I discovered that I was expecting Liam the end of January 2008. I didn't believe it at first - thought it was too good to be true. Actually, Matt knew it before I did! I am blessed with a very observant husband, so he is the one who told me I should take a test. Since we lived in Pensacola, Florida at the time, and you could not go anywhere, really, without seeing someone you know, we waited until about 11 p.m one night to go the the CVS and buy a home test. It took me 3 tests to finally believe it and let myself get excited. We waited just a couple days, then phoned our parents to tell them the good news.
We called my parents first. Mom answered the phone, I made a little small talk, then I told her I had a quick question. Then I asked her, "Mom, what's one plus one?" She seemed a little confused, then said, "Two." Then I replied, "Really? Because the test I took tells me that one plus one equals three." Immediately she began to cry and say, "Are you serious? Are you telling me you are pregnant?" We assured her we were serious (Matt found humor after we got married to "cry wolf" on several occasions regarding this!), and she and Dad congratulated us. The next morning, we phoned Matt's parents. His mom answered the phone. He asked her, "Mom, do you enjoy being a grandmother?" She began to scream right away, not even giving Matt the chance to tell her that we were having a baby. She just assumed - good thing she was right! They were very happy for us. We kept it a secret from everyone else for 3 more weeks until I could go to the dr. and be sure that everything so far was going okay.
My pregnancy was very smooth - no complications. Near the end, I was very tired, as is typical. My mom arrived around 2 weeks before my due date, as we were not sure exactly when I would go into labor. Matt's mom arrived about a week later and the waiting game began. Some people thought it strange that I had both my mom and mom-in-law in the delivery room with me, but that is how I wanted it, and I know it was special for both of them. I would not change that ever!
Well, not ever having a baby, I was not sure what to expect. I remember thinking, "How will I know for sure if I am in labor?" Hehe - silly me. In the 2 weeks before Liam was born, I had 2 false alarm visits to the hospital. I actually pretty much knew each time that I was not truly in labor, but was sent there by my dr. to just be safe. I had been having Braxton Hicks a lot, but they were not painful. I was still working 6 hours a day, but was SO uncomfortable and tired.
Wednesday, September 27, we made the decision with my dr. that if he was not born by that Saturday, they would induce. I did not want to be induced, so I prayed very hard that he would come on his own. Since I had not slept well in quite some time, my dr. gave me some Ambien CR to help me get some sleep over the next couple of nights. So, we left the dr. office, went out to eat, then went home and I took my medicine and went to sleep.
But that did not last long! I woke up around 3 a.m. in INCREDIBLE pain! It was then I knew for sure that this was the real thing! You definitely know when you are in labor! I had been given the advice to try to stay at home as long as you can safely do so, as you will be more comfortable. I did not want to wake anyone just yet, so I tried all the relaxation stuff I had learned in childbirth class to help me stay relaxed. But finally, after about an hour and a half, I woke up Matt to tell him it was the real thing. He timed my contractions for a while. They were very consistent - 4-5 mins apart and lasting for 1 min. About 7:30 we woke up our moms and everyone rushed around getting ready, and off we went.
Now, at the time we were still living in Young Tower (a boys dorm) at Pensacola Christian college. Our apartment was on the second floor, but, due to my condition, I was unable to walk down the stairs. Matt went ahead to get the car pulled up front, and my mom and mom-in-law helped me to the elevator. Now, also remember that it was just before 8 a.m., right when all the college students were headed to their first class of the day. When the elevator arrived, it was about half full of boys going to class. We got on and the look on their faces was priceless - I wish I had a picture of it! Due to the pain, I was unable to stand up straight, and my mom was holding my arm - helping to keep me from falling over. I think those poor, young, innocent boys were scared to death that I was going to give birth right there on the elevator! If I wasn't in so much pain, I would have laughed so hard right then and there!
Well, we got to the hospital, and they immediately got me all set up. Because I had been in labor for several hours and was in quite a bit of pain, I decided to have them give me a little bit of Nubain to just take the edge off. Well, it worked and I was able to relax a little bit. When I got there, I was only about 2-3 cm dilated, so they figured that I had quite a while before it was time to deliver. By this time it was probably close to 10 a.m. My water still had not broken, but I was starting to feel the need to push. They checked and said I was only 5-6 cm, and to not push. My mom mentioned to the nurses that if I was anything like her, once I hit 5 cm it would only be a few minutes before it would be 10. They just nodded it off and said I probably still had several more hours left, and probably would not have the baby before lunch. But I told them that I could not help it - I needed to push. They checked again (with only about 15 mins having passed since the last time) and I was more than 8 cm already.
They phoned my dr., only to find that she was not able to come that day, so her colleague headed to the hospital. By the time Dr. Khan arrived, I was solely concentrating on NOT pushing because I knew I wasn't supposed to. But that is like telling a fish not to swim - I HAD to push. Matt was sticking his finger in front of my face, having me "blow it out" like a candle like we had learned in class. I got so irritated at that! I wanted to slap his hand so hard and tell him that I could stop pushing just as easily as he could hold his breath for 10 mins!!! But I know he was just doing his job trying to help me!
Well, the dr. arrived, decided to break my water since it was not breaking on its own. Once she did, she realized that little Liam had decided that he could not wait to be born before he went potty, so she told the nurse to go get the pediatrician, as we had a "meconium situation. So then, the ped. and about 4 other nurses came in the room. I wanted to yell out, "Anyone else feel like joining?" :-) Then they all got busy getting the baby bed warmed and ready, the dr. got on all her garb, etc. There was all this commotion, and I just remember looking up at Matt, getting tears in my eyes, and saying, "Matt, we are about to have a baby!!!"
Now it was just a couple mins after 11 a.m., and they FINALLY gave me permission to push. It took all of 20 mins and a lot of really annoying counting to 10 for Liam Edwin Sealy to be born. He screamed immediately, which was beautiful music to my ears. Because of the meconium, we were just given a quick look at him, Matt cut the cord, and they whisked him off to suction out his lungs. I was so relieved to have had him, but immediately hit with an overwhelming sense of drowsiness. I think all of the adrenaline, combined with the affects of the Nubain as well as the Ambien CR I took the night before got to me and I could not keep my eyes open. I barely remember talking to my dad on the phone, hearing him tell me congratulations. I vaguely remember the nurses telling me what a good job I did, and how that was such a "good first time delivery that it should have been videoed to show to other women." (HA! Ya right!) I sorta remember the nurse telling my mom that she was right about how fast I would go. Then, I fell asleep for the next two hours.
I was awakened two hours later by the nurse coming in, bringing our little bundle, our little Liam Edwin in to us. They were able to get all the meconium out of his lungs, and he was perfect and healthy. It was then I held him for the very first time, and fell in love with the most handsome little guy ever. I kissed his face all over, and just thanked the Lord for giving us such a beautiful, precious blessing. Matt could not have looked prouder, and handing Liam over to his daddy and seeing his daddy hold him and just stare is a picture in my mind that I will never forget.
Liam was 8 pounds .5 ounces and 21 inches long. He was born at 11:20 a.m. on Thursday, September 28, 2006, which was his exact due date. He was delivered by Dr. Khan - who did an amazing job. The hospital was Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, Florida. My total labor was just over 8 hours.
We thank the Lord that He not only gave us our sweet, precious Liam, but that my pregnancy went smoothly, and the delivery went so well. And that is how Liam came into this world - one of the happiest days of my life!
1 comment:
Aww, I got tears in my eyes just reading your story! Makes me want to have another one. Shhhhhhh! ;-)
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