A baby story... finally

I'm sure there are a few out there wondering if I would ever come back to the blogging world. If that's true, I'm sorry to have left you hanging for so long. I was kind of taken by surprise when Hannah arrived nearly 2 weeks early, and it's taken much longer than 2 weeks for me to catch up with the time I lost. Not that it was at all an unpleasant surprise, but it was definitely a bit of a shock, and I was not prepared.

I have always been a huge fan of General Conference. When I first found out that Hannah was coming, I was worried she might be due on Conference weekend (March 31 and April 1). I sure didn't want to miss any of it, so I told her she had to wait until it was over. But when I found out her due date wasn't until April 15, I figured I was in the clear and didn't worry about it.

Stephen and I watched conference in our living room, and I was all too happy to be comfy in my pjs all weekend. Every once in a while my back would start to hurt, but I didn't think anything of it. Our couches are soft, but they are not that comfy for long periods of time. I got Stephen to rub where it hurt, and it went away. Saturday night during priesthood session I had some extra energy, so I decided to straighten my hair. Sunday I was ambitious enough to make home made bread and chicken noodle soup, as well as finish crocheting a blanket for Hannah that only took me a week to complete. I also convinced Stephen that since he had been too busy Saturday, we needed to install the car seat like we had been planning. He didn't want to because it was cold and windy. "Can't we do it tomorrow night?" he said.

Around 9pm on Sunday I knew I was having contractions but it still hadn't crossed my mind that they were the real deal. It was April fools day, after all. Stephen was concerned, so he started getting a bag ready for the hospital, just in case. By 10 pm my contractions had been 10 minutes apart consistently for the whole hour. They hurt, and I was annoyed that I might have to deal with this for the next 2 weeks. Stephen called our neighbor and asked him to come help give me a blessing. Then we tried to go to bed. I thought for sure the contractions would stop when I got in bed. They didn't. We were using a contraction counter on Stephen's phone that let me record when each one started and ended. For the next 4 hours I was up every 6-8 minutes pushing the button on that phone.

At 3am I was so tired an frustrated that I started to cry. Stephen decided enough was enough, and we were going to the hospital. We still moved pretty slowly though, so we were not at the hospital until 4:15am. During the car ride, my contractions were 5 minutes apart like clockwork. But I STILL thought for sure they would tell me to suck it up and go home. I must have been in serious denial. It seemed like we waited forever in the "check and send" room at the hospital. They monitored my contractions for a while, and they were always 4-5 minutes apart. Finally the nurse came in to check if I was dilated, and I was at 4 1/2 cm. She said they would check me in to a room, and I could have my epidural now. Now? This is the part where my denial turned to shock. Stephen said, "so... we're not leaving without a baby?"

I think it was about 6:30am when I got my epidural. I stopped paying attention when we got to the hospital. After that was taken care of, I felt much better (duh) so it was time to start calling people. My mom was pretty surprised too. She was scheduled to arrive 4 days before my due date, just to be sure she wouldn't miss it. She quickly rescheduled her flight so that she would be there by the next evening. At this point we were planning on waiting all day for Hannah to come, like most of my friends had lately. I got a little rest, but mostly I just kept thinking of more people I needed to call/text.

Just before 9am I started hurting. My nurse had broken my water to get things going since Hannah's heart rate kept dropping during my contractions. The anesthesiologist gave me another shot of epidural, but I couldn't tell a difference. Finally my doctor showed up to check on me. He asked if it was pain or pressure I was feeling, and I wondered if there were a difference at this point. He looked and said it was time to have a baby! Then he left for what seemed like forever to get his team ready or something. That was the worst part, waiting those 10 or so minutes and not pushing even though I so wanted to. Amazingly, I did remember how I had been taught to breathe like I was blowing out 100 candles one at a time so that I wouldn't push. When he did come back, everything happened SO FAST. I pushed maybe 2 1/2 times, and she was out. 9:14am. 6 lbs 1 oz, 19.5 inches long. Or 18.5 depending on who measures. It took me all of a minute to forget the pain and pressure that comes with labor an delivery. As soon as she came out a nurse told me I was a baby making machine, and I better have 5 or 6 more. I can see how that would be a stupid thing to say to someone who had just given birth, but I really didn't mind.

The next hour or so is a complete blur now. I know I must have been holding Hannah for most of it, but I honestly can't remember. I remember they handed her to me after a few minutes, and I just wanted to cuddle  with her forever. I know I must have tried to feed her at some point. Stephen took some pictures, in those first few minutes, but I don't remember him taking them. I was so relieved to have Hannah finally in my arms, and yet still in shock that she had come early. I was completely caught off guard, with a whole 2 weeks left of my baby to do list. But there I was holding my sweet baby and completely on cloud nine.

Believe it or not, that is the short version of Hannah's welcome into this world. Ever since I knew I could be, I've wanted to be a mother. It's certainly not easy, but it does come naturally. I was born for this. I love every minute of it. I wasn't sure I would survive after my mother left. She was here for nearly 4 weeks. But I think I'm finally getting the hang of "doing it all". At least for now. My definition of "all" changes again in 2 weeks when I go back to work. I'm so glad that I'm able to work from home, but it's still going to be a challenge.