My Water Broke!

I have never had my water break before. So, when I was laying down and had this gush of warm water flow into my undies...I raced to the bathroom to see what was going on! The faucet of water never stopped, so I knew something was up. Ironically, I was actually trying to take a nap, versus the lunges or squats I had done the morning of, or the grocery shopping with the kids earlier in the day. Nothing active made the water break! Just nature?

I was unprepared for this THREE WEEK early delivery of Levi Ross. So, I quickly called my peeps and got into action. Jennie Souders picked up all three boys and kept them overnight. Leslie Boley came right over, plastic liner in hand for my wet bottom, to escort me to the hospital. I called Jared and he had a hard time believing it was actually happening. I didn't feel any rush at this point, especially b/c I was not contracting at all.

Triage was normal. I was a "ruptured fern" and it meant that I was in labor...only dilated to a ONE. Leslie was great company with me as were transferred to the Labor and Delivery room. I was really hungry by now, and really happy that I could have a dinner selection from the hospital menu. Probably my favorite accommodation when in the hospital! Jared kept texting me to ask my status, but again, nothing was happening and I felt no desire to push, etc.

Jared arrived> Leslie went back home. It was a LONG night. By 9pm, 6 hours after being admitted, I had maybe gotten to a THREE. I had already decided on trying the epidural for the first time...and I am SO glad I did! My awesome nurse, Lizette, started the pitocin drip for me (another new experience) to get my contractions going. BOY DID THOSE CONTRACTIONS HURT. I felt like I was dilating to a NINE or TEN. When checked at 10:30pm, I had only gotten to a FOUR. What?!?! I asked for the epidural at this point. Jared had been trying to coach me along with my breathing with random thoughts of Jipee the duck, flesh colored pink balloons, or asking ME questions...as you can imagine none of these really helped me focus!

The anesthesiologist arrived around 11pm. I was VERY nervous about the shot. The local needles felt like swords in my back. It was hard to stay hunched over in between these intense contractions, and I was shaking like a leaf. Man...it was an intense experience for me. I was afraid that it wouldn't take and I would be stuck having to endure another natural delivery. Thank goodness that within 20 min, I was feeling numb in my legs and abdomen.

11-1am I was pronounced as "completed." Awesome. Bring on Dr. Fadool. Only problem, I didn't actually deliver Levi until 3am. Yes, I pushed for two hours for my sweet baby to emerge! What a workout that was. Doing tug 'o war with a towel, using the hand rails, straining all I can to find the right muscles...I was really amateur with the whole pushing thing. They teased me about having too many muscles, from doing all my lunges the morning of, that I couldn't relax to deliver the baby! It was not only frustrating, but I was pretty embarrassed with my legs up to the ceiling. Oh well. Levi finally came out and it was all worth it. All FOUR of my boys have come out wrong way facing!!! No wonder it takes so long!!!

7.5 lbs, 19 inches, 3:01am.

We had a little scare where they couldn't find Levi's bum hole! Without that, they worried about some intestinal track being off, and therefore he couldn't eat or poop (no nursing). They started getting situated for a surgery at another hospital and Jared and I were feeling very anxious, nervous and stressed out...saying lots of prayers. Within a few hours, when the Dr. was checking his status...HE POOPED! We were never so happy to see some black stuff creep out! They called it a miracle. It surely was.

Because of his status, they wanted to keep him in the NICU during our stay. Fine by me. It got me to exercise going back and forth between floors, and I was able to rest for 2 hour stretches at night. I got a bit lonely b/c Jared went back home to be with the boys, but I was peaceful and content knowing my baby was safe. It was plenty busy with all the nurses, admin and random volunteers that kept coming in every few hours to check on me and ask questions.

We stayed one extra day and the boys came and got me on a Thursday afternoon. Jared went back to work on Friday (which was a bit of a surprise for me, but I knew that he was pretty irritable and grouchy at this point and needed to get out). He and the boys had worked very hard at making the house set up perfectly for Levi's big arrival.

We are thrilled with our new present. FOUR BOYS. I am not quite ready to venture out on my own, and I am all alone for the next week with these energetic boys. Just need to get through the days hour by hour b/c we can no longer go swimming and I am tied to Levi with frequent feedings. We are all going to be adjusting. We are so excited for our sweet baby to be here.