It was early on a Wednesday morning sometime around 5 a.m. I started feeling cramps, similar to what you'd feel if you had to go to the bathroom - which is what I tried to do. It was five days before my due date and I wasn't thinking that I could possibly be going into labor. Kadin and Brian were still snoring away and after a failed attempt at using the bathroom I laid back down and tried to fall back to sleep.
About an hour later Kadin woke up. Brian gets up with him and leaves me to peacefully sleep longer - or so he thought. By 7 a.m. I was pretty sure this wasn't just a stomache ache and that we were going to meet our Isabella that day. I got up and told Brian that I thought I was in labor and that we should probably call the doctor. (having been through this before - there didn't seem the need for panic, we just camly did the things we needed to do) So I called the doctor and they told me to stay home until my contractions were three minutes apart for like a half hour or something . . . they basically said they didn't want me in now.
So we started calling around to take care of some things. I called in to work and Brian called our babysitter to make sure we could drop Kadin off there (Brian was actually supposed to watch Kadin that day because it was the first day of summer vacation!) Brian took care of feeding Kadin and getting him dressed while I hopped in the shower.
While in the shower I began to notice that these contractions were getting quite painful. They weren't quite three minutes apart yet, but I started to feel very uncomfortable. Something told me that we had to start to get going . . . and soon. I got out of the shower and told Brian to get Kadin's stuff together and get himself dressed because we needed to leave. He could hear the urgency in my voice, which I think scared him a little, so he started to quickly run around the house and get things. We finally packed up the car and headed to the babysitter's and on the way it was clear to me that things were farther along that I had thought.
A quick drop-off of Kadin and we were back on the road for the WORST trip I have ever taken in a car. I was in COMPLETE agony and it felt like the longest 35 minutes of my life. I called the hospital enroute and told them that we were coming.
We arrived at the hospital around 9:30 a.m. and I made the long trip from the car to the third floor, the whole time dreaming about the drugs I was going to get to take me out of this pain. We get to the room and I strip down into one of those lovely gowns and the nurses begin to muddle around and get things attached to me. Right away I inquire about those drugs, to which I'm told, "well let's check you first to see how far along you are."
The nurse does a check and discovers that I am already at 8 cm dilated. Instantly there was panic in the room . . . the nurse got on a phone and asked for back up . . . the room suddenly became flooded with people all scurrying around prepping things and moving things around, bringing in trays of this and that. In the middle of all the bustle I kindly asked again about my drugs . . . "oh, I'm sorry dear, but you're too far along already . . . he wouldn't even get here in time."
WHAT!!???!!?!?!? Oh, no . . . I did this once before with no drugs . . . there was NO WAY I was going to do that again . . . and what did she mean he wouldn't get there in time???? When I went to the hospital with Kadin I was there for almost 7 hours before he was born . . . I just got here!
I guess when they tell you that your labor with a second child can be a lot shorter . . . they are telling the truth. After two pushing contractions and a whopping six pushes . . . Isabella Ruth was born. It was 10:38 a.m, just over an hour since we had arrived at the hospital. She was 8 lbs 4 oz and she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.
Bella at 6 months old
Bella at one year
Bella today
It was June 7, 2006 . . . the day I became a mother for the second time and learned that you can indeed love two children with your entire heart . . . the day Brian became a father for the second time and learned the true meaning of the phrase "Daddy's Little Girl" and the day that Kadin became a big brother and learned that he will want to protect his little sister for the rest of his life.
Happy Birthday Isabella! We've loved every minute!
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