Elliot Hale was born on Saturday, March 31st, at 4:03pm.
But his birth story begins several days beforehand, really.
It was Tuesday, the 27th. I had an appointment in Syracuse at the regional perinatal center. The next day was my due date. When Daniel and I left home that morning to make the 2-1/2 hour trek down, we brought overnight bags, the infant car seat, etc. in case they told us they didn't want us going home-- though I must say that in light of my history of going late, I was hoping they wouldn't.
At the appointment, I wasn't much progressed from the week before (2cm, somewhat effaced, baby still "floating") so they said, "Go home!"
Yay!
We stopped in Watertown (about the halfway point) to get something to eat since it was mid-afternoon and we hadn't had anything since breakfast. Hopped back in the car. 30 minutes later, I'd had about 6 good contractions. Daniel decided we should turn around, do some "shopping" in Watertown, and see what happened-- it would be easier to go back to Syracuse from there than to come all the way home only to head back down. We picked up some odds and ends at Target and browsed the entire store. I continued to have contractions, but they weren't intensifying and they were slowing down, so we decided to head home.
The contractions continued, but weren't hurting.
When we arrived home, my sister had put the kids to bed and I followed suit (those day trips to Syracuse were tiring!). I dozed on and off between contractions, but at 11pm when they had continued consistently at 5-6 minute intervals, Daniel (who had been timing them for about an hour at that point) said he thought we should go. Neither of us were interested in a roadside delivery, but we were very torn just the same because we also didn't want any false alarms.
Well, we got our false alarm, but it ended up being all for the best, really.
It was about 3am on Wednesday (due date) when we finally arrived at the hospital. I was still contracting regularly, but I had only progressed [maybe] a centimeter from earlier that day.
And then, the contractions gradually stopped. The baby's head was slightly turned and not putting quite the right amount of good pressure on my cervix, which was eerily reminiscent of my labor with Jackson (his started on a Wednesday night and ended on a Sunday afternoon with his delivery).
[What I didn't know then was just how similar the two births would be.]
At around 11am they started me on pitocin to see if that would get the contractions back into a regular pattern. It did cause them to pattern, but having been in labor before, I knew they weren't nearly painful enough to be doing much work. By the end of the day, not much had changed. The midwife was going to have me stay overnight so they could insert a foley balloon and then resume pit the next day, but I asked if I might be discharged instead, provided I stayed local with some friends. They agreed and so Daniel and I wound up at the home of our faithful friends, the Marottas, where we slept long and hard.
The next day, I encouraged Daniel and my mom and sisters (who had also come down since they were planning to be present at the birth) to all return home, though I would stay. I had never wanted to be hanging out in Syracuse just waiting for labor to start, but after the day before, I was more convinced than ever that I also didn't want to be induced-- and now I'd had quite a revelation of just how tricky timing a departure to a hospital 140 miles away from home could be. Staying in Syracuse, despite missing the kids and home and normal routines, relieved all the pressure, and the Marottas were eagerly inviting me to do just that.
Thursday and Friday were spent being spoiled by Jayne. I went to bed Friday evening after a wonderful steak dinner with plans of getting a pedicure (!) the next morning and spending another day relaxing, taking walks, etc. I'd had a couple more noticeable contractions just before retiring, but I wasn't thinking too much after the previous few days.
At about 11:30pm I woke up and thought, "Hmm. I wonder if these are the real thing."
Not wanting to sound an alarm falsely or too early, I decided to just do my best to sleep. I dozed on and off and between contractions, but around 2am I started to think I should locate a phone and maybe call Daniel just to let him know what was going on (he had no idea at that point). I found a phone, but then hesitated. Daniel had a morning commitment in Madrid that day and I hated to call him down too soon. A bit later, I decided to go ahead and call, but I told him not to leave; just to make sure he had his things ready "in case."
At 3:30, after several contractions that really required my attention, I called and told him to come.
To be continued...
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