the day gage came.

take note: i've had lots of people ask for gage's birth story...so here it is. it's LONG!! and, kind of deep so you may just want to skip to the pictures at the end:)

friday, february 26:
i wake up almost laughing that yes, i'm still very pregnant. look at the clock, 8:15, i need to be at the dr by 9. lane wakes up, we sit and drink his milk. i am overwhelmed by love for him and what a gift he is. i cry as he rests his head on my shoulder and thank God for bringing him to me. i pray for the birth of our newest little baby. i give God my time. i thanked God for lane's birth experience and wouldn't trade it for anything, even him being two weeks late.
....oh yeah, we're running late!
9:15, i RUN into the doctors office for a stress test on baby and to see the dr. i sit for an hour with monitors on my belly and ZERO contractions. the dr says baby is happy and content in my tummy. he checks me and says 2 cm and 80% effaced. very little progress from a few days ago, but hey, a little is better than none. he asks is i want him to strip my membranes. (i don't feel like explaining b/c it's too gross) i agree and think even though it may hurt pitocin would hurt more anyways. (we agreed to be induced march 5th if baby hadn't come yet)
i leave the appt feeling hopeful yet content that God is in control of my baby's birthday.
12:00noon, go out to eat with mom, dad, and lane. i feel great! we all laugh as lane has a lunch of beets, peas, and soft serve ice cream.
2:00, cutting mom and dad's hair i start feeling some 'cramps' i don't mention anything for a while not wanting to get hopes up but before they leave to go back to their hotel i tell mom and say maybe you should stay close to your phone.
5:30, lane and i go for a walk with his tonka truck. he is LOVING being outside and we end up walking a little farther than anticipated. all throughout the walk i stop every few minutes to take a breath during these silly cramps. we see vance's pick up turn the corner. lane and i are both so happy! he can drive dada's pick up home and i can sit. as soon as i get in his pick up i say, "something MIGHT be going on" we decide to go out to eat since this might just be our last dinner out for a while.
7:00, after standing and waiting in line at texas roadhouse for over half an hour things definitely started to pick up. we decide that it was probably not the best idea for us to go out to eat. i'm stopping every 4-5 minutes to really focus and breathe. eat a sweet potato, so glad i didn't order ribs.
8:30, get home and put lane to bed. i cry because things will be different from here on out for him (and us). for the next 2 hours or so, we finally pack our bags and watch the olympics. vance says he's "so excited to meet our baby" i'm continually getting more and more uncomfortable. attempt to lay down in bed but that's a total bust. vance has already started the long haul of calming me down, telling me to breath, relax my shoulders during contractions.
10:30, after being in the bath for a while we call jill, our doula. explain contractions are coming every 2-3 minutes lasting for minute or so. she says she'll be right over. vance and i are afraid to have her come too soon, it could be till the next evening like it was with lane's birth. she comes and is amazed at how well vance and i are working together. we decide to call my parents so they'll be at our house when we decide to go to the hospital.
during this i totally loose track of time. i am literally moaning and groaning. (surprised i didn't wake lane up) move to the medicine ball. contractions are so intense. i start throwing up. jill reassures me its a good thing b/c it helps dilate. it hurts from my back to the bottom of my stomach. baby keeps moving the whole time, strong moving. jill says she can feel the baby through my back as she is pressing on it.
2:00, contractions are on top of each other. really no stopping. i start falling asleep between contractions, a true sign of transition, things might be farther along. jill suggests that we think about going to the hospital. vance and i are hesitant, what if i'm only 4 cm dilated when we get there like i was with lane? but we decide to go. we start the very short walk from our bedroom to the car. i can't make it 5 steps without stopping. we decide to have mom drive while vance and i sit in the back so he can keep me focused.
the car ride to the hospital was intense. i only remember a few things, remember it felt good to feel cold air, remember praying out loud, remember thinking i might be sitting on baby's head, remember telling mom to drive faster. at some point i told vance "this really hurts" he tells me "it hurt last time with lane too" i respond by saying, "but this time reaallly hurts"...they both were hard.
2:45 i had planned on walking into the hospital like i had with lane's birth. i couldn't. they get me a wheelchair to the car and we start the process of checking in. it took FOREVER!! the lady at the front desk said she called for the nurse to come get me, 5 minutes later she was there. the longest 5 minutes ever!! i kept putting my hands in the air b/c i was afraid i was grabbing onto the wheelchair and accidentally pushing. once we're wheeled up to labor and delivery they take me to triage to see if i'm actually in labor. what!?! can they not tell just by looking at me. the nurse says, "let's check you and see if you're going to stay." jill, our doula, starts laughing. sure enough when she checks me she says "well, you have a bulging (i hate that word) bag of water and are 100% dilated" we were ALL shocked!!! in fact, i still am. sooo happy to not have to labor longer at the hospital. just totally shocked we worked that hard at home! the nurse asks if i can walk to a delivery room, yeah right, i make her move the whole bed.
the hospital says my official check in time is 2:52am. once in the room things get CRAZY!! there are at least 5 nurses scurrying about. i don't remember my blood being drawn or getting an i.v.(in case something went wrong). i just remember yelling "i need to PUSH!" my dr wasn't there so they had me breathe through a contraction. i say, "i don't care, i don't want to wait till my dr is here, just get ANY dr" after breathing and trying hard not to push through 2 more sets of contractions a dr walks in. the next thing i know, my water broke. i push during a set of contractions. something felt funny, i couldn't get situated. i think how frustrating this is b/c with lane i loved pushing, i feel like i'm failing. the doctor has me move about on the bed. vance, jill, and my mom are all keeping me focused and encouraging me. my eyes are locked with vance's, my rock. another contraction....another push....and baby gage is born!!
3:07am, baby gage is on my chest. i keep crying "my baby...my baby" vance is crying. our emotions overflowed! instant love.

.my dr walks in nearly 30 minutes after he's born. so glad i didn't have to wait for her!
.we're schocked by gage's tiny umbilical cord. God truly protected him and gave him EVERYTHING he needed while inside of me.
.they tell me it's good my water hadn't broken earlier or i would have had the baby at home or in the car. so glad i didn't have a baby on the side of I-25!
.immediate recovery is hard. i lost more blood than thought and continue to pass out. i have to be on a i.v. for the next 24 hours, not so fun.
.afterwards i said it was so much easier than lane's birth. fast was nice!
.even between pushes i could feel gage moving, such a squirmer. loves those hands!
.so glad jill told us to head to the hospital. vance and i would have waited.
.gage eats like a champ.
.SO thankful for a safe delivery.
.we are so happy!
...if you read everything, wow!

a few pictures from 2.27.10. my mom did a fantastic(!) job taking pics, we have at least 100 more.