The Birth Story

Just to clarify, we named our last baby Bode. And I've been getting a lot of the same question, "So how do you pronounce it?" It's pronounced "Bodie" but we spelled it differently because we thought the "i" looked too feminine. My apologies to any Moms out there that spelled it the right way, I don't mean to offend, it was just a personal preference. Hope you still like me! ;-D

Anyhow, on to our little guy. Here's the story. On February 3rd, I had gone out to dinner with a few girlfriends in hopes of getting one last girls night in before Bode entered this world. We had mexican food and it was so delish. I was sad I couldn't finish my meal (seeing as I was still prego, my stomach was about the size of a quarter since Bode's little body was taking up all the room in my tummy, I couldn't hold any more food... oh, you get the idea). After our wonderful meal, these friends of mine surprised me with a baby shower. Cute girls. As we visited and I opened some presents, I started getting a few contractions here and there. I didn't think much about them because I have never gone into labor by myself. My doctor has usually had to induce me or has to strip my membranes for my body to begin the labor process.

Anyway, once I got home, I told Justin that I was having some contractions. He suggested I time them. I sat at the counter and started to write some thank you notes and thought, "this really can't be labor, I'm a week early...I have plans with my kids this Saturday... I'm not mentally ready yet...these aren't real contractions, are they?" etc, etc etc...Once I started timing them, they were about 10 minutes apart and kept coming consistently. And it was midnight. Great.

So, I got my bag packed and tried to get some sleep. Sleep was non-existent that night. My sweet Mom came over around 1:30am in case this was the real thing so she could get the boys off to school the next day. I was in so much pain by 2am and my contractions were coming every 8 minutes. By 4am, they were 5 minutes apart and so we decided to head to the hospital. We got there by 5am and waited in triage for about 30 minutes. They checked me and I was dilated to 4 cm and 80% effaced. They checked me in, started an IV and ordered my epidural. The nurses notified my doctor and by 7:30am, my epidural was in full effect and so they advised me to get some sleep if I could. Unfortunately that didn't happen. My epidural was so good that I couldn't feel my legs or back at all and I felt like a dead fish from my waist down. It was so embarrassing that they had to help move me just to turn on to my side. My legs were dead weight and I was so uncomfortable. By 9:30am, my doctor still wasn't there so I asked my nurse to break my water. She declined because she said only a doctor could do that. I knew that if my water broke I would deliver very fast. That's how I roll. My water breaks and then my babies come out quick. Once our nurse left the room, I jokingly (and seriously) asked Justin if he would break my water. What can I say, I was desperate and very much ready to get this baby out! I know he didn't like to see me in pain, but Justin wouldn't break my water either. So there I lay for another hour & a half to wait it out.

By 11:15am, my doctor finally came to my rescue! He broke my water and the nurses begin the process of getting the room ready for the baby. This is always such an emotional stage for me because I know what's about to happen. A new baby is going to be born. A sweet little one from our Heavenly Father is going to be given to me and Justin and it's always such a moment of anticipation mixed with fear and joy. I'm about to meet my son and I'm overcome with tears. The tears don't last long because the next step is to actually push him out! By 11:45am, they give me the "ok" to start pushing. 5 pushes and he was out!

This perfect little boy was here! 7 pounds 13 ounces and 21-1/2 inches long. 

Perfect. Little. Boy.

When he came out he had to be suctioned out because he swallowed a bunch of amniotic fluid. He needed a few puffs of oxygen to help him breathe normally again. He grabbed the face mask and it was so sweet. The nurses decided that putting him next to me would help him more than anything else at that moment. So the nurse put him on my chest to help him calm down and breathe regularly. 

This was by far my favorite moment. The connection between mommy & baby is almost indescribable. The fact that he knew my smell, knew my voice and just being next to me could calm him down was so special and I'll never forget that sweet moment. 

We are so happy to have this little boy join our family!