Noah's Birthday Story: Part One

lately i've been thinking a lot about noah's birth story and all the events surrounding his entrance into the world. maybe it's because his birthday is coming up. maybe it's because we're quickly approaching miles' birthday. most likely it's both.

so you wouldn't mind me sharing the story with you, would you? i love talking about noah.

warning: there may be some TMI moments ahead. it's a birth story after all. so if you're cool with that, let's begin. 

noah was due on june 10th, but like almost every expectant parent, we were hoping he'd decide to come a little early. and well, being the good boy he is, he did just that.

on the evening of june 4th, 2013 (it was a tuesday if anyone cares) my husband and i had his parents over for dinner. they were leaving the next day for a vacation to mexico, so we were spending some time with them before they left. we made crock pot chicken parmesan. (another meaningless detail that doesn't really matter.) anyway it was near the end of the night and i went to the bathroom. while i was sitting on the toilet, my water broke. (which seems to me the most ideal place for this to happen, right? thanks, noah.) this will be just the first of many 'thank you, noah, for making everything about the birthing experience so perfect' moments.

john called the midwife and she suggested we come into the hospital to confirm it was indeed my water that broke. (i have never gone to medical school, but in my opinion, there was no denying it was my water that broke. i had a towel down my pants.) but i didn't complain. i couldn't wait to get to the hospital and meet this boy! so we said our good-byes to john's parents, (after john showed off some of our dog's 'really impressive' tricks to them), grabbed our bags (just in case we were going to be admitted) and left our dog, samson, in the dust.

i remember, with adrenaline going crazy in my body, feeling the type of excitement a 5 year old might feel on christmas eve. times a million.

on the way to the hospital i called my mama to give her the update. even though we were far from anything really 'happening' she immediately jumped in the car and made the hour drive to our house. a grandma in waiting.

we arrived at the hospital and were ushered into the "holding room." since it was like 9pm at night, the whole place was super quiet and empty. another ideal situation.

because i wasn't having any contractions, our moods were positive and we were feeling great, chatting with the nurse. i remember thinking, what a wonderful experience this is turning out to be!

funny random memory: when the nurse went to check and confirm it was my water that broke (and i didn't just have a gallon of random liquid continually gushing out of my body) the second she even took a peek i heard a loud, "OH GIRL!! DEFINITELY your water broke. we can stop right there." 

so then the midwife came in and explained that because i had been having some high blood pressure the last couple of weeks, they'd like to admit me so they could monitor us. they weren't worried, but just wanted to be on the safe side. (otherwise they probably would have sent me home to see if contractions would start on their own.)

i didn't object. 

it was happening. within 24 hours, we were going to have a baby.

when we got settled in our new room, the nurse gave me a sleeping pill so I could try and get some rest. but even with that, i didn't sleep a wink that night. too excited to sleep.

my mind wouldn't shut off... what was the next day going to be like?

to be continued!