A Birth Story... 2 and 1/2 years later

It was Friday, March 28th, exactly 4 weeks before my due date. I came to work that day large as a house and whining the entire day. I couldn't make myself comfortable in my work chair. I fidgeted all day long and remember asking my co-worker "Is his head between my legs? It sure feels like it". My belly felt strange that day, I felt him move but at one point in the day the movement felt like a flip.

I carried on with my day and was excited to pick up one last thing for the nursery...the glider. A glider I always said I would not need but caved it and got it because the room needed something. I use that glider now every night and love it. Lesson learned.

I was also excited because we made plans to have dinner at my cousin's house that evening.

After work I picked up the glider and came home. Ry unloaded it and put it in the nursery...it was finished.

My hospital suitcase was by the stairs for the past week and I would just dump things in it as I remembered. It lay open as a reminder to get it filled with stuff I would probably never need.

I took a shower and got ready for dinner. We arrived at my cousin's house and she went all out with dinner.

She made fish, rice and veggies. We talked a little before dinner was ready. We sat around her round dining room table. Ry sat across from me. As we finished our delicious meal I had an urge to go to the bathroom and felt a little trickle of "something".

I announced "I'm going to the bathroom", till this day I don't know why I did, maybe a sense of something about to happen.

I made it halfway to the bathroom before I felt a huge "trickle", I got nervous. Did I just pee on myself? Gosh this pregnancy thing is strange.

Before I even had a chance to sit on the potty I felt a huge gush of water come out.

Holy crap, what the hell?!

I sat there thinking this can't be it. Before that thought escaped another gush of water.

You know how they tell you when your water breaks it's not really like it is in movies, all dramatic with a huge amount of water between the woman's legs and a guy has to come and mop it all up?

Yeah, well...

IT WAS EXACTLY LIKE THAT FOR ME!

I remember saying "Ryan, I think my water just broke". I heard chairs being pushed away from the table and 3 voices outside the bathroom door. One of them said "Are you sure?". In a surprising calm voice I said "I think so".

From what I know after the fact, my cousin told me that Ryan and her husband just starred at each other, one thinking Dude, it's your wife, you figure it out and the other Dude, my wife is in freaking labor...NOW WHAT?!

My cousin, bless her heart sprang into action and was calming everyone down, including me. I informed her I needed a towel. If you know me you can believe that I had to straighten the bathroom out as best I could before emerging looking like a deer in head lights.

I remember putting the towel between my legs and getting out the door with my cell phone in hand. First, I called my Dr. who told me to go to the hospital, (already were on our way). Then I remember calling my mom when we were on the expressway, she doesn't handle situations like that very well. She started getting all worried and said things I can't remember. I told her "Don't come until I call you to let you know what is going on" (I was in denial that I was in labor, rookie!), I hung up with her and started dialing my in-laws number. No answer on either of their cell phones.

In the mean time my contractions started.

I finally called my in-laws house and they picked up. I calmly (they claim I was calm, I don't remember being calm at all) told them "we're on our way to the hospital but don't come until I call you and let you know what is going on".

I wobbled in with a towel between my legs looking like a frightened child.

I remember asking for a wheel chair and the security guard looked at me like I was some spoiled brat asking for a diamond ring. Things moved in slow motion for me. No one was doing anything quick enough. I finally got a wheel chair and we were off to labor and delivery.

We arrived and all the nurses around me were calm as I panicked inside.

They said it was a slow night and I could have the biggest room there, but when they wheeled me to the room I noticed the room was #13. I did not want it. The preggo nurse assured me she even requested #13 when she delivered her baby. If you want to be that cruel to a lady in labor then FINE!

From that point I remember a Dr. (not mine, of course) coming in and setting up all the equipment. They confirmed my water did actually break and that we would be having a baby soon.

It took 4 nurses to find a vein to get my IV in (they had to call a "special" nurse), that was a hoot. They were asking me questions that the answers to were in my file but because I was 4 weeks early my file hadn't made its way to the hospital yet.

