Isaiah's Arrival Story and Photos

You have been waiting with us, and the wait is over! Here's how it happened. Monday May 3rd, I went to bed anxious to get a good night's sleep after 7 days of 3 hrs or less. I woke up at 2:18 am saying, "well, at least it's not my usual 1am wake-up!". I had gardened that day for 2 hours, installing 3 flats of impatients (yes, I was feeling inpatient!) and my back seemed a little sore. Around 3am, I thought I should take a bath to help me sleep, plus I was having Braxton-hicks. But I didn't feel like waiting for the water to run so I decided to take a shower and try the birth ball in the shower to see if it would make the contractions go away. As I was making my way to the shower I remembered that I hadn't yet packed Avi's bag in case I had an overnight delivery, and I was thinking since Akil had to wake up early that day to finish a presentation, I could get him to do it. At this point I was also noticing that my contractions seemed to start and stop, and wondered if it was more than just braxton-hicks. I called "Kil", and he grumbled and rolled over in bed. I started my shower, and as I was figuring out how to sit down on the ball inside my 4ftX4ft shower, I called, "Kil", to no response. After 5 minutes, I was pretty sure something was going on with my body but not yet convinced it was labor. I thought ahead to potential chaos, and my poor son running around with dirty clothes because I forgot to pack his bag. A third time I more enthusiastically called, "Kil!", and he stumbled into the bathroom. I asked him to pack some clothes for Avi and he gave me a quizzical look. "I'm having some contractions," I said. His eyes brightened, and he went away to pack the bag. After 5 more minutes I was sure these were regular but it wasn't that painful so I decided to get out of the shower and time them. My back was still hurting so I figured I'd get Akil to warm up my buckwheat pillow to ease that (gardening soreness or back labor?). I called for him, and he said he had put some clothes on Avi, I clarified, "put some clothes in a bag for him, and could you heat up my pillow for me?". He left and rustled around for a while, during which time my back was really bothering me, and when he returned empty-handed, I realized I left it in the car. Now it's about 3am and I'm in a fair amount of discomfort so I go to the bathroom, and let's just say, 'cleared things out'. That was my first sign that something was going on, so I called Avi's Pop-pop who was on my short list for overnight care and since it was his birthday May 4th, I said 'Happy Birthday, you might bet getting a birthday buddy!". He was also confused when I asked him to get Avi. He said, "Do you want to call me back with an update?", and I said, "No, can you come get him now?". I knew I was going to have to at least go in to get checked out but since my water hadn't broke, I wanted to stay home as long as possible.
At this point my denial was over. I realized I might not make it to my nail appointment that day. So I asked Akil to call my mom and have her come over. I called his mom, and asked her to come over as well, but she was watching my niece and said it might be a bit. I called the OB to see when I should come in. I was having pretty much continuous contractions lasting 90 seconds with 10 seconds break in between. She told me to wait 20 minutes at first, but when I told her my first one came in 2 hours and I lived in NJ, she told me to come in now to get checked. I texted Akil's mom to just meet us at the hospital. My mom arrived and Avi's Pop-pop came to get him. I kissed Avi good-bye and told him I might finally be getting his brother out. I got my comb used for accupressure pain management (you press against the crease at the base of your fingers) and grabbed a towel on the way out (just in case).
Standing up to leave the house, I realized that I couldn't walk through the contractions, so I would stop and press my back against a wall to ride it out. Between contractions I felt fine so I used deep relaxation techniques to make sure I was getting my pain down to zero, and moving as far as I could between them. We started on our way, and I was feeling pretty decent until we stopped at a light right before the entrance to rt 42. I had a big contraction and felt a 'pop', just like a water balloon burst, and exclaimed "Oh no, my water just broke!". For this point on, all I can say is, I was praying not to have my child on the highway that fills me with road rage every morning as I sit in bumper to bumper traffic. With each contraction I felt him dropping and the urge to push. I breathed like crazy and dug that comb deep into my hand. Akil was flying down the road, but it still seemed like forever. We made it past the bridge and he said, "We're almost there, you're doing great!". I tried to estimate how many more contractions I had to endure before we got there, and figure out how I was going to walk since I felt the baby so low. We got there and I tried to get into the wheelchair, but worried I would have less control over the pain. I decided to walk between contractions to the floor. One big one in the lobby. One waiting for the elevator. One in to elevator. One in the waiting area. Baby still inside, phew. The nurses were pretty chill as I walked in calmly and gave my info. One big one at the nurses station. I gave them my clinical highlights and they perked up and directed me to an exam room. One big one in the room. "Get on the bed so we can check you"..."Can't you just do it here?" (I'm standing up against the wall)..."uh, no, you really need to get on the bed." I looked at the bed and all I saw was pain. It was too soft. But that's what I came here for. They checked me, "Wow, okay she's 10cm and 2+ station..you look so calm!" They rolled me into a labor room. I scooted over between contractions. "Can I push on the next one?"..."Sure do you remember how to do it?"..."I think so". 1st push: "Okay, wow, there's the head". 2nd push: "Okay he's stretching you out". 3rd push: "Okay head's out...you really know how to have a baby" 4th push: "Here he is!".
And there you have it. Isaiah cried vigorously and I laughed my head off. "That was fun! Let's do it again!" I thanked God that he was born at a hospital and not a highway. (Maybe I should just have the next one at home!)
Isaiah John was born at 5:01 am on May 4th. He was 7 pounds 10 ounces and 21 inches long.
So here are some pictures of Isaiah and our family. He's gotten a lot of visitors and there are more to come. His World Premiere Party is May 15th at our home and he's already been to the park and his first church service. Avi is a great big brother and you will see him reading to Isaiah, holding and feeding him. Akil is an amazing dad and you will see his first diaper change and feeding, as well as those tender first moments when he held his son for the first time. His nana and noonie are proud grandmommies, and the hands picture is when they got 'christened' in the delivery room. I'm smiling in every picture because I was so happy to get un-pregnant! He's truly a blessing and a little prince. I hope you enjoyed this journey with us.
click on this photo to see the slideshow!
Enjoy!