I was having another contraction but they weren't bad enough for me to want to do anything about them.

About 4:30am I woke up and tossed and turned trying to find a comfortable position.  I began talking to myself again (apparently I do this a lot) and told myself that I would wait until 5am and then go make Colin's lunch for school that day.  I had forgotten to make it the night before and I guess I didn't think anyone was competent enough to make it in my absence.  

So at 5am, I trek downstairs and realize standing up actually felt better and eased some of the discomfort.  Now would be a good time to mention that I felt every contraction primarily in my back and then it would round around to the front - I later learned this was because he was facing the wrong way.  I make Colin's lunch and decide to spend the next hour on the couch watching the morning news.  Did you know they tell the weather about a dozen times over the course of an hour?  Maybe it was just a slow news day but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to recite the forecast for July 13th for the rest of my life!  

I decide to try to tough it out on the couch until 6am, at which time I decide to go back upstairs to bed.  I prop my pillows up and again begin talking to myself.  I convince myself that I'll wait until 6:30 to wake Wes up to tell him about my contractions.  Yes, you read that right, he knew nothing of what was happening up until this point.  I figured if I really was in labor a) there was nothing he could do and b) we would both be sleep deprived in a matter of hours and so I thought I'd let at least one of us sleep through it.  

At almost 6:30 on the dot, I had another contraction.  This one was a little more intense and he woke to me breathing through it.  He asked if that was me having a contraction or if it was "him"?  I said it's a contraction and he asked if I thought today might be the day.  I said I didn't know and he rolled back over and went to sleep.  Apparently that wasn't how I should have answered that question!  I laid there a little longer and then decided to get up to get ready.  

I was pretty sure I wasn't going in to work, at least right away, but I wanted to at least be presentable in case I did end up going to the hospital or perhaps work later.  I washed my hair, put my makeup on, and dried my hair, all while Wes was still in bed.  I think I finally came out and told him I was pretty sure we were going to have this baby today.  That got him out of bed but Wes doesn't exactly move stealthily - EVER!  Actually while I was getting ready, the contractions had slowed down and I thought maybe I would go to work and just see how the day went.  I came out and took Colin downstairs to fix his breakfast.  I'm pretty sure this was the point where I knew there was no turning back.  

I called my sister at 7:30am and she didn't answer.  She called back in a matter of minutes and I told her I was having contractions.  She asked how far apart they were and I said they were sporadic and some were 2-3 minutes and some were more like 5.  She told me to come on into her office and they'd check me and hook me up to the NST again to monitor the contractions.  I then called my mom and told her that I needed her to come on.  

Unlike Wes, my mom is fast.  I swear I no more than got back upstairs and she was already here, wet hair and all.  She immediately took over tending to Colin, who was a tad nervous at the way Mommy was acting, but being a very good boy nonetheless.  I went to try to light a fire under Wes and pack some kind of bag for myself.  He casually asks me if there's anything else I can think of for the bag and I mutter something about not caring and hurry up.  Finally I had had enough and right in the middle of a contraction yelled for him to HURRY UP!  He knew I meant business after that.

He calls down to my mom and asks if she will take me on to the doctor and he'll stay behind and get his bag packed and finish getting Colin ready for school.  Mom says, "Whatever you want me to do, I'll do."  So she pulls her car up in our driveway and I attempt to get in.  I had a little difficulty actually sitting down but I finally managed (my sister said later this was probably because it was Sawyer's head!).  I could tell she was a nervous wreck but I didn't have time to worry about that.  I had a couple of contractions on the way but was talking lucidly to her (I think) in between.  I was trying to calm her down as much as I was myself.

To be continued...