There's nothing quite like the experience of bringing a little baby into this world. All the months of pregnancy, physical and mental preparation, cannot prepare you for the moment a child is placed into your arms. This is the story of our second baby boy - Wesley James Reynolds.
On Monday (an entire week before Wes was born) I was having contractions pains and thought I was going into labor. So we went down to Nellis to get checked out... turns out I was dilated to a 3 but not really going into labor so they sent me home... However, I totally thought I was going to have the baby SUPER soon so I told my sister to head on down from Utah. She was planning on being in the room with me when I delivered Wes.
I had a great week with Jana here! It really helped me get through the terrible ending days of pregnancy. I will never forget all the silly tricks we tried in order to induce labor (nothing really worked, obviously). But I am sooo glad she came down and enjoyed spending time with her!
My wonderful in-laws were also here to help with Calvin during the birth and for some fun pampering. We enjoyed getting our feet rubbed together!!
Nothing like getting that foot massage when you're nine months pregnant! Thanks, Mama M!
Jana brought this car made specially for Calvin by his cousin Quincy in woodshop. It is his special toy!
My mother-in-law also arranged this "dry run" to go see the hospital with Jana and Linda (who would be my AWESOME photographer in labor and delivery). If we wouldn't have done the dry run it would have been awfully hard for her to get on the base when I was having the baby so I am so glad we did it!
Calvin really enjoyed his time being doted on by Papa Jim prior to the birth! They have a special bond.. he sure loves his Grandpa Reynolds!
This was taken at our fun outing to the outlets in Primm!
Unfortunately, Jana had to return to work. My false alarm being so much ahead of the birth really messed that aspect of it up, but like I said I am sooo grateful for the time she was able to come hang out with us and help pass the time while we played the waiting game!
So, Sunday the 10th I was having contractions and finally that night decided we had better head up to the hospital. I was dilated to a four with pretty good contractions and they still sent me away. I was sooo annoyed!
So all night I had contractions - finally around 7 am my water broke and I was over joyed! They will admit you once your water has broken. So we headed to the hospital again this time feeling pretty hopeful about having this baby!
When we got there at around 11 I was still at a four. They took a swab of fluid to test if my water really had broken. The midwife said she couldn't see any of the indicators that they look for if it's amniotic fluid. They were about to tell me to leave when all of the sudden Wesley's heart decelerated. Right at this particular moment I was trying to breathe through a contraction and ignoring everything around me, so when they told me to roll over I asked them to wait for the contraction. One of the nurses said, "Well your baby's health is a little more important than your pain level."
Whaaaaaat? Who in the world says that to a woman in pain and feeling the terrible anxiety that accompanies delivery? I didn't know anything about the baby's risk factors being heightened, otherwise of course I would have moved right when they asked! Well her comment made me so mad/anxious/scared that I went into panic mode and just started crying.
Apparently, this panic attack really kickstarted my labor. I'm not kidding, my contractions went from like 1 - 100 on the pain scale. It was like the movies - there were tons of people in the room trying to figure out what was wrong (the cord was wrapped around his neck when he was born, a likely reason for his heart to decelerate during labor).
I guess this was my ticket in and they finally admitted me. About time. They took about 40 minutes to get the doc in to do the epidural - I was screaming through every contraction until then. It was horrible. By the time they checked me an hour later I was at a 7, so I had progressed pretty dang quick! She also said, "Oh I can't find your amniotic sac" I literally wanted to hit her in the face... I told you my water broke!
After that hectic time period & once that epidural kicked in I had the best labor experience ever. I really didn't feel any pain at all, my favorite nurse stuck around the whole time (she was also there when we delivered Calvin - we nicknamed her J-Lo).
They came in at around 2 and checked me and said I was ready to push! Linda arrived in perfect timing to capture one of the sweetest days of my whole entire life! I pushed for about 10 minutes and Wesley James entered the world at exactly 3pm.
He was 8 lbs 14 oz, and 21 inches long.
Perfection.
Here are some of the photos that were taken that tell the story much better than any words I could ever write!
I have the most amazing birth partner in the UNIVERSE!
There is no feeling in the world that quite compares to this moment. Pure love.
