John's Birth Story

People kept asking if I was ready and my usual answer was that I wasn't in a rush for him to get here. I still had stuff on my to do list and I was enjoying my time with just Kyler before juggling two.

Our bathroom was in the process of being remodeled (still is, but is useable and close to finished) and our room was the staging area for awhile. It needed a good cleaning/decluttering if I was going to put a bassinet in it for John. Well, the Saturday before John arrived, Vern's mom, Joyce, had offered to watch Kyler for us. So she came on Friday afternoon. Vern and I were able to go hang out with friends and not have to worry about the time and trying to get Kyler home for bed. Then on Saturday when we got up, Vern was able to work on the bathroom and Joyce helped me watch Kyler and do all of the things left on my to do list....including making our room baby ready. I finally felt ready. Even though I know that things would have been okay if I hadn't been able to accomplish everything, God had provided the time and my wonderful mother-in-law to make it happen.

I can't remember when exactly I started feeling achy and crampy, but I know for sure that I did Saturday night...probably from all the activity. I really thought that he was going to come that night. I even laid out stuff to take to the hospital (I'm a last minute packer) and it took me awhile to go to sleep knowing that I would probably wake up with contractions. Well, morning rolled around and we went to church like any other Sunday. I still felt achy and crampy. I was sure this baby was not going to wait around until his due date. We went to our small group that night and then came home and went to bed.

At around 12:30, I looked at the clock because of a contraction. I don't remember any before then. The next one was around 12:50. When the next one came around 8 minutes later, I figured I would get up and start writing them down. (With Kyler I had contractions all day so I wasn't expecting to have to go to the hospital too soon...maybe I'll write her story down later.) These contractions were actually lasting about a minute long and felt more intense than with Kyler, but they were still about 8 minutes apart. After about the 5th or 6th contraction, I woke Vern up and we decided to call my mom to come watch Kyler. Vern decided to go ahead and pack. Shortly before my mom arrived, I decided to call the doctor since I was having to breathe through the contractions. She said I could go ahead to the hospital. My mom arrived sometime after 2 and we headed to the hospital. Activity definitely sped up contractions. I had to pause at least 3 times walking from the parking lot to the waiting area. We checked in and I measured at 8 cm. The nurse said if my doctor came and broke my water, the baby would be out in no time. Vern was great at rubbing my lower back and trying to tell me when the current contraction had peaked. I didn't feel like there was much if any break in between contractions. Towards the end I kept thinking, "Lord, I need a break...please give me a break." The song that kept going through my head was Mandisa's "My Deliverer"...not exactly sure why, but it helped me keep going. I kept hoping my doctor would arrive. When she finally did, she broke my water, I had a few more contractions, and then I started pushing. (With Kyler, I was actually able to rest once I got to the pushing stage...so I was hoping it would be the same with John...I wanted a break!...That didn't happen...but then again, I really only had to push like 5 min.) The nurses say we checked in at 2:50am, and John was born at 3:50am. Wow, I guess once he decided to come out, we really didn't have to wait for long. I wonder if that will be the case when he gets older too.

I know that my labor with John was much shorter. I can't say it was any easier than with Kyler. But I know time has a way of erasing some of the pain...otherwise, I wouldn't have had John. I know I said "I can't do this again" immediately after having Kyler. Somehow the topic of other kids came up in the delivery room...I said "You need to ask me once I forget the pain"....as the nurse called it "pain amnesia".

Thank you to all who were praying. God has sure blessed us with a wonderful little man, and I couldn't have asked for a smoother delivery or better nurses.