That week I started to get really nervous about the baby coming. Nick kept asking me what was going on, but I just couldn't put my finger on where all my nerves and emotions were coming from. Nick was SURE he was going to come early. I had started having some prelabor signs that my body was getting ready for the baby to come - but I kept telling Nick that didn't mean he was coming early. Plus he was not allowed to come early. My mom was in Utah for 2 weeks and didn't get home till my due date. I was 110% sure that he would be late because my original due date was July 15 and was changed to July 11. I thought he would come closer to the 15th.
July 4th weekend our friends Sharee and Nate came down from Calgary to hang out with us. Sharee got my butt in gear and helped me on Friday get things ready for the baby. She got me to pack my diaper bag, my hospital bag, and helped me clean up my nursery. We even went to Walmart and got some new pajama pants for the hospital and some newborn diapers. On Saturday the 4 of us went to the new pixar movie Inside Out and then were going to have a BBQ at my parents house with Steve and Krystle since my parents were out of town (might as well use their big house right??). Around 5pm I got in the car and drove over to my parents, Nick was at home and was going to come over later. I got out of the car, and when I stood up I felt a big rush of fluid, like I'd peed my pants. I thought "what the... did I just pee my pants?" Then it dawned on me... my water just broke. Absolute shock. Then the terror set in. I just started to bawl. Do I go inside and tell Sharee and Nate?? I decided to just drive back home and tell Nick. So I got in the car and started calling Nick. No answer. No answer. No answer. It's a quick 5 minute drive so I walked in the house, found Nick and tried to tell him my water broke through a flood of tears. It was an EPIC meltdown. The baby was not allowed to come today. I still had a week to go. Nick held me while I cried for a good 10 minutes then helped me get changed out of my wet clothes (after dry heaving from the smell apparently) and tried to get me to calm down. I called my mom in Utah and told her my water broke and we were going to go to the hospital. Her plan was to head home if I went into labor early (which I had assured her would never happen). Sharee came over and helped me get the rest of my stuff together and get the car seat installed in the car. Thank goodness we packed everything the night before! We had to head to the hospital right away because I was strep B positive and needed to go on antibiotics.
As soon as we got in the car and I had calmed down, Nick's smile was a mile wide. He couldn't contain his excitement. To this day that smile has not left his face. He was SOOOO excited the baby was finally coming. We got to the hospital and they confirmed my water broke and started me on antibiotics in one of the rooms. It was around 7pm so they decided to just see if I would go into labor on my own in the night and let me and Nick sleep over. We tried to go for a walk to try and get things moving but it was raining outside so we just kind of meandered around the hospital for a while. Finally we decided to go to sleep. Nick could hardly sleep he said it was like waiting for Christmas. They hooked me up to monitors in the night to see if I was having any contractions and to keep an eye on the baby. I was having tiny little contractions all night but nothing more than menstral cramps and they never got any stronger.
In the morning the on call doctor Dr. Adolf came and we decided to start Oxytocin to try and get labor going. I was on it all morning and they slowly increased the dose to the maximum amount. We waited and waited but nothing was progressing. Contractions didn't ever get stronger than some cramping. Finally around 1:30pm Dr Adolf came in again and gave us a couple options. Since my water broke almost 24 hours ago already these were the options... Option 1: Do a C-Section and meet baby right now, tired of waiting around or Option 2: Keep trying to get labor started. They insert some medication into my cervix to soften it for around 12 hours, then start me on the Oxytocin again after that. No guarantees it will work, end up doing C-Section anyways. Option 2 would take another day to day and a half. We asked the doctor for a little time to discuss. Nick and I prayed about it and we called my mom to discuss it with her too. She had just flown in from Utah and was driving down from Calgary. She was 15 minutes away. We asked the doctor if we could wait to decide till my mom got here, but she told us they needed to know right now so they could prep the OR room. I knew Nick secretly wanted to do the C Section. He was so anxious to meet our little boy, he didn't want to wait another day and a half. But he talked to me objectively and I told him I felt strongly my body was not going to go into labor on its own and I would have to do it anyways. We told the doctor we would do the C Section. I immediately started crying. Dr Adolf smiled and said we would be meeting baby within the hour. I had been pretty good not to cry so far. But it had been a long 24 hours and I was scared to get the C Section even though I knew it was what we should do. As soon as we said yes, an army of nurses came in and started prepping me for surgery. Everything was happening so fast. Nick held my hand while they prepped me for surgery and he got his scrubs on. My mom got there 10 minutes before they wheeled me into surgery. It made me feel better having her there.
