At this point, I hadn't even had my bag packed.
Then I woke up the next morning around 9:00, and they had pretty much stopped. So it's Friday, Sept. 27- the day everyone thought she'd come, and my contractions had stopped.
There was a car seat (which hadn't made it to the truck yet) safety training in the K-mart parking lot this day, right across the street from the hospital... I had jokingly been telling everyone I would come in for the training, get the seat installed properly, then drive across the street and have a baby! Easy as that! Hahaha!
Auntie Meg came up to the house that morning- her first time up that steep drive way! She helped this crazy Momma finish packing our hospital bag (nothing like waiting till the last minute...), and we packed up the truck with everything we might need if Bean decided it was time, and we headed to K-Mart. When we arrived, Grammy was already getting her car seat base installed, and boy, has it come in handy! The officers had it set up so you drive through these canopies, and there was no way I was getting Thunderhorse (our gigantic F-350) through that, so I parked away until there was an open space. When it came to our turn, I drove over and parked in front of the canopies. The officers that helped us were SO awesome and helpful (shout out to Roseburg PD)! It took them a while to figure it out because the truck doesn't have the hooks like many cars now, AND due to the incline of the seat, they had to use a pool noodle cut up and taped together to boost the car seat up and make it the right inclination. Our officer was quite entertaining and had a great sense of humor. To make sure I knew how to install the seat, he had me (40 weeks pregnant) climb in the back and sit on the base and get it buckled real tight! However, even all that didn't throw me into labor.
Not ready to give up yet, Meg and I decide to get some lunch at Subway (Eat Fresh!), and on our way, we made sure to hit as many of the speed bumps as possible! After lunch, we went to walk the mall hoping to give Bean a little more time to work her way down. After at least an hour of this, we gave in and went home, a little disappointed, but feeling ready for the birth experience and to hold my baby in my arms.
That evening was the same as the previous night. My contractions started being steady again 10-12 minutes apart, 7-8 minutes apart, but no closer. Tired of feeling uncomfortable, I decided to lie down again, hoping to get more rest before she comes. Not five minutes after I got in bed, I peed my pants. 11:08 PM.
Okay, okay, I did NOT pee my pants, but that's what it felt like...(get ready for TMI) I waddled my way to the toilet, trying not to leak on the way. I sat down, and the liquid kept coming. I yelled at Scott (somewhat panicking) to tell him my prognosis, but I decided to stay put (yes, on the toilet) for a few minutes trying so hard to wrap my mind around what was about to happen.
But before I knew it, we were off! My mind was reeling. I was SO excited, but I was also a little terrified of something so new and already painful. In between contractions that made me wish seat belts weren't the law, I sent out obligatory texts and made a few phone calls to alert everyone of our long-awaited news!
Somehow with her soft, baby-holding sweater, and her very own overnight bag, Auntie Meg had arrived just before we did! Soon after, my own mom pulled in, and before we knew it, the whole family and more had made it in to await the arrival of our beautiful baby Bean.
Contractions were coming so quickly and lasting so long. Meg put in a movie (THE HOBBIT), but I just couldn't stay in bed. I had to DO something, so in my attempt to relax and TRY to get comfortable, (because at this point I'm assuming it'll be several hours before anything happens) Scott filled the spa tub for me and I hopped in.
---->Now ladies, if you get the opportunity to get in a jetted tub during labor, DO IT! Hot tubs are relaxing on a normal day, right? This tub made me feel like I was literally *floating* between contractions, and it was "just what the doctor ordered". (Not really, I ordered it!)<----
After what seemed like forever, and several rounds of puking, I was at that point of feeling like I couldn't just sit around anymore, so thus begun my endeavor to "visit the masses". I had imagined for months.. a very pregnant Sam walking the hospital halls in my gown and slippers, husband in hand, chatting with my people in the waiting room.., and I was determined to make that happen! (REMEMBER: the TMI has only just begun...) We pulled the drain on the life-saving tub, and I crawled out. Unfortunately... I never got my hall-walking dream. Contractions were coming so fast and hard at this point, I couldn't even get myself dressed and spent the next hour or so naked on the bathroom floor. The song Torn kept coming to mind.. you know the one, "I'm cold and I am shamed, lying naked on the floor", except I had no shame. Zero. The cold floor felt so amazing!
