The details of Audrie's birth are already starting to seem like a blur, so I wanted to type it all up while I could still remember every amazing moment.
I had been having contractions for several weeks and was wondering how I would know when the "real" thing was happening. Well, Tuesday morning I woke up at 3am with some very different contractions and I had an instinct the time had come. Just like the books said that you would know. I knew it was the real deal. I laid there for a while timing them and they were about 10 minutes apart and pretty intense. So I decided to get up a walk around for awhile to test if they would go away. They didn't. I went and sat in the rocker in the baby's nursery and tried to calm myself down. I have a Bible on the shelf next to the rocker, so I opened it up and started looking for verses about babies and childbirth. I came across some really neat verses, but I was upset because they were all about boys (I thought God was sending me one last message that I was having a boy...!). About 4am the contractions started getting harder and about 8 minutes apart and that's when I started getting really excited. I started to realize that it was all really happening and the baby was coming today! I got a huge burst of excited energy and started zipping around the house straightening and cleaning (in between stopping to grab the wall to breathe through a contraction). I even did some last minute scrapbooking in the baby book that I had meant to do. It was funny because I was trying so hard to be still while I was gluing tiny bows on a page, but I was having such hard contractions that the bows kept popping off. I remember thinking that I needed to hurry and wake up Jamie because he would be really mad if I had the baby in the living room floor because I was so concerned with finishing my scrapbooking. So finally at 5 am, I went into the bedroom and sat next to Jamie and started rubbing his hair. He opened one eye and asked me if I was ok. I said "Yes, but we're gonna have a baby today". He sat up fast and said "Really??!... what should we do?!" (ironically that's the same thing he said when we found out we were pregnant). We timed the contractions again and by then they were about 5 minutes apart. So we decided to take showers and start getting stuff in the car for the hospital. Then, about 5:30am, Jamie said I should call my mom and tell her my symptoms. Of course my mother, in her always calm manner, told me that, yes, it sounded like I was gonna have a baby. Then Jamie called his mom and told her it was time and to start the 2 hour drive over. (Jamie's mom's first response when we called her was "what should I do?"... I guess Jamie gets that response from her!) Then we called Kim and Gloria and gave them the secret code "Thundercats, Go!" (inside joke from the movie Juno). It was close to 6am then and the contractions were hurting me pretty bad. Jamie told me I was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde because I would become the devil for about 45 seconds through a contraction and then as soon as it was over I would instantly smile and pick up the sentence where I'd left off. We were still trying to decide if it was too early to go to hospital so we timed the contractions one more time and they were about 3-4 minutes apart. We decided we better head to the hospital- we had all our bags packed and were prepared for a long day and night of labor. Before we left, Jamie and I both held each other and said a prayer that everything would go ok and thanked God that we were going to get to meet our baby today. On the way to the hospital we called a few more people and I called my long term sub to let him know he was starting work today! Once we got there we had to wait in the ER waiting room for a few minutes while they pulled my paperwork. Jamie fanned me as I paced the room trying to breathe with every contraction. Kim showed up with her camera and hugs for us. We all tried to hold back tears of nervousness and excitement. Finally the nurse wheeled me to the labor and delivery floor, but they didn't have any rooms open because so many babies had been born that night. So they put us in a back recovery room while they worked on getting us a birth room ready. Our nurse, Lindsey, came in and talked to us a little and gave me a lovely hospital gown to change into and told me she'd come back to check me. But she told me that most likely I could expect to be sent home (I think they tell everyone that...). Lindsey came back a bit later and checked me and immediately informed me that, yes, I would be having a baby today! I was dilated to a 5 and fully effaced and baby was heading on down. A few minutes later they took us down to the birthing room that was ready for us. I told the nurse that I didn't want to lay in bed yet and I wanted to walk around for awhile to help things stay moving along. Gloria and Jamie's mom showed up then and we all hugged again- you could feel everyone's excitement. I tried to stay calm while I walked around but the contractions were really starting to go beyond anything I had expected. Jamie was amazing at helping me through them. He rubbed my back, talked me through the breathing, and let me rip his arm off.
Our nurse came in and checked me again and told me I was dilated a little over a 6 and asked me if I wanted to get in bed yet and order an epidural. I decided to try to walk around a little while longer because I was afraid that once I got the epidural everything would slow down and I'd be in bed for the next 10 hours. The contractions were coming about every 2 minutes and knocking the breath out of me as I tried to keep all the curse words inside my head. Finally, I waved the white flag, climbed in bed and was introduced to my new best friend- the epidural. I know some people have some strong opinions about all naturale childbirth (and I applaud those brave women!) but for me it was the best decision. And Jamie was relieved that I could finally relax and pry my fingernails out of his biceps.
After I got the epidural, everything moved at lightening speed. My mom and several more of our family and friends started showing up. The nurse did break my water for me and I'll let Jamie tell you his version of that, but his face was a new shade of white and the nurse made some comment about "beaver lake". The nurse kept checking me every few minutes and was commenting on how fast I was progressing. I was watching the monitor that measures the intensity level of the contractions and praising Jesus that I was not feeling what I was seeing happening on the screen. I love this picture that Kim took, because if you look at the clock it's 12:20 and we are so relaxed and happy... not knowing that in 25 minutes we'd be holding our baby!
Shortly after this picture, the nurse checked me and instantly rushed everyone out except the grandma's and Jamie (and Kim who was hiding behing the TV). The doctor came in the room. I pushed like a rockstar for 20 minutes. And then we met Audrie. She was a little slimy, but I immediately burst into tears and knew I'd love her the rest of my life.
Jamie bravely cut the cord and after I held her few minutes and heard her beautiful cry- they whisked her to the corner to get her all de-gunked. Jamie went and stood next to her and talked to her while they weighed and measured her. She quit crying when she heard her daddy's voice and I could see the tears streaming down his cheeks.
They brought Audrie back over to me all bundled up warm and cozy. I held her for a long time and spent some time breastfeeding Audrie- she ate like it was the best meal she'd ever tasted! Finally I gave her up so Jamie and the grandma's and Kim could hold her. The doctor finished her work on me and the nurses cleaned up the room so that everyone in the waiting room could come in and meet our little girl. It all seemed to happen so fast (I guess because it did!) but it was an amazing experience and my face hurt all that day from smiling so much. We had a steady stream of visitors all afternoon and well into the night. Finally about 9:30 that night, we hugged the last of our family members goodbye. Jamie turned out the light in our room and he curled next to me in the hospital bed and held me while I cried tears of exhaustion and happiness. It was truly a day in my life that I will cherish forever.
