He Said: She Said

 

He said:

Well, the due date was Oct 4 so we thought maybe around Sept 20 we'd be getting geared up. In fact we just had hit the full term 37 week period the day before she was born. So I am at school teaching my 6th hr Algebra class when with 30 mins to go I get a phone call. I didnt recognize it was Sarah. But she said she was not feeling well and I knew something serious was up. Luckily my high school is very supportive so Stan the dept chair and his student assistant Jesus came down to take my class. I got right in the Buick and drove slowly and carefully to the High School where Sarah teaches. That's a good 7 miles through slow traffic. Once there I pull into the gate and... some family is yapping to the gate guard on and on .. Now I still had no idea this was birth time.. but I did tell the gate guard- my wife's gonna have her baby-- so once in the school parking lot I saw this kind lady directing me to a handicapped spot and it was the wonderful Godsend school nurse-- she is a former English midwife and was taking total care of Sarah ... when she told me we would be having a baby in a few hrs the energy and nerves started... Now .. what I call "my labor".. the 10 + mile drive from 12th and Ajo in the southside of Tucson to El Rio Birth Center at Craycroft and Grant---- Sarah was not comfortable laboring in the car but I knew I had to go slow... this was it.. This was my time to shine as a driver.... it took forever to get up 10th Ave to 22nd Street and longer down 22nd-- cutting up Swan I had to go 15mph past a school and Sarah was moaning--- but eventually... with dry mouth and steady nerve we go to Grant and I made the famous u-turn into El Rio when... a car was stopped right at the entrance... not even moving... apparently it had mistakenly taken the wrong turn and was trying to exit back onto Grant.. finally we got into the birth center.. she got into the "pink room" and into a hot tub and within an hr... Amanda was born...No anaesthetic..totally natural birth at 3:48pm Sept 13....

She said:

Date of Birth: 9-13-11, 4ish pm
Original Due Date: Oct. 4th
Weeks Pregnant: 37weeks 0days
Weight: 5lbs 13.5ozHeight: 19"

Birth Story:
Surprise! Amanda Leigh came exactly at full-term, on the first day of her 37th week.
I carpooled with the Hubs yesterday morning, and for the first day he drove me rather than the reverse. (This is important.) So that meant he had the car.
I went to work like normal, taught 1st and 3rd periods (long, odd blocks of 88 minutes each) then took lunch. During lunch I felt crampy so I took some tylenol. 5th period I co-teach, and there was a sub, so I told myself that I would help with the first half of class and then go lie down in the nurse's office for the rest of class. Class was very distracting, so I got down with just 20 minutes to spare and lay down for the rest of the period.
Luckily my 7th period is planning, because I did not feel like teaching anymore. My cramps were getting worse. I had headphones on to block out the school noises, but all of my stuff was still in my room. I went back upstairs, got my phone (and for some reason I erased the white boards; super important!), called DH and told him to come pick me up, and took my bag down to the nurse's office. (Oh, and I stopped over to the office manager's desk to check on my LOA paperwork and just about died from a contraction a few seconds after I finished the conversation. I knew I wanted to go the birth center to get at least checked out.
I got back to the nurse's office. The head nurse had stepped out, so I asked if she could check in with me. I went and hung out in the bathroom on the toilet. My contractions started coming faster, and I just held onto the metal bar each time, LOL! The nurse, who turns out was a midwife in England before coming to our school, was absolutely wonderful. I had called the birth center to let them know we were coming in about another half an hour, and the nurse/midwife brought me a heating pad for my back, filled my water bottle, and went out and met DH in the parking lot when he texted his arrival.
I took the wheel chair out to the car, and I know I had a contraction right before I got into my seat. Ugh! The contractions in the car were the worst, and I held onto the handle bar each time. The drive to the birth center was so long.
We got there and everything moved very quickly. I got back on the toilet (and was fully dilated with a bulging water sack), started stripping, and they filled the tub. Moving into the tub was heavenly! I finally relaxed a little in between contractions, and just floated. My water broke in the tub like a big bubble erupting between my legs. After that, I started getting the urge to push, but it was out of synch with my contractions so I ignored it. Finally I started pushing and each time she opened me up a little bit more. I was discouraged at one point because I felt down and I could feel the shape of her head pushing against my skin, but she was still inside! I changed position for the last time and really pushed, completely silent. I don't know if I even was breathing in! I could feel that I was tearing and I thought, if I have to start over again It'll be too painful. So I kept pushing and pushing and pushing until her whole little body was there under water. I opened my eyes and just looked at her there, with her legs still inside me, and the midwife pulled her the rest of the way out and up and placed her on my chest.
We spent the night at the birth center in a big four poster bed, with Amanda laying on our chests or in a Moses basket between us. I got a nice shower after being stitched up (partial 3rd degree tear). We kind of slept. She nursed and pooped a bunch of times. Now we're home! Yay!