2 days later... Lucas is a few hours old...
Wow, I'm usually not such a sentimental person. But when the evening of the 23rd approached, I began reminiscing about where I was at this time exactly one year ago. Which is a little unusual because my labor was long and difficult. You'd think I would wait to reminisce and get all misty-eyed when the 25th rolled around. Anyway, I spent the 2 days leading up to Lucas' birthday remembering every detail and all the excitement and anticipation we felt. On October 23rd, 2007, I had no feelings of impending labor whatsoever until I had what I thought were contractions (but so subtle and painless) for an hour before my water broke at 10:40pm. Usually this is the moment when things really get moving in the birthing process. We waited until 2am on the 24th to go to the birthing center. When we arrived I was already 5 cm dilated. I paced the hallway back and forth and back and forth, stopping to bend forward every time I had a contraction. At this point all the pain was in my back already. Fun fun. I remember the midwife telling me that her shift was over at 7am and that most first births take about 7 to 8 hours. She said she'd stay with us if we were about to birth our baby close to her shift-end. I thought for sure we would be! Well, I'm not sure what the hang-up was (his huge head?) but we stayed at the birthing center for 12 more hours after her shift ended and the new midwife relieved her. I had been stuck at 9 cm for 4 hours by the time Laith made the decision that it would be in my and Lucas' best interest if we just went to the hospital and got some drugs in me! Whew! The back labor was so intense that I didn't feel any contracting at all around the front of my body and it was impossible for me to relax enough to let the baby come out. The ride to St. David's hospital was miserable because I couldn't bend forward during my contractions. Luckily, even at 9 cm, they were able to give me an epidural soon after arriving and I actually fell asleep for an hour while my cervix opened the final cm. After another 5 or 6 hours of pushing, at 3:18am, Lucas arrived! I'll never forget that first moment of seeing his scrunched face. It was like time froze and went too quickly all at once. I couldn't believe he was real. That he was OUR baby! Everything else in the room became shadows and background noise and all I could see was a beautiful boy getting passed up to my arms. As much as I wanted to take it all in and burn every detail about our new baby into my mind, I was so exhausted that my body just shut down. I just physically couldn't hold him- even while lying down. I asked Laith to take him and they took a nap together. The rest of the night was a blur but it was a happy blur. As soon as I got some rest, Lucas was in my arms or Laith's arms (or Meemom's arms! She arrived that afternoon!) and never put down except for a few photos. The weight of a newborn baby in your arms is the best feeling in the world. The weight of an older, one-year-old baby in your arms is pretty darn great too. Happy First Birthday, Lucas! We love you so much!
