Crosby's Grand Entrance

June 8: The day before Crosby's due date we had a doctor's visit to see how things were coming along. Knowing that a due date baby rarely happens, my expectations were very low. Our doctor told us that she would "stir things up a bit" and then let nature take its course. We made an appointment for Monday to see how things were moving along. Tim and I left with little expectations. The rest of the day was spent at the pool and hanging out with friends.

June 9: I woke up in a panic. Let's just say that there were things happening to my body that I didn't expect to happen. I woke Tim up and he insisted we go to the hospital right away. All of our bags were packed and we were off (no showers for either one of us....gross). In route I called the on-call doctor to see if my experiences were "normal". I also called my good friend Melissa to ask. She's an expert, she's delivered all three of her kids at home. I knew she'd be the person to ask. Tim and I made it about 5 miles down the road before we were reassured that, yes what I was experiencing was a "normal" part of pre-labor. The on-call doctor also return my phone call to also reassure me that this is all "normal".

The rest of June 9 was a fairly typical day. Tim and I lounged around all day. I wasn't up for much, since my body was acting all crazy. By 10 pm I was ready for bed. I laid down for the next 2 hours, unable to sleep due to cramping. My doctor said that cramping was to be expected, but it was a different type of cramp. They came about every 20 minutes, then went away. I had no clue what was about to begin.

June 10: 12:00am - Tim came to bed. I said good night to him and proceeded to lay there waiting for the cramps to pass. At about 12:30 I rolled over to reposition my very pregnant belly and POP. Just like a water balloon, my water broke. Very calmly, I told Tim that I was fairly sure that my water just broke. I jumped in the shower and tried to wrap my mind about what was happening. Tim headed off to the guest bathroom to take a shower and then throw all of our hospital stuff into the car. We were loaded and ready to go by 1am.

The drive to the hospital was quiet. Tim was an excellent, quick driver. I was timing my cramps/contractions all while trying to remain calm. This was really happening. She was coming. We made it to the hospital at about 1:30, we checked in and I was wheeled to Labor and Delivery. Once there, before admitting me, we had to answer about 100 questions and be checked over. Since my water broke and I was dilated to a 3, I was good to go. This was really happening.

From the time that we got check in, until about 3:30 I was breathing through my contractions with the help of my amazing husband. He was an amazing coach! At this point I was wondering why I haven't gotten an epidural, they did ask if I wanted one during the q and a session. Finally, Tim asked the nurse when I would be able to get the epidural. We had no idea that I could have gotten it as soon as I was admitted....I will not make that mistake again.

By 3:50, the epidural was administered and all was well. The epidural itself didn't hurt, PRAISE GOD! Besides not feeling my legs, this was awesome. Trying to sleep was a challenge since my legs kept slipping off the bed and Tim had to keep moving them over to make me more comfortable. I might have slept for 45 minutes, but now things were getting interesting.

At about 6 am, my doctor came in to take a look see to see how things were coming along. She reassured me that we would have this baby by 12noon. I was so excited! 6 hours! I can do this. Not even 45 minutes later my nurse check my progress. She let me know that we'd start pushing at 8. What?!? Not noon? The rest happened fairly fast. Tim was sending texts to let our families know what was going on, the doctor and nurses were setting up for delivery, and I was just laying there in disbelief.

8:05 I started pushing with the help of my coach. For me this time went by fast. Pushing every 3-5 minutes, not too bad. Well about one hour into pushing I was starting to get a tired. When is she going to get here? My doctor kept popping in and out of the room. She let me know that we were just about there.

A few more big pushes and at 9:34 am, Crosby Eleanor White entered our world. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. They put her up on my chest, I got to take my first good look at her. All I could think is, she's ours! We get to keep this beautiful little girl.