William Joined us this past Saturday, October 18, 2008 at 6:13 AM. He weighed 6 pounds 13 ounces and measured 19/5 inches long.
I had been having contractions beginning Wednesday evening, but they were not consistant or growing stronger. The nurses had made it clear to me that it's time to head to the hospital when you can no longer "walk and talk through a contraction". Taking that advice literally, because who wants to wait around in a hospital, I lived life as usual.
In addition to contractions beginning on Wednesday, a head cold was making its way into my life as well. Thursday the cold continued to linger, but by Thursday night, I felt pretty miserable. Friday morning, I awoke feeling run down and had a mild fever. My spirits were low because another day had passed without William's arrival, so I worked feverishly to keep myself busy. One necessary errand I wanted to complete was a trip to Savory Spice Shop (Steve needed some chili powder).
I headed to the spice shop around four thirty in the afternoon and chatted with my friend Connie on the phone. Not intending to be "that person" yakking away on a cell phone while shopping, I talked outside the shop, but had to cut the conversation short because I felt something a bit different that I required a trip to the bathroom.
Connie and I said our goodbyes and I went into the shops ladies room. Exiting the ladies room I continued to shop when I again felt something unusual and made a bee-line to the ladies room again. First time pregnancy, things aren't always obvious, but I was thinking that my water broke, but wasn't quite certain. Putting the pieces together, I realized I was having contractions that were stronger than I had ever experienced, and they were regular. However, I was a woman on a mission for chili powder.
A gentleman asked if I needed any assistance, and not wanting to drag out my unusual experiences at the spice shop, I took him up on his offer. As we walked towards the chili powder area he asked when I was due. I told him that I thought that I might just be having my baby that day. He completely freaked out! "Whoa! Do you need anything?! Should I call someone?!" I told him I was fine and that I didn't anticipate the baby coming out at just any moment; it would probably be hours. The guy settled down a bit and we focused on the different varieties of chili powder my husband might enjoy best. Another worker was just leaving the shop and we began to talk. She was heading up to Wyoming for the weekend to hunt antelope. Like many, she asked, "when are you due" and I said, "I think I might have him today, actually". Like the guy, she flipped out, in a more girl-like way of excitement. She gave me a big hug and told me that I needed to bring the baby back to the shop when he was born. I left the shop with chili powder, a couple different curries and candied ginger.
As I drove home I called the nurse and described what I thought was my water breaking. She reassured me that if it was less than a half cup of fluid, I would be just fine- just make sure the baby is still moving around.
When I arrived home, I fed Buddy and took him for a short walk. As we walked I wrote down the times of each contraction in Steve's Moleskine book. Yup, five minutes apart; duration one minute. Our doctor and birthing class had told us that this pattern should continue for an hour and the contractions should intensify as well. That seemed to be happening.
As I walked up to the condo, Steve had just arrived home and was talking with our neighbor/friend Brian. I was really craving Powerade and wanted to head to Target to pick some up. I showed Steve the log and then we headed off to Target. After stopping by Target, my next request was to head over to McDonald's for a kids meal with a cheeseburger. Contractions kept coming, were getting worse, but I still wasn't totally convinced.
As Steve and I ate our junk food, the contractions kept getting stronger. Steve headed to take a shower/shave his head- this could be the day- and he should be cleaned up! While he was beginning his shower, I called the hospital again and explained my water, contractions, pain etc....The nurse asked how long it would be until I made it to the hospital. 'About forty-five minutes" I replied. "My husband just stepped in to take a shower and it takes about twenty minutes to get there." "You really need to get to the hospital," she said with some urgency. "If you feel a need to push, DON'T". We said goodbye and I reported back to Steve that he needed to hurry. I cleaned the kitchen sink and called my parents suggesting that today could be the day, but don't book a ticket until we get a real green light from the hospital.
I had a mild panic because my parents would be coming to the house and because I hadn't been feeling tip-top, I had left a few messes out. I picked the kitchen up, put random things away and made sure hospital directions and keys were out for my parents. Oh, I also sent an email out and updated Facebook for our friends.
In addition to contractions beginning on Wednesday, a head cold was making its way into my life as well. Thursday the cold continued to linger, but by Thursday night, I felt pretty miserable. Friday morning, I awoke feeling run down and had a mild fever. My spirits were low because another day had passed without William's arrival, so I worked feverishly to keep myself busy. One necessary errand I wanted to complete was a trip to Savory Spice Shop (Steve needed some chili powder).
I headed to the spice shop around four thirty in the afternoon and chatted with my friend Connie on the phone. Not intending to be "that person" yakking away on a cell phone while shopping, I talked outside the shop, but had to cut the conversation short because I felt something a bit different that I required a trip to the bathroom.
Connie and I said our goodbyes and I went into the shops ladies room. Exiting the ladies room I continued to shop when I again felt something unusual and made a bee-line to the ladies room again. First time pregnancy, things aren't always obvious, but I was thinking that my water broke, but wasn't quite certain. Putting the pieces together, I realized I was having contractions that were stronger than I had ever experienced, and they were regular. However, I was a woman on a mission for chili powder.
A gentleman asked if I needed any assistance, and not wanting to drag out my unusual experiences at the spice shop, I took him up on his offer. As we walked towards the chili powder area he asked when I was due. I told him that I thought that I might just be having my baby that day. He completely freaked out! "Whoa! Do you need anything?! Should I call someone?!" I told him I was fine and that I didn't anticipate the baby coming out at just any moment; it would probably be hours. The guy settled down a bit and we focused on the different varieties of chili powder my husband might enjoy best. Another worker was just leaving the shop and we began to talk. She was heading up to Wyoming for the weekend to hunt antelope. Like many, she asked, "when are you due" and I said, "I think I might have him today, actually". Like the guy, she flipped out, in a more girl-like way of excitement. She gave me a big hug and told me that I needed to bring the baby back to the shop when he was born. I left the shop with chili powder, a couple different curries and candied ginger.
As I drove home I called the nurse and described what I thought was my water breaking. She reassured me that if it was less than a half cup of fluid, I would be just fine- just make sure the baby is still moving around.
When I arrived home, I fed Buddy and took him for a short walk. As we walked I wrote down the times of each contraction in Steve's Moleskine book. Yup, five minutes apart; duration one minute. Our doctor and birthing class had told us that this pattern should continue for an hour and the contractions should intensify as well. That seemed to be happening.
As I walked up to the condo, Steve had just arrived home and was talking with our neighbor/friend Brian. I was really craving Powerade and wanted to head to Target to pick some up. I showed Steve the log and then we headed off to Target. After stopping by Target, my next request was to head over to McDonald's for a kids meal with a cheeseburger. Contractions kept coming, were getting worse, but I still wasn't totally convinced.
As Steve and I ate our junk food, the contractions kept getting stronger. Steve headed to take a shower/shave his head- this could be the day- and he should be cleaned up! While he was beginning his shower, I called the hospital again and explained my water, contractions, pain etc....The nurse asked how long it would be until I made it to the hospital. 'About forty-five minutes" I replied. "My husband just stepped in to take a shower and it takes about twenty minutes to get there." "You really need to get to the hospital," she said with some urgency. "If you feel a need to push, DON'T". We said goodbye and I reported back to Steve that he needed to hurry. I cleaned the kitchen sink and called my parents suggesting that today could be the day, but don't book a ticket until we get a real green light from the hospital.
I had a mild panic because my parents would be coming to the house and because I hadn't been feeling tip-top, I had left a few messes out. I picked the kitchen up, put random things away and made sure hospital directions and keys were out for my parents. Oh, I also sent an email out and updated Facebook for our friends.
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