corbin's birth story (one month later...)

i?ve been working on writing this for over a month now. for some reason (maybe the sleepless nights!?) i keep erasing and starting over unpleased with what i?ve written every time. which seems a little weird  since its just a story filled with facts. here?s the latest version, although im still not happy with it. i suppose maybe there are no words to actually describe the day corbin came into our lives thus the reason i could never be one hundred percent happy with the written down version...

my pregnancy started out easy as can be. absolutely no morning sickness. no unhealthy cravings. i really enjoyed being pregnant and watching my baby (and belly!) grow and grow! but at 29 weeks i went to the er and was hospitalized overnight with an incompetent cervix and was at risk for pre-term labor after bleeding while helping jaden make pies for my shower the very next day. without warning, i was put on strict bed rest and had to stop working. and my shower was cancelled. we were not prepared for that! once a week we had to have an ultrasound to check my cervix and after three weeks it thickened back up and i was able to go back to work! then at 36 weeks i started to have a little higher than normal blood pressure so i had to check in twice a week, rather than the usual once weekly appt. well at my first 38 week appt, my blood pressure was even higher than it had been so they had to draw blood and one of the things they test for came back higher than it had been too! so, my midwife, sharon checked me and i was already 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced (no wonder i?d been so uncomfortable lately!). after an hour long non-stress test (i  was having pretty good contractions ,although i couldnt feel them and my blood pressure was still high) and a long discussion with my midwife we decided it was best to induce me that night to prevent this turning into preeclampsia. i was so nervous and upset because i had "planned' on letting everything happen naturally and the sound of the word PITOCIN just creeped me out! but i trusted sharon and know that we had to do what is best for me and baby. so off to labor and delivery i went. ryan called all our families and told them the news. they ALL rushed to the hospital, even though they knew it would be a long, slow process and that the baby probably wouldn?t be there til the next day!

they started me out on the smallest amount of pitocin and upped it by one every half hour or so. backing up a little, the night before i was up half the night with the worst lower back pain ever. it felt like i had pulled or strained a muscle so laying on it in any way was waaay too painful! which meant not being able to really lay down and relax before this whole labor thing got painful! i managed to find a comfortable position sitting on a birth ball and laying over the side of the bed. so, there i sat. and sat. and sat. pretty soon all our families had made it to the hospital too so they were stopping in and saying hi. when the pitocin contractions finally started to kick in, i just kept my eyes closed and stayed focused on breathing thru each one. the hee hee hooo's was the only thing that saved me from the epidural i had dreaded. the contractions from the pitocin were pretty hard-core. i had no time in-between them and they were STRONG! i was ready to try that tub out that i'd seen so many women be soothed with while in labor and man did it work! i layed in there for a long time with the jets on full blast with ryan right outside the tub holding my hand. it was amazing to me how much more relaxing it felt. throughout the night and into the next morning i hung out in the tub, walking around, and on the birth ball. ryan, jaden, my sister, mom, and ryan?s mom took turns rubbing my back and making me feel relaxed. i have to give props to my midwife sharon though. omg! she had THE BEST touch and everytime she had her hands on me i felt SO relaxed! my eyes remained closed the whole entire time focusing on my breathing. i remember opening them at random times and once saw that it was light outside again. i couldn?t believe it was already the next day! the time flew by! sometime that next morning though my natural contractions finally kicked in and i was able to manage them much better and they turned the pitocin off. there was still no break in between but i knew that they were the same strength every time and that helped get me through. i am told i only said, ?i cant handle this pain anymore? once, but i suppose most natural labors have that point where you just want to give in to the pain and get some drugs. i think i was about seven cm when we all decided to break my water. the baby?s head was turned a little and they thought it may help get him going down the right direction.

the last time i was checked (i would say around 11am or noon maybe) because the baby?s head wasn?t facing the right direction my midwife thought i should get in the tub again and when a contraction hits to sway my hips back and forth. easy right?! holy crap! i must say that was THE most painful part of the whole process. i even started hyperventilating at that point. my whole face would tingle and go numb. i?ve never felt that before!  and after a while of the most painful swaying ever in the tub came the urge to push. its a real thing you know. the most uncontrollable urge ever. its so weird how it just hits you too! so i got out of the tub and before i could hop into bed, i just leaned against it, standing up, and pushed. i swayed back and forth and crouched down with every one. i never planned on having my baby standing up or squatting but thats just how it happened! after one hour, he slipped right out and my midwife handed him to me and i felt the biggest rush of the most unconditional love sweep over me! i kept saying, ?i just love him? over and over. since we didnt find out if we were having a boy or girl (i had forgot all about that at that point!) ryan was standing behind me and said, ?IS IT A BOY OR GIRL!?!? so i looked and it was a boy! our dreams had come true that day. corbin hartman honeysett was finally here! a seven pound, nine ounce, nineteen inch long, perfectly healthy, handsome, baby boy!