Baby H: MJH Birth Story pt 1

Mark Jameson was born on September 25th, 2014 at 12:49 am. His birth was completely different than I expected it to be, surpassed my expectations about what my first labor would be like and challenged me in ways I never knew possible. He sure had a mind of his own, this little boy of ours, and his birth story shows just that.

I was 39 weeks and 2 days pregnant. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for quite some time that were increasing in frequency but not doing a darn thing. I was at home for the evening doing some studying upstairs in my office while J was making dinner for us when I thought I was having my first real contraction. The feeling was very different than what I was used to, it felt like a really strong period cramp throughout my entire belly and into my back. It didn't take my breath away with pain but it definitely got my attention. I finished what I was working on and headed downstairs for dinner where I proceeded to tell J that I thought I finally had a real one. This was at about 6:30pm on Wednesday night.

We ate dinner together, burgers from the grill and sweet potato fries, and I continued to have the same type of contractions. They still weren't strong enough to make me think it was really time but I ended up having to stop eating during them and just focus when they happened. After dinner I decided to start timing them. I had no other symptoms or signs that labor was imminent and the contractions were already coming at intervals less than 5 minutes apart. I was convinced at this point that it wasn't really happening yet. It was now 7:00pm.

Over the course of the next hour and a half I timed contractions that were progressively getting stronger and stronger. J and I were watching Bridesmaids on TV while I moved around, drank lots of water and eventually got to the point where I had to stop what I was doing and couldn't talk through them anymore. Contractions were averaging 3-4 minutes apart lasting about a minute each. We figured we should call the doctor at this point since this was the "typical frequency" that warranted a call. Unfortunately my OB wasn't available that night and had specifically called in one particular OB to cover for her. After speaking to her about what was going on she casually said, "come on in if you think it's time". We contemplated whether we needed to go yet. We knew this was the real deal but didn't want to be the couple that shows up way too early. So we finished packing the last minute items in our hospital bag and J took my picture which would end up being the last one with my big baby belly. Contractions were getting strong, strong enough to make me a bit concerned so we figured it was time to head out. The time was 9:15pm.

The puppy momma in me wanted to make sure that our Ollie dog was well taken care of especially since he was already on edge sensing that something was up. So I insisted to J that we grab his leash and a bowl of food and drop him off at my mom's house on our way. I told J it would just make me that much more comfortable knowing he wasn't home alone. We got in the car and let me tell you how much worse contractions are when you're stuck in a car seat not able to move or position yourself differently. We finally got to my mom's, got the dog out of the car and I told J to get to the hospital as quick as he could because I needed out of the car asap.

We pulled into the hospital parking lot at the ER entrance since it was after hours and the main doors were closed. Within ten feet of the car I had a contraction, leaned over the suitcase, breathed hard and was honestly a little bit freaked out about how quickly things were changing. I was finally able to walk again and made it through the ER and into the hospital lobby before having another contraction that was even worse than the last. I couldn't walk, couldn't talk, clenched my fists until it was over. J told me we needed to walk as quick as we could because he was worried we wouldn't make it upstairs. I had another contraction in the elevator meaning J had to hold the doors open on the 3rd floor before I was able to walk the last bit into labor and delivery.

Part two coming tomorrow....