Slade's Birth Story

December 6th started off like any other Saturday except I woke up with a feeling like something was just a little different...like it could potentially be baby day. I shot right out of bed and showered and got ready for the day "just in case" Slade decided to make his debut. We went about our morning, got Jaqs out of the house for a bit & met Rob's grandma for lunch, then came home for J's nap. I decided to lay down, too, and proceeded to sleep for TWO glorious hours which is definitely not my norm. I thought that was a little strange and joked with Rob that maybe my body was preparing itself.

I posted this to IG the day before I delivered remarking how much Slade had dropped.
He had been in my ribs the whole time, but was riding low by the end!

He's here!!!

We had plans with friends for dinner that night, (sound familiar?) so we got ready and headed over to their house and enjoyed a fun evening with our buddies. Jaqs got to play with her little friends and DID NOT want to leave! While we were there, I started noticing contractions coming more frequently, so I was roughly timing them in the back of my mind...about 20 minutes apart. I mentioned it to my girlfriends but didn't want to get too excited as I had been experiencing quite a few contractions for several weeks. They were definitely growing in intensity though, that was for sure. Rob and I decided we'd better go ahead and come home so we could attempt to get Jaqs to bed around 8:30. 

Rob said he shot out like a rocket, LOL

I started my contraction timer app on my phone at that point, and they were getting closer together. Rob was anxious to get to the hospital right away because Dr. T had been warning me that my labor would go quickly once it started, but I wanted to try to get Jaqs to bed one last time as our only child. This is kind of comical to look back on...there I was with my huge belly, contractions coming quickly, hoisting myself in & out of my 2 year old's bed for stories & songs all while trying to act like everything was fine so she wouldn't be worried. Ha! 

Daddy Duties: cutting the cord

Seconds after Slade was born...there's no feeling like holding your baby for the first time <3

My parents came over, and I continued to time until 9:15 when we decided this was definitely the real deal as my contractions were now coming 3-5 minutes apart. We drove to the hospital, and I was incredibly antsy...I could hardly sit & definitely got mad at Rob more than once for hitting bumps in the road too hard ;) We arrived in labor & delivery around 9:40 p.m.

Holding my minutes old baby boy...CLOUD NINE!

We got situated in the triage, and I told the nurse what my doctor had told me about the likelihood of my labor progressing quickly. She checked me, and I was at a 5. She went ahead and called my doctor then began the million questions for getting admitted. I had to stop several times to breathe through contractions, but thankfully we did get into a room pretty quickly.

Once we were in the delivery room, my nurse placed my IV, continued with the questions, and was going to order my epidural next. I stopped her at some point and told her that I had an intense urge to push; I could tell that she was kind of doubting me and gave me a "sure you do, honey" look ;) It was about 10:30 by this time, and she went ahead and checked me...I was at a NINE. A handful of people began scurrying around the room, and I realized that there was absolutely no way I was getting an epidural at this point. I definitely shed a couple tears, and told Rob that I did NOT want to do this. He reassured me the best he could, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little lot scared.

The nurse called my doctor immediately, then checked me again at 10:40 & I was complete. I was SO READY to get this boy out, but decided to wait the few minutes for Dr. T to arrive. He flew in the room at 10:45, got scrubbed up, broke my water, and I started pushing at 10:50. He told me I could rest between contractions, but I preferred to just keep on pushing. I can't even describe the pain, but I probably don't need to...you can just imagine. It was intense, and I'm so thankful that the pushing part was efficient & didn't last for long!

Then, the greatest relief of all, we heard Slade Robert cry for the first time at 11:00 p.m. on the dot!

He was here! And we were so incredibly happy, and of course, fell in love immediately.

 Jaqs has been slower to warm up, but she definitely loves her little brother now!

Being in the hospital was like a vacation this time ;)

 Unfortunately, at 5 days old, Slade had to be readmitted to the hospital due to elevated billirubin levels. We spent another 48 hours at the hospital, and it was not fun. He'd do well being under the lamps all day, but would grow restless by night & be up for all but 30 minutes here & there. We were SO THANKFUL to get back home once again!

 We had yet another scare several days later when his levels went back up, but thankfully all is well now, and we have a perfectly healthy, pink little babe! :)

We love you to the moon, Slade Robert, and we're so grateful you are part of our family!