Family, Photography, Fun: Introducing Calvin Joshua

Our sweet Calvin arrived on November 12th, 2013 at 4:28pm. He weighed 7 lbs 9 oz and was 20.5 inches long. Here are some pictures and his birth story.

The day started out the same as every other day. I was having minor braxton hicks that were mild and inconsistent, which was nothing out of the ordinary. They started to pick up a tiny bit to the point of being able to time them, so I called Josh on his way to work just to let him know they were coming every 10 minutes. About an hour later, they went away so I figured today wasn't the day. I texted Josh that he didn't have to worry.

I had plans with my mom to go shopping at Christmas Tree Shops out on Lincoln Highway. I had a coupon that expired the next day for 20% off that I really wanted to use on a new shelf that would help organize our living room with Landon's toys and craft supplies. Since I had previously had two false alarms in the past week, I decided it definitely wasn't happening today. So I took a quick belly pic, packed up Landon, and headed to my mom's.

On the way, I changed my mind and decided today might possibly be the day. I had one pretty intense contraction. I arrived at my mom's and let her know that I was having contractions. We agreed that if we stayed home I wouldn't go into labor, so away we went. I drove out to the shop and parked in an expectant mother parking spot. We joked that the sign should include laboring mothers.

I found the shelf area while my mom shopped around. In between these increasingly intense contractions, I sent Josh pictures of shelves, and informed him that the contractions were picking up and he should keep his phone on him. After being at CTS for about an hour, I couldn't walk or talk through my contractions which were coming about every 7-8 minutes. We decided it was time to leave and alert the troops. We left around 12:30pm. My mom drove while I tried to get ahold of Josh. It's odd that although his wife was warning him of her impending labor at 39 weeks and 5 days, Josh decided it would be ok to play basketball at work and leave his phone elsewhere. For an entire hour. I called Beth and let her know what was happening. She was ready to watch Landon. I finally heard from Josh and he headed to my mom's house. I immediately hopped in the bath back at my mom's. While in the bath, I told myself that I was ok with my new decision to get the epidural.

I texted all my friends that today was the day, and then my contractions went from every 7 minutes to a 16 minute gap. OF COURSE. The minute I tell everyone that I am in labor, it slows down. Here comes false alarm #3. But then 4 minutes later I got a contraction, and 4 minutes after that another one. And 3.5 minutes after that. By this time Josh was at my mom's and we were headed to our place to get our bags and trade off Landon to Grammy. I remember barely being able to walk more than a few steps at a time in the house to get my stuff. My gray dress had armpit stains the size of melons. We finally hopped back in the car. Game time.

Josh took the bumpiest road possible. Pure torture. He asked if I wanted him to take the longer, less bumpy way, but there was no time for this foolishness. Baby was coming. During this entire fiasco, I did not once think "YAY! I finally get to find out baby's gender." There was no time to think about this little detail while I was writhing in pain.

We got to the hospital around 2:50pm and I couldn't even walk in without having a contraction. I was wheeled in. I hopped out on the wheel chair the second we got the our room so I could bend over the bed and rock as much as I could to get through this contraction. They were awful. My mom, who has had two completely drug free labors and births, said "If you felt that kind of pain and you weren't in labor, you would know that you are dying." I agreed.

The doctor came in to check me and ask about pain meds. The stubborn person in me replied "Let's see how far along I am and then I'll decide". Right after checking me she said "I don't think you'll have time for an epidural. You're 8-9 centimeters." SUCCESS! This is the labor I dreamed about. Hooray for me. Josh called my mom (who was packing her things after we left her house and was headed our way) and let her know of my progress. She probably started to break a few laws at this point.

My mom got to my mom and couldn't believe I was 9cm. I was smiling. Honestly, between contractions my pain was a .5 if that. I could smile and laugh and joke. And during the contractions I was lucky if I could breathe. I hopped in the tub and then got out. The dr came in and offered me drugs that I turned down because if I had made it this far, I could surely handle the rest. Big mistake.

She broke my water, and the contractions, which were coming every minute, were horrible from this point on. Baby was coming down quick and I could feel it all. This is barbaric! It's the 21st century and women are still pushing humans out of their bodies?! The amazing part was I could hear and comprehend every word that was being said around me during my contractions. I was trying to focus on them and not the pain. At one point my mom said "You can do it Britt! Yes, it hurts like hell but.." I cut her off with a "shhhh" and a shake of my head. She was reminding me of the pain that I was trying to forget. Josh said something along the lines of "You can do it" and I cut him off also. There was no reason to cheer me on because I wasn't doing anything. I wasn't in tremendous pain. So stop telling me I am dammit! Next time my rule is going to be no talking.

Then baby's heartbeat dropped and it was time for me to push. I was petrified. I had tried to push once and it was worse then the contractions so I stopped. But baby was in trouble and there was no way out. I toyed with the idea of asking for pain meds but I was pretty sure I already knew the answer.. So I gulped in some air and I pushed and screamed and made noises that could not come out of a human being and then I hear people saying "I see the head" and "the head is out" and "now push the shoulders" and then finally "it's a boy!". Calvin Joshua was born at 4:28 in the afternoon. He tricked us all into thinking he was a girl. That stinker :) I looked at his sweet face and he looked just like his big brother did. He even had his boo boo face. Irresistible! I was instantly in love. And I may have double checked that the doctor knew what "boy" meant (middle right picture). She did.

I couldn't believe he was finally here and that he was a HE! Josh and I picked the name "Calvin" before I was even pregnant and we loved it. We didn't agree on his middle name until after he was born. My Calvin Joshua. I love you. I can't wait to see your personality bloom. You already love your brother and he adores you and wants to snuggle constantly. You two are going to be best friends and I can't wait to watch you grow up together :)