Monday night Russell and I went for a long walk where
he dragged me all around BYU campus! Russ made me go up and down every single
hill and staircase on the entire campus! I was exhausted and I was having
regular contracts that were about 3-5 minutes apart! By the time we got home I
was ready to go to the hospital. I needed to sit down from our never-ending
walk and sure enough the contractions stopped almost immediately! I was in
tears! I was so frustrated that I was feeling so close but baby was not ready
to make is debut!
We went to bed that night feeling very discouraged and
trying to accept the fact that this little guy was going to keep cooking past
his due date.
The next morning I had my 40-week appointment. I had
to change my appointment last minute so I was scheduled to see one of the nurse
practitioners. I had heard from a few people that Heidi McSweeny was the nurse
to see if I wanted to go into labor. I had my membranes stripped the week
before and it didn’t really do anything.
Again, very frustrating.
Sure enough Heidi did the trick! She stripped my
membranes (NOT a fun feeling!) and ordered a non-stress test just to make sure
everything was ok. Before the non-stress test she told me to go walk and get
things going. So Russell and I headed to the Provo Town Center mall and walked
for a good hour with all the elderly people getting there morning workout in J
During that hour my contracts were no more than 5-7 minutes
apart and very strong. We went to the test and even while I was sitting in that
big comfy chair my contractions kept coming! I was so happy they didn’t die
down like they had been over the last couple weeks! The nurse decided I was
progressed enough to let the hospital know that we would be heading over. I was
so happy that someone was telling me, “It’s time to go to the hospital” and not
me having to decide. I did not want to do the walk of shame twice! The first
thing I asked the nurse was if we had time to go grab some food. J I had no idea how long labor was going to take and it
was lunchtime and I didn’t want to be starving the entire day! She said
probably not and to go straight to the hospital. Russell obediently said that
we would head right over. As soon as we got outside I made him take me to
Wendy’s to get something to eat! At this point for some reason I decided I
wasn’t going to rush over there and Russell did not like that one bit. I told
him we could go home first and get his computer and things so he wouldn’t be so
bored at the hospital. He sternly said no and that he was taking me to the
hospital. He rushed me through my chicken nuggets and didn’t even let me finish
my frosty. L It was pretty funny to see him so antsy and rushed! I
think that is why I was so calm and relaxed and felt like taking my sweet time.
I finally got out of the car and made Russ take a picture of me! He was
so frustrated that I wouldn’t just hurry up. I was a little nervous I think and
figured I would prolong the investable as long as possible.
We got checked into the hospital at 12:00PM and then
waited. Waited for my contractions to get harder and closer together. I called
my sister from Idaho and told her she should leave ASAP if she was going to
make it here in time. We called our parents and everyone started to get very
excited!
My contractions were not staying very regular. I would
go from two or three contractions in 5 minutes to nothing for about 10 minutes
so they put me on Pitocin. Man that stuff works! Within an hour I was having
regular hard contractions and I was dilated to a 4.5. At 3:30PM I decided I
would get my epidural. The epidural was almost exactly what I had pictured it
would be like. I am not a fan of needles and pain but I knew that with out this
I would be in a whole lot more pain later so I gritted my teeth and squeezed
Russell’s hand and before I knew it I was feeling much better!
My water broke around 5:00PM while the nurse was
checking me and it surprised her so much she jumped. I think her jump startled
me more than my water breaking. It was funny. My sister arrived from Idaho and
my parents were there hanging out while we waited. We figured we would have
some time before anything really happened so I told Russ to go get dinner and
to take his time.
The nurse’s shift changed and I ended up getting a
nurse named Dani. Dani had taught our prenatal class that we went to at Valley
OB. I was so happy it was her and not a nurse that I didn’t “click” with.
Dani checked me 6:30 and I was dilated to 9CM! It
happened so fast! And she was so surprised at how low baby’s head was! We
called Russell and said he should probably come back ASAP. She said she would
come back in an hour and check me again. At 7:30PM I was a 10 and fully
effaced. Dani said it was time to kick everyone out that I didn’t want in the
room and to get ready to start pushing. This was when I got the most emotional.
I was so calm and excited at the same time. I was finally going meet my baby! I
said goodbye to my family and only Russell and our Photographer (who
consequently is my cousin J)
stayed in the room for the delivery.
I pushed for about 40 minutes before Dr. Thorpe
arrived. Once he was there I pushed 3 or 4 more times and that was it!
At 8:32PM Our sweet baby boy was born! The abilical
cord was wrapped around his neck twice so it took him a minute to start crying.
I was not worried though. I know with out a doubt that I was blessed with an
overwhelming calmness through the entire delivery process and I am so grateful
for it! I would have been a complete mess with out it! My cousin took a few
more pictures before we kicked her out and had the room to ourselves. We said
our first family prayer and thanked our father in heaven for our healthy baby boy!
We still hadn’t decided on a name so we decided we
would both say the name we wanted at the same time! It was between Sam and
William and both of us said William with out hesitation. It fit him so
perfectly! We spent a few minutes just as a family hanging out and then Russell
gave the ok for all of our family members to come in. It was so fun to have
everyone there supporting us and excited for us.
The entire labor and delivery process went so much
better than I had imagined it would! I couldn’t be happier!
Me eating my wendy's before I would go into the hospital
Me at 40 Weeks exactly
All checked in and waiting
Welcome William David Shawcroft June 26th 2012 8:32PM
8 lbs 10 oz 21 inches
Sucking his thumb
Our first family picture
He sneezes and it scares him. Pretty dang cute! (I apologize for his little peter showing ;)
Getting his hair washed
Charlotte visiting
3 of my 5 sisters
Some of the grandkids visiting. We haven't had a baby in the family for about 4 or 5 years so the kids are pretty excited about Wil.
Going home from the hospital
I am not happy with this picture but this is what we did every day for about a week after having him.
We couldn't be happier and we are so grateful for all the love and support all of our friends and family has given us! We are so blessed to have Wil in our lives and are excited to see what adventures are in store for our family of three!
