a real housewife: D[elivery] Day!!!

Thursday, July 26, 2012 will be the day that forever changed our lives. The day that our hearts grew and we now understood the meaning of selfless unconditional love. The day that made me even more grateful for the man I married and the gift that he had given me, our little boy, Owen Wyatt.

It all started about 5 days earlier. I had started having very mild cramping the weekend before and chalked it up to Braxton Hicks. They were so incredibly mild that I really thought nothing of them and figured they would intensify over the next 3 or so weeks we had left until my due date. I would get them only at night, maybe 2-4 times. Still very mild.

Come Thursday morning around 10:00, I was woken up by a stronger cramp. Still not painful but very noticeable. I immediately called Justin at work and told him that we could be having a baby soon. By soon, I meant maybe that weekend. Again, they were so mild and painless that I didn't think anything of them. Just that my body felt different. But, I wanted to let him know what I was feeling. It was kind of exciting! He told me that he was headed home and hung up on me. Rude!! :) I thought it was silly that he was coming home. I mean, we had about a week and a half until my due date. I headed to the kitchen to fix a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, all the while having these cramps about every 10-13 minutes. Hmm...this was way more frequent than I had ever felt them, but they still didn't hurt. By about the 5th bite of cereal, I decided that I'd rather be showered and put together for delivery than have a full belly! :) So I went and showered, put on makeup, and curled my hair. Pregnant Barbie, yes please! By the time I got out of the shower, Justin was home, and he was ready to load the car...and throw me in as well. I told him that I wasn't ready to go. I wasn't going to be turned away at the hospital. No way! By this time, I was starving and made Justin go and get us Taco Bueno. I always envisioned having Mexican food before going into labor, so this was going to have to do. When he got home, we decided to call our OB and tell them what was going on. They agreed that it was probably Braxton Hicks and to sit, put my feet up, drink a ton of water, and to call back in an hour and update them. Over the next hour, the "contractions" stayed at 10 minutes a part, and I was feeling fine. When I called to update them, they said to keep doing what I was doing and to call back in an hour. Okay. Bored!!! No more changes over the next hour. When I called back this time, I asked if I had to stay sitting down. I mean, hello. I had things to get done. The nurse said no but to call back if the "contractions" increased in frequency or intensity at all that day. I got up and went to finish packing my hospital back and cleaned our master bathroom, because if we were having baby, we were having guests. Duh. Priorities! Well....while cleaning the bathroom, my "contractions" went to 5 minutes a part and were taking my breath away. Still not horribly painful but a pretty tight cramp....like I had to go the bathroom!! This time, Justin did throw everything into the car, and this time, I did not hesitate to join. As we were driving, the contractions got to about 3 minutes a part and I was getting a little nervous. Hello...I knew I was having a baby!!!!!

When we got to the hospital at 4:15 and checked in, they took us back to a room and took my vitals, and I told her that I was 38 weeks 4 days pregnant, dilated to a 4 and effaced 70% at my last appointment. She said that normally they would send me home (for whatever reason is still beyond me) but that my 3 minute a part contractions were need enough to stay. As soon as they hooked me up to everything, the contractions started for real. I mean, for real! Holy moly! Little did I know, I was having back labor, and it's a pain like no one can even imagine!! My family left Norman at 4:57, and I was just praying that they made it in time. It's only a 3 hour drive...they had to, right?! After only being at the hospital for 30 minutes, my water broke. It wasn't a gush of water like I had imagined but a slow drip that made me think it was just the gel from them checking me. The pain had increased so badly at this point that I seriously didn't think I could do it. I really thought I was going to die. I told them right when I had gotten there that I wanted an epidural, so I was anxiously awaiting this wonderful drug! They normally won't give the epidural until all of your blood work comes back, but I was in such pain that they ordered it any way, and I received it at 5:35. Bless our sweet nurse!!! At 6:05, I had progressed to 5 cm and 90% effaced, and by 7:05, I was 9cm. They had me put one of my legs up to slow down labor so my family could make it in time. They finally showed up around 7:45, and we had a few short minutes to visit until the nurse said that I would begin pushing around 8:00. It was all a whirlwind in about 4 short hours, because at 8:23 our little man, Owen Wyatt Watson, was born!!! He was 6 lbs. 3 oz., 19.5" long, and the most wonderful, cutest blessing we could have ever received! Praise Jesus for our healthy baby boy. We love him terribly!!!