My midwife, Alisha, was delivering a baby when our appointment time came, so another midwife, Laurie, saw us. After she checked me she said I was 2 cm dilated and 100% effaced and told us she was on call at the hospital the next night and may see us there. We kind of laughed, but I wasn't having any contractions or signs of labor and was planning on working a full day at BCTC before I officially began maternity leave. Chris was in his last semester at BCTC in the Architectural Technology Program, which happened to be housed on the same floor as my office...which would prove to be a blessing as the day's events unfolded.
We left our appointment at Baptist Health and drove over to BCTC, which is maybe a 3 minute drive. We quickly visited the cafe, I knew that I needed to eat something so I got a biscuit and a fruit punch, which is a decision I would later regret. ;) I went to my office and Chris went to class. As I began going through my to-do list at work and trying to get everything ready for my maternity leave, I did my usual morning routine and turned on Kentucky Sports Radio, which comes on every weekday from 10:00-12:00. This would serve as a time marker for me, because as I began listening to the show as I was working away I began to feel some mild cramping. Nothing major, but noticeable. My coworker Tonya, who is the mother of three, came up and we chatted for several minutes. As we were talking, I noticed that the cramping was getting worse and there was a definite starting and stopping point. It turns out these were contractions I was experiencing, and when I mentioned to Tonya what I was feeling she said I needed to leave. I assured her that they would calm down and I could stay for at least a few more hours. At that point, I needed to walk something down the hall and standing up took some effort and was a bit painful. The contractions were building in intensity, so I texted Chris "Come to my office ASAP" which I was sure he would see and immediately come.
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| The text I sent to Chris the day Reese was born. |
Being the diligent student that he is, Chris was listening to a lecture and it took him a few minutes to see the text. By the time he saw it, he bolted out of his classroom and showed up at my desk with a look that can only be described as "deer in headlights." Looking back on it, it was a bit comical, but it took three of my female coworkers to help me leave the office as Chris ran to get the car. It hadn't been even two hours since I arrived at work, but at this point I knew that this was the real deal and I was in labor. Two of my coworkers, Vicki and Sarah, walked me out to the car where Chris had pulled up to my building, and I slowly inched my way down the sidewalk to the car. Once I said my goodbyes and got in the car, the pain was becoming pretty unbearable. I couldn't get comfortable in the car, and even the thought of the seat belt touching my stomach was uncomfortable, so I kind of slouched down in the car. I immediately became nauseated and got sick all over myself (the fruit punch was a bad choice) so I told Chris I wanted to go home quickly and take a warm bath. I did not want to go to the hospital in that condition. I had battled nausea throughout my pregnancy and threw up countless times, and I thought a warm bath would help my pain and make me feel better for what was in store that day.
We made it home, grabbed our already packed bags, and I took a quick bath. It did nothing for my pain, but I felt better changing my clothes and cleaning up a bit. The pain, however, was getting severe and I wasn't sure I could even walk back to our car to go to Baptist Health! Chris was awesome, running around grabbing last minute things. I told him to get my "pink dress" which was the most comfortable thing I could think of...and he went to my closet and couldn't find the pink dress (he's a bit colorblind), so I may have yelled at him in frustration as he kept bringing me what he thought was the pink dress but was clearly not the pink dress.
We made in to the hospital and at this point, I knew I'd have to be wheeled to the labor and delivery hall, because I was struggling. The contractions were coming strong and steady, with only a couple of minutes in between. In true movie fashion, Chris pulled up to the entrance they had told us to use, ran in, and yelled at the attendant, "My wife's in labor, I need a wheelchair," and they told us we could just leave our car there for the time being (thank you nice desk clerk, I think you've been through this scenario before). I slowly climbed onto the wheelchair, relieved that we made it but in the most pain I've ever experienced. There was another laboring Mom who was walking in at the same time, I gave her a look of solidarity that only we could share in that moment. P.S. I may have told the nurse at the desk that I needed an epidural "NOW" and she sweetly told me that it would be a few minutes but they would take care of that as soon as they could.
