February 24, 2010 - About 6 am that morning, I woke up feeling "funny" but I knew I was not having contractions (I remembered those VERY well from Isabelle)! I woke Mark up & told him that I was going to take a shower but not to call anyone just yet. A little after 7, I had my first contraction & I told him to call his mom & have her come on up to stay with Isabelle while we went on to the hospital. My total labor time with Isabelle (from first contraction to holding her in my arms) was around 4 hours, so I knew I shouldn't drag my feet with this one.
While his mom was on her way, I had a few special moments with Isabelle as I realized "this was it" - her last moments as an only child, our last time as a family of 3. I snapped a few pictures with her and Mark snapped the "last belly shot" of me. When his mom arrived, we headed out the door to the hospital. I was still feeling okay but the contractions were coming a little quicker.
We checked into the labor & delivery ward around 8:20 am. The nurses started getting everything together, asking a slew of questions & I realized this was going to be nothing like my experience in Senegal. First of all, I could understand everything they were saying! Mark quickly told them that I wanted "the drugs" & they made a note of it. He then told them how quick I went with Isabelle, so they put a pause on the questions & started the preparations for the epidural. Unlike Senegal, they had to draw blood & wait for the results before they could administer the drugs. They told me that this should take about 30 minutes.
Well, as was with Isabelle, this labor progressed very quickly. When the 30 minutes were up & there was no epidural in sight, I asked Mark to page the nurses to check on the status. The sweet nurse came in, gave me a quick check & then delivered the fatal news ... "Sweetie, you are too far along. You are going to have to deliver this baby natural." I was in too much pain to even cry about it! I wanted to freak out but I couldn't even do that because I was trying to breathe through the contractions that were coming less than a minute apart.
A few minutes later, I realized this baby was coming & guess what? The doctor was not there! No where! "On his way," they said. I knew how far his office was & I was preparing myself to let the nurses deliver my baby but at the very last second, I mean VERY last second, he came floating into the room like an angel. I literally said, "Oh praise the Lord!" And I meant it! He quickly put on his scrubs and I said, "Can I please push?" He said, "Go for it." Four pushes later, Luke Cleveland made his grand entrance into the world at 9:45 am ... with a 14 inch head, I might add!
And that is the story! : )
Last picture of Isabelle as an only child.
Last belly shot. So glad that thing is gone! It's amazing how easier it is to bend over without that thing in the way ... and how I can finish a sentence without losing my breath ... and how Isabelle can sit on my lap without sitting on my belly first.
Our sweet precious boy! He is a fantastic baby, by the way!
I love being a mom of 2 and I love having a son!
The most amazing husband & father in the world ... hands down!
Isabelle meeting her little brother for the first time. She has been a great big sister & loves Luke so much. She still has yet to say his name, just keeps calling him, "Baby." Does that mean something?
Such a sweet little girl ... still loves her mama even though I left her for 2 nights & brought another child into her world!
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