And he's here!

Yep, we had our adorable little Rory Daniel! This is the announcement we are sending out to friends and family, photos and design by Amy Bennion, a very good friend of mine :)

Ok, here's the crazy story of how Rory came into the world...

On the morning of August 24th, Paul got up at 5 AM to be to work early, and of course, I was awake. The last few weeks of pregnancy really get you prepared for a newborn :) Anyway, he went to work, and I laid in bed for a little while longer, hoping to fall back asleep for an hour more before Heath got up for the day. While I was lying in bed, I started to have some pressure waves (contractions). Now, these were very different than the practice pressure waves I had been having since I was 6 months along, these were much lower, and more in my back. I was not uncomfortable, just mild pressure waves. I had a midwife appointment scheduled that day at 2, so I just went about my day, playing with Heath and making sure he was being taken care of, all the while having mild pressure waves, and wondering if today would be the day! I was texting Paul all day, giving him updates about how I was feeling, and so far, everything was fine. I did seem to have a bladder issue though, or so I thought. I thought I had peed, just a little, and was wearing a pad, in case I had lost control of my bladder...kind of embarrassing!

Heath and I went to the appointment in Orem, and as I was walking in, I felt a little more pee come out...luckily I was still wearing the pad, so it was ok. We talked to the Trinette, my midwife for the day, and just kinda gave her the heads up about how I was feeling, and told her I might have lost a little bladder control. She told me it was probably just early stages of labor, that it could happen tonight, could happen next week, but that the pressure waves I was feeling were definitely ones that change the cervix, and that got me kind of excited :) I called Paul after we left, to tell him what had happened at the appointment, as I did every appointment. He said "Well, that's great! Can I go to Farmington tonight to look at a boat?" And I said "Sure!"

We got home, and Paul was home working in the garage. About an hour and a half later, around 4:45, I could definitely tell that I was not, in fact, peeing on myself, but gushing a bit of fluid every time I sat down or got up. It started to dawn on me that my water might have broken, so I called back, and told them that I wasn't sure if my water had broken, so they told me to come back so they could see what was happening. All 3 of us got into the car again, and headed back down to Orem.

When we got there, Suzanne was there and asked for the pad I was wearing so she could test to see if it was amniotic fluid. And indeed it was! She said she wanted to check me, just to see where we were, and I said ok. I laid down, she checked me, and said he was posterior, meaning he was face up instead of face down, and I got a little discouraged. I had kept turning him by being on all fours and sitting forward, and he had kept going back and forth all throughout my pregnancy. I was also completely thinned out, and at about 7 cm dilated. I was shocked! I was not in pain, not uncomfortable, and not ready to have a baby yet! Suzanne said she didn't think it was an active 7, meaning my pressure waves were not close together, not consistent, and that I was still very comfortable. So, I asked her if I could go home, thinking it would happen much later in the night, even very early morning. She said I could go home, but as soon as I started to hurt, don't dawdle, and get back there quickly.

So, we went home, had dinner, and Paul went to Farmington to look at the boat. I called my mom, to come and stay with Heath, in case we needed to leave in a hurry. She came over about 7:30, and that's when I started to feel some stronger pressure waves. At this point, I am sitting on my birth ball, listening to my Hypnobabies tracks and needing to say "relax" out loud to myself to keep calm and relaxed. My mom started timing my pressure waves, and using counter pressure on my back, because it was starting to get a little more intense.

