I just knew my son was going to enter the world with flair. He did not disappoint.
At 40 weeks, 2 days pregnant, I was beyond uncomfortable and started pulling out all the stops to start labor. At my doctor's appointment, a midwife checked me and I was not even 2 centimeters dilated. I was so discouraged and decided to take the recommendation of many friends to get acupuncture that afternoon. My midwife also suggested eggplant and pineapple, so that evening I ate Eggplant Parmesan with pineapple for dessert.
That night, an arctic blast pushed through Austin around midnight, covering streets with ice and making for unsafe driving conditions for poor Texans who just don't have experience driving on those kinds of roads. At 1am, I woke up with a start. I was wet! Did I pee myself? Surely not! I went to the bathroom, checked things out, decided I was officially WAY too pregnant and went back to bed. At 4am, I woke up and discovered I was again soaking wet. I wasn't having any contractions or other signs of labor, so I went back to bed again. At 7am, I got up, and immediately a gush of fluids completely soaked my pants. It was then I officially called it: my water broke!
Since I knew conditions were bad outside and I was GBS positive and in need of antibiotics, I immediately called the birthing center. Each time I called, the phone would immediately hang up or just ring and ring. NOT GOOD. I finally called a friend who delivered at the same birthing center and got the cell phone number of a midwife. Thankfully, she answered immediately and helped me come up with a plan to safely get to the center in the middle of the ice storm. She also revealed that 4 different midwives had tried to drive in to the center and couldn't make it due to road closures. We started praying we'd make it there before the baby arrived! Holy smokes!
By 9:30am, I began to have noticeable contractions. As I made plans with my parents to come watch my daughter, I heard a sound no mother wants to hear while they're in labor: the sound of their toddler throwing up in the next room. Yes, that's right. My daughter, who had not been sick for some time, started throwing up just as I started going into active labor. You just can't make this stuff up, folks.
Thankfully, my parents had 4 children of their own and are seasoned pros when it comes to vomiting, so they took things in stride and we made our way to the birthing center. We passed 3-4 severely damaged cars on our drive (poor Texans), but we made it with no problem. By the time we arrived, I was having trouble walking and my contractions were getting stronger and closer together. I was checked when I arrived and again discouraged to find out I was only 4 centimeters dilated. The midwife encouraged us to go ahead and stay at the center given the conditions outside, so we picked our room and started to run some water in the birthing tub.
I spent the next few hours laboring in the tub, and before I knew it, my contractions were back-to-back. This was not going to be a gradual, 17 hour labor like I had with my daughter. It was beyond intense! I was checked again - 9 centimeters! Within minutes I was ready to push.
I just could not find a comfortable pushing position in the tub, so I somehow managed to get out and into bed to push. After pushing 4-5 times, I realized I was in WAY over my head. Having already birthed one child naturally, I remembered this pain. However, my current pain was so off the charts that I honestly didn't think I had it in me to continue. That's when I did the only thing I knew to do: I prayed my brains out. During my conversation with God, I told Him that I was only going to be able to to this with His help. With a birthing mirror in front of me as motivation, I took a deep breath and decided my son was coming out with this push. Out he came! Thanks be to God, is all I can say!
Side note: My hubby is one amazing guy. With contractions coming so fast and everything happening at warp speed, I could not be more thankful to have him by my side. During labor with my daughter, he was a great help, but this time, I leaned on him and he was truly my rock. I may have broken all the fingers in his hands, but he never complained!
There are just no adequate words to describe holding your child for the first time. It made all the pain worth it. Seeing that my son had red hair was just icing on the cake. I'm absolutely smitten by my Little Man.
Sharing how God has answered prayer with this little fella is even more precious to me. As soon as we found out we were pregnant, I began to pray very specifically, and God has been gracious to answer each and every one of them:
*I prayed for a strong, healthy baby and a healthy birth weight: Grayson was 8 pounds, 3.5 ounces!
*I prayed he would have a strong desire to breastfeed and tell me when he was hungry: Grayson is a happy, healthy eater who didn't even lose 10% of his birthweight after birth.
*I prayed my milk would come in quickly. If you have read my blog in the past, you know it took almost 2 weeks for my milk to come in with my daughter: My milk came in at the end of day 2!
We are overjoyed, and a little overwhelmed, to now be a family of 4. To God be all the glory!
