Hadley's Birth Story: Part Five

As I was waiting for the nurse to return as promised, I kept saying that it felt like there was a melon in between my hips. Finally at around 6:30am, she was back. I told her that I was feeling something funny. When she checked me, the little voice in my head had been right all along. She stated that I was complete with a bulging bag of water. Whoa! It was not supposed to be that fast. I thought it would be dinner time before any excitement took place. However, Haddie was going to be here before breakfast! The nurse left to call Mary. Nothing left to do but wait.

My Mom called my Grandparents and told them they may want to hurry. I sent out a few texts to update those promised and browsed on Facebook some more. Time seemed to be standing still. I was getting the shakes again, but this time they were definitely from excitement. Soon, I started feeling something different. The epidural is a strange feeling. There are some things you can feel and some you can't. And it felt like something was "coming out." After the last time, I knew it was probably true. I just did not have the guts to check it out.

Finally, Mary walked through the door. She said to excuse her for not having a shower. I thought to myself that I didn't care if she was covered in mud, I was just ready to meet Haddie. From this point, things start to blur a little. New people were coming in and out. Equipment and tables were being rolled in. Bright lights came on and my bed was adjusted. When they pulled off my covers to get me ready, Mary and the nurse both chuckled. Apparently, what I had been feeling "coming out" was my water. It had still not broken, and was hanging out.

At around 7am, when everyone was in place and everything was ready, it was time to push. Mary broke my water and the nurse jokingly said for me to hurry up because her shift was over, and she wasn't leaving until Haddie was born. So, I sat patiently until they told me to push. With my next contraction, I gave it all I had. I had no clue if I was doing anything. I couldn't feel anything. "She has hair." I must have done something.

Next contraction. I gave it all I had again. Except this time Mary said, "Whoa." I could hear some suctioning and then I started to hear some little tiny grunts and grumbles. She told me to look down and see her. I tried my best, my big ole belly was in the way. Next contraction. In the middle of this one, Mary told me to reach down and pull her out. My mind has a funny way of doing things. In the midst of everything going on, one of the thoughts I had was that I felt like Kourtney Kardashian. If you watch their show on E!, you will understand why.

I tried my best to get a grip on her. She was slippery. I think she actually almost slipped through my hands. At 7:14am, the instant she landed on my chest, I had tears in my eyes. I wasn't crying, but the tears were flowing. I looked into her eyes and she looked right back at me. She had the sweetest little cry I had ever heard. I can't tell you what else was happening at that moment. After a few minutes, they took her over to clean her up a little more and check her out. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. Both of her APGAR scores were a 9, and she was perfect. I have fallen more in love with her each minute since.

In a nutshell, my labor was basically as easy my pregnancy. I don't know how I got so lucky. I went from 2cm to 10cm in only six hours, and pushed only three times. I did have a first degree tear, and once the epidural wore off, it was slightly uncomfortable. However, the recovery of that situation was surprisingly quick. All in all, Haddie's delivery was an amazing, life changing experience that I will never forget.