Joan Ellen Cornell

9:58 PM

My Birth Story

I was in denial at first. I couldn’t make myself believe this was happening today.

I am due April 17^th…and it is Thursday, March 3^rd. Quite a bit of my family is due to fly in from Illinois for my baby shower that following Saturday and I have tons of things to do that day. The first thing on my list is bringing our 2 dogs to the groomers. So I get up that morning and hurry to get ready. I decide to use the bathroom on the way out the door, and notice that I am leaking a little bit of fluid. I don’t think much of it, stick a panty liner in my underwear and run out the door. I make it about a mile down the road when I realize I am still leaking, and A LOT, so I turn around and head back to the house. But not to stay…just to change my panty liner and head back out the door (because I am still in denial). So I make it to the groomer’s and go inside to check the dogs in. As the lady there is telling me the final info on picking them back up, I leak- a lot. I let her finish and race out of there. On the way home I think it finally went through my head- “I think my water broke.”

I arrive back home at about 9:00 and wake up Jeremy. “Jeremy, wake up, I think my water broke. I’m going to call the doctor, but I’m sure she is going to send me to the hospital.” He sits up halfway with a “WHHHAAAT” look on his face. He decides to take a shower while I call the doctor, who tells me to go straight to the hospital.

Now a million things are running through my head. I call my sister-in-law Katie and ask her if I should pack a bag (because I think I still don’t realize that I am having this baby TODAY). She informs me of that real quick, and walks me through what I should be packing in said bag. I remember as I pack outfits for the baby, thinking “I don’t even know what clothes to pack, how big will he even be? Will he even fit in any of these clothes?” It was a scary thought…

So around 9:30 we leave for the hospital, which is about 25-30 mins away. I call my mom (who is 30 mins from boarding a plane to come here) and tell her my water broke and I’m heading to the hospital. Then I call Jeremy’s mom and tell her the same. During that half hour drive, my contractions start, and are getting worse. By the time we arrive at the hospital and are checking in at the front desk, I can barely stand up comfortably. I am leaning over the counter bracing myself while giving the nurse my information.

They immediately check me into a delivery room. Around 10:30am the doctor comes in (the on call doctor- one I haven’t even met yet from my doctor’s office) and checks me. I am dilated to a 4. The nurse tells me I can walk around the halls if I want, so I try and make it for about 5 minutes before I decide I need to lay back down. I try so hard to manage the contractions on my own, with no drugs, but after about 2 hours I can’t do it anymore. Since my water is broken, I can’t use the jet bathtub and that was my plan to help deal with the pain of the contractions. They are coming about 2-3 minutes apart, but to me it feels like they are coming every 10 seconds. I feel like I have no break in between. Jeremy tried to help me remember my breathing, but I kept NOT breathing because the pain was so crazy. So at this point I opt for an epidural. The anesthesiologist arrives about 15 minutes later and that is that. I feel SO much relief. Around 12:30 or so, they check me again and I am dilated to a 6 (or 7, it’s kind of foggy). They tell me I will be having the baby within a few hours. So for the next few hours, Jeremy, Charlotte and I just hang out.

At 3:15, the doctor comes back in to check me again. I am dilated to a 10 at that point, and ready to push. Although, I don’t feel the urge or any pressure yet. My mom’s flight landed at 2:17pm, so I know she has to be on her way, and is hopefully close by. The doctor tells me to call her and see where she is, and since she is only 10 minutes away, she lets me hold off on pushing until she arrives.

At 3:35 my mom walks through the door and it’s the most amazing feeling in the world. When I first found out I was pregnant, I never thought in a million years that she would be able to be there for me during this. My mom comes over and grabs my hand, Jeremy grabs my other hand, the doctor gets in her place at the end of my bed, and I start pushing through each contraction. I push through 6 or 7 contractions- Jeremy gives me water in between each one- and at 4:09PM Porter is born. He is 6 ½ weeks early, but weighs in at 5 pounds 6 ounces! He looks amazing and healthy! They took him straight to the table to check him, and when they were done Jeremy got to hold him first, and then brought him over to me to hold. Hearing his first cry was probably the most amazing moment in my life...knowing that he was breathing and alive, made me feel so alive.

Now he is just over 2 weeks old and doing amazingly. He stayed in the NICU for 9 days and was a champ there. He needed no oxygen and ate immediately. We are home now and he is doing great- eating like a little piggy and gaining an ounce a day so far.