The Birthing Story (cont)

*Edit* I said I need to be better at blogging so I can remember all that's happened the past three weeks...make that the next 18+ years!

So, where did I leave off? Oh yeah...

My water broke at midnight and we had called the hospital to let them know what was going on. They said that if he was still moving, than we could take our time and come whenever. He was moving, so "taking our time" meant me straightening my hair and putting on a little base and mascara. I look very young and sleepy with no makeup and with my new bangs, I had to fix my hair. Now, I had said that when my water broke, it wasn't a gush. Well, by the time I was done with my makeup and hair, I had changed pants three times. Probably tmi, but worth mentioning, I think:)

Nick put a towel down in the car, just in case, and we headed off at about 1:30a. Nick called his mom and dad and I called my mom. When she answered, I told her we were on the way to the hospital and she said, "why?" Haha! I told her I was in labor, but I'd know more when I got to the hospital and not to rush, but get ready and head that way.

When we walked into the hospital, my fourth pair of pants was drenched down to my knees. The nurses at the desk said I definitely passed the test and I was definitely in labor. I was wheeled into the delivery room at about 2:30a and I was already dialated to a 4 and my contractions were about 5 minutes apart. I was shocked; just the Friday before, I was only dialated to a 1. They asked me what my pain was on a scale of 1-10 and I said a 4. It wasn't that bad. I could handle it. She asked if I wanted my epidural and I said, "I don't think I need it right now". Famous last words:) Well, they decided to start my IV and empty the fluid into me and to see what I felt after that. Well, it took 30 minutes to start my IV and by that time, I was hurting pretty bad. My pain was about an 8 on the scale and I still had to empty the whole bag of fluid! Oh my goodness! I didn't think I was going to last.

Once the bag was empty, they got my epidural in quickly, and I was good to go. My mom and step-dad and Nick's parents all got there about 4a and by that time, I was good to go. They were telling me how big my contractions were, but I didn't even notice. At this time, I was dialated to a 7. I was moving pretty fast. When I talked to my sister Cassie at 5a, I told her I thought he'd be here before noon, but not to rush. Well, at 5:30a, I was dialated to a 9! This was moving faster than I thought!

Here we are after I got my epidural:)



By 6a, I was dialated to a 10 and I started pushing at 6:13a. Lucas Rial Maxson joined us at 6:48a. It was hard to push. I don't know how all you veteran moms out there push for hours upon hours. I had only pushed for about 10 minutes when I threw up. It was the first time I'd thrown up the whole pregnancy! But that totally threw my "fixing my bangs" out the window, because I had a wet rag on my forehead for the last 25 minutes and in my first picture with my son. Oh well! I didn't care. When he came out and started crying and they put him on my chest, it was like we were the only people on the earth for those few moments.

Don't get me wrong, Nick was there too:) He was amazing. He and my mom were both in the room the whole time and they helped me so much. They were so encouraging and reasurring during the whole process. I couldn't have done it without them, either.

After they'd weighed him and warmed him up, they brought him back to me for just a few moments and he locked eyes with me. It was the most amazing thing I've ever felt. We were only together for about 5 minutes before they whisked him off to the nursery and I'll finish the rest of my hospital story on the next post.

Here's our first picture together as a couple:)



And now when I'm actually smiling (with tears running down my cheeks) and looking at the camera! See, isn't the rag beautiful?!