Birth Story

I wanted to record Talmage's birth story so that I could save what would surely fade in my memory over time. So here goes... as best as I can remember!

On Monday November 19th, not only was I anxious, but huge! I decided to take a warm bath to help with my constant back pain- when I learned of Talmage's weight I instantly knew why my back hurt so badly! When I got out of the tub, Matt had a surprise for me- a chocolate molten cake from Chili's. Yummy! So around 10:30 I settled in for another long night with my chocolate molten cake and some HGTV re-runs. I started noticing that my stomach hurt a little around 11:30 pm, but didn't really think anything of it. Let's face it- I just ate an entire molten cake! But, being optimistic, I looked at the clock and began timing the aches. They seemed as though they were about 13 minutes apart and they didn't hurt too badly. Around 12:30 Matt came to bed and I was still experiencing them- only they were around 11-12 minutes apart. We began watching a movie to take my mind off of what I thought were braxton hicks contractions. Soon they were about 8-9 minutes apart and I began to get a little excited. I think Matt did too because he broke out the stopwatch! This way we could not only tell how often I hurt, but for how long. I was sure that the contractions were only about 15 seconds long, but after a couple of checks on the stopwatch, we found they were lasting more like 55 seconds- wow your sense of time really gets distorted when you are in pain. Maybe I was blacking out?? Well, around 2:30 am the contractions were 8 minutes apart and lasting almost a full minute. The doctor didn't want me to call until I had contractions 7 minutes apart for a full 1-2 hours- so I stuck it out for another hour. When the urge comes to get to the hospital, no one can talk you out of it! Soon I began to shake uncontrollably, which happened when I began to dilate quickly with Ava, so I became concerned and called the on-call doctor at 3:30 am. He told me to get to the hospital to get checked and monitored for awhile. That is when it became "real". Suddenly we were rushing around trying to figure out what to do- pack the car, call a babysitter for Ava, time the contractions. After 3 failed calls to our babysitting help, Matt and I began to wonder what to do. Luckily, they were asleep (obviously) and missed our calls, but were awakened by the phone. Becca quickly came to our apartment and Matt and I headed to the hospital sure that they would send us home.

When we got to the hospital all of the doors were locked! What? So, we finally figured out that we should go through the emergency room entrance. After passing a couple of homeless guys sleeping in the ER lobby, Matt and I made it to the 3rd floor. I always pictured crying and screaming as we approached labor and delivery, but I wasn't in a ton of pain- YET. Immediately I was placed in a triage room for monitoring next to another lady who was sleeping- she obviously was not in labor! After around an hour they decided to admit me. That meant we were having a baby!!!

I was placed in a large room, put on the monitors and checked. I was only 3.5-4 cm dilated, but 90% effaced. I held off on the epidural as long as possible, but decided to get it around 8 am. My blood pressure plummeted and I began to get very sleepy. Matt was allowed to stay with me during the epidural and boy did he look green. I was given adrenaline and soon felt a little more alive.

My doctor finally showed up around 9:30 and broke my water. At that point I was 6 cm and he wanted to wait an hour to see if there was any more change- if not he would administer pitocin. Well, after an hour there was no change and medications was started. Within an hour I was 8-9 cm and then within minutes I was fully dilated. The only problem was...MY DOCTOR WASN'T THERE! I began to feel a lot of pressure, so the nurse checked me- the baby was RIGHT THERE! Calls and pages began to go out frantically to get the doctor there. I was told that there was no one even at the hospital who could deliver me! OUCH!!!!! Finally, after being told to breathe and not push- yeah right!- my doctor showed up. I pushed 5-6 times and out came Talmage Cade Maguet.

IT'S A BOY! Boy was I shocked! I will never forget the look on Matt's face. He began to cry and I began to cry-well cry harder- because, well, it kinda hurt! I couldn't believe it- we had a son! Now we have a girl and a boy. The first thought was "what do I do with a boy?" They have different pipes- if you know what I mean! But I just knew that we would figure it all out! The biggest shock came when I heard how big my baby boy was. He was 8 lbs and 20 inches long! I was shocked because I was told the entire pregnancy that he was smaller than average. Well that explains why my back hurt so bad and I couldn't breathe. Within 20 minutes we were settled together as a family and got to call and break the news to everyone! We are so proud and excited to be parents!