3 Years

This time three years ago I had my first baby. Three. Years. That doesn't even seem possible! Since I had millions of things weighing on my mind when he was born I realized I never shared his birth story, so here it is.

When I first found out I was pregnant with Colin I was happy that he was due in May and not any later in the summer. As my due date came closer and I slowly lived through April I was wishing he had been due April 1st. I can remember being so hot and uncomfortable! Not to mention rather large. Nothing fit and even my skin felt tight.I was at 3 cm by 38 weeks and even though I knew that didn't really mean anything it made me hopeful. That was also when they stripped my membranes. I had my last doctors appointment on Tuesday the 26th and they stripped my membranes again. Nothing had happened the week before so I did not get excited. I had a normal day I even cut some hair that evening. Then around 7:30pm I felt my first contraction. I didn't know that was what it was at the time but I still remember looking up at the clock.

As the evening went on I had more and more and closer together. To keep me occupied around 9 pm I decided to curl my hair. No reason to have a baby without good hair, right? By midnight my contractions were about 3-5 min apart and I was in PAIN! So my mom drove with me to Mountainview hospital. By the time I got there and was checked I was at 6cm! I was shocked, but in a very good way, all the stories about how slow first babies can be had me thinking I would be in pain like this for days. I hadn't really "planned" on anything besides not having a C-section so when I got there and I was already far enough along (and in plenty of pain) to get an epidural I decided to get one. I would say that my pain level at this point was pretty darn bad. It was the kind of pain that every time I had a contraction I felt like I wasn't going to make it through. At my birth class I remembered them saying that when you get an epidural you can sometimes here a crunching noise as the put the needle in. So as the anesthesiologist put the needle in I started humming REALLY loud. My mom probably thought I was going nuts! Haha but I had NO desire whatsoever to hear my own body make a crunching noise. 

My epidural took complete affect within 45 min and when they checked me again I was at an 8! From then on it was pretty much smooth sailing. I probably would have delivered by 3 or 4 am without the epidural. It was about 3 am and I took a nap until about 6 ish. That was when things started picking up again and not just in my room. Some poor lady in the next room over started yelling and screaming. It was funny but only because it was awkward and not happening to me. She sounded just like the women on TV sitcoms when they have babies. I had to wait for the doctor to deliver her before they would break my water. Once that was all done they broke my water, I slowly started pushing and at 7:11 am Colin was there! That was probably one of the most bittersweet moments of my entire life (even now). I cannot explain the wealth of emotions I still feel when I think about it. I felt instantly relived physically, overwhelming sadness and happiness all at once that my trial was almost over. 

Right after they got him all bundled up

Meeting Colin

For as difficult as the whole ordeal was my stay in the hospital was so peaceful and the nurses were so amazing!

Beautiful boy

Look how fluffy my face was! Whew, yuck!

Now that I have Davie I think that day means even more to me.In my life I had always said that if I ever have a baby and was not married I would give it up for adoption. I never imagined I would ever do it. I am one of the few people who have said something like that and had the opportunity to put my money where my mouth was. I was always such a goody goody. I didnt have my first real boyfriend until I was 15 and he broke up with me by reading a scripture about choosing right from wrong. I didn't get my first kiss until my senior year of high school (I was 17) and I never smoked or drank. The chances of me ever being in a situation in which I would need to give a child up for adoption were slim to none. And yet here I am three years later and I made it.

On his first birthday

The day I got to meet him was the day before his 2nd birthday.

And his 3rd! Sorry for stealing this one Darcy but I couldn't resist his cute-ness!

 I'm still not sure if I can say I'm happy for the entire experience (it is going to take a while) but I am happy where I am now, happy for Colin and I am happy for his family.