Danielle's Slam Down

Home sweet home. That's where we are now, a family of four! It's been a blur of exciting and memorable events that all started very early Monday morning...

I woke up around 2:30a feeling some minor contractions that continued irregularly throughout the night. I had a hard time sleeping because I was pretty anxious for Smitty to arrive, especially after 1) being told by Dr T that Smitty could possibly come over the weekend, and 2) being told by Naomi's teacher that the cold front moving thru town (and subsequent change in barometric pressure) was going to trigger my labor.

But I still wouldn't let myself think it was the real thing and surely it would be awhile before anything happened, so I got ready for work as planned...I really needed to finish up a few things before maternity leave, including my year-end review with my manager. However, after a few intense contractions, I decided maybe I better work from home just in case. Jeff was also working from home. Naomi was at school.

Fast forward to early afternoon. My work was done and I suddenly felt "Ok, this is for real. It is time!" (And no, we do NOT have time to return the library books on the way!)

We headed to the hospital and got all set up. Sometime after 1:00p, I had answered all the medical questions, gotten an IV, and the blessed epidural was kicking in. Life was good. Our uber friendly and cheery delivery nurse Candice said "You're at 6 cm. I'll be back around 3p to check your progress." As she was heading out, she casually mentioned "Buzz me if you feel any pain or unusual pressure or need anything". Jeff and I relaxed and planned to chill for a couple hours while nature took its course.

About 30 minutes later, I felt unusual pressure. It was definitely something different. I turned to Jeff, "Think I should buzz Candice?" Naaa, musta just been a really big contraction.

NOT exactly.

Just then Candice hurried in. She checked me immediately. Her cheery demeanor suddenly shifted into all-business. "You are about to have your baby." HUH?! But it's not even 3p yet!

1:45p. She handed me an oxygen mask and told me to breathe deep. Then she kicked into action. She was on the phone. "Need baby nurse. Get Dr T NOW! Baby slammin' down". All of a sudden there were about 5 people in the room preparing for the big moment.

1:56p. I'm told that during the next contraction I need to push three times for a count of 10.

1:57p. Smitty, er, Danielle arrived!!!

It was the most action-packed 12 minutes of our lives.

We later learned that I had rapidly dilated to 10 cm. This caused Danielle to suddenly drop into the birth canal, startling her and causing her heart rate to drop from 140 to 90. Candice saw the change on her monitor at the same time that I felt the pressure. Fortunately, Danielle recovered quickly and everything was fine. It just meant she was ready to get out!!

And we are so happy she is here with her very own unique labor story! She certainly made it easy on me.

TWELVE minutes. ONE contraction. THREE pushes. It doesn't get any easier than that.