On this day, 9 years ago......

Wow, 9 years ago already! I remember it so well. I remember how cold it was. I remember thinking how big a swollen my belly was and wondering if this baby boy was ever going to show himself! He was due in the end of December! He waited to make his grand entrance until he was almost 4 weeks passed his due date. He was 26 past. This was the longest my babes ever stayed in there however not the only over due. All 5 of my children were over 40 wk pregnancies. They all ranged between 42 and 44 weeks. I don't know why but they sure seemed to enjoy their stay in there!

Anyways back to this little dude! He gave me lots of teasers to his arrival. It was a great pregnancy as far as health and physical being. He and I both did well. No issues at all. As it progressed however my midwife was a bit concerned due to the length of the pregnancy. Once I was past 40 weeks she kept a close watch to be sure he was doing ok. After 40 weeks the placenta can weaken and age and start to stress the baby. He also had gotten his cord wrapped around his neck. Being as we were planning on a home birth, these things could cause for issue or concern with a home delivery. So on January 23, 2009 I went in for an ultrasound. It was a necessary precaution however we were self employed and had no insurance at the time. It was about all we could do to pay for this pregnancy much less all the extra tests and ultrasounds. However we went. It was a check to be sure he was all good and that the pregnancy was still healthy and progressing. It was such a relief to know. We went to the ultrasound sometime in the afternoon. They measured and took pics and said all was good! They confirmed the cord around his neck but didn't feel it would be an issue during delivery. Whooo!!!! what a relief! Now if he would just ever come! And if he could do it before another $400 ultrasound, that would be great too!

After, we went to my favorite sandwich shop and had dinner. It was snowing and cold and icy! I remember sitting at the table booth with barely enough room between my belly and the table! I remember having contractions that would tighten my belly up and protrude even further out that it actually toughed the table with pressure! It was about a 30 minute drive home. I had contractions off and on, all the way home. I wasn't concerned at all about it as I had been having them occasionally for weeks. I did however always hold this small hope that they would be real and I might finally get to see my baby! It was starting to feel like a big Joke!

We managed to slide our way home in the snow and ice! It was so cold! We unloaded the other kids and items from the car and went inside. The minute I walked thru the door I got the biggest knee binder kind of contraction! I grabbed my belly with one hand and the table with the other! It was the biggest one I had felt thus far in this pregnancy and was more like the ones I felt during delivery of my daughter just 19 months earlier! It was so intense! I got that scared feeling come over me, like man I can't do this! I immediately remembered the pain I was in with my daughter and all before her and was so scared. I was scared to feel that much pain again!

With that intensity coming and going with less than a minute apart, I did the first thing that came to mind, go for relief! I ran for the tub! The tub had always been the last place I ever wanted to have a baby. I was never a fan of bathing in the tub for the idea of sitting in my own funk, just didn't seem as a good way to get CLEAN! So delivering my baby in it and all that comes with it just wasn't my idea of a good time! Not that squeezing those little heads out was either, but the idea of the combination was less than thrilling! However the relief it had offered while I had been pregnant and thru all the false contractions, it was the first thing that came to mind. Especially not thinking clearly about this possibly being the moment I had been waiting on for so long!

So I ran to the bathroom, stripped off and jumped in the tub! Oh baby it was so that sweet relief! It felt good! for about 10 seconds! Then kicked in the real deal! The show was on. I was in for a few minutes that felt like 18 million years, of totally complete body pain! It was the worst and best I have ever felt, all in the same moment! The moments right before you get to meet the new life you have created are, without words. You are moments away from one of the best moments in your life, yet you are also in the most intense, uncontrollable, humbling, REAL, pain of your life!

Nobody had ever told me and I didn't know that the warm soothing water of the bath tub was going to kick this labor into over drive! While Curtis was settling all the other kids and and putting things away, I was progressing quickly into active labor! He came in at one point to check on me & I was at the point of no return. I knew this was it and it was happening fast! I told him he better call my midwife. That I was definitely in full on LABOR! He did. She told him she was about 30-40 minutes away and that the weather would potentially hold her up a bit longer. As he is on the phone with her, I yelled to him that it was time, time to push! He relayed the message over the phone to her. She freaked and wanted to know why we waited to call! He explained that we hadn't and that it was just all happening so fast! She said that by now I had had 4 babies and that if I wanted to push, to go for it! He hung up and I proceeded on with the sweet relief that in that moment only a good ol bear down PUSH, can do! In all of about 4 pushes and maybe 3 minutes, out he came! He came out, head in a bubble, literally!! Seconds later the bubble pops! We grab him and pulled him up to the surface of the water. He is so calm and chill that Curtis questioned if something might be wrong with him. I assured him that I had read about water births before and it was very normal. It was so fast and so easy. It still hurt like hell however the moment you get that little melon thru the tunnel, there is no comparison to the relief, nor to getting to hold that little one in your arms, FINALLY!

We hung out in the tub and invited the other kids in to meet the new guy, while we waited on my friend and midwife to arrive! She did arrive and the events of the experience carried on! Maybe I'll write all about that some day! It was a great night filled with sleepy eyes, swollen sore body and admiration for our new love! He had finally arrived! A new addition to the circle to get to know. My son!

Happy 9th Birthday Coker, I love you and the experience of seeing & loving you!