Another Cub- Leo's Birth Story

On Friday, Feb 12th, I went to my 39 week appointment and learned I’d still had no cervical change for yet another week. I left somewhat disappointed because I had done ALMOST everything I could think of to get this labor going→ Spicy food, pineapple, eggplant parmesan, lots of exercise, bouncing on an exercise ball, and, of course, the fun method. ;) Nothing was working! Brandon and I were grateful, however, that we were able to attend an early Valentine's dinner with the family that night. We had an AMAZING meal (we’re talking filet mignon people) after which my sister said, “If you go into labor after this, you’ll know it’s because of my steak”. Ha.

I went to bed that night and woke up at 3:15am with stronger than normal contractions. When I started to feel them in my back, I knew it was the real deal. After timing them for a bit, I woke Brandon to tell him we were having a baby soon. I let him (try to) sleep while I went and labored in our bathtub for a while. Thinking of the contractions as waves of water or “rushes” helped me manage the pain a lot. Each one was bringing me closer to my baby.  It was very soothing to splash the water over my stomach with the rushes and to sway in the water. I kept timing the contractions but they were not consistent at all. They would be 5 minutes apart, then 7, then 4, then 9, etc… and they would last anywhere from 30 seconds to just over a minute. I was so confused as to when we should head to the hospital because of these inconsistencies. When the contractions started getting more painful, I texted my neighbor that I might need her to come sit with Ander soon. She came right over- like the awesome neighbor she is- but I told Brandon I didn’t think we were quite ready yet. However, the contractions picked up in strength quickly and a few minutes later, I told my neighbor to get over here because it was time. As we drove through the dense fog to the hospital, I started feeling the urge to push. This made me REALLY nervous. I crossed my legs and started asking myself if I knew how to have a baby in a car. Ha. Thankfully we made it to the hospital and Brandon dropped me off at the curb while he parked. I speedily waddled to the front desk and had a contraction right there. Thankfully, a nurse nearby saw me and got me on a wheel chair and headed to a room. I was so grateful I didn’t have to say anything. I was very focused on breathing through the rushes and didn’t want to talk or even open my eyes. They put me on a bed and said they wanted to monitor me for 20 minutes (I was thinking, “Yeah, right”). They started asking me a bunch of medical questions but after only a couple minutes, the urge to push was STRONG. They checked my cervix (I was at  a 7) and quickly moved me to a delivery room. My water broke moments later and after a couple pushes, Leo was here! My midwife, Elizabeth, (who-fun fact- I met at Valley OB at the beginning of this pregnancy but who happens to be a Harmer and a relation of mine) barely made it in time. Leo Michael McCloskey was born at 7:42am, 27 minutes after we pulled up at the hospital. Holy moly. That’s the way to do it!

I was expecting another giant like Ander who was 9.2 lbs and 20.5 inches but Leo was just 7.4 lbs and 19 inches! So tiny and perfect! The first thing I noticed was his full head of dark hair. Elizabeth put Leo right on my chest and I cried tears of relief and joy. There is nothing, NOTHING else in this world like that feeling. I literally wanted to kiss everyone in the room. Ha. Two of my sisters in law who had wanted to attend the birth (and take photos for me), made it just moments after he was born. My sweet sister-in-law, Lindsey, held my hand while they stitched me up. (Luckily, the tearing was way less this time. Huzzah!) After Leo’s cord stopped pulsing, my other sister-in-law, Rachel, got to cut it and then I was able to nurse him. He latched right on like a pro. Besides the sleep deprivation and a week of Leo sleeping in a bili bed due to jaundice, it’s been heaven on Earth ever since. We feel so blessed that Heavenly Father has entrusted this little cub to our care. 

Photos by Lindsey Marie Photography :)