Well, after a ton of people have asked for a blog...here ya go!
I don't really know where to start....pregnancy? birth? life now? Okay, I'll sum it up.
Pregnancy was a breeze and I immensely enjoyed every second of it (once I actually
accepted that I was pregnant). I ate way too much and gained too much weight but seriously who cares? I can now honestly say that I do not. Yes, it is a pain to lose the weight and next pregnancy I will try harder but I can't go back in time now can I? Every ache, pain, high and low with the pregnancy was worth remembering and I am so glad I kept a journal. I read it aloud to Saul sometimes and we smile and reminisce about the anticipation and giddiness we felt about meeting our first child.
Labor was painful but beautiful. My water broke in the hospital parking lot on September 18th 2008 at 1:20pm (2 days before my due date). I had been close to 4cm dilated for over 3 weeks but the day before I had my membranes stripped and baby's head was fully engaged. I drove home to get things arranged for BiBi and to pack a few last minute things. I didn't have my first contraction until about 1:40, Saul was in a meeting this whole time and I was trying to call but he didn't answer. He finally returned my call at 1:50 when I told him it was baby time! He rushed home (it was comical) and was in a frenzy trying to get things ready and asking if I was okay. In the midst of this I was having contractions that were bearable but getting progressively more painful, about 5 minutes apart lasting a minute or so. Our dear friends Wally and Scarlet dropped off BiBi at the dog hotel and we were off to have our baby.
During the 10 minute ride to the hospital, contractions were coming about 3 minutes apart and more painful. I was calling my family telling them to come down because today was the day, everyone was very excited! Saul's chain of command was well aware of the fact that we were on our way back to the hospital (Saul works there) and when we arrived his boss had a wheelchair waiting for me. I was grateful for this because the walk would've taken me forever with the pain and all. By the time we got up to L&D I wanted nothing to do with paperwork or questions, I wanted a bed immediately! They said they wanted me to go to a pre-room where the doctor could examine me and then move to another room, I screamed "put me in the room where I'm going to give birth!" I wasn't messing around.
From there was a blur. I had planned on an unmedicated birth (because I'm old school...lol) and it seemed reasonable at first, we had our birth plan ready to go and Saul was on the look out if an anesthesiologist tried to sneak in. I was in lots of pain and was dilated to 5cm at arrival, it was around 2:30. An hour went by of painful contractions with Saul rubbing my back and being yelled at (by me), I was also being bugged by people asking if I wanted meds...so annoying. By this time I was 7cm dilated and really feeling labor. The next hour was a blur as I was going through "transition", the most painful part of labor. It's when you get from 8-10cm dilated and then it's time to push, I asked for meds but was shot down (thank God) because if I gave birth within an hour they baby would have to go to the NICU for observation. 4:30 I felt like I had to go to the bathroom and wouldn't you know it I was 10 cm dilated and ready to go. Now, pushing is the worst part of giving birth (there's really no "bad" part I'm just saying...). I guess nurses believe you inherently know how to push but this is false. After one push and them saying "that's not right", I screamed that I was scared! I guess this was not the time to stall as the baby's head went back in a few times. 20 minutes of pushing later and my husband announced, with tears in his eyes that our son had arrived!
Ezekiel Saul was born at 4:50pm weighing 8lbs 4oz and 21" long.
