Nathan's birth story is very uneventful and for that Matt and I are very thankful. For months we along with so many other people had been praying for a smooth labor and delivery and a healthy baby, and the Lord graciously answered all of our prayers.
Around 2:00am on Thursday May 5, Matt and I woke up to the sound of the alarm system in our house beeping. It was very strange since we don't have the alarm system turned on or monitored. It was so random, but now I just think of it as Nathan's alarm clock. Matt got up and turned off the alarm, and we both went back to sleep. I had a hard time falling asleep and spent time praying asking the Lord to bring Nathan into this world in his perfect timing.
About 2 1/2 hours later I woke up again (to go to the bathroom of course) and noticed I was having some cramping. I wasn't sure if they were contractions, but I stayed awake and started noticing the pains were happening every 5-7 minutes and were pretty regular. I just stayed in bed and tried to monitor the contractions. I didn't wake Matt up for one because I didn't want to get his hopes up if this was a false alarm and two I knew he needed his rest for the days (and weeks) ahead. Around 6:00am he heard me stirring and asked what I was doing. I told him I thought I was having contractions and in an excited voice he said, "Oh yeah" quickly followed by an apology for getting so excited about me being in pain. He started timing my contractions and we noticed they were starting to get closer together (around 4 minutes apart). They were pretty short and although painful nowhere near unbearable. We both got up, showered and got ready for what we hoped would be a monumental day in our family. The contractions remained consistent. Matt called into work and told him he wasn't coming in, we added the last few things to our hospital bags, and finished up some last minute chores around the house.
My doctor's office opened at 9:00 and I called as soon as they opened and talked to the nurse about my contractions. She told me to come into the office around 10:00am. Matt loaded the car in hopes that we wouldn't be sent back home and we went to the doctor. I was really glad she was able to fit us in because I was terrified of going to the hospital and getting sent back home. She checked me and told me I was dilated to a 4 and because of a strep test I tested positive for I needed to go ahead and go to the hospital and start on antibiotics. She told us that had I not been positive for the strep test, she would've given us the option to go home for a couple of hours before going to the hospital, but I think Matt and I were both glad to be heading straight from her office over to the hospital.
We arrived at the hospital at about 10:45, and I was admitted and all hooked up to the IV and fetal monitor. At this point my contractions were still 3-4 minutes apart and short enough in duration that the pain was still very bearable. Around 12:00 the contractions intensified, and I sent Matt to get the nurse to ask about an epidural. I had progressed to a 5 1/2 at that point and she got me prepped for the epidural. I hadn't made a final decision about whether or not I wanted one before I went into labor because I wanted to experience it first before making that big decision. I also talked to my doctor about it a lot and she was very helpful with debunking a lot of the myths I heard about negative things associated with an epidural (My biggest fears involved stopping progressing once receiving the epidural and not being able to push effectively- both leading to having to have a C-section). None of those were issues at all, and I think it was the best decision for us. I did have a goal to be dilated to at least a 5 before getting the epidural and I reached that goal.
About 1:00 the epidural was in and Matt and I both relaxed. I could tell the pre epidural contractions were as hard on him as they were on me. I remember being in the middle of a contraction and looking up at him asking if he was okay because of the look on his face. After the epidural was in, the nurse checked me again and I was at an 8 (so much for not progressing once I got an epidural). By 2:45, I was complete and ready to start pushing. I pushed 3-4 times with the nurse, and at that point she decided it was time to call my doctor. My doctor arrived at about 3:10 and after 3 or 4 more pushes, Nathan entered the world at 3:27pm and we were instantly in love. The doctor and nurses kept saying what a good pusher I was and I took pride in that until I realized that no doctor or nurse would tell their patient that they were a bad pusher.
Everything went so smoothly and very quickly. I think a lot of our family and even our doctor thought I'd be in labor until late in the evening, but Nathan was obviously ready to meet his mommy and daddy. May 5, 2011 will always be one of the best days or our lives.
We spent the evening talking all about Nathan and pregnancy and newborns. I can't wait for baby Amelia to get here. It's fun to be experiencing all these new things at the same time as Jeremy and Anna. They are going to be great parents and I'm praying Nathan and Amelia will be good friends.
Jeremy and Anna came over to our house on Saturday morning to get some more cuddles in. Nathan was very content to be in their arms and slept the entire morning. He was pretty fussy the night before, so I was happy he was sweet for them on Saturday morning.
While they were in Oklahoma they celebrated baby Amelia with a baby shower in Edmond. I was really bummed I didn't get a chance to be there to celebrate with them, but Matt and I just weren't quite up to that big of a day and that long of a car ride with such a little one and decided to stay at home.
It's so exciting that the next time we see Jeremy and Anna, we will be Aunt Angela and Uncle Matt, and Nathan will have a cousin!
