I Think We Need to go to the Hospital!!

Dear Cal,

For nine months, we waited, dreamed, hoped and planned. In about 13 hours, all our waiting came to an end and our dreams came true with your arrival.

As I've already told you, I had my last doctor's appointment on Thursday, March 13th and the nurse practictioner didn't seem too hopeful you would be arriving anytime soon. I was pretty disappointed after this appointment, because I was hoping you would arrive in time for Easter, which was the following weekend. I went to school on Friday feeling fine. I left at the end of the day planning to be back on Monday. Happily, I was wrong!

That night, I had made reservations to take Daddy out for dinner. His birthday was coming up and I wanted to make sure we got one last date in. We went to a fancy restaurant in the North End and had a delicious dinner. After we ate, we toyed with the idea of going out for bit longer because I felt great- not tired at all! We decided to go home instead and headed back to the Q. As we got into the elevator, I felt a little something, but didn't think too much of it. We got upstairs and were sitting on the couch playing Guitar Hero when my water broke. Not a big dramatic gush like you see on TV and in the movies, but enough so I noticed! I told Daddy that I thought my water had broken and he asked what we should do next. I told him I had no idea and he suggested I call somebody. I called Auntie Nancy and she told me I should call the after hours line for the doctor. I did and the midwife called right back. She told us to head right to the hospital so we got our bags together. I had actually packed our bags a few weeks ahead of time. I had read lots of lists of things to bring to the hospital, stocked up on the things I thought we'd need and packed and repacked. I had stuff for you, for me and for daddy. Despite being prepared in advanced, I basically unpacked and repacked before I was ready to go. Nerves, I guess! We called Nana, Abba and Auntie Erin, hopped in the truck and off we went.

I couldn't believe how calm and collected your dad was on the ride to the hospital. I was not in any pain- no contractions yet- but I was so scared. After months of waiting, the time had come and I didn't know what to expect. Daddy kept me calm, though, by saying funny things and playing our "car game." We arrived at South Shore Hosptial in no time, although we did have a bit of trouble finding the right door and then the maternity ward. We checked in with the midwife and were sent to wait at labor and delivery. We had to wait a few minutes before getting into a room, but I still wasn't having any contractions so the wait wasn't so bad. The funny thing was, as soon as we sat in L&D, my nerves went away. I knew we were where we were suppose to be and that we would be meeting you soon!

We were taken back to a room and the very nice nurse told me to change my clothes and get ready for the doctor to come in and examine me. A few minutes later, Dr. Shakr arrived. I couldn't have been any happier than when I saw he was the doctor on duty. He was my favorite from the practice and I knew we were in good hands. As he started the examine I got a little nervous again- not about labor or anything, but because Daddy hadn't been in the room for one of those kind of exams yet. I got over it quick though, because he assured me it wasn't a big deal. Dr. Shakr confirmed pretty quickly that my water had broken. He did an ultrasound so we could see how you were doing- our last glimpse of you on the inside! Unfortunately, even though my water had broken, I wasn't actually in labor yet, so he order some drugs to get the ball rolling. He predicted you would arrive late on Saturday or early on Sunday. That seemed a long way away, since it was only around midnight on Friday night! I got an IV (ouch!!) and some monitors and Daddy and I settled in for the night.

I was feeling fine, so Daddy went to sleep. The nurses were in and out checking on things so it was hard for me to sleep. Plus, one of the monitors was recording your heartbeat, and I couldn't stop watching it. I wanted to make sure you were doing okay and that your heartbeat stayed steady!

Shortly after Daddy went to sleep, I began having contractions. Yowzer. They were not pleasant. Within no time, they were coming fast and hard. At one point, the nurse came in to ask if I was feeling them, since they were showing up on the monitor, but I wasn't making any noise! I told her I was indeed feeling them, but I was trying to pretend I wasn't, hoping that would make them less painful! At that point, she stayed for a few minutes and we talked about pain medication and what I wanted to do. I was really committed to trying to NOT take any medications, especially not an epidural. The nurse, who's name was Pat, said that was fine and she would help me in any way she could. She gave me a few pointers for dealing with the pain and said she'd be close by if I needed her.

Sometime not long after, Dr. Ekhardt came in to check me out (Dr. Shakr had gone home.) She said I was more than half way there and that things looked good! No one could believe things were moving along so quickly! Because things were moving so quick, Pat stayed with me in the room. I didn't realize ahead of time that I would have my very own nurse. I thought they would just come in for the grand finale, but Pat stayed with us for almost the whole time. By this point, it was early in the morning and Daddy had woken up. We filled him in on what was going on, but I don't think he realized how much pain I was in because he started to complain about his back hurting. He figured out quickly it was not the time to complain and as soon as he realized what was going on he was by my side. I can't tell you how awesome your Daddy was (once he woke up!) He helped me through the contractions until around 9:30. I didn't know how much longer things would last and the pain was getting the best of me, so I finally caved and asked for an epidural. Pat asked if I would mind if she examined me first, since we had to wait for the anesthesiologist anyways. I agreed and she told me we were almost ready to push. I was pretty glad to hear that news and I went back to my original plan- no epidural. No time later, I knew I had to start pushing. Dr. Ekhardt came back and things got exciting. I started pushing. And pushing. And pushing. It felt like I was pushing forever and, man, was it hard work!! Daddy was right there through it all, encouraging me! I said some silly things at this point. I even announced to the room that you were evicted. Everyone thought it was pretty funny. Everyone but me, that is. I just wanted you out and in my arms. An hour later, I had my wish. With one last big push you came rocketing out!

The first thing I noticed was your red hair. I hope its still red by the time you read this. You were put right on my belly and I helped the nurse to clean you off. I can't find the words to explain what it was like to hold you for the first time. You were so unbelievably beautiful! They let me nurse you for a few minutes before they took you off to the side to clean you up, weigh you, all that stuff. You took to it right away and again, I can't tell you how amazing that was. I didn't want to give you up to the nurse, but I knew they had to check you out. You passed all your first tests with flying colors! You weighed in at 6 pounds, 13 ounces and you were 21.5 inches long. My tall, skinny boy!

They took you away to the nursery shortly after you were born and Daddy and I made some phone calls. I called Nana and Granky first. They were driving as quickly as they could home from Florida and were so excited to hear the news. Daddy called Abba but he she wasn't home! We then called all your Aunties and Uncles and sent text messages to our friends. We were so excited to share our news and everyone was very glad to hear it!

So that's the story. Nine long months, 13 crazy hours and you were hear. I was your Mommy and I couldn't have been happier or any more in love.