My Valentine. (Part 2)

Continued from Part 1.

Since my blood pressure was so high and I was past my due date, they decided to induce me later that night. They hooked me up for one more round of monitoring before they let us leave for the evening and Nolan looked great! We were told to show up at McKay Dee Hospital at 9:00 that night to get things started. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was finally time to meet my boy! We were released around 5:00 that evening and had a few hours to kill, so we went to Subway for dinner and went home to watch The Bachelor.

We got to the hospital just before nine and were taken right up to Labor & Delivery (in a wheelchair...ugh.) They took us to the delivery room and had me change into a hospital gown as Chris pulled our car around and brought all of our stuff inside. By 9:15, I was getting my blood drawn, answering a million questions, and being hooked up to an IV. Our nurse's name was Carrie, and she was so fantastic! She wrote Nolan's name on the whiteboard in the room, but for some reason she put quotation marks around it and Chris teased her most of the night about it. She was a good sport and put up with our giddy obnoxiousness.

Carrie called my midwife, Kathy, to let her know that I was there and ready to go. They started the pitocin and warned me that most of the time it takes a few hours for the contractions to start. Kathy broke my water and put in a monitor to watch my contractions. Within two minutes, not only did the contractions start, but they were regular and they were painful! I decided to get an epidural so that I could get some sleep and get ready for the delivery in the morning.

I was terrified to get the epidural. Terrified. I'd heard so many horror stories about how painful it was going to be and the horrible shocks it was going to send up my spine. The anesthesiologist came in with his cart and Carrie had me sit on the edge of the bed and hold her hands. All of a sudden, it was over. I barely even felt it! I was numb and exhausted. Chris and I slept as well as we could through the rest of my labor. It was so calm and relaxing and painless.

My mom came to the hospital at around 6:00 in the morning. We sat in the dark room and watched the news and listened to Nolan's heartbeat on the monitor as Chris slept. She decided to leave to get some coffee just as the nurse came in to check my progress. We were expecting some progress because my contractions were strong and regular, but I didn't think I'd be anywhere close to delivery. I'd heard so many times that not only does it take longer to give birth to your first baby, but pitocin and epidurals supposedly slow labor as well. She checked me and I was complete! All of a sudden, there were people wheeling things into my room and arranging diapers and blankets on the counter. My mom wasn't even back from getting her coffee! Everything was moving so fast.

At a little after 7:00, my nurse decided we would try a practice push. I waited for my next contraction and pushed through it. The nurse had me stop pushing and wait for my midwife to get in the room. Kathy came in and had me start to really push. One contraction later, Nolan Christopher joined the world! We didn't time the pushing, but there is no way I pushed for longer than one or two minutes. It was so quick and easy! I never thought I'd be "that mom" who breezed her way through childbirth and bragged about it, but honestly if I knew that every delivery would be like that I would have 15 kids.

When Nolan came out, they put him on my chest and Chris cut his umbilical cord (I know! I was surprised too!) I remember just looking down at Nolan's face and everyone else in the room was gone. He had his eyes wide open and was just staring at me. He wasn't really crying and was a little bit blue so they took him from me to get him cleaned up. As soon as the nurse grabbed him, he started wailing. He just wanted his mommy.

Chris went with Nolan to the nursery to get cleaned up and had to give him a bottle because his blood sugar was a little bit low. It felt like it took years for them to bring him back to me. After family met him and spent some time holding him, Chris and I ordered room service and cuddled up with our son for the night. It was everything I'd imagined and so much more.

Nolan Christopher was born on February 14, 2012 at 7:23 in the morning. He weighed six pounds, four ounces and measured 20 inches long. When I found out I was pregnant in June, one of the first thoughts that I had was how amazing it would be if my baby was born on Valentine's Day. Last year, I spent February 14 with the same midwife who delivered Nolan...seeing Eden's heartbeat for the very first time. It was almost one year later to the minute that my son was placed in my arms for the first time in my recovery room. That is not a coincidence and nobody will ever be able to convince me otherwise.

I love you more than you'll ever know, Nolan boy.