On the day that you were born.....

It was Wednesday June 16th. Daddy had worked the overnight in the ER the previous night and didn't get much sleep. For some reason, he didn't nap that day either. I was getting very anxious to get you out. I went on two walks and had been eating spicy food for days to help you along. At this point, I was convinced I'd have to be induced and would be pregnant for at least a week more. Daddy and I decided to go to bed at about 9:30pm. I had been having trouble sleeping anyway but tried anyway. At 10:15pm, I felt a pop and then a gush of water. It was almost like I was going to the bathroom but couldn't stop. I remember saying something to Daddy but he was in a deep sleep so he didn't respond. I ran to the bathroom and the water kept gushing. I started to think that this was actually my water breaking. I went back into the bedroom and said to Daddy "I think my water just broke". He replied "Are you serious?" He smiled and remained calm. Or so I thought. I was having a mini meltdown but tried not to show it too much. I quickly found some clothes but it all was a whirlwind. I really did not think that my water would break on it's own. Everything I had read said that the odds were very against it. I had figured that contractions would start, and I would have to occupy myself for a few hours at home. Instead I was walking around the house in a trance trying to remember everything I wanted to bring. Daddy got dressed, grabbed the camera bag, my bag and hid the key for when Grandpa came to get Prudy. At this point, I was still trying to function while in the middle of my mini-meltdown. I remember crying a bit simply because I was scared. I really had to go through with this. How would I do? Would everything be ok? What if it wasn't my water breaking and something was wrong? We packed everything into the car much to Prudy's confusion. She thought she was going somewhere with us. Daddy called the hospital on the way just to warn the ob department that we were on our way, even though we just live across town and would literally be there in minutes. It was on the drive that my back started to hurt. Then the pain would go away.
Daddy asked "Are you having contractions?" I thought, "Oh, so that's what they feel like!" At this point they were fairly tolerable. We checked into the hospital and headed right up to the ob department. I changed into the gown and Nurse Carol hooked me up to all sorts of things. My contractions were about 2 1/2 minutes apart and still fairly tolerable. They checked to make sure that my water in fact did break, and I remember NOT liking that test which was really silly when comparing it to what my body was about to endure. Nurse Carol informed us that yep my water had broken and we were about 3 cm dilated and still very well effaced. I remember her saying that our baby's birthday would be June 17th and her guess was that you would arrive by 4am. It was getting pretty surreal. Now it was basically a waiting game. I had the go ahead from Dr. Leino that I could have an epidural the moment I arrived at the hospital. Daddy and I decided to wait just a bit since I could tolerate the contractions and we just wanted to ensure that things were progressing along nicely. So Daddy folded out the little bed in the room and we both tried to rest. Daddy didn't tell me at the time, but now he admits that all he was thinking was "Man I just want to sleep!" It was time to get hooked up to an IV. I got poked three different places before Nurse Steph came up from ER and got it right away. Contractions started getting rougher. I was not doing a very good job relaxing during them. I would tense everything up. Nurse Carol and Daddy worked with me on some breathing exercises. They worked for a while. Daddy tried to sleep more and I tried to relax. By about 1am, I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted the epidural. So I woke up Daddy and he agreed. Nurse Carol checked me again and were we were to about 4 or 5 cm. They started fluids because I needed that for about 20 minutes before NA Bob could come and start the epi. This seemed like the longest 20 minutes of my life. I knew relief was coming but I wanted it right now. I had no patience for anything. Everything Daddy did was the wrong thing. None of his jokes were funny. I just wanted this pain to end. Finally NA Bob arrived. I don't even remember feeling a poke. I remember getting a bunch of stuff taped to my back and then my legs started to get a little heavy and tingly. I got repositioned in bed so I could rest for a while and my contractions became much more tolerable once again. Daddy's jokes weren't as annoying anymore. (That's how he could tell I was feeling better!) I could tell they were happening on my left side, but I could breath and rest normally through them. My right side was completely numb. It was about 2 am. Daddy went back to sleep and I rested. There was a little too much on my mind to actually sleep, but I was able to rest. I was checked once more and things were still progessing nicely and I was about to 8 cm. At 5am, Nurse Carol checked and we were at a 10. Time to call Dr. Leino and get ready to push. Daddy went to call Grandpa Ben to come get Prudy. Dr. Leino arrived and Nurse Steph came up from the ER to help. I was actually pretty relaxed at this point. I couldn't really feel anything below my belly button. I wasn't sure what pushing was going to feel like though. How would I know what to do? I remember the news was on the tv. (I actually watch a lot of local news, and this newscast just happened to be KARE 11's.) They got all the tools out that they would need for delivery and we just started pushing. I could somewhat tell when contractions were because there was kind of a tightening in my belly, but it didn't hurt. I just waited for the nurse to tell me when to go and I did. They warned me that the average push time for a first baby is an hour and a half, so I didn't let myself get too worked up about time. I remember that we had totally normal conversations in between contractions because I was relaxed. I think this really helped me give it all when it was time to push. About 45 minutes into pushing, your heart rate dropped a tiny bit. They gave me some oxygen. I was a little worried at this point, but they really didn't seem to be. Within a few minutes, you were back to where you should be. I remember asking "Is everything still going ok?" after about every push. By about 6:15am, Dr. Leino told Daddy to get his scrubs on and get ready to catch. Nurse Steph just got called out of the room to the ER. She was a little disappointed that she couldn't be there for the actual delivery. Daddy had worked with her quite a bit on the overnights. By 6:22am, Ty was in position and delivered you. You were placed on my tummy as Dr. Leino took over and Daddy grabbed the camera. I couldn't believe that this baby just came out of me. I didn't even look to see if you were a boy or girl. Someone else looked quick and told us we had a boy. They quickly weighed you and checked to make sure everything else was normal. You were a screamer when you were born and you had your hands up by your face. (You still like your hands like that. ) I remember the Nurses commenting that you had huge hands. They wrapped you up and gave you back to me. Someone asked Daddy if we had a name and he replied "McCoy". Within an hour, we called family and friends and they started pouring in by lunch time. And that's the story of the day you were born!
Other things to note about June 17th:
*This was the day of all the horrible tornadoes in MN. I really didn't know exactly what happened until the evening of the 18th because the cable went out in the hospital right after supper on the 17th. We have some newspapers saved from the 17th and 18th so we can show you what really happened.
*You also share this day with a relative. (We aren't exactly sure how you are related, some sort of cousin, something removed probably?!) So your Daddy and his cousin Nick were born about two weeks apart. They both got married about a month apart and had purple and green for the colors of their weddings. Nick's wife Angie and I were both due on the 15th of June. You were born at 6:22am on the 17th and Baby Claire was born at 10:30pm on the 17th. Crazy world!