The Long and Short Story

So I'm always quite amazed at all my girlfriends abilities to write about the birth stories of their babies and of course I always love reading them. So hear goes my attempt to recount the events of the last couple of days. Well actually the events of the last week... With my last two labors (Caleb and Nate) my body took like three days to actually ramp itself up to begin "real" labor after having false labor contractions for a couple of days. So of course this time I was expecting the same thing. Last Tuesday night, November 25th, I started to experience these false contractions. Now for those of you that have never had them, they are more than just uncomfortable Braxton Hicks and are actually painful. They really feel like the real thing and sometimes even get into a consistent pattern. I can't even tell you how sick I was of timing contractions. So for about a week, I experienced this and never knew if "this time" would be real. By about Monday I was convinced this baby would never come and had resigned myself that I was actually going to have to go to my 40 week OB appointment! (of which I have always had to make, but never actually had to go to)

So on Tuesday I was of course just expecting more of the same. And it was... nothing out of the ordinary. Picked Asher up from preschool around noon, came home, and put the boys down for their naps. Mom and I just hung out. I had a few contractions sitting down, so I decided to get up and change positions to see if they would continue. Nope. Boys woke up around 3:00 and we decided to put on a Christmas DVD for them. Sitting down watching the movie, the contractions start up again. About 10- 12 minutes apart.

4:30- Contractions still about 10 minutes apart but getting painful (Caleb is sitting on my lap watching the movie during these contractions)

5:00- Blake gets home and contractions are still coming, ate dinner and cleaned up still having contractions

5:30- Decide to go to Lowes to get the boys out of the house. While at Lowes curtain rod shopping, my contractions keep coming and continue to get more painful. Decide this IS probably the real thing and tell Blake we need to come home. (By the way, we did manage to pick out our curtain rod and tie back hooks with four kids one of which had to go all the way to the back of the store to potty (Caleb) in the middle of all the contraction action!)

6:30- Get home and start the whirlwind routine of baths and bedtime for the boys. Blake handled most of this as I am having lots of contractions and am timing them. About 5- 7 minutes apart by this time. Call my friend Laura in Georgia to tell her these are for real, but have to wait until they are consistently 5 minutes apart for about an hour before we call the doctor.

8:30- Some contractions are closer together than five minutes, but occasionally one would be longer in between than 5 minutes. Hurting like crazy.... this better not be false labor! Decide to call the doctor who tells us to go ahead and go to the hospital. Finish up packing and Blake makes his pot of coffee (just preparing for how my typical labors go... way into the wee small hours...) Leave for the hospital with some coming only three minutes apart!

9:15ish- Check in at REX. Blake drops me off (which I have never had him do before, but decided I didn't want to walk having contractions in the freezing cold) The entire waiting room was full so while waiting for Blake I just stood in between the two doors without having to actually wait inside so I wouldn't have to make a spectacle of myself! Definitely didn't want any security guards rushing for a wheelchair while I was waiting for Blake!

9:30- Into triage where the nurse decides after seeing me have a contraction that she needs to check me ASAP! Am 8 cm with my water about to break! I can hardly believe it as she starts immediately wheeling my bed into a room (with Blake helping her guide the back of the bed... ha!) She then precedes to start preparing me for the possibility that I may deliver so fast that I won't be able to get an epidural! WHAT!

10:30- Got epidural... Praise the Lord!

11:00- 11:15ish Feel my water break and a few minutes later am dilated to 10 and ready to go! Unbelievable!

11:30- After only pushing through a few contractions out HE came! I think I'm still in shock that I actually have FOUR boys. (although I really shouldn't be now should I!) And just for the record and for my friend Erin... I thought Judah was a Grace!