What an amazing few days it has been. I last wrote 3 minutes after midnight...minutes after Thursday ended and Friday began. After that post I went to sleep...surprisingly easier than I thought since I was scheduled to be induced at 6 a.m. Around 3 a.m. or so I got up to pee. I got up 2 more times after that and felt a few contractions, but nothing severe. At 4:23 a.m. I woke Aaron up and told him that I wasn't going to have to be induced. I was on my knees, hanging over the bed, breathing through the contraction the best I could. At that point we figured that we would just arrive at the hospital around 6 as planned, but just wouldn't have to be induced. I got in the shower and asked Aaron the make me a couple of scrambled eggs and toast. I ended up on my knees in the shower as the contractions were getting worse. I got out of the shower and had 2 bites of my eggs and then told Aaron he could have them. The contractions were getting worse and told him we needed to get going. He ended up getting in the shower and I was getting a few last things around in between the growing pain. About 5:30 or so I went into our room to get the bags...I had one, the kids had one, and the camera bag. I made it out to the landing, dropped the bags, and then dropped to all 4s.
My water broke. I crawled into the bathroom and told Aaron we had to go. I was grabbing onto the bathroom counter telling Aaron something wasn't right and that he had to call 911.
He said he could get me there faster. The pain wasn't really stopping at this point. It was like one constant contraction. I'm not sure when Aaron got dressed. It was like he just stepped out of the shower clothed and ready to go.
He opened the kids door and told them it was time to go to the hospital. They were pretty good about it I think. They were in the car before me. Aaron helped me get changed and was WONDERFUL thru the whole thing. He got the kids and me and the bags in the car in no time and raced me to the emergency entrance at the hospital...in about 4 minutes. The whole time to the hospital I am praying to God, please don't let me have this baby in the car. Oh, and after he got me and the kids in the car he ran back to the house to get the bags. While he ran back in there I began making horrible noises (like you see women make in the movies). Molly was laughing and saying, "Mommy, you're so silly". And Max, kind of laughing, says, "Momma, why do you sound like that?" I think I freaked him out a bit, but he handled it well.
We arrived and Aaron came over and got me and helped me into the er. We walk in and don't see anyone. Aaron yells and these people arrive out of nowhere. There is a wheelchair, a guy pushing the wheelchair, and maybe 3 or 4 nurses around me. I'm so thankful for the guy pushing the wheelchair b/c he was running. They all kept telling me not to push. I wasn't pushing....it was my body doing it for me...although all I wanted to do at that moment was push.
They got me into the little room and started asking me info. Then the lady got up to set the scale...are you kidding me? I told them, "I'm not standing on that...my weight was 186 2 days ago". The guy who was pushing me in the wheelchair said, "she said she ain't standing on the scale". Thank goodness for him. For some reason he will always stick out in my mind when I think of this day. They got me into a room...and there are nurses everywhere....telling me not to push, to breathe like I'm blowing out candles...hee hee who...hee hee who...By the end of the whole ordeal I was really tired of hearing "blow out the b'day candles". The nurses kept telling me that I couldn't push until the doc arrived. My doctor who had scheduled me to induce wasn't on until 8 a.m. so it would be the doc on call. I didn't care. I just wanted a doc there so I could push and someone would catch my little girl.
Aaron finally came in and said that the kids were out in the hallway eating popsicles. I was SO happy to see him walk into that room. They got me hooked up to the i.v., took blood, and checked me. The nurse looked at me and said, "you're complete". Of course, the only thing I heard in my head when she said that was "no drugs". And there wasn't. I suddenly was terrified.
Aaron came and held my hand and just kept smiling at me. I was in so much pain at that moment, but very in love with my husband.
The doctor walked in....RELIEF!
It was weird though...the pain went away long enough for me to tell my husband that I was scared and couldn't do this. He reminded me that I had done it twice before and that I was a pro. I in turn, reminded him that those 2 times were with drugs. He just laughed at me and told me that I could do it. I really needed that laughter at that moment. I'm unsure why, but it helped me so much at that moment. Then another contraction hit. I screamed (swore a little bit I think) and pushed.
I heard her crying. I tilted my head back and cried too. Honestly, I was crying not b/c my daughter had been born, but b/c I had done it without any drugs and I was overcome with relief. They laid her on me and I saw this precious little thing staring back at me. She didn't look like a newborn. No wrinkles...no conehead. Her appearance into the world was much too quick for her head to be all distorted.
So we arrived at the hospital around 5:50 a.m. and Maggie Grace was born at 6:16 a.m. She is beautiful. She is sweet as can be. I love watching her stretch. One of the simple things that I'll probably forget in the next couple of months...just how I love watching her stretch.
Her brother and sister are fantastic with her...so far...I'm sure that will change eventually. They always want to know where she is and what she is doing.