My rock star nurse and cousin, Lisa, would come into this tiny bathroom where I'm lying on the floor telling Scott I need to get dressed so I can go say hi to everyone, and manage to check Bean's heartbeat periodically, but this couldn't last forever. I finally was able to get up, pause for contraction, slip my slippers on, pause for contraction, pull my gown on, pause for contraction, and I emerged from the bathroom like a mountain climber who had conquered Everest. I was victorious in my departure from the bathroom! BUT I couldn't make it to the next door.. I could see the lights from the hall, taunting me, but instead of turning toward the door, I crawled into bed and under the covers. Things were feeling pretty intense at this point, and I felt walking was out of the question. Then it hit me. A giant poo was coming, and I couldn't hold it in! Okay, okay, it wasn't poop, but that's really what it felt like! I just needed to puuuush, but surely not yet! It had only been a few hours since we got there! I announced feebly, "I feel like I need to push", and asked them to get Cherie, my amazing CNM (certified nurse midwife). [Now what I didn't know at this point was that Scott was thinking I was crazy, that we had hours left, and since we had hours left and it already hurt that bad, I was definitely going to need an epidural...Boy, was he wrong!] Cherie came in, checked me out, and calmly (HOW ARE YOU SO CALM?) pointed out, "oh wow, it's time to push". You don't say...The next few minutes were truly a blur. Cherie remained at the end of the bed with a light above her, and everything around that light was like a weird movie scene as nurses appeared from no where pushing in tables of tools, completely rearranging the room. Lisa shooed everyone but who was on "the list" out of the room (after I wished I would have known that I really didn't care who was there... Sorry Mikenna!<3). Now things settled. Scott, my mom, Sheri, Meg, Cherie and all the labor nurses (including Lisa and Stacie) were all that remained.
Now, this WAS over three years ago (this has taken me over the span of two or so to write), and I was kind of on a birth high, so some of the details are a little foggy, but I remember Scott to my right, his mom behind him, my mom to my left, and Meg next to her holding my leg. I think Stacie was holding my other leg? Contractions would come, Cherie would coach, Scott would remind me to breath, and I would push. Over and over for twenty minutes or so... At some point Mom and Meg switched places, and at another, Stacie and Scott switched places. This was it, she was crowning, tons of hair, just a few more pushes... Finally when her head came through, there was a tiny moment of relief followed by panic. "What is THAT?!" I exclaimed. I had felt her shoulders hit my pelvic floor. Up until this moment, I had not given a moment of thought to her shoulders. I had imagined one her head was out, she would just slither through...NOPE. One more push, after they laughed at me, to push her shoulders out, and THEN she just slipped out, into her daddy's waiting hands. This. This was the best moment of my life. I had just successfully given birth to this itty bitty person that is half me and half the man I love...who at this point was bringing her to my chest...and being reminded not to pull her to far, because she's still attached! Now I have this beautiful baby in my arms, we're all crying, and even though I still have to push the placenta out and get stitches (super uncomfortable), it didn't really matter because she was here. Finally.
Sophia Nancy Hammerschmith was born at 3:09am. Four hours and one minute after my water broke. 7 pounds and 8 wonderful ounces. Then she did something amazing, she did the boobie crawl. She scoot her way up my tummy and made breastfeeding seem like the easiest thing in the world (it's not. It's really not.)! At this point, we kicked everyone out, so Sophia could get to know her mommy and daddy, and nurse as much as she'd like before meeting all the wonderful people waiting for her. And they really are wonderful, because she took her sweet time. She nursed for long over an hour, but to us it only felt like minutes. Shortly after 5am, everyone who had waited literally all night to meet her were welcomed in to meet this sweet, little Bean.💗
