Okay, we've reached the time for Sawyer's birth. Can you tell I'm afraid of running out of time before the birth of the girls? I'm tossing out new posts like it's going out of style!
It was September of 2006 and I was 36 weeks along with my third pregnancy. I was teaching only once a week at American River College that semester. One day after class I went to the hospital to get checked out quickly since I was having contractions. I arrived, they hooked me up to the monitor and found my contractions were every 8 minutes. However, with a cervical check or two in an hour or so it was shown that I was not progressing, so they sent me home. Two days later my contractions were about every 6 minutes or so apart, so I figured I should head in to get checked out. I live about an hour and a half away from my hospital so I thought it would be better to play it safe.
They hook me back up to the monitors and since my contractions were consistent and I lived far away, they checked me into a room on the High Risk Maternity floor (only available space) and monitored me overnight. I was told my OB would be in to check on me first thing in the morning. Well, around noon, with no progression but still tons of contractions I called over to my OB's office because he never came over. Get this, no one ever called over to tell him I was there! So he heads over, tells me that since I'm not dilating to go home. He gives me some medication to help me not notice the contractions and puts me on bed rest, telling me to come back the next Friday, when I'd be 37 weeks and if I had progressed at all, he'd keep me.
That next week I take it easy and take my medication. I don't really notice the contractions that much (which scares me since I'm so far away and don't want to deliver in my van) - but I do make it to Friday. I go teach my class and head to my OB appointment. Dr. Knight checks my cervix and nothing! That means I have to go back home and freak out over contractions for who knows how long and maybe waste more gas coming back to the hospital in hours or days. As I'm walking back to my car I call Rick and my mother in law to tell them it's a "no go". After I hang up and I'm bitching to myself about the predicament I'm in, I notice this weird heavy feeling in my vagina as I walk. All of a sudden my water breaks right there in the parking lot! I call my Doctor's office and since I just left 5 minutes earlier they ask if I left my purse. I told them that my water broke, they laughed and said, go to the hospital.
I realize I have Rick's car, he has the van in case I had to stay. I pop open the trunk to see if I can find something to sit on, since my pants are wet and more amniotic fluid is making it's way out of my body. Lucky for Rick, he had a Valley Yellow Pages towel from a Hawaii contest he won laying back there. I make a beach towel diaper, get in the car and drive over to the hospital. They test me to make sure it is in fact my water that broke versus me peeing my pants (which happened to my friend one time when she thought her water broke)- once they determine it is not urine, they check me in. I call Rick and let him know and tell him we probably have a few hours because I'm still hardly dilated.
Of course I get an epidural (I'm sure you're still chuckling over Ruby's birth) and hang out drinking Cranberry juice waiting for Rick to arrive. They start the Pitocin and I settle in for some TV. This is my third birth, so it seems like we're just going through the motions and not much excitement. I just want to give birth and go back home so I can be with my family in the comfort of my own home.
At 12:33 am on Saturday September 23, 2006 Sawyer Orion was born weighing in at 7 pounds and 11 ounces.
Later that day my mother in law brought Ruby and Preston to the hospital to meet their new brother and it was the most awesome experience ever. To just sit back and see my family, finally complete, there are no words to describe it!
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