Tate's Birth Story

 Well here she be. In between contractions, one last prego photo taken around 2:30 a.m. on my 29th birthday. Tate was born at 3:50 a.m. The only reason I'm smiling is because I think I am on my way to get an epidural...

    Luckily I got my pedicure on the 20th.

sooo tiny!

Nana and Tate

Papa and Tate, my dad had a big surgery only a week prior.

First Bath

Going home with another kid-yikes!

Here is the story of Tate's Birth...

I had  been having contractions for about a week previous. Almost every night they would get regular and strong for a couple hours and then fade off. I had a doctor appointment a week prior and was told I was dilated to a 3 and 70% effaced. I also had a doctor appointment on the 21st and was told I was still a 3 and 70%. The doctor offered to strip my membranes but I said no because Brett was starting his mid-terms on the 22nd. I had actually hoped to have the baby that day on the 21st so that I would be in the hospital during Brett's mid-terms and be able to have Brett home that weekend when mid-terms were over. But it was too risky to strip my membranes because I didn't want to go into labor DURING Brett's mid-terms.

I felt like the baby was coming soon, within the week. I had regular contractions that evening while I made dinner and put Parker to bed (Brett was studying at the library). They were strong enough that I timed them and wrote them down. But when Brett got home around 8 p.m. they were fading off. I hadn't had any contractions when I went to bed a couple hours later. Then, BAM, at 1:30 a.m. I woke up to a HUGE contraction. It startled me and I jumped out of bed from the pain. I knew this was go-time but remembered that I was supposed to track them for an hour before going to the hospital. Luckily I  was inspired to just wake Brett up and get going (thank goodness!). Brett called my mom to come to the house and stay with Parker. We packed my bag and left around 2:45 a.m. By this point I was extremely uncomfortable and nervous. I could feel that things were getting close as we drove to the hospital. Brett made good time in the car, I could tell he was excited for an excuse to drive fast. 

Brett pulled up and let me out before parking. I ran/hobbled into the hospital (when I'm in labor I like to MOVE FAST) and a security guard tried to catch up to me with a wheelchair but I hollered that I'd rather walk, thank you very much. After waiting for Brett and not being able to find a nurse, we finally checked-in at 3:10 a.m. My water broke while they were getting me ready to be monitored and so they decided to quickly get me to a delivery room. I was lucky that I forgot to call my doctor ahead of time and tell them I was going to the hospital because they were full and turning people away but I was too close to birth for them to turn me away. The doctor I had delivered 6 babies that night. Her birthday was the 21st and she said she enjoyed delivering the babies on her birthday. She thought all the babies were coming because of the barometric pressure changes that day.

The minute I was checked-in, I was asking for my epidural. At first they said sure, but when my water broke, things were going fast, scary fast. The nurse wouldn't leave to get me pain meds because she was afraid the baby could come if she left me alone. She was running around the room prepping for birth and paging for more help. She also said the anesthesiologist was about to start a c-section and I would have to wait. I knew the baby was coming within minutes so I told them to have the anesthesiologist give me the epidural before the c-sec.(yeah right crazy labor lady) As the minutes past, I was afraid I wouldn't get my epidural so I began to PANIC. In my mind, there was NO way I was delivering without drugs, so I begged and begged them to hurry. I could tell the nurses didn't think the epidural was going to happen now but they kept telling me they were doing the best they could. I was feeling the urge to push but didn't say anything cause I was waiting for my epidural! Unfortunately, the nurse caught on and I was given a stern talking to. So, against my will, I started pushing and the anesthesiologist poked his head in the room. The nurses shook their heads at him and he left me there to give natural birth. RUDE. But guess what? The pushing wasn't much worse than with Parker and my beloved epidural (I think my epidural with Parker was light, because I could move my legs and still felt a lot). So really, the contractions were HELL but pushing was actually not too bad. Not a picnic either, but at least it meant the delivery was almost over.

When Tate was born I felt the greatest relief EVER and the sad part is, I didn't really care about the baby. They put him on my chest for a minute, I heard him cry and then my eyes shut. I could NOT keep my eyes open, I was so tired and relieved to be done. They asked me several times if I wanted to hold my baby. No. Did I want to see my baby? No. Then Brett kept asking me. Nope. I asked if he was o.k. and they said yes. That was good enough for me. I was starving and a big mac and fries would have been nice too, but they gave me crackers and juice. Rude. I was still in pain and just wanted to sleep. With Parker, I saw him come out in slow motion and had that magical mommy moment where I couldn't take my eyes off him and I cried and he was perfect and I was never going to put him down. Sorry Tate, I gave you life, your welcome, goodnight. Of course the magical moments came soon after, but I really didn't get to enjoy the birth as much. Brett left 2 1/2 hours later to take a mid-term and was gone the next day as well for another mid-term. I missed having him in the hospital much, but it was nice that he was done with school when I came home that weekend. Soooo, to make this long story short; I didn't get an epidural, that made me sad. Natural birth hurt and next time I want an epidural. and a big mac with fries. The end.