My baby boy, my first child, turns 6 today. Last year for each of my children’s birthdays I wrote and shared their birth stories, so now that I have this platform I wanted to do the same thing but in more detail.
My husband and I had been married for about a year when we decided that we were ready to start trying for a family. We were young admittedly, but we were ready none the less. Being the paranoid person I can be at times, I made sure that we got physicals to check our health and I started taking pre-natal vitamins. Fortunately for us, it didn’t take long, and we became pregnant within the first month.
I really had an enjoyable pregnancy. I was able to avoid morning sickness, but I definitely got cravings bad, especially for apples. I also had a major sweet tooth. We were living in Colorado at the time and I was finishing my degree in web design. I was scheduled to finish classes the same month of his due date. Our two dogs, a black lab and an American pit bull terrier, could sense the change coming and were getting their extra snuggles in.
In preparation for the baby’s room we had found a dresser that was perfect, except that we wanted the finish on it to match the crib. So there I was, eight months pregnant sanding and staining every nook and cranny of this dresser. I tell you what, I will never do that again, at least not at eight months pregnant :).
Our due date was quickly approaching, we were a few weeks out and at my check up I was told I was at about 2 cm dilated, so he could come any time! But there I stayed, and stayed, with no progression. It came down to a couple days before due date, so they hooked me up to a monitor for an hour to ensure that baby was fine. It was then decided that if he didn’t come by the next week then I would have to be induced. I wanted to avoid that, so for the next week I bounced on an exercise ball, walked up and down the stairs, ate pineapple, and few other extra curricular activities recommended to help naturally induce. His due date came and went, then another day, and another day. It had been five days past his due date and I was anxious as ever.
It is time.
It is now Taylor’s birthday, he had to work an evening shift. I was at home wrapping presents and baking a homemade cake. He came home after his shift at about 10:30. We had dinner then he had gone upstairs to take a shower. As he was showering I went to the restroom and did my thing, then I felt another gush and thought, “I don’t remember having to pee that much.”. Then it hit me, I think my water broke. I sat there on the toilet for another ten minutes while I waited for Taylor to finish his shower. He finally finished and came downstairs when I told him I’m pretty sure my water broke. He went and grabbed me one of the diapers from our prep stash, I put it on and went and laid on the couch. We rounded up our hospital bag, which wasn’t really all that put together, and started to venture out the door to the hospital.
But wait! It was Taylor’s birthday and I wasn’t about to let him not celebrate. I insisted he at least blow his candles out and open his presents, as he’s trying to push me out of the door. Even though my water broke I had not been getting extreme contractions at this point, I was fine ;). He hesitantly blew his candles out and off we went. I must also mention, my sister previously told me that she wanted to know as soon as we were headed to the hospital, so at 11:30 PM Taylor let her know, and bless her soul she hopped in her car and made the ten hour drive from Idaho to Colorado.
Now, when we were living in Colorado we were at the southern end of Colorado Springs, and the hospital we chose to labour at was at the northern end, so a good 20-30 minute drive depending on traffic, and weather. By the time we got there those contractions started to kick in. We approached the hospital and went to check in. We had pre-registered so we were thinking the check in process would be fairly quick, but the nurse disappeared for what felt like forever to get a pen so we could fill out paper work. I was then put into a room to ensure that I was in fact in labour before they would bring me to an actual labor and delivery room. I wanted to try my best to do an un-medicated delivery, but with it being my first delivery I got to about 7cm and didn’t know how much longer I may be in labor, so I opted for the epidural. The epidural kicked in and I was able to get some rest. After a couple of hours I felt quite a bit of pressure, the nurse checked me and said it was time to push.
I pushed for about thirty minutes, and our baby boy was born on March 1st at 9:00 AM. My breath was taken away, I was so full of emotion that I was actually stoic. I just stared at his beautiful face and time stopped as I soaked it in. I was so eager to get him into my arms. He had such chubby cheeks and the cutest dimple chin. It was about 10 minutes later that my sister walked in! She was a bit bummed that she missed the delivery, but I was so incredibly grateful for the trek that she made just to be there for us.
I was officially a mother now. I couldn’t believe it, that feeling is utter magic, and diving into motherhood was the best endeavor I have encountered. To my son, you’re my favorite little boy in the world. You may be six now, and already almost as big as me, but you will always be my little boy.