At about 8:30, I called Paul and asked if he was coming home soon, because I was starting to feel alot more pressure, and contractions were about 6 minutes apart. He said he was on his way, that he would be there in a half hour. I said ok, and kept going, staying relaxed, listening to my tracks, and praying he would be there soon. I decided to get in the shower, to see if the water would help, and it did. I still was feeling intense pressure, but it felt better to be in the water, I noticed they started to get really close together, but they were shorter, which confused me, because I knew they were supposed to be longer...I got out, and got dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants, and called the midwife on call, Sarah, to tell her we would be there in an hour. Paul got home, got in the shower, and was shaving really quick, when all of a sudden, I am leaning over the coffee table, and I have to push! I have this crazy intense pressure just drop into my pelvis, and I have to push! I start yelling "I gotta push, I gotta push!" and Paul comes running down the stairs. My mom starts pulling cushions off the couch, wanting to see if I am crowning! I can't move, I am literally stuck leaning over the coffee table. Now, I also felt the need to go to the bathroom, and I know that is the feeling of needing to push, but I could tell the difference, and I needed to go to the bathroom! I told Paul this, and he says "No we gotta get in the car!" I told him I had to go to the bathroom, and to help me to the toilet. He did, and I was able to relieve myself, but not have the pressure go away. Now I am really starting to have a ton of pressure in my pelvis, and we need to go NOW! Paul gets me to the car, with me stopping every 2 minutes to have a crazy intense contraction, and involuntarily push at the same time. I get into the front seat, and lean my seat all the way back to get the pressure off my pelvis, and we take off!

Paul drives like a mad man, with me wailing and screaming with every contraction, my Hypnobabies pushing baby out track in my ear, but I can't hear it. Paul is using the cue words he learned, saying them over and over to me, but I can't hear him either. All my training to stay calm, and quiet, has flown out the window, and I am pushing and making this crazy grunting sound with every contraction. I start to feel burning, and stinging, and stretching, and I know its my baby's head trying to come out, and I am so scared! This was not what I had planned! I wanted to be in a tub, with the lights low, and quietly enjoying my baby's birth. Instead, I am in the front seat of my car, going 90 MPH down I-15, in construction, pushing my baby out and just screaming! At one point, there was a semi-truck that tried to cut us off, either because he didn't see us, or he did see us flying down the freeway, and decided to take matters in his own hands and get us to slow down. He had 2 trailers hooked up, and we were halfway up him when he started to come into our lane. There were only 2 lanes, and we were on the left of him, in between him and the concrete barrier. He starts honking on the horn, and I opened my eyes to see a wall of semi trailer coming at me...Paul got us out of there, and we kept racing to the birthing center. With every contraction, I am still grunting and pushing and just freaking out!

We finally got to our exit, got off the freeway, and I know that baby is coming...as we turn onto Center Street, I feel his head pushing through further and further, and I yell at Paul "His head is coming out RIGHT NOW!!" Every time I pushed, Paul reached over to feel if his head had come out yet. As we are turning onto State Street, I feel another push, and insane burning, and then relief, as his head pushes through! Paul reaches over, feels a bulge in my pants, and says "oh CRAP!" I strangely feel better, but now I am terrified, because his head is out, and I don't know what to do except breathe...

We get to the parking lot of the birthing center, and Paul is wailing on the horn like there's no tomorrow. I am just freaking out, feeling this bulge in my pants, and have kind of lost touch with reality. The midwives come running out, with everything to help deliver a baby, and Paul slams the car into park, jumps out, and yells "the head is out!" My door flies open, my sweatpants are ripped off, and I push one more time, and he is out and on my chest!

Wow. He had a good healthy cry, and I looked at him, looked at Paul, and just cried, still in shock that this just happened to me! I looked at Rory, and said "You look just like your brother! Happy Birthday Rory!"

Now, he is still attached to me by his cord, and the midwives are trying to decide whether to deliver the placenta in the car, or try and get me inside. They start talking to Paul, saying they wanna carry me inside. Now, I know I am not a small girl, and I am not about to let these 3, 100 lb girls and my husband try to carry me inside! So I just say "give me just a minute to breathe, and I will walk in"

I slowly move my legs over, still holding Rory, wrapped in towels, and get out of the car. they put a chuck under me, just in case things fall out, and they rally around me, 3 midwives and my husband, and we walk inside! I delivered the placenta, which was super healthy, and weighed 1 lb 11 oz, and then got to be sewn up...which let me tell you, was much worse than having the baby! I had torn pretty good, and it took them 45 minutes, and 4 shots of numbing stuff, and was just excruciating! After they were done, we weighed and measured Rory, and he was 9 lbs 15 oz, and 22 inches long. He pooped 3 times before they had weighed him, and they all said that he would use up a lot of diapers, which he has!

I just can't believe that I had him in my car, and that he was 10 lbs...I love my little boy, and he has been such a joy! Next post will be pics and what has happened in the last month...thanks for reading!