On April 19, 2014, my plan was put to the test. It was Saturday. I was 39 weeks along & I was scheduled to have my maternity photos taken that afternoon. I don't know how to explain it, but something felt "off" that morning. I woke up at 6AM & was unable to fall asleep again. I made myself a cup of coffee (gasp!) & enjoyed the sunrise from our back porch. I even snapped a few pictures on my phone. It was beautiful.
I talked to my mom & we decided it was best to move the photos up to that morning as a precaution. Pro tip: don't wait until you're 39 weeks pregnant to take maternity photos. The pictures were awful. I was huge & miserable & just felt gross in general. I never did have any contractions that day, but I was exhausted, restless & had a very heavy feeling in my pelvis all through that day & night.
The next morning I was awake at 6 again. I went to the bathroom & noticed that I had lost a significant piece of my plug. The first word out of my mouth that morning was, "gross". I made a bowl of cereal & watched another sunrise. As I ate my cereal, I started noticing some moderate cramps. By 9AM , Josh was up & we were watching TV. I told him I was cramping & he basically ignored me...probably because he was tired of my late third trimester whining. I started timing my contractions & they were coming consistently at about 10 minutes apart. By 10AM I started feeling an adrenaline rush like no other. I was certain this was really happening. By 11AM, Josh still wasn't taking me seriously...he says now that its because I wasn't in any visible pain. I paused the TV & made him look me in the eyes. I said, "This is HAPPENING. If you plan on eating today, you need to get food NOW." He started taking me more seriously then!
We headed into town & I was desperate for some fruit but I was also terrified that I'd go into HEB & my waters would break in the store, so I texted my mom & asked if she could bring me some fruit & from that text alone, she knew I was in labor...moms always know! My mom was in San Antonio for an Easter gathering (Did I mention it was Easter Sunday?!) so she decided to head to Austin & meet us at the hospital. My sister arrived with the fruit and I labored at home for a while. I showered. I bounced on my yoga ball. Did my makeup. Knelt on all fours. Bounced some more. Then decided it was time to head to the hospital when I was having trouble moving and talking through contractions. It was around 5PM & my contractions were consistently 5 minutes apart & about a minute long.
WORST car ride ever. Contractions in the car are AWFUL. My sister was in charge of timing my contractions & after each contraction I would rush to eat some fruit & then just as fast as I could eat it, I would want it out of my face as soon as the next contraction started. I don't think I was very nice in the car. ...Sorry, Britt! I kept my eyes closed the entire time in an attempt to focus & not lose myself to the pain. At one point I opened my eyes & we were not NEARLY as close to the hospital as I though we were. I just felt so defeated in that moment. I was certain I wouldn't even make it to the hospital to have the baby. At this point my sister stopped timing my contractions because they were 3 minutes apart & lasting longer than a minute & I couldn't focus when I was thinking about how close together they were coming.
We made it to the hospital & immediately got into an argument because Josh took me to THE WRONG ENTRANCE. I was too tired/ in pain to try to get him to take me to the right door so I just got out. My parents met us at the door to park the car & get me into a wheelchair. Our doulas met us inside. I ended up not using the chair because I couldn't sit through the contractions. It was a LONG walk through he hospital to find the elevators. I was in so much pain that I kept my eyes closed & let my doulas lead me to the elevator. I couldn't stand to think about how much farther I had to walk. When we finally got to the elevator, another contraction hit & I had to sit on my yoga ball. I just started crying. I couldn't control it. The tears were just flowing. We got to the labor & delivery floor & even though I was pre-registered, they made me answer a million and one questions while I was having these contractions back to back...thanks Seton.
When they finally got me into my room it was about 6:30 PM. My nurses asked about the epidural & I didn't even have to think about it. Yes, please. I'll take one ASAP! Josh started to ask me if I was sure but I'm fairly certain that the look on my face was enough for him to just go with it. I joke with him all the time that I 100% blame him for me getting the epidural...if only he'd listened to me & gone to the right entrance, I wouldn't have lost focus trying to walk five hundred miles through the hospital to get to the elevator!
I got the epidural at around 7 PM & after that, I visited with my family some & was able to rest. My contractions slowed down to about every 5 minutes & my doulas helped a lot by applying counter pressure to my hips while Josh did the most amazing job of telling me how beautiful I looked & that I was doing a great job. The epidural wasn't a cure-all. It was still uncomfortable & I could still move my legs. The pain was much more bearable though. I was able to enjoy the experience instead of constantly fighting to focus through the pain.
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| post-epidural bliss |
By 10 PM, I was fully dilated & the nurses & doctor agreed to let me get a short nap & "labor down" before it was time to push. When they checked on me again at 11:15 PM, it was time to push. It was so uncomfortable & the doctor was very aggressive with her "perineal massage". I still have no idea what she was doing but my doulas later told me they had never seen anything like it & I remember the disturbed looks on their faces. I definitely don't want to know what she was doing to me. Forty-five minutes later, at 12:06AM on April 21, 2014, Johnny William Hazelett was born. It was the best anniversary gift we could have ever imagined. He nursed beautifully right away. Everyone in the waiting room came in to get a peek at him & we were all just so in love.
Everyone is quick to tell you that everything changes when a baby comes. They're right. Everything changes. Those first few weeks were a blur of joy, love & the most peaceful ease I have ever experienced. I felt like I had finally found my purpose in life. I was made to be this boy's Momma. Things have become harder since then, but that's a post for another day. Almost 3 years later, I still know one thing is true: I was MADE for this.
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| patiently waiting |
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| Nonnie & Aunt Rin |
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| Honey's first great-grandchild |
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| Aunt Ber & Aunt Britt |
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| first family photo |
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