***Disclaimer: If you don't want to think about all the details of the birthing process you may want to skip this post :)***
It was a Tuesday, four days after my due date. I had just had a doctor's appointment the day before and was scheduled for an ultrasound and NST on Thursday. I was hoping and praying that I would need to be induced and little anxious to meet my baby boy soon, but other than that it was a normal day for Amaia and I. We went to story time at the library in the morning and saw our friends Sarah, Lainey and baby Wyatt. The rest of the day we played at home and had a relaxing day. I had started to have some contractions in the morning and had my suspicions that something was up, but I didn't want to get my hopes up! I took a nice, long a nap in the afternoon and woke up disappointed that I had slept so well and didn't have any contractions to wake me up :)
About 2 in the afternoon I started to have contractions that seemed to be forming a pattern and started to write down the times. Sure enough I was having one about every 10 minutes. I started cleaning house and packing my bag and Amaia's bag as I gained confidence that I was having a baby tonight! My contractions started getting closer together and by 4:30 they were starting to get a little painful. I called Adam to tell him he needed to get home soon and he was able to get in a full day of work and be home by about 5. After that I kept timing my contractions, Adam tried to take a nap and Amaia napped away upstairs. By the time Amaia got up from her nap at about 6 my contractions were 5 minutes apart. We took Amaia to her Grammie's house to stay for a few days. I still felt like we should wait it out at home for a bit, but Adam thought we should get to the hospital. Adam is a wise, wise man. By the time we got to the hospital and got checked in it was about 7:30. The nurses apparently didn't think I would be very far along, because I was acting so calm, but they checked me and I was between 6 and 7 cm dilated. Woohoo! That meant we got to have a baby tonight!
Adam, again was an amazing coach throughout the whole process. He made me drink lots of water, reminded me to keep breathing during contractions and basically did whatever I asked of him. After we got settled into our room I just started pacing around the room working through contractions whenever they came. I reached 9 cm what must have been very quickly, because the nurse had me lay down in bed after that. I asked if I could continue standing or walking. I hate sitting during a contraction and I knew from my labor with Amaia that is really slows down my progress. The nurse said was progressing so quickly that she was afraid that baby might fall on the floor. I don't know if she was being totally serious, but I thought that was a valid reason for me to get into bed. Things did start to slow down for me after I was in bed, but after a little while the nurse we suggested that I turn on my side to see if that would move things along. The next contraction I had was VERY different that all of the others. In general, I can deal with contractions. They are painful, but nothing I can't handle. However, this contraction kind of made me lose my mind. I did not do my breathing, I was not mentally in the game, I just kind of freaked out. After that, things are a little bit of a blur to me, but Adam tells me that during that contraction the doctor and lots of various hospital staff ran into the room. They turned me back onto my back, I pushed through two contractions and our baby boy was born at 9:18 P.M.!! It happened so fast and I was SO thankful that it did. I was so thankful that I did not have to push for long. In fact, in the weeks leading up to labor it was one of the main things I was praying for.
I actually spent more time in the delivery room after labor than before labor because I had a significant amount of bleeding. The doctor wanted to monitor my bleeding and seemed a little bit concerned, but I honestly felt fine the entire time. The only down side was that I didn't get to go down to the nursery with Adam and Haddon.
Looking back on it there are so many things that I am thankful for about Haddon's birth story. I am so thankful that labor went smoothly and quickly!! I am so thankful that Adam was able to work a full day before going to the hospital. I am so thankful that this happened on Tuesday, as we got about 12 inches of snow on Wednesday night and had a blizzard warning all day on Thursday. And of course, so thankful that we have a healthy, sweet baby boy!
The very first picture of Haddon and I just moments after his birth. I look relieved because I was :)
About 2 in the afternoon I started to have contractions that seemed to be forming a pattern and started to write down the times. Sure enough I was having one about every 10 minutes. I started cleaning house and packing my bag and Amaia's bag as I gained confidence that I was having a baby tonight! My contractions started getting closer together and by 4:30 they were starting to get a little painful. I called Adam to tell him he needed to get home soon and he was able to get in a full day of work and be home by about 5. After that I kept timing my contractions, Adam tried to take a nap and Amaia napped away upstairs. By the time Amaia got up from her nap at about 6 my contractions were 5 minutes apart. We took Amaia to her Grammie's house to stay for a few days. I still felt like we should wait it out at home for a bit, but Adam thought we should get to the hospital. Adam is a wise, wise man. By the time we got to the hospital and got checked in it was about 7:30. The nurses apparently didn't think I would be very far along, because I was acting so calm, but they checked me and I was between 6 and 7 cm dilated. Woohoo! That meant we got to have a baby tonight!
Adam, again was an amazing coach throughout the whole process. He made me drink lots of water, reminded me to keep breathing during contractions and basically did whatever I asked of him. After we got settled into our room I just started pacing around the room working through contractions whenever they came. I reached 9 cm what must have been very quickly, because the nurse had me lay down in bed after that. I asked if I could continue standing or walking. I hate sitting during a contraction and I knew from my labor with Amaia that is really slows down my progress. The nurse said was progressing so quickly that she was afraid that baby might fall on the floor. I don't know if she was being totally serious, but I thought that was a valid reason for me to get into bed. Things did start to slow down for me after I was in bed, but after a little while the nurse we suggested that I turn on my side to see if that would move things along. The next contraction I had was VERY different that all of the others. In general, I can deal with contractions. They are painful, but nothing I can't handle. However, this contraction kind of made me lose my mind. I did not do my breathing, I was not mentally in the game, I just kind of freaked out. After that, things are a little bit of a blur to me, but Adam tells me that during that contraction the doctor and lots of various hospital staff ran into the room. They turned me back onto my back, I pushed through two contractions and our baby boy was born at 9:18 P.M.!! It happened so fast and I was SO thankful that it did. I was so thankful that I did not have to push for long. In fact, in the weeks leading up to labor it was one of the main things I was praying for.
I actually spent more time in the delivery room after labor than before labor because I had a significant amount of bleeding. The doctor wanted to monitor my bleeding and seemed a little bit concerned, but I honestly felt fine the entire time. The only down side was that I didn't get to go down to the nursery with Adam and Haddon.
Looking back on it there are so many things that I am thankful for about Haddon's birth story. I am so thankful that labor went smoothly and quickly!! I am so thankful that Adam was able to work a full day before going to the hospital. I am so thankful that this happened on Tuesday, as we got about 12 inches of snow on Wednesday night and had a blizzard warning all day on Thursday. And of course, so thankful that we have a healthy, sweet baby boy!
The very first picture of Haddon and I just moments after his birth. I look relieved because I was :)
Me and my baby boy all cleaned up.
Haddon David Horning
Born December 18, 2012 at 9:18 P.M.
7 lbs 14 oz.
20.5 inches
