As I write this, I am well aware that sweet Cannon is now 4 months old. I have loved and I really mean LOVED having two babies to spend my days with...but... it seems I have had a little difficulty fitting in anything other than diapers, feedings, baths, toddler games and an occasional meal and a little sleep. Naturally ye ol blog has taken a little hit, but I feel strongly that part of my role is to archive our family. I love birth stories and I bet my girls will love to read their's one day. So, here I am attempting to catch up- please disregard all dates, and pretend it's - oh let's say around January 28th...
So Eden was born at 38 weeks to the day, and I had convinced myself that Cannon would come a tad earlier. After all, "the books" say that 2nd babies typically come sooner. I was 38 weeks on January 25th and nothing- not even a twinge. So...now what? Everyone says that each pregnancy is different and every baby is different, but it's really impossible not to compare and wonder- isn't it!? Well I didn't have to wait long. Around 2am on Tuesday the 26th I woke up and knew immediately it was a contraction. I jumped into work mode (mentally jumped because...well... I was huge).
I had a contraction timer ap downloaded on my phone in about 2 minutes. Made myself a little "labor station" on the couch complete with snack, remote, lots of pillows, the computer, the bills I had to pay, and my Bradley natural birthing book. You know, the book I had memorized by my 6th month with Eden. Thought I should probably review... At this point, my contractions were like 45sec long and about 8 minutes apart :)
Brett got up about 6am and when he asked what I was doing, I got to casually say "timing contractions". I love saying that... He said "really!? Awesome." He made sure I was ok and then went to work to tie up some loose ends. It was Eden's day to go to Ms. Wanda's house and I was easily able to get her ready and drive her over with no problem. Back to the house- figured and paid our payroll taxes. Paid all the bills that were coming up. Kicked back and waited... Contractions now about 1 min long and 6 to 7 minutes apart.
Brett came home about 2 oclock with Eden and gave our parents the word to hit the road. We had already put them on alert, but now I was sure that this was the real deal. I decided it was time to shower & primp a bit. Now, I'm not sure what made me think that I had PLENTY of time to casually clean up (1min long and 6min apart unless I was moving around and then about 4min apart- yeah, I know, GET TO THE HOSPITAL...) With Eden, things got a little serious as soon as I got out of the shower, so I went to the hospital with a wet head and mascara face. I was determined not to let that happen again and I kept remembering how much time I had once we were at the hospital (still having a hard time remembering that EVERY BABY IS DIFFERENT).
Anyway, back to the shower- contractions got to about 3 minutes apart and STRONG. Still I pressed on- dummy- I mean shaving my legs in between knee dropping contractions. Got out, make-up, dry hair- still dropping to my knees about every 3 minutes. By the time I finished dressing, the contractions were so bad that I had a hard time getting from the bathroom back to my bed. They slowed a bit when I laid down and relaxed but still- seriously- like 2 min apart- it was around this time that I fully realized I had pushed it a bit far.
Brett went out to load the car and get it ready. When he came back to the room, I was fully afraid that I wasn't going to make it. I really didn't know if I could get to the truck, much less IN the truck. So, you can imagine how I felt when Brett told me the car was completely out of gas and the "miles left to empty" said 1. It's a good 4 miles to the hospital... Now he casually told me we would have to stop for gas and I casually told him that that wasn't an option. We would just have to risk it. I somehow managed to get in the truck and we headed out. The miles went to 0 at the edge of our neighborhood and we just looked at each other... Well apparently we have at least 3 miles past empty because we made it just fine.
Now, I should back up and say that about 6 weeks prior I called the hospital to find out how to pre-register. They told me that they didn't really do that, but I could come sign some of the consent forms early if I really wanted to. Well, I'm sure you know what's coming. As soon as I told them why I was there (as if it me clinging to Brett for dear life didn't make it obvious)- what was the first thing they asked?! "Have you preregistered"? NO I HAVE NOT. So they put me in a wheelchair and proceeded with the paperwork... After about 6 questions, I knew that we needed to move on VERY quickly. The funny thing was that it wasn't the 3 women (who were most likely mothers) that noticed the HIPAA release really needed to wait- it was a nice young transport tech who was a guy and couldn't have been more than 19. Before I could get the words out he said- "I think we ought to get you back there". I love that guy. Brett stayed behind to finish the paperwork.
Got to the delivery room and I somehow managed to get changed into a gown by myself. My contractions were right on top of each other and as soon as I laid on the bed my body started pushing. The nurse checked me and said- "uh, yeah, you are ready". Doctor had not been called and Brett was still filling in blanks... I was laying on my side in the fetal position and seriously thinking I couldn't do it. Of course I was still remembering the 2 hours of pushing with Eden.
So push #1 happened as I laid on the bed. Brett came in on push#2. Doctor strolled in on push#3. Cannon's head was out on push #4 and the rest of her on push #5- so fast that I delivered her laying on my side. I didn't even have time to roll over. It was a grand total of 15 minutes from the time we pulled into the parking lot to holding Cannon. Brett and I were in shock. First at how close we had cut it, and second OH MY WORD that was SO much quicker. Now, just so I am VERY clear, it was just as painful but wow the pushing... I was in such shock at the speed of things that it took me a second to remember that I didn't know if it was a girl or boy. I had to ask and we could not have been more thrilled that she was a girl.
This time I made sure to have them lay her on me as soon as the cord was cut. I had read about how research shows that is important for bonding, infant mental health, etc. It was amazing. We locked eyes and just stared at each other for seriously more than 5 minutes. She never even cried, and I will never, never forget those minutes. I'm so thankful Brett got it on camera.
I am again silenced at how unbelievably blessed we are. I don't know why God chose to share these girls with us, but I am eternally grateful. God equip us to raise them to be the Godly women you created them to be.
