Craigmile Crew: Sally's Birth Story

2 1/2 years later...

Friday, May 8, 4:30am I rolled over to make the long jaunt from our half story to the bathroom. To my surprise I had lost my mucus plug {sorry to those of you who don’t like goriness}. I went back upstairs to go back to bed, yeah right. Lying there I thought, hmmm, could labor really be starting 8 days before I’m due? Then I noticed that my lower back was hurting every so often and there was more of a bite to it than my typical dull aching back. I decided to wake Reid up.

We hummed and hawed over whether or not to call the doctor. Of course Reid was pushing me to call because everything you read says anytime there is blood {ahem, mucus plug}, you should call. I was hesitant because if I was indeed in labor, I didn’t want to go to the hospital right away. I wanted to labor at home as long as possible. I decided to call the next best thing to the doctor, my mom :) She was very excited and said I probably was in labor, but it could be a while, try taking a warm bath and see if the contractions go away.

By now it was nearing 6am. We needed to decide if we were going to go to work that day. It was suppose to be my last day with my students, so I was doing everything I could to try and convince Reid to drive me to work. His response was, “Jackie, if you know you can’t drive yourself to work, you should not be going.” Valid point, but it was my last day with my students. You teachers out there know that it is so much more worth it to go to work sick than to call a sub.

6:30am, I caved and called the doctor to see if what I was experiencing really was labor. They confirmed that yes, I was indeed in labor, but that I didn’t need to come to the hospital until I couldn’t talk through my contractions. Great news to me!

6:45am I instructed Reid to make me two pieces of peanut butter toast. I had remembered from our labor class that you should eat something with protein to help give you the energy to make it through the long process of labor, and to eat it right away, as your appetite will soon be gone.

7-10:30am I took my time packing up my hospital bag and getting everything in order. Pausing every now and then for a contraction. I took a shower and got all the way ready…didn’t make any sense to Reid, but to me, I knew we would have a baby within the next 12ish hours and there would be pictures taken, why not take this opportunity to freshen up.

10:30am the contractions were getting much stronger, they continued to be in my back. I would have Reid push as hard as he could as counter pressure. I can still remember the spot on the ceiling in our living room that I starred at to get through some contractions.

11:15am I’m on all four in our hallway breathing through a contraction. I look up after it is over and Reid says, okay Jackie, enough is enough, let’s go!

11:30am we pull into the hospital parking lot. Reid is bummed because I make him park in the ramp and he doesn’t get his movie scene of racing in through the emergency doors. He asks if I had any contractions on the way over, a 7 minute ride. “Yeah, I had 2.” “TWO?! You’ve got be kidding me, I’m glad we’re finally here.”

**Side note: Reid is forever grateful of my sister’s advice to him that he should not talk to me or ask questions while I am in labor. I think her words went something like “If she needs something, she’ll ask for it. Don’t question it, just do it!”

So, when Reid offers to run ahead to push the elevator button, but instead I instruct him that we will be taking the stairs to the third floor, he totally rolls his eyes, but goes with it. Don’t mess with a stubborn laboring lady! I knew walking around is the best way to progress labor, plus I didn’t want to be stuck in an elevator with complete strangers while having a contraction. I much preferred taking the stairs and taking my time with no “eyes on me.”

11:45am The nurses see me coming and one asks someone to grab a wheelchair for me. Reid quickly interjects and says, “Hold the wheelchair, she won’t take it, don’t ask.” What a great husband, he knows his wife well, even at the risk of the nurses accusing him of being an insensitive jerk. J They walk me to the admitting room where they check to make sure I’m far enough into labor that I can stay there. I’m relieved to hear that I am already dilated to a 7.

Noon: The rest is a bit of a blur, long story short. I had back labor the entire time. My labor nurse was great in that she understood to let me be as I concentrated through my contractions, but she was terrible in the fact that she had never heard of back labor before and didn’t know any ways to help make me more comfortable—well, as comfortable as you can being in the middle of labor. My water broke on its own around 12:30. There was 45 minutes of excruciating pain where I had the urge to push, but they wouldn’t let me because my cervix hadn’t thinned all the way.

Finally at 2pm I was able to start pushing. 3 ½ hours later at 5:21pm little miss Sally Ann slipped into this world, weighing 8 pounds 9 ounces, 22 inches long, with a head circumference of 14 ½ inches {Mama felt every inch, OUCH!}. It took Reid a minute to announce the gender as the umbilical cord is there, plus the little lady had her legs crossed. When he finally said IT’S A GIRL! I was so excited that I had to ask him twice to confirm. He said “Stop asking that, they’re going to think we don’t want her.”

5:21pm-current day we have been blessed with the presence of this amazing little girl. She grabbed hold of our hearts the first time our eyes met and she hasn’t let go ever since. We thank God every day for placing her in our life and we can’t wait to see what the future holds! We love you Sally Ann, oh so very much!