I woke up early on January 1, 2015 -- New Year's Day! -- and suspected my water may have broken. It was more of a leak, so it wasn't as obvious as it is in the movies. I was really hesitant to call the doctor being that it was New Year's Day and I would have to call the emergency hotline at the hospital. I thought I was just over thinking the situation and assumed it was probably nothing. My husband came home from a youth lock-in at our church with our youth group at around 7 am. Once I told him my suspicions, he insisted I get this checked out ASAP. Once I called the doctor, she wanted me to come to the hospital right away to see if I was in fact leaking amniotic fluid. My husband asked if he should come with me and believing that they would just send me home assuring me it was nothing, I told him no. He had been up all night at the youth lock-in and hadn't slept at all. So I quickly got dressed, grabbed a cup of coffee, and headed out the door. I didn't even bring my hospital bag because I just knew I would be coming right back home. Once I got to the hospital, I checked in to an area called triage where they determine if they are going to admit you to Labor & Delivery or not. The nurses did a quick test and determined that I WAS in fact leaking amniotic fluid. My water HAD broken and I was having this baby! The day I had been wishing for more than anything was finally here!
Shock, fear, and excitement filled my mind as I started making the phone calls to let everyone know the day was here. First, I called Josh and let him know that he did in fact need to come down to the hospital with me and we were having this baby now! The next 12 hours were long and not too exciting. It took 4 hours for me to get a permanent room in Labor & Delivery and then another 8 hours of having to take a medicine to get my body ready for labor. I wasn't too thrilled because I had left the house without a shower or even eating breakfast. Once I got to the the hospital and was admitted, they told me I wasn't allowed to eat until after I had the baby which ended up being a full 24 hrs without solid food. If you know me, you know this was a struggle! Finally at 9 pm that evening, they started me on Pitocin. At this point, I was ready to get the show on the road. I (thought) I wanted to feel the contractions and the pain, knowing that it was the one thing standing between me and finally meeting my child. Labor had finally begun!
About 2 hours into intense labor, I was pretty miserable. At that point, I still didn't want an epidural, so I ended up getting an IV drug that took the edge off. It helped just enough to let me keep going, but I was still in a lot of pain and feeling every contraction. The next 2.5 hours were by far the worst. I was delusional from the pain. The IV drug wore off and my mind was cloudy from the intense contractions. I don't remember those hours very well (thankfully!). My husband was an absolute champ though! He sat by me the entire time and held my hand as I squeezed his hand and the bed rail with all my might. He encouraged me and even showed me pictures of our dog, Cedric, (who we are obsessed with) to help me through the pain. I'm so very thankful he was there with me and I couldn't have made it that far without him. Unfortunately because they didn't know how long my water had been broken, they wouldn't check my progress because of the increased chance of infection. But the nurse could watch my contractions and tell how close I was to being 10 cm dilated. At 1 am, she told me that I still had a ways to go. The contractions were relentless at this point and there wasn't a break between them. I looked at Josh and told him I wanted the epidural. I was in agony and I just didn't want to welcome my child into the world while I was in absolute misery. The next 15 minutes were probably the longest of my life. I had to wait for the anesthesiologist to get there and he couldn't come quick enough. He finally arrived and the epidural definitely hurt, but it was a means to an end of the pain. Immediate relief took over my body and my mind was finally clear enough to think again. I looked at Josh after the epidural had kicked in and said, "I think that was a good decision!" :)
I was finally relaxed enough to get some sleep, but not for long! At 1:30 am, I was dilated to 5 cm and at 4:30 am, the nurse checked me again. I was at 10 cm and ready to push! We woke Josh up and told him to call our family members and let them know the baby was almost here! Josh and I looked at each other and knew the moment was finally here! We couldn't wait to meet our little Peanut and find out if we had a son or daughter. I started pushing at about 5 am and at 5:46 am, Grayson Otto Gale entered the world. He was 7 lbs 1 oz and 18.5 inches long. Josh looked over at me right after he came out and announced, "It's a BOY!". What a special moment! Tears rolled down my cheeks as I looked at our son and was taken aback that we had created such a beautiful human life together. I was also taken aback by the thick head of dark hair Grayson came out with!
That day was filled with friends and family coming to meet Grayson and congratulate us. It was such a special and memorable day as we all came together to celebrate this new little life. Words cannot express how thankful we are for our healthy son and how much we love him already! Thanks to everyone who supported us on this journey with our little Peanut and for those who have continued to bless us with their love and support as we welcomed Grayson Otto into the world. We are so grateful!
