"On the night you were born" (our favorite bedtime story)

I was 36 weeks and 4 days. We had gone to a pool birthday party on Saturday afternoon, and the water and sun really wore me out. I remember feeling unusually tired on the drive home, and telling Justin  that I hoped this was not how I was going to feel for the rest of the pregnancy... little did I know. When we got home I laid down for my usual afternoon nap while Grayer was sleeping and when I woke up I felt back to normal. The rest of the day went on without incident, and as Justin and I were getting into bed I told him that I really hoped that when it was time to have this baby that my water would break just like it had with Grayer so that I would just know it was time to head to the hospital. I worried that if contractions started without my water breaking that I would have no idea when it was really time to head in. We climbed into bed and lazily talked about how excited we were to be adding another sweet little boy to our family. We kissed goodnight and went to sleep. At 4:15am, I turned over and woke to my water breaking. It was a small gush, *exactly* like it had been with Grayer, and just like the first time I thought to myself, did my water just break? Yes, it definitely just broke. I wanted to see if contractions would start, as I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for weeks. I got up, went into the kitchen and poured myself some juice. The first contraction hit. It wasn't terribly painful, but it felt totally different than the BH's contractions. I was giddy knowing that this was it!! I climbed back into bed as another contraction hit, so I decided to start timing them with my iPhone. I timed them for about 30 minutes and they were already hitting every 5-6 minutes. Yikes! At 4:50 I decided it was probably time to wake Justin up. He of course was shocked and totally caught totally off guard. We got up, and made the calls to our parents and to Chrissa, who I told that my water had broken, but that we weren't in a rush and I would call her back in a bit. I called my Dr at 5:10 and when i told her my contractions were 5 mins apart, she said that we should head to the hospital. By this time, the contractions were getting increasingly painful, and Justin's parents were still 20 minutes away, so we decided to call Chrissa back to have her come stay with Grayer while we went to the hospital. 10 minutes later I had to hold on to the back of the couch while a contraction hit before walking out to get into the car. The pain was starting to get real, quick. The bumps in the road on the way to the hospital were awful, and I couldn't believe how much pain I was already in. When we walked into the hospital about 5:45, I couldn't even stand at the check in desk with Justin because the pain was so intense. I slowly walked to the family waiting room and sat down, gripping my belly and trying not to make any embarrassing noises, as there was a a older gentleman sipping on coffee a few seats down. It was no use, I was in. pain. A couple minutes later it was our turn to get check in, and the nurse thankfully did it really quickly, as she could tell that I was really uncomfortable. She had another nurse bring a wheelchair so that I wouldn't have to walk back to the room. They started talking triage since I was only 36 weeks, but when we told them that I had been at 3 cm's 4 days before they decided to take me directly to a room. As they were rolling me back to L&D, I was already asking when I could get my epidural. I was in sooooo much pain. They were light hearted and chatting, probably rolling their eyes at each other, thinking oh, this crazy lady. They gave me the dreaded hospital gown to change into. A nurse came back in to check me, and her eyes widened and she said "oh honey, you ARE in pain, you're at an 8!" Ahh!! Finally, confirmation I wasn't just being a baby, but oh.my.gosh.i.can.not.do.this.any.longer. can I please get my epidural now?? I think it was at this point that all the staff knew I wasn't going to have time for one, but I was still thinking there is NO POSSIBLE WAY I can do this without drugs. I had never in my life experienced pain like this. Little did I know (oh but I did) it was going to get much worse. And it did. At this point there was a little panic in the room, and instead of the one nurse delivery nurse like there was with Grayer, there were 3 nurses all rushing around, prepping for delivery. There was no relief, the contractions were incredibly intense and hitting back to back. I was still begging for an epidural, pleading for something, anything to take the pain away. They told me at this point the anisteologist was with another patient but that I was next, knowing full well, he would never make it to me. This baby was coming NOW. They were introducing the on call delivery doctor, as I was yelling I need to push!!! I have heard people say this before, feeling the absolute need to push, but had never experienced it. The feeling is overwhelming. The pain was incredible, but I vividly remember thinking, I can't believe the on call doctor, not my doctor, was going to deliver my baby. And without drug no less. At this instant, in rushed my doctor, Dr. Kavitha Blewett, who was very quickly changing into scrubs! She made it! I of course begged her to get me an epidural, but she kept saying over and over, you can do this, you can do this. I started to push and the pain was mind numbing. I couldn't even open my eyes. I kept thinking in my head, this can't be happening. I am in so much pain. But it was. And 10 minutes and 4 big pushes later, our miracle baby, the one that everyone had been fervently praying for since my initial bleed at 5 weeks, was out and placed in my arms. You were so tiny!!! You were beautiful and just so perfect!! I had never been more in love. The pain of it all was immediately gone. You were here!! I soaked in every breath and every last cry. You were finally with us and it was all just so incredibly magical. I will never forget the experience, and wouldn't change any of it. I love you so, so, so much. Xoxo momma.