A babe is born

As I approached the final two weeks of my pregnancy I was becoming more and more anxious to meet my little man. I was having dreams about who he'd look like and how big he would be. I fantasized about going into labor early due to being in so much pain and discomfort due to swelling and being 9 months pregnant. Then on Thursday, July 5, 2012 (my 39 week exactly) my water broke. I was excited yet calm as I knew I would be having a baby in the next 24 hours but I wasn't contracting at the moment so I knew I had time to pack, clean up my mess, shower and leave for the hospital. Derek and I took the girls over to his parents house to wait out what could have been a long wait.

When we got to the hospital, there were several other laboring women there. Since my labor wasn't really progressing I was put on the bottom of the list of priorities. My husband and I sat in the small triage room from 6:40 pm to 1:45 am. By midnight I started to contract....uncomfortable but not unbearable. By 1:30 I was in severe discomfort and ready for my epidural. I was only 5 cm dilated though so the staff took their time. I instructed Derek to call his parents, my sister and my mom and tell them to head in so they didn't miss the baby being born. Brooke and Jaelyn had both decided that they wanted to be there for the birth of their baby brother.

By the time they got me in a labor and delivery room I was in severe pain, contractions right on top of each other. By 2:30 am I was numb from the epidural and happy as a clam. By a little after 3:00 am I was ready to push. I pushed for 11 minutes and delivered a beautiful baby boy at 3:23 am Friday, July 6, 2012 weighing 8 lbs 11 oz and measuring 20 3/4 inches long. We named him Rowan Avery Shreiner. He cried, but not for long. Everybody was so excited and we all took turns passing him around. Soon after he was born he was nursing like a champ and beginning his new life as a little person.