Owen's birth story 7.15.14

He is finally here!! Only two days after his due date, but after Graham was several days early, and I'd had tons of contractions and two rounds of false labor with Owen... it seemed like he'd never get here!! We are so in love with this sweet, precious boy.

Right after birth. Soooo happy he's here and healthy!!

Yep. Those lungs work just fine.

Getting checked out by nurses.

During the week before Owen was born, I'd had consistent, crampy contractions for hours that never turned into anything, so on Monday night, July 14, as I started getting dinner ready around 5.30 and feeling those crampy contractions yet again, I didn't think anything of it. I'd felt normal all day, going grocery shopping, taking Graham to the library, etc. I mentioned it to Andrew, and we had dinner as usual, then I washed dishes and made Andrew his weekly batch of gluten-free granola bars as he played with Graham. We put Graham to bed at 8.00 and I decided to text my neighbors (who would be watching Graham when we went to the hospital) and my Mom (who would be driving up from TN) yet again that I was having some contractions, so they would have a heads up, but that I had no idea if this was the real thing or not. I turned on the Bachelorette and began timing my contractions, still not in any real pain. Over the next hour, they became more consistent and more painful. Around 9.00ish I started spending most of my time on the floor, hunched over the ottoman, gripping a rolled up blanket, breathing through each contraction. They were starting to hurt! I've never been more excited to be in pain before. The Bachelorette was a good distraction as we began realizing this was probably the real deal.

Leaving the labor and delivery room;
headed to postpartum care.

That.sweet.face.
Can't handle it.

By 10.00, Andrew had taken Graham over to sleep at the neighbors' house, I was in intense, consistent pain, and Andi sent the farmer home. ;) My contractions had been around 5-6 minutes apart
consistently for the past hour and pretty painful, which was my cue to call the doctor. The doctor on call (who also delivered Graham, but is not my doctor) called me back quickly right in the middle of a contraction. Andrew answered, described what was happening, and then passed the phone to me when I could talk again. She asked me a few questions, ending with, "How far away are you from the hospital?" And then, "You should head there now." We grabbed our final things and left our house about 10.30. As Andrew was putting some things in the trunk, our sweet across-the-street neighbors were getting home and came over to talk to me. I was in between contractions so it was a nice distraction and I loved knowing they'd be praying for us. On the way to the hospital, I sent a quick text to some friends and family to let them know what was happening and asked for prayer. Andrew also prayed for us on the way. When we got to the hospital, I allowed Andrew to park in the drop-off area, get a wheelchair for me, and leave the bags in the car.... all things he wanted to do and I wouldn't let him with Graham. :) (I thought all those things would slow us down or make him leave me, but I realized this time around they're kind of necessary.)

Proud Daddy.

Is this real life? So happy he's mine!!

When we got to the labor and delivery floor, they whisked us into a room and checked me immediately. "You're dilated to an 8." I remember hearing in disbelief. With Graham, when we got to the hospital, I was in way more pain than this time around, with contractions at 1-2 minutes apart, and was only dilated to a 3 or something (can't remember for sure). All I could think when she said I was an 8 was, "I HAVE to get an epidural!!" I began begging, and the nurse began trying to prepare me that there might not be time. Now, I have never planned on going natural in childbirth. I have never made a birth plan. I don't like pain. I had not mentally prepared to get through the worst pain of my life. My only strategy is to get the epidural. I began freaking out inwardly at the possibility of having to endure childbirth without one, begging God that He would allow it to happen somehow. I will say, though, that I did not feel as much pain this time as I did with Graham. My first time around, the pain was so unbearable, I literally felt like my body was breaking in half and I was so out of control. This time around, the contractions honestly just weren't as painful or as close together, plus I felt more in control breathing through them. BUT I still NEEDED that epidural!! Ha.

Sweet thing.

The room had turned into a frenzy of activity by this point, with nurses in and out, asking me a million questions, hooking me up to an IV, having me sign papers, etc, etc. The doctor who would deliver me walked through the door soon after we arrived, and I was so confused since they only come to "catch the baby" at the very end. I think I said something like, "Why are you here already?" and she replied, "It's going to happen fast, Jaye!" My mind was reeling; it all seemed so surreal that we'd waited so long and now it was all happening so quickly!! I was in labor with Graham for about 12 hours, and knew that the second usually goes faster, but I had no idea it would go this fast! At some point, the anesthesiologist came in and I got the magical epidural. I later found out they had bumped me ahead of someone else in line for one, since I was so far along. Oopsie. Andrew got to stay in the room this time, and the effects began to quickly lessen my pain. Ahhhhhhhh. Magical. I'm not sure on the timeline, but I think it was around 11.30pm at this point. I remember Andrew asking if he needed to move our car, and the nurse told him that if he did, he might miss the birth! Because of a few different reasons for mine and Owen's sake, they were trying to hold me off from pushing until after midnight.

Big brother meeting little Owen.

As things calmed down in the room and with my body, it suddenly felt a lot more peaceful and calm as we all prepared for this new life to come into the world. My doctor and nurses were AWESOME- I felt very cared for, and they were so competent. Incredibly thankful for their profession. They gave me an oxygen mask to breathe in, my body was shaking because I was progressing so fast, and around 12.30am, I began to push. I pushed for about 20 minutes, until little Owen baby began to make his appearance. After his head came out, his body didn't immediately follow like we all expected. The umbilical cord was wrapped around his upper arm and he was holding onto it, so it took some extra pushes and the doctor's help to get the rest of him out of me. No one seemed alarmed at all, and it was quickly fixed. Owen John Buckle was born at 12.49am, and they put him immediately on me. I'd forgotten that was a possibility, since Graham was whisked away by NICU nurses immediately after his birth. I burst into tears as they placed little Owen on me, overwhelmed by God's goodness in giving us this sweet, precious baby boy. He weighed in at 8 lbs, 6 oz, and was 20.5 inches long. I remember whispering to him, how much we loved him and would for the rest of his life, and singing, "You are my sunshine" to him as we snuggled. I told Andrew in amazement how God had answered almost every very specific prayer I'd been praying for this delivery. My faith growing, we praised God for Owen. The hospital gave us this sweet book, "On the night you were born," which we read to Owen right after he was born.

One more shot of that face.

The next couple days were full of family and friends visiting, Graham meeting his new little brother, and us loving on our sweet new son. IS THIS REAL LIFE?! I can't believe he is mine!!!!!