It all started around 5:00 am July 20th. I had only gone to bed a few hours earlier and was now wide awake for no apparent reason other than a little stomach ache. I got a little excited thinking, " Oh my first Braxton Hicks" then quickly remembered I didn't need to be having any kind of contractions because Barry was still at least 3 days away. The day went on... I moved from the bed only to go to the bathroom room and to make an egg sandwich since I had put myself on "voluntary bed rest" to help keep the baby in till his Daddy arrived.
About 3:00 pm, the little stomach ache I had earlier was more than a little stomach ache and was hurting every 3 minutes. To ease my mind, I decided to call a sweet friend (who had a 2 week old) and we headed up to the hospital. But before getting in the car, I said "Shannon I'm not bringing my bags with me because I am coming home in just a couple hours"... famous last words. I wanted them to tell me I was not in labor and would not be having this baby today. And after a couple of hours of monitoring, they did just that.
If you have every dealt with a military hospital, you know you have to wait ten million hours on every little thing. So we waited and waited and waited on my discharge papers in the waiting room. Now in the waiting room there were a few people... my friend, her mom, the 2 week old baby, a 12 year old boy, and my contracting self. That poor little fellow doesn't need health class anymore. We were discussing how hungry I was and how we were going to go to Burger King the second we got out. At this point, these "not in labor contractions" were quite intense. And then it happened.. right there in the waiting room, my water breaks!
In birthing class, when the nurse described "your water breaking" she said most people either
1. Have their water broken once they get to the hospital
2. It's like a trickle.
Well, she forgot to say...
3. It's like Niagara Falls
I am pretty sure I would fall into the 3rd category.
Thankfully, we had had to wait for so long to get my discharge papers, otherwise this situation would have been all in Burger King.
As if your water breaking in front of strangers (mainly that little 12 year old) isn't embarrassing enough.... Baby Brandt had already pooped so I left a trail of green nastiness all the way down the hall of labor and delivery (sorry if that was TMI... but this is a birthing story).
My first reaction... immediate devastation. Just the day before I had read "once your water breaks, you must have the baby within 24 hours." And all I could think about was Barry is 5,000 miles away and unreachable at this time. Then, pure joy that I would be meeting my baby very soon. Then, extreme hunger, remembering all that I had eaten all day was an egg sandwich, an orange, and a grapefruit. In case you didn't know... once you are admitted to Labor and Delivery, they don't let you eat anything but Jello, popsicles, and ice. Not quite the big hamburger, french fries, and chocolate milkshake I had my heart set on.
So, I was admitted to Labor and Delivery at the hospital on base and this is when my friends took over and handled everything for me. I have THE most wonderful friends in the world here in Alaska. They took care of everything. They got my bags (that I was SO sure I would not need), took care of Riley, called everyone that we knew to try to get in touch with Barry, got in touch with my parents, sat with me at the hospital so I wouldn't be alone, and ended up being my support team during delivery.
A friend on each leg and one with the camera... we got real close.
I was finally able to get in touch with Barry and talked to him almost the entire time I was pushing. I progressed pretty quickly and before we knew it was really show time!
Brandt was born a true military brat... meeting his Daddy for the first time over the phone. Barry was able to hear the last push and Brandt's first cry over the phone. My support team sent him lots of pictures so he was able to see pictures within a few seconds of his arrival. Thank goodness for technology and tech savvy friends.
At 4:47 am on July 21st, a healthy 7 pounds 8 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long baby boy was born.
And at 5:45pm, July 22nd, an excited new Daddy walked into the hospital room to meet his baby boy for the first time.
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