I’ve been meaning to share this for a few weeks but, man, the transition to three kiddos has been a whirlwind! That’s kinda the theme of this whole story actually. It started with a whole lot of waiting and anxious anticipation but the actual delivery process was a wild ride! Let me explain a bit more.

40 Weeks

I had a feeling this baby was going to come a bit early, but clearly I had been wrong because I hit the 40 week mark with no progression to show for it. The next day I had my doctor appointment and I was 3 cm and about 50% effaced. I had learned from my previous two times that it could mean a baby in a few hours, a few days, or even more. We had kinda been hoping he’d be born on the 31st to be a Halloween baby like his Daddy and his Great Grandpa so being “overdue” was actually okay with me.

Halloween

Halloween came and we had plans to have both my mom and Christian’s parents with us to celebrate. I had been having some pretty decent contractions all day but wasn’t getting my hopes up too high. We went to dinner as a family before trick or treating and that’s when things really kicked into gear. I ate my burger like it was my last meal (because I had a feeling it would be) and then we headed back to our house. I decided I’d try some trick or treating to see if my contractions stopped. I did and they didn’t, so we grabbed our stuff and headed out the hospital.

Hospital Time

8:30pm

So, if you watch my Instagram stories you know that I really wanted to give birth in the hospital I had the other two kiddos at. It’s about a 45 min drive if there is absolutely no traffic but there usually is. Luckily it was late at night on a holiday so we flew down the freeway. When we checked in they put us in triage to monitor contractions and then came to check me. I was having contractions but was STILL only 3cm dilated and 50% effaced. I was shook. Mostly because it wasn’t close enough to active labor for them to admit us and being late at night and far away from home meant we had to drive all the way back and potentially not be able to make it back to this hospital when it really was time. I tried my best to stay positive.

10pm

We had been home around an hour and thing kicked up a notch, and I thought it was a big notch. So, we told my mom we were heading out and as we got in the car I felt like we shouldn’t go back to our top pick hospital, and instead should drive to the one only 25 min away (that I had heard not so great stories about and did not guarantee private recovery rooms, yikes) We got put in a triage room and was breathing pretty heavily through my contractions. A midwife comes to check me and I’m still only flipping 3 centimeters dilated. I almost cried from disappointment but held it together because the midwife annoyed me so much my emotions shifted quickly. She decided to tell a very pregnant, 4 day overdue woman, that 3rd babies are not very nice and like to trick you. She said I could be back in 2 hours or 2 days and she wouldn’t be surprised either way. So, at that point I was feeling a little hopeless because I couldn’t imagine being in that state for 2 days. (When I thought about this after, I realized had I not had this annoying extra trip to the hospital I wouldn’t have felt comfortable enough to go to this location when it was the actual time. Since I did have this experience I felt familiar with it and I knew that when the time came we needed to go back there to get me to a calm birthing atmosphere as quickly as possible. Just one of the many ways God showed His grace and His hand in the process).

1 am

We got home and I decided to try and sleep. After about 10 min I quickly realized that wasn’t happening. I proceeded to labor at home from about 1am until 1030am the next morning. I let my sweet husband sleep through most of it. Occasionally I not so kindly would wake him up because I needed something but other than that I was either in the bath or in some position on my birthing ball. I literally got NO SLEEP. At 10am I said there’s no way I can do this anymore, we’re going to a hospital. We decided again to head to the second choice hospital. When we finally got there it was about 11:30am and they sent me right into a labor and delivery room.

Baby Time

So, it’s 11:30am and we are in our room and nobody comes in to check on me or hook me up to any monitors. We were a little confused but honestly I was relieved because I just wanted to be left alone with my oils and my music and my birthing ball. I always hate having to be hooked up to anything when I arrive. At around noon a nurse opened the door to our room and Christian said her face was priceless. He said she looked like she was literally in shock that someone was in there. So she hooks me up to the monitors and says the midwife will come in to check me soon. She came about 20 min later. Thankfully at this point I was 5cm and 80% effaced so I was officially admitted. (Looking back I can totally see Gods hand in allowing us that extra hour without being checked because who knows if I would have been progressed enough to stay, I think it was His way of allowing us to get where we needed to be). The nurse told me she wanted me hooked up for a few more minutes.

1:30pm

After I had been hooked up for about another 30 minutes (apparently it was busy that day) I politely demanded via the nurse call button to be unhooked because I needed to pee (and wanted my freedom) As the nurse helped me swing my legs off the bed, my water broke everywhere (and all over the poor nurse!) She asked if I still had to pee and the obvious answer was no. Finally I was free and was back to my birthing ball, oils, and music. I was in the ZONE.

2:15pm

The nurse had periodically come in to check on me and was doing something on the computer while I was still laboring on the ball. I was at the end of a contraction and felt a snap inside. I don’t know what it was or really how else to describe it but it felt like things went from crazy to crazier. I had a moment of panic and said “somethings happening I think I’m going to need to push” so the nurse had me get on the bed to check me. I was 100% effaced and she casually said I was 8 almost 9 centimeters so just relax because I was just in transition and it would probably still be a little while. I had about three more contractions and felt my body pushing with each one. On the last one I literally felt him crowing and said “THIS BABY IS COMING OUT, SOMEBODY HELP ME!” So she ran over and said “Oh my gosh don’t push” (why do they tell you that? it’s not like you can stop a freight train from coming out of your hoo-ha) and yelled out the door, “Quick, I need back up she’s delivering!” And the doctor barely made it in to catch him and he literally shot out onto the bed. I had originally wanted to pull him out and up to my chest like I did the other kids but there was no time for that this go around.

2:30pm

So almost 3 hours exactly from the time we checked in Theodore Brooks Cannon was born! 8lbs 11oz and 21.88inches long.

 

The whole process was so unlike what I had wanted. I felt the Lord nudging on my heart at the end of my pregnancy to let go of my plans and anxiety (I wish I would have listened better). I spent a lot of time trying to plan out all possible scenarios in my head of who would be at our house and which hospital we’d get to and what traffic would be like and all that jazz because I wanted it to be perfectly MY way. In the end almost nothing went my way. Teddy came 4 days after his due date (not on his Daddy and Great Grandpas birthday), at my second choice hospital, and I ended up getting turned away twice when I was sure it was “time”. All this just reminded me how motherhood in general works. We have our idea of how things should be and then reality looks a whole lot different. We can make things hard on ourselves and try our best to smash all of the puzzle pieces in where we think they should go, but ultimately we aren’t the ones who can see the whole picture. There’s no one size fits all box top picture to guide where we place each piece. So, give yourself grace when things don’t match the picture in your head because God knows the final masterpiece He’s creating for your life and for your family and I guarantee it’s far more beautiful that anything you could have dreamt up on your own.