I had been on bedrest for preterm labor since February 18th due to frequent contractions every 2-10 minutes. This continued until the day he was born. Although his due date was weeks away I was very anxious to have this baby and had grown weary of the constant contractions and ever-growing size of my belly. I hadn't seen my feet in months!
The morning of the 18th I woke up at 3AM for one of my many trips to the bathroom and decided that I would stop trying to wish away the last days of pregnancy. Instead, I wanted to allow my body to take its natural course and deliver when it was ready. This freed me of the impatience that had permeated my thoughts and I drifted back to sleep around 5AM.
I awoke at 7AM because I felt a warm rush between my legs. I immediately woke Chris and told him to look because I thought it might be blood. He said he didn't see anything and that's when I knew my water had broken. Feeling both panic and excitement, I said to him, "today is our baby's birthday". It was very emotional for both of us knowing that our 1st child would be born today.
We arrived at the hospital at 9AM and discussed with our nurse, Sharon, our desire to have a natural birth and began walking the halls of the labor and delivery floor. The contractions were mild to moderate at this time and we were using our Lamaze training quite successfully. We walked for 20 minutes and rested for 20 minutes on and off for hours. By 1PM I had dilated to 2-3 centimeters and was 90% effaced. The contractions continued to increase in intensity and frequency and by 4PM I could not take the pain anymore. The contractions were coming every 2 minutes and lasting 60-180 seconds! I was so weak from not being able to eat and did not have the strength to continue without some help. I had dilated to 7 cm and was 100% effaced. I received my epidural at 4:20P.
After the epidural I rested and mentally prepared myself for the next phase: pushing. By 7PM I was completely dilated and at 7:37PM I began pushing. After a few practice pushes I got the hang of it and was determined to not have this phase last any longer than it needed to. I pushed FIERCELY. At 8:32PM my baby's head came out. I remember the nurse telling me to 'look down', the sight of my baby's head coming out of me was something I will never forget and am eternally grateful for the nurse's instructions to look. When Sawyer was completely delivered, Chris immediately shouted, 'its a boy!'. What incredible excitement and joy I felt that we had a son. I was so glad we waited to find out the sex because the surprise was so worth it. We both cried and took in the sight of our beautiful newborn son. He was perfect in every way.
Our beautiful baby was a boy and in perfect health, what more could we possibly hope for? Our family was now three and our lives have changed inexplicably since that day. We cherish every moment with him and look forward to watching him grow and guiding him through his life. Our hope for him is that one day he knows the amazing love that we feel for him right now!
