Nathan's Birth Story

A week before father's day, my hubby asked if I wanted to go to San Jose for BBQ for Father's Day. I said I'd rather stay close to home since I'm so close to my due date and want to be close to the hospital "just in case". We decided to then have everyone come up to our place for the Father's Day BBQ. - but do it on a Saturday instead of Sunday My husband also said in passing, "Won't it be funny if you go into labor on Father's Day, just like you went into labor on Mother's Day the last time?" Who knew?

The BBQ went well. Everyone who say me said I was "ripe" but I shrugged them off since I barely had any contractions yet.

4:50 Sunday morning, my contractions started. It was about 10 minutes apart, but bearable. By 6:0 am, they were growing stronger, but still bearable. I even had breakfast and looked at stuff on Ebay. by 8:00, they were even stronger and I told my hubby that we may need to go to the hospital today. I called the Walnut Creek L&D (Labor & Delivery) and a snotty nurse told me to wait until my contractions are 5 minutes apart for a whole hour. That should've been my clue that this day would not go as planned. Every other time I called L&D, they were very helpful and not at all snotty!

So, I wait. My hubby went to prepare the hospital bag while my mom massaged my back in between contractions. Still it was tinkering between 5 to 8 minutes and I hesitate calling L&D for fear of snotty nurse.

Around 11:30, I realized were were going to an hour of 5 minute contractions. I take a shower and told my hubby to call L&D. After my shower I hop in bed, then realized my hubby was arguing with the person on the other line! Walnut Creek L&D tells us they are overbooked and cannot take us. WHAT!? I was devastated. We specifically picked WC because they have Certified Nurse Midwives instead of NPs and it was an ordeal just transferring care. The paperwork alone to transfer there took a few weeks. Then, we had to go to certain classes. We even did the hospital tour. We figured out where to park, what routes to take, where relatives are going to travel from...and now they're telling me that I have to deliver at a totally different location who does not even have our information??!

I was brimming with tears. No way! I already had a horrible experience the last time! Don't tell me after all of that, we are not getting admitted there?! Hubby looked at me and said, "Is Antioch okay?" I pouted, "No" Then, ridiculously, I said, "The contractions stopped anyway"

Upset, I went to nap it off. Josh needed a nap as well, so we were all in bed.

1:00 pm. A contraction so hard it literally rocked me awake. I gasped and told hubby, "We have to go. NOW! I don't care where" Then right there, my husband made the call and we were on our way.

In the car, we typed up the address but our nav is so old and the facility is so new that it did not register. Fuck it! We'll see the hospital signs! So off we went - with only a vague idea of where this hospital is.

I'm glad my mom was there to hold me while my contractions get harder and longer. I've never felt this much pain in my life. The whole morning I was able to just do breathing through contractions. This time, I was crying out in pain. Literally crying like a little girl. It's a good thing hubby kept calm.

Where the hell is this hospital? It seemed like we've been driving forever. "Are we close!?" I cry . "We're almost there" Hubby said calmly. In the meantime, my mom try massaging me from the seat behind.

We finally get to our exit. My contractions get harder. My cries louder. We follow the H (Hospital) signs. I try holding it in, but I feel like a baby is coming out of me any minute now. "Here it is!" hubby says. I looked and couldn't help but scream, "That's NOT Kaiser! That's a different hospital!!" Contraction again. My mind was struggling. Should we just go in and have our baby there even if that is not my insurance? "I don't think we're going to make it" "We're going to make it. Hold on" He turned to a Rite Aid to ask for directions. I cry. My mom calmly says, "We're going to make it, Nathan is just trying to position himself" This time my cries are so loud it's the kind of cry you do when someone is KILLING you. A hysterical type cry.

What seemed like an iternity, hubby comes back and says it's close. We eventually get to the Hospital. We drive to the ER and both hubby and mommy get me it. A guy tries and helps me to a wheelchair. He asks questions. Hubby answers them. Do you have your drivers liscence? Kaiser card? No. No. But it's a good thing I have my medical record number memorized.

I kept my eyes closed almost the entire time. At this point, almost everything is a blur. I remember them wheeling me to L&D. I remember them asking me all the stupid questions like "What happened with your last pregnancy? How come you ended up with a C-Section?" Also, they asked the crucial question: Do you want to try a VBAC or a C-SEction?" I scream, "I don't know!!! Will someone check me?" I was so frustrated because I felt like the baby is coming out and I'm not sure what stage I'm at! Then suddenly I hear someone say, "I see the baby's head!" then, "You're fully dilated and at 0 station. What do you want to do?" "What is safer?" I ask. "Both can have complications" They say non-commitally. Then a very intense contraction came. "C SECTION!" I yelled out. I just wanted the pain to go away. Ok. They call the emergency c-section crew. I hear paperwork being shuffled. You need to sign a consent form, someone says to me. Sign here. Where's the anesthesiologist? Someone cried. All the sound - was loud, but seemed muffled to me as a blur of activity happens around me. Then in my mind, I remembered my last c-section and panicked that it's going to take long.

Another contraction. I screamed in pain, "I'm pushing!!" It wasn't my choice. My body was doing it. Someone looked and said, "The baby is coming!! Are you ok to try this vaginally? This baby coming right now" I nodded. Then even more of a blur. I had my eyes closed the whole time - just concentrating on holding my husband for dear life. They told me not to scream, to concentrate all the power in the pushing. I don't even know how I was doing. I was just following what I heard. When the said push, I pushed. When they said stop. I stopped. I was sweating like crazy. I hear good cheers all around. You're doing it! Just a few more and he's going to be here! Ok, I hear one of the nurses say, here it is, the ring of fire. Push! ARGH!! It was just as she described it. I felt my vagina was on fire.

Then I heard the doctor say, "You have to open your eyes. You have to see your baby being born." I open my eyes and in the last push, Plop! There it was! My baby. The plopped him right on my stomach and the relief and the pain all went away. I could not believe my eyes. Nathan was here! I barely remembered the placenta coming out, but I did glance at it. The doctor stitched me up and even though that hurt a little, I felt so high, so relieved. Thank God!

The best thing about this experience (ok, not the best, but a perk!) was that after everything was done, I asked the nurse if I can eat. She said, "Of course! You can eat anything." Gleefully, I asked for a cheeseburger. I devoured that thing and I don't think I stopped eating for 2 days straight!

So there. That's Nathan's birth story. Much different from Joshua's but the end is the same. The moment you hold the baby in your arms - everything. All the pain goes away, and it didn't matter if I delivered in a different hospital or that there was much drama, all that mattered is the little bundle of joy in your arms.