Harper's Birth Story: Part One

I'm finally getting around to posting Harper's birth story. Life with a newborn doesn't leave a lot of extra time for me to blog so it's taken me almost three weeks to find the time to sit down and put my thoughts on the computer screen. But with that said, while Harper naps, I decided to sit down and write her story before I forgot some of the details. 

As I mentioned in my 40 week bump date post, we were scheduled to be induced the night of May 7th, Harper's official due date. That Tuesday, Kevin was forced to work until noon. As he worked, I spent the morning packing the last of our things, cleaning up the house, and spending time with our little fur baby. Kevin arrived home from work with lunch from Arby's around 12:30. After eating, we loaded up the car, gave the dog a hug and kiss, and headed to Greensboro for our last doctor's appointment.

At our doctor's appointment, my doctor checked my cervix and I still hadn't made anymore progress. I was dialated somewhere between a 1 & 2, was about 50% effaced, and Harper was still at a -3 station. Having made no process, my doctor informed us that instead of giving me Cervadil to start the induction process, she was going to give me Cytotec starting that night. 

When we left the doctor's office, we had a few hours to spare so we hit up Target and Babies R Us to purchase some last minute items for Harper doodle. After our little shopping adventure, we headed to catch an early dinner at J & S, a local cafeteria. I had been told to eat something light because we didn't know how early I'd go into labor so I stuck to some cream potatoes, green beans, and corn bread. Whereas, Kevin stuck to baked spaghetti, green beans, a giant slice of chocolate cake, and some bread. I was rather jealous but he did share a few bites of his cake so I decided not to stab him with my fork as we sat there :P 

It was at dinner that the reality that we'd be welcoming a child into our lives within 24 hours actually hit me. As Kevin and I sat at the dinner table talking about Harper, I started to get choked up. I started questioning whether or not I was going to be able to have her. All of the questions of "what if" began to play through my mind. I tried to play it cool and choke back the tears. As we got ready to leave, I excused myself to the bathroom, and had a mini crying session in the bathroom stall. Not wanting Kevin to know, I got myself together and headed back out to meet him at the car. Of course, he could see through my facade and he did a great job of encouraging me and reminding me that women had babies all the time so I'd make it just fine. His pep talk helped a little bit but I was still a bit nervous and the only person I could think of to calm my nerves was my best friend... who just so happens to live five minutes from the restaurant. So since we had an hour and a half to kill before we had to be at the hospital, I decided to swing by and see her. 

Thankfully Alyson was home. She and I sat and talked in the living room for an hour while Kevin napped in her upstairs guest room. I told Alyson of my fears and she did a great job of encouraging me as well. She told me stories of her days working in the labor and delivery room at our local hospital and all of the stories had me laughing. Alyson always knows just what to say. After our chat, I felt much more relaxed and confident for what was to come.

So we took one last photo as a family of two and then headed out the door to the hospital...

 Part Two to Come