The Wonder of It All: My Cup Runneth Over

On the morning of Thursday, August 21, 2014, I was already experiencing my longest pregnancy to date. Each morning when I arrived at work, I was often greeted with, "Your still here?" My goal when starting the school year was to at least get a couple of weeks in with my new 4th graders and I had made it! I didn't last too long at school that morning, as I ended up texting Brian to come get me 8:32 am.

When we arrived at the hospital, the contractions that had been coming steadily every 2-4 minutes had started to subside. We decided to walk the halls for awhile before going home to see if they would pick back up. The nurse checked me again and I still had no change (dilated a 3 and about 50% effaced). My OB said he could just induce me if I would like, but I had too many fears with induction after so many friends ended up with c-sections after inductions. We decided we'd just go home. At that point, my nurse said she had to hook me back up to monitor me while she got my discharge papers together.

Out of no where, as soon as she hooked me back up, the contractions rapidly came back. So, at 1:25, we realized we were staying. The contractions were strong and steady. Around 5:00, Dr. Scharff arrived and broke my water (my water had to be ruptured with all 3 of my kiddos). By 5:30 pm, both of our parents had arrived to the hospital and my contractions were getting pretty intense. At about 6:30, I was ready for & requested my epidural and by 7:00 it was in place. At 7:23, I was 80% effaced and dilated to a 6.

Around 7:45-8:00, I started to get a little nauseous off and on, so I mentioned it to my nurse. As I was saying that to her, I started to feel a little bit of pressure. She asked if I felt like I need to push and I quickly replied no, as I was thinking there way no way since I was just a 6. No sooner had I told her no that I started to change my mind. When she checked me around 8:15, we were all quite surprised that I was 100% effaced and a 10! She hadn't even called the doctor yet. Her exact words were, "It's about to get chaotic in here." She called my OB and he said not to let me start pushing and he'd be there in about 10 minutes. While waiting for him to arrive, I remember the urge to push was getting so strong that my body was shivering and it took more effort NOT to push than to push...it even started to resist my efforts and doing it naturally on it's own! About 25 minutes later he finally arrived. By time he was ready to go, I definitely was. Our baby boy #3 arrived in less than 5 minutes!

Aside from the waiting to push part, this labor and delivery felt like something out of a movie. It seriously just went flawlessly. Brian and I both had that feeling and even recall how we (us, the nurses, & OB) were joking and smiling throughout the whole process. Everyone was sharing their gender guesses. I was still pretty convinced I was having another boy. Brian couldn't make up his mind - he was 50/50. Both of our moms were convinced it was going to be a girl this time. Dr.Scharff was very confident in his guess, but wouldn't tell us what it was before baby's arrival, so to keep him honest I said he had to write it down. He did...on the bed sheet:

Sorry, I can't rotate the image

Gehrig Louis Curry joined our family at 9:00 pm, weighing far smaller than we anticipated at 6 pounds, 14 ounces (we were thinking at least 8 lbs) and 18 3/4 inches.

It's crazy how fast those special days go by. I find myself, like with Nolan and Parker, reliving each hour of that day every Thursday since his arrival. I love everything about the rush of bringing a new life into this world. There's no words to describe the million emotions felt that day and especially in that instant when you hear their first cry and feel the weight of their tiny body upon your chest. I feel so blessed to have these experiences. It's beyond amazing...a tiny miracle. God has blessed us, that's for sure. I cannot wait to see my boys relationships with one another evolve over the years. Three beautiful boys....brothers. Brothers to fill our days playing more baseball (is that even possible?), getting dirty, wrestling, exploring, arguing, defending one another, loving, and growing together. My cup runneth over.