Here's the Story...

So, most of those who read this blog have already seen the above picture, but I haven't taken any more pictures so I'm just going to post this one. But you probably have heard the story of how Nathan Edward came into the world. Here it is:

Last Wednesday, I was really starting to feel anxious about having, as I was calling him before he was born, "this baby." I didn't sleep at all Tuesday night because I was having panic attacks wondering if I would have to go back to work after Wednesday (I took Tuesday and Wednesday off as family sick leave because my boys were sick and because I couldn't stand the thought of being at work anymore).

So, going into my doctor's appointment on Wednesday at 2:10, I was not the happiest camper. The doctor's MA mentioned that I was my normal, happy self. Nope, I was not. I wanted to have the baby! So, the doctor stripped my membranes again, told me I was 80% effaced and dilated between a 3 and a 4. He told me that if the hospital weren't so busy, he would send me in that day to have my water broke, but the hospital wouldn't let him do that. He then said that if I started feeling any contractions at all to go to the hospital. I wasn't to worry that they were a certain number of minutes apart or anything like that. He wouldn't let the hospital send me home. Then he gave me a note for the district saying that I needed to go on maternity leave that day.

I had decided earlier that I would go into the school after my appointment to get some grading done. But as I was driving (it took me maybe 15 minutes), I started having contractions. And they started coming strong and fast. I got to the school, went inside, and told my friend that I wasn't going to stay and grade; I was going to go to the hospital. I called my husband and told him to meet me at the hospital. I was just going to drive myself to the hospital, but the other teachers convinced me that it wasn't the best idea (for which I was grateful later). So, my friend Amy drove me to the hospital in my car while Shauna followed us so she could take Amy back to the school.

When we got to the hospital, I called my husband and he had just dropped off our boys and was on the way. I was a little bit stressed. When we went into the hospital, they took me right into triage and Amy stayed with me. I'm sure it was uncomfortable for her, but I was glad that there was someone there with me until Seth got there. So, after what seemed like an eternity, my husband showed up and the person taking down my personal information was finally done (seriously, I was in pain and she was asking me questions like we were just hanging out or something), and I was wheeled into a delivery room. And, bing, bang, boom, the baby was born.

Okay, it wasn't quite that quick, but there was never a moment to just relax. I went from being dilated to a 5 when I got to the hospital to a 9 within an hour. This baby did not want to wait! So, I figure from when I first started feeling contractions to when Nathan was actually born was all of about 3 hours.

So, that's the story. Nathan was born at 9 pounds (my other two were both under 8 pounds when born) and he is 20 1/2". And so far, he's been a really good baby. He gets upset when he's hungry, but that's about it. And as you can see from the picture, the boys already love him. Daniel likes to talk to him and hold him and tell him that everything is okay.

And now it sounds like he's starting to get fussy, so I guess I better get a bottle ready.