Birthday!

How appropriate that I'd explain Aidan's birth on my birthday.  I always called him my birthday baby.  Well, minus the first few weeks when I dubbed him our tax baby.  

Aidan arrived earlier than his due date - I was 38 weeks and 2 days.  I had always believed that he would come a little early so it was no big surprise to me that he did.  Although I do think some people (who will remain nameless for their sake!) thought I was crazy for thinking he'd be early.  

For two weeks leading up to his birth, I'd been having Braxton Hicks contractions.  They started innocently but gradually became more painful and more frequent.  At some point on Sunday (Aidan was born Monday morning) my Braxton Hicks contractions morphed into real contractions.  I'm not sure when exactly the change happened because all day they were inconsistent and not overly painful.  By evening, I was having about four contractions an hour but they were still fairly random.  Of course I couldn't relax enough to sleep which would bite me in the toosh later.  

By midnight each contraction would take my breathe away and if we're being honest, I was becoming more of a bitch with each one.  During each sixty second contraction I wanted Alan to coach me through the pain but not talk, not ask questions, and he absolutely had to note the time.  For obvious reasons, Alan coached me through some contractions and then opted for a nap.  It was a smart decision.  Being solo for two hours forced me to focus on each contraction plus one of us needed to function later.  

By 2 am the contractions were coming every 5 minutes.  I woke Alan up, called the doctor and got confirmation that we could head to the hospital.  It sounded like a blessing and yet the drive to the hospital was not comfortable.  On the exit to route 50, I begged Alan to pull over until my contraction passed.  We arrived at the hospital by roughly 4 am.  I got a quick photo by the Christmas tree in the lobby and then got serious about labor and delivery. 

The nurse in triage confirmed that I was 4 cm.  I was admitted and we started making phone calls to our parents.  Correction, Alan made phone calls and I continued to concentrate.  My labor coach took another nap. 

Honestly, there wasn't much Alan could do.  By about 630 AM I'd received the epidural and my parents had arrived.  We thought the baby would wait things out until noon but he was on a faster schedule.  By 9 AM the doctor confirmed it was time to start pushing.  I fixed my hair and added a headband.  (I told you I was serious about labor and delivery right?)   

My doctor was awesome.  We did a test run of how he wanted me to push before we got started.  The biggest mistake women make during labor :: breathing out.  That's why we had the quick lesson before the real pushing began. 

Since the delivery process started earlier than we thought, Alan quickly sent text messages to friends and family.  My labor coach also handles our social media requirements. 

I sent messages to work so they would know... 

And then I got excited to meet our little man. 

Doing work.... 

At 946 AM Aidan arrived.  Every lovely word that can be used to describe that moment in my life applied.   

I just adore these little baby toes...  

Resting with baby Aidan after delivery.  Labor and delivery are work.  It was anything but an easy process.  Even with the epidural, I had pain and pressure with each contraction.  But it didn't matter at 946 AM because Aidan had arrived and was safe.  He had ten toes and ten fingers of total perfection.  

Alan is my love, Aidan fills my heart.  We are such a small but perfect little family.