A year ago today…

I am copying and pasting what I wrote last year on this day…and some of what I wrote after the huge event…

I have cleaned the couch cushions. Restuffed some of the pillows. Cleaned the stove. Bought new drip pans for the stove. Bought headbands for the girls to do their own hair (they asked). Vacuumed. Dusted. Laundry. Cleaned all the bathrooms (except the basement one). Caught up on scrapbooking. EVEN the pregnancy one…up to last weeks photos! Replaced burnt out light bulbs (I had Shayne do one in my bathroom because I couldn’t climb on the counter). Packed my bag. The baby’s bag. Stocked the pantry with breakfast and snack stuff. Cleaned the kitchen. Organized the silverware drawer. Cleaned the hardwood floors. Cleaned the car out. Cleaned car seat. Cleaned off the stack of papers on the desk. Left printed instructions for my SIL and twinkie. Gave myself a facial. Read a ton of books to each kid. And…I’m sure there’s more. I am just too exhausted to remember it all!

What is left for me?

My toenails (as of 2:43PM CST).

Hopefully Paul will be home in an hour or so and I can go get that taken care of.

His list?

Take all the scrapbook supplies down to the basement. Get the extra car seat for Sage down from the top shelf in the garage.

So what am I not ready for tomorrow about?

The emotional part of me. Yeah…the being done having babies part. It’s a bitter-sweet pill to swallow. I really am one of those freaks that loves being pregnant. I don’t mind the not sleeping. I don’t mind the stretch marks. I don’t mind that I have to have a cerclage done each time. Not that I love that, but it is what it is. I am also lucky to be one of those women that doesn’t get morning sickness too terribly. Just nausea. Lucky me! I love all the movement of the baby within. I love that there isn’t anyone else that could’ve carried my babies like me. Yep. That part of tomorrow is going to be rough. It was rough when I had Sage and we were “done” then too. I am beyond grateful that I will have 5 babies.

I will also tell you that I can’t wait to meet this little person inside of me. I can’t wait to see what he looks like. I really, REALLY am hoping he isn’t of giant size.

*********************************************************************************************************************

So as mentioned…here is what actually happened…

I hadn’t painted my toenails yet as of 2:43PM CST of Wednesday. I was having a few contractions throughout the day. They were painful but there wasn’t much I could do about that. I had to go pick up the kids from school. My neighbor came over and asked if I could pick up his kid’s fundraising stuff since today was the pick up for that. CRAP! I had forgotten about that.

So I head up to the school. I have teachers, parents, and everyone asking when I am going to have that baby. Tomorrow morning is the plan was my response. I was also stopping a lot because of the contractions. Julie (Lexi’s mom…Shayne’s best friend!) was up at the school to pick up some fundraising stuff too. She could tell I was hurting. She carried Sage. Another teacher…Mr. Williams, got a big, flat-bed cart and loaded it up with my 3 kids stuff and the neighbor’s stuff. His wife asked if I was in labor. I didn’t want to say yes. I said, “I hope not. Paul’s not in town. I can’t get a hold of him and besides…he’s supposed to wait until tomorrow.” I don’t think anyone believes me at that point. I head home. Julie follows and unloads all of the fundraising stuff. It’s cookie dough so it’s not like we could just leave it in the car. So I just try to sit and relax.

Yeah right. I head upstairs. I have the kids help me put their laundry away…which really means that they had to do it because I was still contracting. So then I decide to take a bath to try and relax. Shayne wants to help so she runs the bath water. I am still hoping that my contractions will stop. I really was hoping they were getting closer because I had just overdone it. As soon as Sage figures out where I am she takes off her clothes and climbs in with me. Fine. Whatever. I really, REALLY want the contractions to stop. Did I really give birth naturally with Shayne? Because holy crap. These contractions are killing me. Sage is messing with my belly button. FINALLY, I hear Paul come in. I yell for him to come get Sage. He tells her to come here. I yell that she’s in the tub with me. So he comes upstairs. I tell him how much I am hurting. The contractions…etc. He asks how far apart they are. I have no idea. They have been getting closer but that I have been working my butt off. He times them. They are 5 minutes apart. Hmmm….okay then. I want to shower so I can shave my legs. Then I will rest for a bit and see if that helps.

I get dressed and do my make-up. I am stopping every 5 minutes because of the PAIN!!!!!!! I holler for Paul again. He was downstairs fixing the kids’ supper. I tell him I am calling the Dr. and he needs to shower. Want to know what I was doing when he came upstairs?

I was painting my toenails.

It wasn’t easy. It hurt like Hades.

But I got it done.

The Dr. calls me back and I talk to her and tell her what’s going on. She tells me that she will tell the hospital we are heading in. Paul is still in the shower. I load the car up. I am still stopping every few minutes because of the contractions. My SIL’s boyfriend shows up because …we need someone to sit at the house with the kids and Carrie will be there soon but not before we need to leave. We leave the house.

Paul is doing 90mph on the highway. Why? “I don’t want to deliver this baby!!!!”

We get to the hospital at 7PM.

(Right before we left for hospital)

We arrive at the hospital at 7PM. I shuffle in and stop because of another painful contraction. We get signed in and a nurse walks us back to suite 277. She starts asking me a few things.

“So what’s going on?”

“This is baby #5. I have been having contractions all day.”

“Okay. How fast have your other deliveries gone?”

“Well, usually, I am induced at 7AM and then they come before 11:30.”

She pauses. Looks at me and says, “Okay. You get changed. I need to check you pretty fast.”

I get changed climb into the bed—of course stopping because of another contraction.

She checks me. “Okay. You are dilated to 5. 100% effaced. Did you want an epidural?”

“Um…Heck yeah I do.”

She starts moving so fast it would make a normal person wonder what the heck was going on.

Other nurses start coming in asking if they can help her with anything. She was trying to get an iv going and blood work done. The problem with that is my veins are crappy for this kind of stuff. She was able to get the iv going. She had to use my other arm to get the blood work done.

Why all the rushing?

Because before you can have an epidural your platelet count has to be checked and you have to have so much IV fluid pumped. She got a pressure wrap around the IV bag and was squeezing it for all she had. I was, of course, still contracting.

The anesthesiologist comes in and asks me how I am doing.

“I will be better once you stab me in the back,” was my response.

He got all of his stuff ready and got the epidural done. My nurse checks me…dilated to 7.

Fast forward thirty minutes. My contractions have almost disappeared. I am still 7cm dilated. What’s the deal? She checks me a little better.

pop.

My water breaks. I am dilated to 9 now. Dr. comes in. It isn’t my Dr. I was so disappointed.

I am complete at 9:20PM. Complete is 10cm dilated. I have also been pushing my “give me more medicine button” on the epidural pump because…I can feel way more than I would like. As in…holy crap does this hurt!!!!!!!!!!!

At 9:28PM, my son is born. He peed all over the Dr. His cord was around his neck—tightly one time. Paul cut the cord—the only one of our 5 children he has done this for. We are all crying. Me, Paul, Katie and my twin, Bonnie. He peed all over the warmer too.

He weighs 7lbs .01 oz. He is 20 inches long. His Apgars are 8-9-9.He has big chubby cheeks. Lots of dark hair. A perfectly round head (that measures 13 3/4). Long fingers and even longer toes.

He is perfect in every way.

I am in love.

We got the night shift off with a bang. Our nurse, Vanessa, was one of the best. It would have been nice to have her for longer than the 2 hours and 28 minutes before our son made his entrance.

So a super fast delivery. Pain in ways you can’t describe. Love so amazing it will never be the same.

Cooper Paul.