The Story of August Hope

Every "birth"day story is a special one, and Augusts' is no exception. :) Today I'll share how August came into the world - and you'll promise not to laugh.

May 17th - as I blogged about a few days ago, was my due date. I went to see my OB that morning to get checked where he informed me I was still at 3cms but pretty paper thin effaced. He told me that I could go anytime, but, set up an appointment for the following Friday to see how I was doing. I was bummed. Ok, more then bummed. And as I shared earlier, that day just went down hill even more after getting the wrong drink order at Caribou. I'm still mad about that!

Brad drove me home and dropped me off so he could head into work. A friend had taken Ava for the day to play and eat lunch so I had the house to myself. I tried to take a long nap but couldn't seem to get comfortable. So I turned on some Martha Stewart and just relaxed. Brad hadn't been gone for more then 30 minutes when I started having "cramps". {or so I thought} I sent him a text saying, "weird crampy feeling every 15 minutes...keep your phone on." So the afternoon went on. I continued having these "cramps" and continued to get more uncomfortable - so, I did what every 40 week pregnant woman would do, I started some laundry. Going up and down the stairs was getting harder and harder - I credited all of this pain to being checked that morning, and thought nothing further of it.

Around 2 pm my friend dropped Ava back off at home. I told her I was having pretty bad crampy pains and we chatted a bit, then I laid Ava down for her nap. I dozed on the couch for like a half an hour but the pain wouldn't let me sleep. Weird. Still NO CLUE this was labor. Am I an air head or what?! But in my defense... Ava was induced and an epidural was immediately given post pitocin - so I had NO clue what true labor felt like. My last time doing this I laughed and joked through my contractions most of the day.

At 5:30 a lady from church brought us a meal. {My church is full of wonderful people!} As she was setting things up and chatting with us I kept having to stop and lean on something... a chair, the table, my hip. I started to wonder when this would let up - I mean, it had every other time! We ate our amazing meal of kebabs, fresh bread, potatoes, almond bars - the works! By the end of dinner I was in horrible pain. We decided to call the nurse and ask what they thought. After she took down my info and asked a ton of questions she calmly said, "Mrs. Pausley, you need to come in." Was she speaking so calmly because she thought I was nuts?! We called Brad's aunt who came over to take care of Ava. We didn't really have a set plan for how this would play out - and this is where the story gets crazy. After we called Aunt Sue my contractions went crazy... like, every 2 minutes or less. So we finished packing some stuff, threw it in the van and Sue came. I didn't get to have the "Mommy is going to have a baby" chat with my little 2 year old who was clearly confused and scared at why I was in pain and acting strange. As we tried to leave the house she just burst out in tears (so did I) so I stooped down to hug her and kiss her goodbye. That was so very hard. I couldn't explain, there was no time. My heart just ached as I watched the alligator tears flow down her cheeks - as aunt Sue distracted her. I felt so guilty and helpless... even now remembering makes me get all emotional {sniff}. Brad insisted that I get in the van and away we went. Then I remembered what I was wearing - brown sweatpants and a missions trip t-shirt. Granted, I wasn't going to a dance, but... had dreams of looking at least a little more presentable. All the nonsense wore off as the contractions tore through - on our way to the hospital.

Once there we parked in the WRONG lot. I couldn't take more then 4 or 5 steps at a time and felt like walking to the hospital door was like crossing a football field length wise. :/ Once inside Brad grabbed a wheelchair and we found the closest elevator and made our way to L & D. The front desk seemed to take For-Ev-Errrr and was asking questions I had already answered in my pre-registration packet. My contractions were beastly and Brad ended up doing most of the answering. They wheeled me into triage, also know as the DEVILS WAITING ROOM to me, where they told me I had to be monitored for 20 minutes to see if was "really in labor". For real?! The nurse hooked me and baby up and said a comment along the lines of, "wow, your contractions are so close and strong they look like buildings". Cute. Not really. After a gruelling 20 minutes I told the nurse I needed meds and fast, and, could possible need to push. She told me she didn't think there would be time for meds but would check after we were admitted... WHAT? WHY AREN'T WE ADMITTED YET!?

They got me back into the wheelchair and began my journey to my room. I heard a sweet voice say, "Hi Amanda, I'm Dr so-n-so... oh, she's having a contraction." Clearly I wasnt in a chatty mood at this point. The pain was so intense. So...very...intense. The nurse replies to this well intended doc - "yea, this one is gonna go quick". Well then - encouraging.

I get to my room and they attempt to draw blood and hook up my IV. Apparently I still have no veins. They couldn't find ONE. After a try in my arm and side of my left wrist I remember saying, "I seriously need something for pain now" and the nurse telling me, "there's no time, I'm sorry." They couldn't get an IV in to get my fluids in... so, no pain relief. They tried one last attempt at Fentanyl and got half a dose in when I felt this massive urge to push - uncontrollable and something I did NOT experience with Ava's birth. So as she's injecting this stuff... out comes Augusts head and she immediately had to stop the med. Then that funny thing they always say - "Don't push yet" which, clearly that is beyond my control at this point. I almost laughed. No, I didn't. My husband tells me that through this whole experience I was "more passionate" then with Ava's delivery. Ha! Well said dear. I do remember the nurse telling me to "quit yelling" and "yelling isn't going to help anyone". Weird, seemed to help me. :)

A few pushes later and my beautiful baby girl entered the world. She was MASSIVE. I just stared at her as they whisked her over to the NICU table {another meconium baby} for a quick nose clearing. And amazingly, my pain was gone in an instant. Just. Like. That. They brought in the scale and we read the numbers, "9lbs, 1oz" and were told "21 inches long". She came out with dark black hair just like Ava and had an indentical face to my precious big girl at home. I wanted to cry - but, couldn't. Adrenaline my guess. After getting her checked out they handed her to me and I kissed those chubby cheeks I had longed to touch for the last 40 weeks. She was perfect. Her rosy skin and alert eyes memorizing the fuzzy shape of my face. She stuck her tongue out over and over and we giggled at the moment. I still can't believe how fast she came.

And now she's here with us. And life changes a little bit - and we are tired and learning our new roles of parents of two girls. Days are challenging and tiring and sweet. I've changed a zillion diapers and nursed a billion times - or maybe it just feels like that. And overall we praise God for working out this perfect birthday story. Today August is 2 weeks old. I cried this morning as I looked over her face again while nursing. She's already changing and growing. I can't do anything to slow time down and savor my precious babies longer. I love this exhausting season of life.