One of my regrets is not writing down Micah and Jude’s birth stories! I want to be able to remember it while it’s still (relatively) fresh in my mind, so I’m sharing Nathan’s on the blog today! Feel free to skip to the bottom and look at the cute pictures if birth stories aren’t really your thing…but I’m happy to share with you if you are anything like me and find them fascinating! 🙂
All of my kids have come late. Micah was the most timely, but was still one day past his due date. Jude was 4 days late. So, coming into this pregnancy, I just assumed that my due date would come and go…and it did! Nathan was born 3 days after his due date, on August 23rd, 2019. I woke up that morning around 3 am, and even though I wasn’t having any contractions or active labor, I somehow just KNEW it was going to start. I got up to use the bathroom, went back to bed, and even woke up Sam saying, “Hey! I just know that labor is going to start soon!” I’m not sure what it was…just a different feeling than usual. And sure enough, right around 3:30 am I started having contractions. I got my timer out, and they were about 8-9 minutes apart.
The timing of it all could not have been better! Because my brother lives with us, we were able to walk downstairs and tell him we were headed to the hospital. I wanted to get there RIGHT AWAY even though I wasn’t really in pain…Jude came out 3.5 hours after my contractions started and honestly my worst fear was having a baby in the car! (Has this happened to anyone?!)
We left for the hospital after calling my mom and asking her to make her way over! We were just about there when I told Sam that we needed to go find somewhere to grab a bite to eat quick since I knew I wouldn’t get food after my epidural was placed. HIGHLY RECOMMEND stopping for food on the way if you can, and if you know you want an epidural. McDonalds drive through and Egg McMuffins to the rescue!!!
Pulling into the hospital around 5:15 am, I was still feeling pretty good. Contractions were about 7 minutes apart. Walked up to the nurses station to let them know when labor started and that I was there to check in, and got taken into the triage room. They told me that my contractions weren’t close enough together and that I didn’t seem fully in labor, but that they would check..and I was 6.5 cm! I think the nurses were just as surprised as I was that I was already that far along. They took me to the floor to room me and immediately called for the epidural, which I got around 6 am.
In the past, epidurals have slowed labor for me, and this was the case again. I slept and waited until I was fully dilated and he was ready to be born! One thing that happened this time that was different than previous births was that I had “break through pain” right before pushing. Basically, it’s when you fully feel the contractions through the epidural just before baby is ready to come out. I’ve never heard of it before, and it was pretty terrible. I thought my epidural was wearing off, so they called the anesthesiologist to come in and give me extra medication, but there wasn’t really enough time for it, because Nathan was out 2 pushes later!
It’s been a difficult and joyous transition to a family of five. It’s crazy how something that is so hard in so many ways can also bring so much happiness. My patience has been tested in new ways, and I’ve felt sadness at my lack of ability to meet the needs of all of my boys at the same time. But, I’m filled with joy when I look at the three of them and imagine them growing up alongside one another, chaos and all 😉 I just love these three SO much! Can’t wait to get to know you better, Nate!
