The Day Before My Baby Turns One

This was me exactly one year ago. 

Oh. My. Word. I was big, and I was so ready to have this baby boy. It was a day past my due date, and I was headed in for my 40 week (1 day) doctor's appointment.

My mom came along with me so that she could keep an eye on Noelle while I got checked and talked to the doctor. Since I was already 4 cm dilated, my OB asked if I wanted to go ahead and schedule an induction for sometime that week.

My response: heck yes!

We stopped by the receptionist's desk on the way out to schedule and were set up to have the induction at 6:00 a.m. two days later. I texted Luke and we joked about how it was going to be an early morning (especially because I planned on getting up super early to workout one last time before we left for the hospital.)

It was my mom's birthday, so after the appointment I treated her to some lunch and then we walked around the mall for awhile. Noelle and I headed home and I hoped she would nap so I could nap. But she gave in to the car nap, and I knew there was no hope of her napping at home. I decided to go pick up a few last minute things I wanted to have on hand, as well as a Big Sister shirt for Noelle.

Heather Boockholdt Photography

Ever since the appointment, I'd been feeling a bit crampy, but my appointment the previous week had left me feeling the same way. But as we were walking into Kohls, I began to think that the cramping was a little more painful. By the time we got home after successfully finding a shirt, I thought maybe the cramps were coming regularly...like maybe they were contractions. But only maybe- I was focused on making it to my induction two days later!

After Luke got home and we ate dinner, we decided to take a family walk around the block, and by then I was noticing the pain was more intense in regular intervals. As we walked, I started to time how far apart they were, and it ranged anywhere from 7 to 11 minutes apart. By the time we got home and had sat down to watch some t.v., I was in a lot more pain and decided to go lay down.

Not too much later, my contractions were consistently 5 minutes apart, and by the time we were on the phone with my OB, some were 3 minutes apart. He thought that the doctor I had seen that day at my appointment probably swept my membranes, and that in turn had probably helped get my labor going. He told us to go ahead and meet him at the hospital. My mom had already arrived to take Noelle, and was trying to coach me through breathing while the contractions were hitting.

That drive to the hospital felt like the longest in my life! I remember just laying back between each contraction to rest before the next one hit. And then when we parked at the emergency room and walked into the entrance, all I could think was that I was going to puke. Thankfully there was a trash can right through the door and I made it just in time. In time to puke in front of a very packed emergency room. But I didn't care- I stood there gripping the trash can until someone came out to help me sit in a wheelchair and take me up to labor and delivery. If nothing else, giving birth has made me reevaluate what is embarrassing!

me after my epidural

Once we were up and checked in, the nurse checked me and said I was 9 plus centimeters dilated! She asked if I wanted an epidural, and I said yes please! I could tell the nurse was a little nervous about whether or not I would get one because I was so far along, but since my water was still intact, I could still get one. Praise the Lord! I am so thankful for the invention of the epidural.

After the good stuff took affect, it was time to push. And after about 20 minutes of pushing, our baby boy was born and in my arms! He was born at 12:28 a.m., and if he had been born just 29 minutes earlier, he would share a birthday with his Nana. We marveled at his hair and watched him get a bath. He latched right on when we attempted nursing.

He was a perfect little baby and just the addition God had planned for our little family!