Gavin's birth is pretty much a shinning beacon of light in my memory, I've probably sugar-coated it in my mind. When I'm sharing birth stories with friends or co-workers or random strangers on the bus (just kidding, I never ride the bus!), it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to re-live it!! Well, get on with it then...
July 9th 2008 4:00pm. I was in our vehicle in the parking lot of Canadian Tire with my little 2 1/2 year old daughter, the hubby was inside buying something, I think for the BBQ (he's just informed me it was a rotisserie). When.... gushhhhhhhhhh... yep water breaks 9 days early, crap I'm not ready for him yet, I don't have any bags packed!! (Side note: I never once had bags packed and ready to go to the hospital for any of my three children's arrival into our lives).
I call Jan on his cell to inform him of the change to our plans, he's in the cash line with a stupidly slow cashier. Next call is to my folks, who are going to watch Mikayla for us, and there's no answer, ummmm crap. My message to them goes something like "this is the phone call you are supposed to be waiting beside the phone for", luckily my Dad was just screening calls and was indeed home. So we mosey on home, pack a bag or two and get Mikayla to my parent's place at approximately 5:00pm. My first contraction started just before we pull up to their front door. We kiss our daughter good-bye and we're off.
So, you have to get the kind of pace we're moving at here, basically we figure there's oodles of time, the first go-around took 30 hours, and I've just barely started contracting. So what do we do? Drive at break-neck speed to the hospital? NO! First we stop to buy a camcorder tape, and of course a Starbucks because we figure we're in for a long night. We finally get ourselves to the hospital, me with soaking wet shorts (so embarrassing in the elevator to be dripping amniotic fluid down my legs) but it works in my favour they rush me into a triage bed, at this point it's 6:00pm.
Now, as soon as I lay down in that Triage bed the contractions start getting a little more intense, we're waiting for our doctor to come see me, the baby monitor strapped to my belly is far more annoying than I remember it being the first time I did this. I get up and walk to the bathroom, and back to the bed and say to my husband "I think I'm a much bigger wuss than I was last time, I think I might need an epidural way sooner". Still haven't seen even a glimpse of the doctor, the nurses inform us she's in with a labour that's going slowly, no worries. So the nurse gives us a check, we're already 5cm, woo hoo they're not sending us home like they did last time.
7:00pm and Jan heads down to the admitting desk to get me officially checked in. Hereafter are just about the longest 45 minutes of my life! No husbandly support, alone behind a curtain in the triage room waiting for my own room, no doctor has seen me yet and no epidural has been started. Just me and my contractions, oh and don't forget the ridiculously uncomfortable baby monitor. Finally a nurse says to me, "we've got you a room", oh thank God!! The walk from the triage room to our birthing room must have been about 25m, but it felt like I was walking clear across the city. I had to stop every 10 seconds it felt like to try to breath through the next contraction. I nearly sobbed with joy when Jan finally came up to me leaning against the wall feeling rather ill with pain.
It's 7:45pm, and I have finally made it to my own room, I am so ready for that epidural. "Sure" they say "let just check to see how far you've progressed.... oh.... you're 10cm!", I guess this means I'm not getting that epidural, crap! And so the pushing begins, and then ends about 10 minutes later with the birth of my absolutely beautiful perfect little boy at 8:06pm. Oh yeah, and the first glimpse we have of the doctor is literally her walking in the door just in time to catch Gavin!!! And that's it, 4 hours start to finish, with less than 2 hours of really "hard" labour. We had my parents bring the munchkin by to meet her new baby that night, and 18 hours after giving birth to my little man I'm home and vacuuming the living room (we had company coming after all, and I hadn't gotten to it the day before).
Of course Gavin has been nothing but perfection since that day on... oh wait... the sugar coating doesn't last quite that long! Gavin you have been, and are still, a joy to have in our lives. Your quirks are endearing, your energy enchanting, your devilish grin melts us. We love you so much. Happy birthday.
great story, great Mum (and Dad), great kid!
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