Levi is here!

Our baby boy was born on May 3, 10:40am. He was 7 lbs 11oz, 21 in long, and has a full head of dark hair. I wanted to have a natural birth, if possible, and that is how it worked out. In fact, we made it to the hospital at 9:30am and he was born an hour later, so whether I wanted meds or not there was no time. My parents, Jason's mom, my sister, and of course Jason were in the room when he was born. I thought I only wanted the moms and Jason there, but by that point I didn't really care. I couldn't hear a word anybody except Jason was saying to me because they put oxygen on me and the mask was really loud. But, he is here an healthy, so I guess I did ok!

The whole story:

Sunday I had some labor pains starting at about 6am. They weren't very organized or intense, but they were definitely contractions. Then I took a nap at 2:30 pm and woke up and there were no more contractions at all. I was so frustrated because I thought it was time, and then nothing.

Well, because of that I decided not to go on my field trip on Tuesday to Santa Fe. I got everything squared away with my sub and she agreed to go on the trip for me. I went to work on Monday, got everything else squared away for when I was eventually going to be gone, and didn't have a single contraction all day. People kept saying how surprised they were to see me at work, but I was still almost a week away from my due date, so no biggie. I went home a little frustrated that I hadn't had any more contractions but I tried to take it easy and just wait for God's timing for the baby to come. Went to bed at 9:30, then...

3am- I wake up to horrible stabbing pains in my belly. I knew pretty immediately it was a contraction, even though they felt way different then the contractions I was feeling on Sunday. Sunday they felt a lot like cramps. Tuesday they felt a lot like stabbing, sharp lower belly and upper thigh pains. I managed to stay in bed for an hour before having to get up to go walk around. Jason decided to get up even though I told him he didn't need to. By 5am we had decided I was, indeed, in labor, as the contractions were about 7 minutes apart and they lasted about 1 min and 15 sec, or so. Jason emailed in to work and let them know that he wouldn't be in that day, and I decided we should start getting ready for the imminent trip to the hospital that we would be making later that day.

7am- we called our families and let them know that we would probably be going to the hospital that day, though we didn't know when. The contractions were staying pretty consistent, not really getting much closer, but they were getting stronger. Jason's mom decided to come over and help me out. My parents were planning on going to Santa Fe for an errand (an hour away) and even after finding out that I was in labor they still thought they had enough time to go, and we agreed, so they made their plan for the day.
I found that laying down was completely out of the question- I had two contractions while laying down and the pain made me throw up. So, I found a comfortable position in one of our chairs and just hung out there. Jason was awesome about helping me through each of the contractions and reminding me that the pain would be over in a few moments. We were a little curious about why the contractions weren't getting much closer together, at this point from 5-7 minutes apart, still lasting a little more than a minute, but decided we should get ready to go to the hospital.

9am- We are finally ready to leave and got things prepared in case we were going to be at the hospital for a while before he was born. I was starting to question whether I could make it through without medication of some kind. At the moment, though, there was nothing I could do about it except make it though each of the contractions, one at a time. In the car I only had three or four contractions, which just reinforced the thought that I would be in labor for quite a while longer.

9:30am- We make it to the hospital, I have a contraction in the car right when we got there then I thought I could make it into the building because it shouldn't take 5 minutes to walk in. Well, how wrong I was... I got out, had a contraction. Walked 10 steps, had another contraction. Walked 10 more steps, had a contraction, and my water breaks. It was INTENSE. I was having them every 30 seconds (it felt like) and they were REALLY painful. Two people stopped us in the hallway to ask if we were OK. The first time we said yes and that I could make it. The second time I felt like I had to push the baby so she went and got me a wheel chair then hurried me upstairs.

9:45am- I get up to triage and they get me into a gown, have me sign my forms, and take me in to a room to a bed. I get checked and I am 8cm dilated. 8 cm!! No wonder they hurt so bad! They asked me if I wanted any meds to help with the pain. I was wavering so I asked how long they thought it would be before the baby was born. She said, "not long, but if you want meds now is the time." I said I would pass, but then told Jason that I think I did want them. They monitored me and the baby for a while, I'm not sure how long, gave me my wrist bands, then wheeled me off into the delivery room. Jason called my parents, told them NOT to go to Santa Fe, and also my sister.

In the delivery room (I'm not sure what time it is at this point) they hooked me up to monitors and the contractions are still coming on strong. I was feeling more and more like I need to push. I asked if I could push if I felt like it and she said yes, but not too much because we needed to wait for the midwife. After the midwife got there it was all a blur. They said the baby's heart rate was a tiny bit distressed, so they put something under one side of me. I put on the oxygen mask and then all I remember is pushing until he was born. He was born at 10:40 am. It was insane!

I guess his cord was tied in a knot, which must have happened a while back because he was too big to move around that much towards the end. They asked me if I wanted to feel his head after his head was out and I said "nope." LOL. They placed him on my chest when he came out and all I could feel was pure relief and joy. It was amazing. Jason cut the cord, they cleaned him up a little bit, and then I just got to cuddle with him. We finally were able to tell everyone what his name is and everyone loved it! I can't even describe every emotion that I felt that day, but it all ended in complete joy. He is so perfect with the most precious face, everything was worth it. Not to mention, all the pain and discomfort went away the second he was born, which was amazing. (It would soon be replaced by new pain and discomfort, but it didn't matter at that point.)

My plan was to have a natural birth- check!
My plan was to NOT have a party in the delivery room- close.
My plan was to rely on God to get me through every part of this experience- sometimes it was hard, especially when the pain was at it's worst, but He was so faithful to me through it all that now I know He didn't leave my side the whole time.
My plan was for Jason to have a positive experience- check! (I think)
My plan was to give birth to a beautiful, healthy baby boy- double check!

There is a whole lot more I could write about the hospital stay and the days after, but I will leave that for another time. God is good. I have an amazing husband. My family is so great and supportive. Our baby boy has joined us and now we begin a whole new adventure!