They wheeled me into the OR and I cried the entire time we were in there. It was one of the most terrifying things I've ever done. Nick held my hand while I got the epidural and it was way more painful than I thought it was going to be! As they laid me down and put the sheets up to get started Nick sat by my head and held my hand. It was scary not being able to feel half of my body but knowing there was a team of people behind the sheet cutting me open. I tried not to think about it and Nick whispered it was going to be ok in my ear. When they took the baby out and we heard him cry for the first time Nick and I both caught our breaths and leaned our heads next to each other and I started to sob uncontrollably. I could feel little tears from Nicks eyes fall on my cheeks. It was one of the most special moments of my life. I will never forget that feeling. We watched them carry him over to clean him off and I remember all the nurses and doctors fussing over how beautiful he was (I'm sure they do that for everyone, but I loved it just the same). We watched them clean him off and I said to Nick "he has hair..." I was sure he was going to be bald. They wrapped him up and passed him to Nick and I. I held him for the first time and cried and cried and cried I couldn't believe he was here. The nurse asked for Nicks phone and she snapped our first family photo. (Yes I look like a mess). We held him for 5 or so minutes and I stared at his little face. Love at first sight.
They let Nick wheel baby out to the waiting room where my mom and Nick's mom were waiting. We were only gone for like 40 minutes both of them were shocked we were already done! They all went into the NICU watched him get washed off and weighed and measured. Nick got to hold him the whole time I was in recovery. (like 2 hours!!) I got wheeled into recovery where some nurses cleaned me off and waited for the epidural to wear off a bit. (or as they put it waiting for me to "thaw") I was so groggy from the medication and from being so emotional that I dozed in and out of sleep. I was super jealous Nick was holding baby and I was stuck in here waiting to be with them. They finally wheeled me into my room on the ward and Nick and the grandmas came in with the baby and I finally really got to hold him. I remember a lot of talking and excitement from everyone but I was still so groggy and tired that most of this part is a blur.
It was time to decide his name. We hadn't been alone with baby since we met him, so once everyone went home around 8pm we went over our list of names. We had one name that was both our favorite and we tried to call him that for an hour or so but it just wasn't sticking. Nick asked me which name I thought he looked like. I wanted Rory so bad, but I knew it was the bottom of Nicks top 5 list. I asked him the question back and he said "I don't know why but I like Rory. When I saw him I thought he looked like a little Rory." YESSSS my heart burst! We called him Rory for the rest of the night and wrote Rory Johnson on the little white board in our room. It just looked right. As far as middle names go, we had a list of family history name options. Nick's mom had texted us a bunch from his side of the family the night before and we decided on Rory's great great grandpa's name Ruel (pronounced like duel with an R).
We had to stay in the hospital for the rest of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday then went home Wednesday morning. It was so frustrating having to recover from surgery when I wanted to dive right into being with my baby. I had NO clue how sore I would be from the surgery. The first time I got out of bed I remember Nick saying it was hard to watch, I looked like a little Grandma with the nurses trying to help me out and get me to the bathroom. I was bed ridden, which drove me CRAZY. Anytime I wanted to hold Rory when he was being fussy I had to ask Nick or one of the nurses to pass him to me. Anytime I wanted a drink, or my lanolin cream, or something from the diaper bag I had to ask for someone to get it for me. The middle of the night was the worst. I felt bad waking up Nick every time Rory had to feed, or I needed help getting out of bed. My mom came every morning and watched Rory so I could sleep for a few hours without being woken up and Nick could go home and shower and sleep for a few hours too. Thank goodness for Moms. I don't know how I would have gotten through those hospital days (and the ones at home) without her. Slowly it started getting better. By the time we were ready to go home I could get out of bed on my own and stand up to pick of Rory without having to ask for help.
Now we are home and it is Rory's due date today. How is it possible he could still be nestled inside me? I can't remember what life was like before. Today everytime I stared at his little face when we were snuggling my eyes welled up with tears. He is so beautiful and sweet and all mine. Poor little Rory's cheeks are raw from the millions of kisses Nick plants on his cheeks every day. I have never seen him more smitten. Today he wrapped us both in his arms and held us close and told us how lucky he was to have this little family. I try and remember these perfect moments when I am up in the night with a wide awake newborn who wants to check the world out!! Seriously Rory I thought newborns were supposed to just sleep all the time! He loves having his eyes open staring at mom and dad. We love our little Rory and are looking forward to all the good and bad times ahead with our little buddy.