The first ultrasound machine did not work properly so they wheeled in another one. In the meantime when I was examined I was ZEROS across the board. The Dr. said "You will be here a while", the monitor showed I was having regular contractions but I only felt a few of them, nothing bad at all. Ryan asked if maybe now he could go get the bags at home but my evil look of are you insane, I'm having a baby and you want to go back home to get STUFF. Nuff said.

AND then it happened...

The ultra sound showed our little peanut in a breech position. Those of you that don't speak preggo, that means, feet down-head up, opposite of what it should be for a "regular" birth.

Then, all I heard was "CCCCCCCCCCCC-SEEEEEECCCCCCTTTTTIOOONNNNN".

I started crying and during this I saw my mother in law, father in law, mom, sister and Ryan's aunt peeking in through the door. OBVIOUSLY, no one heard we'll call you don't come instructions.

They started prepping me for surgery and it seemed so quick. Our families came in and then I saw MY Dr. Oh sweet Dr. B, how I love him. He's also my mom's and sister's Dr. as well, my mom loves him so much she started pleading with him to HELP me in her broken English. Now, we were the freaks in room #13 with the entire family there from the old country begging for mercy.

I remember someone giving Ry directions to change into his scrubs and all I kept thinking was he's going to put it all on backwards! He's famous for doing that.

As I was being wheeled off, everyone kissed me like I was going away forever and everyone was crying. Our family is a bunch of criers, I tell you. I was a mess myself.

OK, so now we're in the operating room and I get a spinal to paralyze me from the waist down. Ry was outside waiting.

I told the anaesthesiologist that I get claustrophobic and panic when my hands are tied. He didn't tie them and gave me something to relax.

It felt like forever before Ryan came into the room and I kept asking them to get him.

Finally, he came in and told me he wasn't nervous, what a great liar.

I saw the flourescent lights above me and tiled walls around me but whatever they gave me made me calm. I felt tugging and pulling like the air was getting sucked out of me but still calm.

The Doctors were talking amongst themselves about something unrelated to the patient on the table. I remember him saying "you'll hear your baby in about 60 seconds", a minute later "get ready to hear your baby in 30 seconds". They told us that he may have to go to the NICU because he was early and they had a Dr. and nurses there to see if he needed any extra help.

And then I heard him...

the most beautiful sound ever that still brings tears to my eyes as I write this.

They showed him to me over the curtain and whisked him away. He was screaming his little lungs out. Ry went over there and kept saying "he's wiggling and fine". Then I heard the confirmation, "he's got a good set of lungs, he's fine". And he just kept crying and so did I.

He was fine, PERFECT to be exact.

They put him in my arms for just a second before taking him away to be cleaned up. I told Ryan to go with him while they finished me up.

I was in the recovery room for an hour and did not see my baby but Ry kept going back and forth telling me exactly what was going on.

Meanwhile, in the waiting room, after 2.5 years of laughing about it I know what went on in there. My cousin Liz and her husband went to get our bag in the mean time and were waiting to see us come out of surgery. Our families kept checking the nursery to see if a new baby was in there. My sister spotted Ry in the nursery first and almost killed herself running back to everyone to tell them HE was here!

Everyone ran like ducklings following their mama and lined up behind the glass of the nursery to see this. One of our favorite shots taken by Grandpa.

They put D up to the glass to meet the family and my mom says he stuck out his tongue at everyone. A little personality already.

I told Ry "no one gets to hold him until I do".

My request (demand) was granted as soon as I was wheeled back into the room.

With our family there, it was a PERFECT way to meet our son. Perfect that everyone was there even though I was supposed to call them before they showed up, which in retrospect I wouldn't have had time to nor remembered until the baby was born.

We were surrounded by our loved ones to welcome DANIEL (6lbs 1.7 oz 18.5 inches long, born at 10:13pm, he got that #13 in there to make me happy about the room number) into the world.

He made a BIG entrance into this world and we know he will make a huge impact on it. Happy 2 and 1/2 birthday!!!!!!!!