My Grand Entrance

Mommy woke up just after 7:30 am on the morning of February 15th with an new, intense pain that she had not experienced before. The thought of labor flashed through her mind, but she quickly put that out of the way, thinking she was just getting anxious about my birth in a few days. She got up, went potty, and hoped that the walking and changing positions would make these strange new (and very uncomfortable) pains go away. She laid back down, held her breath, and waited, and the pains kept coming. In fact, it seemed as if they were even getting worse. After waiting a few more unbearable minutes, Mommy got back up again. Having never been in labor before (yep, I'm the firstborn!) she wasn't sure if this was it, and didn't want to wake Daddy up or go all the way to the hospital for a false alarm. So she waited a bit, and got one of her pregnancy books to check her symptoms with what real labor was like. She also prayed A LOT--asking Heavenly Father to help her know if this was real labor or not by making her water break. Then she stood up, and her water broke!
Mommy went to the bathroom to figure out what was going on, and saw that there was meconium, which means I already made my first poopy! (Later we learned there was so much pooh that I had made my second poopy as well; guess I was anxious to get here!) By now Mommy was in some serious pain--and it took her a little bit of time to be able to get up and go get Daddy. She woke him up and told him I was on my way--her water had broken and they needed to go to the hospital. Daddy was very calm and said, "Oh, that's a surprise." Then he got up and got ready to go.
Mommy's pain was hard for her to handle now, and all she could think about was getting to the hospital to make her feel better. Just before they left home, she tried to call Grandma Romney to tell her they were headed to the hospital. It was a short conversation, and really hard for her to talk during the contractions. But Grandma and Grandpa Romney knew I was on my way, and they decided to come down from Chino Valley and see me.
When my parents got to the hospital, there was no body at the reception desk and they didn't know where to go. Daddy had Mommy sit while he went to go find someone and find out what to do. A few minutes later they were in the elevator and on their way to the labor and delivery area. Once Daddy got Mommy with the right people he had to go park the car (they left it running right in front of the hospital entrance--just like in the movies!). The lady here had Mommy fill out some paperwork while she went to go do something. When she came back Mommy was just standing there, so she offered Mommy a seat. Mom told her that her water had already broken and she was making a mess all over. This got the lady moving, and she got Mommy right into a little room to get changed and ready for the delivery while the lady went and got some nurses.
Mommy's OB doctor, Dr. Huff, was out of town this weekend. Luckily his replacement was already at the hospital doing a C-section, so we wouldn't have to wait for him to get there. Daddy got back just as Mommy finished getting changed and the nurses showed up. They started prepping Mommy for the C-section, first doing an ultrasound to make sure I was still breach (which I was, at least I'm consistent!), then they discovered Mommy was dilated to an 8 and things started moving really quickly! They were worried about me getting caught in the birthing canal, so they rushed Mommy through the pre-op process as fast as they could, skipping whatever steps (including paperwork) they could. Mommy asked about drugs to help her feel better, but they couldn't giver her anything until just before the surgery because it might make the labor go even faster. So, we all toughed out the contractions together--Mommy and Daddy on the outside, and me on the inside. Mommy was in pain, Daddy got his hand squeezed, and my heart rate would drop with every contraction.
We were all ready for the delivery, so they wheeled Mom to the OR--they almost took her into a dirty room, but luckily they didn't! Daddy had to wait outside while they finished preparing Mommy and me for the delivery. By now Mom was ready to push, and some nurse stayed right by her head talking quietly and telling her not to push, no matter what. Finally they everything was set and they could do the spinal block for Mommy; unfortunately it was right in the middle of a contraction and Mommy was not allowed to move while they were doing it. Once the medicine set in though, she was feeling much better! She was nervous about being awake while being operated on, but felt much better when Daddy came back in and was able to be right by her and hold her hand. The doctors got to work quickly. Within a few minutes they told Daddy he could watch while I was being born. He got to see the most amazing event in history (well, one of them at least) my BIRTH!! Mommy heard them say I was out and waited anxiously to hear my first cry. She says it is the most amazing thing she has ever heard. Daddy went over to me while I got all cleaned up and the doctors put Mommy back together. He got to cut the cord and take lots of pictures to show the world how handsome I am. After a few minutes he even got to carry me back over to Mommy, where we met face to face for the first time. It was our first family gathering, and it was perfect!

I told you I was breach! This is the position I was used to.


Hello Daddy!