On Friday, August 19th, me and Michael decided to go on a date. We grabbed some lunch and then walked around the Opryland Hotel. We had fun looking around in all the little shops and made jokes about how all the walking was going to put me into labor. (I'm not convinced that that's what did it, but hey, it couldn't have hurt!) Anyway, I felt pretty normal until later that night (around 11:30 p.m.) when we were getting ready for bed. I started having what I thought were some uncomfortable Braxton Hicks contractions. I layed down on the couch and watched an episode of House with Michael, and the contractions just got stronger. I was still thinking it was Braxton Hicks so I told Michael we should just go to bed. Within three minutes of laying down, I knew that sleep was NOT going to happen for a while. The contractions got uncomfortable enough to make me jump out of bed and want to walk around. Michael thought that it might be labor, but I still wasn't convinced. I had it in my head that I wasn't going to have my baby until September, and that I might even have to be induced. Anyway, we decided to go back out to the living room and watch TV for a while and just see what would happen.
Well, within about an hour my contractions had gone from really uncomfortable to downright painful. Michael kept asking me during my contractions to rate the pain on a scale of 1 to 10, and soon I asked him to stop talking to me during my contractions. He didn't listen, and at first I just ignored him. Then, during a really bad contraction, he made the mistake of once again asking me to rate my pain. I said something ridiculously mean, like, "If you talk to me again during a contraction I'm going to beat your face." Yes, I seriously said that! Even as I was saying it, I was thinking to myself, "Whoa, chill out!! You're being so mean!" Luckily Michael just kind of laughed, and said that he thought we should get ready to go to the hospital. I SO did not want to get to the hospital only to get sent away, so I had Michael call the OB unit at the hospital. The nurse told Michael that as soon as I no longer wanted to talk to him, we should come in. So, based off of my behavior, and the fact that my contractions were 5 minutes apart, we decided we should probably go. In between contractions I helped Michael pack up, and within 10 minutes we were ready to go. I was still terrified of being sent away, but by this time I was in so much pain that I knew that even if I wasn't in real labor I would need some kind of painkiller, because it was just getting worse and worse. We left the house at around 3:15 a.m.
The drive to the hospital was horrible. It was much more like a movie than I care to admit... you know... when the woman in labor is whining and breathing heavy and telling her husband to drive faster. ;-) My contractions were 3-4 minutes apart and I remember just desperately wanting to get there. We had been told to go in through the main ER entrance, and as soon as I walked in the worker said, "You must be in labor." We filled out some paperwork and I kept having to stop what I was writing or pause what I was saying every time I had a contraction. I remember feeling super annoyed at the worker because it seemed like she was taking her sweet time. She also told me that labor, for her, "wasn't that bad" and it made me want to punch her in the face. (As you can see, I'm definitely not the nicest person in the world when I'm in labor. I am also, apparently, a wuss). When I finally got up to my hospital room, I was told to put on the hospital gown. When I was walking to the bathroom I had the worst contraction yet and the nurse told me that I needed to take slower and deeper breaths or I might pass out. I thought to myself, "Hmm, that would be AWESOME." (See? Biggest wuss ever). The nurse checked me and I was dilated to a 5. Michael asked, "So does that mean we're staying?" and the nurse said, "Definitely. This baby is coming very soon." She asked me if I wanted an epidural and I said "YES!" Michael, who is the best husband ever, added that I would want it ASAP. :-) She told me that I would have to get my IV put in first, but she and another nurse blew TWO veins before they finally got one in. Throughout all this I was trying to stay in control and be patient, but I can honestly say that this was the closest I've ever been to losing control. Seriously, women who give birth naturally are so tough.
Anyway, I finally got my epidural around 4:30ish, and I was already dilated to a 7. They were actually pretty quick at getting my epidural, but it felt like hours. :-) The worst part was having to hold still during a contraction while she was putting the needle in my back. The funniest part was when Michael squeezed my hand so hard during it that I had to tell HIM that he was hurting ME and needed to not squeeze me so hard. And the best part was the almost instant relief. Life was so good that I wanted to cry, and I think I may have. I was nice to Michael again, and we took happy pictures.
The epidural slowed down my labor, but I didn't mind. We chatted, got excited, and even took a nap. (We were both exhausted). I was also incredibly nervous because it was still 10 days before my due date and I didn't feel prepared. Looking back, I think I would have felt nervous and unprepared even if I was overdue. Having it all suddenly be so real can really bring out your insecurities. Anyway, by 9 a.m. I was at a 9+, but they decided to let my baby drop as much as possible to shorten the time I had to push. At 11:15 I started pushing with the nurse and within 5 minutes she was telling another nurse to get my doctor. At 11:47 I layed my eyes on the most beautiful baby boy I have ever seen. He was really purple at first but came out screaming so he pinked out pretty quickly. :-) When I held him for the first time I think I felt about a billion emotions. I knew that I had been preparing my entire life for this, and I felt so much love and gratitude toward my husband, my parents, and Heavenly Father. There is nothing quite like the moment where you hold your child and know that your life will never be the same.
The rest of our hospital stay went well. My mom flew in the next day and stayed with us for a week. Thank heavens she did!! She was amazing and it was hard for us to see her go. She made us delicious meals, showed me how to take care of a newborn, and even gave me a much needed pedicure. :-) When she left, I almost felt horrified that she was leaving me alone with a brand new baby. We're still learning, but so far things are going pretty good. People are right when they say that it's hard, but people are even more correct when they say that it's beyond amazing. I can't imagine our life without Matthew.
Some of my favorite things about Matthew include the way he's ALWAYS making noises, how he eats his hands to let us know when he's hungry, (which seems to be pretty much all the time...haha) and the cute faces he makes. He only really cries when he's hungry, and he loves to sleep on people's chests.
Oh, and here are a few of my favorite pictures. :-)
