The Birth Story

My due date was Thursday, December 8th but of course I was hoping he would come much earlier than that! But much to my disappointment, after being dilated to a 3 for the last couple weeks, it was Sunday, December 4th and he still hadn't come yet. Sunday morning I started cramping which I then quickly realized were contractions and I knew that things were in the works since I hadn't cramped my entire pregnancy. Sunday passes and nothing happens. I had a induction scheduled for Tuesday at 5 am due to kidney issues but I really wanted my body to go into labor on its own before then! Monday evening I was feeling a little different than normal. Justin brought me soup from Paradise and we watched the Smurf's movie. Yes, we are very mature haha. I took a shower then we laid down for bed about 10 pm. As soon as I laid down I started cramping again. I started timing them and they started getting rhythmic and lasting longer. Eventually they were every 2-3 min lasting 60-90 seconds. At that point I decided I would get up and start getting ready and see if the contractions would go away or get stronger. As I REFUSED to be the dumb girl that goes to triage and isn't even in true labor. It was about 12:30 am and contractions were now painful and every 1-2 minutes so I woke Justin up and told him it was time. He was half asleep and asked "are you sure?". At that point YES I WAS SURE! So we grabbed our bags and headed to the hospital. Here I am in Triage. In between contractions of course :)

They checked me and I was still only a 3 but definitely in labor. They couldn't admit me till I was a 4 so they gave me an hour to see what my body would do. After an hour of HORRIBLE contractions I had only progressed a smidge! What?! Really?! I thought for sure I was AT LEAST a 4! In my mind I was thinking "If they don't admit me, what will I do?!" I was in so much pain and KNEW I would just be walking back through those doors in another hour or two. My nurse saw how much pain I was in and knew I was in labor so she spoke to her manager and called my doctor to get me admitted. HALLELUJAH! At that point all I wanted was my dang epidural! After being stuck 4 times they finally got an iv in me, got me my room and got the anesthesiologist. I have never been so happy to see someone in my life! I got the epidural and oh was life good! I remember trying not to burst out laughing because I felt SO GOOD! When I got in my room they checked me and I was a good 5. At 8:30 am Dr. Messer came in a checked me and I was still a 5 so she broke my water. At 10:30 am my nurse checked me and was like "you're like 9.75". Centimeters? what?! I was not prepared to hear that! Holy panic sets in. All I can think is "Am I ready? Do I even know how to push? I don't know what to do!" Luckily my sweet husband and mother were there to reassure me that it would all be okay! After only 40 minutes of pushing, my precious little Branson Russell was born Tuesday, December 6th at 12:33pm weighing in at 7 lbs 14 oz and 22 inches long. BEST.MOMENT.OF.MY.LIFE! I will never forget the way I felt when I heard him and held him for the first time. Words cannot describe.

Don't judge my holy swolleness. They pumped fluid in me like no other!

Proud daddy!

Grandma Standifird

Nana (Justin's mom)

Hayley and Dallin

My brother Brady

Getting ready to go home!

Pure perfection!

The next couple weeks were quite an adjustment and recovery was hard at times but Justin took such great care of me and Branson! I honestly don't know what I would have done without him! He was amazing through it all and I am so grateful for him! I am one lucky girl!