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| The verse outside our room at Baptist, so comforting. |
We were shown to a room immediately and I changed into the hospital gown and tried my best to get in some sort of comfortable position, which was pretty much impossible. Chris alerted our family and some friends that we were in labor, and I answered some questions the nurses had and got all my hospital bracelets on. I was still contracting with probably two minutes in between, and I may have glared at the registration lady that came in and wanted me to sign some paperwork WHILE I was contracting. She kindly offered to wait a couple of minutes until it subsided...good plan. :)
The doctor came in to give me my epidural about an hour after I got there...I was so grateful to see him and the epidural process was fast and I don't remember feeling any discomfort. Within a matter of minutes, I felt SO MUCH BETTER. I was able to rest, see our parents who had arrived, and actually experience the overwhelming emotion that I was about to meet my baby boy, who I had prayed for and loved since we found out we were pregnant in February. The next few hours were serene, I was so glad to be feeling better, and the nurses assured me that I was progressing fine. I watched our son's heartbeat on the monitors, and I was able to chat with the nurses and Chris. It really was a surreal time, seeing nurses come in and out of my room bringing in things for the baby who we would meet shortly. I was so excited, but also had the normal nerves for everything unknown that I was about to experience.
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| After the epidural. There are no pictures from before...we were rather preoccupied. |
Somewhere around 5:30 pm, the nurse checked me and asked me if I was ready to push. I assured her that I was, so they began the preparations for labor. I was fully dilated and the midwife who was on call, Tyler, came in and we chatted for a little while. Chris was on one side, our nurse Rachel, was on the other, and Teri and Tyler were guiding the pushing. They let me know when a contraction was happening and I would push as they counted down. They gave me a few seconds to breathe, and then I would push again. This was hard work...I wouldn't say it was painful, but there was lots of pressure, and I was pushing with everything I had. Chris and I laugh about one part of labor when one of the nurses put a cold compress on my forehead. Throughout my pregnancy, especially the first and second trimesters, I was sick...a lot. By default, Chris become a nurse and caretaker for me, and he also said he thought a cold compress on my forehead would make me feel better...but I always declined. So, we both laughed when the nurse placed one on me during labor and that time, it actually did help. After about an hour of pushing, I was pretty weak but was encouraged to give it all I had so we could meet our baby. At 6:29 pm on October 20, 2015, with a final push, our sweet baby boy came into the world. The first feeling I experienced was relief, followed quickly by a flood of love and emotion that washed over me. They put him on my chest and I just gazed at him...he was perfect, the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on...and he was mine. Our nurse, Rachel, was new to Labor and Delivery, told us afterwards that she cried too when he was born...so sweet.
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| Our nurses, Rachel and Teri, and the proud Mommy and Daddy with Reese. |
There are no words to describe the love that I felt for this tiny little baby. After Chris cut the umbilical cord, he went with the nurses to the other side of the room as they cleaned the baby off, checked his vitals, and weighed him. He let out a good cry, and Chris cried with him too...we were so, so happy. Once they swaddled him and put a tiny little hat on his head, I got to hold our little boy and we named him. Chris and I had a few names that we liked, and said we would decide when he was born. We both agreed on Reese, and we wanted to use my maiden name, Evans, as the middle name. We gazed into the eyes of our firstborn, Reese Evans Pendleton, and were so grateful to God for this indescribable gift. He was perfect in every way. For the difficult pregnancy I had, the entire process of birthing Reese went so smoothly. From the first contraction to the time he was born it was a little over 8 hours, pretty amazing.
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| My two favorites. |
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| The most beautiful little boy. |
Reese weighed 8 lbs. 5 oz., and was 21 inches long. He had brown hair, his Daddy's nose, his Mommy's mouth, and was absolutely beautiful. He immediately began sucking on his fingers when he was born and he also nursed successfully. Chris texted our family the news, they had taken over the hospital waiting room and were rather eager to hear the big news. My Mom came back to see him first, and we had some sweet moments as we admired Baby Reese. The other visitors flooded in, and they all got to hold and cuddle Reese.
A book we got for Reese says this on the cover, "Along came this little miracle and no day was ever ordinary again." Those words seem pretty fitting for October 20th, 2015. I entered the day as a woman late in her pregnancy, trying to finish up things at work and check things off the "ready" list, and by the end of the day I was a Mommy, with a fierce love and devotion to my new little baby boy. Chris and I got some rest that night and when he wasn't in the nursery, we cherished each moment with Reese, holding him, staring at him, and thanking God for blessing us with him. Our friend Jon was so gracious to record the sweet moments after Reese's birth. I cherish this video so much. Welcome to the world, little one.
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