The Roper Family: March 2010

Now that Im home from my 2 week stay in Kanab I can finally blog about our new baby! I know its a little late but better late than never.

Bryant's birth story

The night before I was going to get Eric from the air port to come home to deliver our baby I didn't get much sleep, It wasn't because I was uncomfortable like most other sleepless nights it was because I couldn't stop looking at the clock! Eric had to be up by 5 his time and 3 mine. I was so worried that he wouldn't wake up to his alarm so I was trying to watch the clock to call him around then to make sure he was up. I woke up at 3:40 and called him and couldn't get through to him. I started to think about how I would fall apart if he missed his flight. It took me about 15 or 20 minutes to FINALLY get ahold of him, he was almost to the airport so everything was going good. He called me later and told me he didn't have his debit card or ID.... Ya you have to have ID to get on a plane. Thank goodness the had his passport in his bag... it was already in his bag or he would have been screwed! I went back to bed for about an hour before I got up and started getting ready to go pick him up. I took Carson to daycare and headed out. I had butterflies in my belly the whole way to the airport! I hadn't seen Eric for almost 8 weeks. I couldn't wait! I sat in the spot that we always met in the airport (right by the orange dune buggy) and waited for what seemed like forever! Eric finally got to our meeting spot and then we had to go get his ticket back to Texas. It was so good to see him! After we got to the car we called Margie so she could head to boulder to get me started. We got to my moms house right after Margie at about 10:45 she checked my cervix and I was a "tight 2 1/2" I had been a 1 1/2 at my last appointment about a week and a half before the big day. Margie stripped me and stretched my cervix witch made me want to kick her in the face... After that I had to lay down for about a half hour. Margie said she would be back to check me in about 4 hours witch would be around 3:00. I ate some tuna cheese and crackers for lunch and headed out for a walk with my mom while Eric took a shower and a nap. We walked all around down town Boulder City. The mood was light and fun...I was in kinda a spunky mood. We stopped in at the shop and said hi and used the potty before we walked all the way down the big hill by the lake overlook. That hill kicked my butt! I was contracting pretty hard by the time my dad picked us up at the top of the first hill into the neighborhood. The plan was to go back to the house and watch the movie "Couples Retreat". We started it and there was no way I was going to be able to actually watch the movie I was very uncomfortable on the couch and just wanted to go get in bed with my body pillow. Margie showed up as I moved down in to the bedroom so after we got down there she checked me. I had hoped that I had made some progress but I didn't know what to expect just from walking. I was a 4 and the baby had moved down quite a bit. I remember with Carson I felt like it took awhile to get to a 4 and then I felt like it took along time to get past a 4. Margie was happy with the progress and said we would check me again in a hour to see if I was still progressing after laying down. By the time the hour had passed I was wanting to get in the tub. I had margie come check me, I didn't want to get in the tub to early I wanted to be at least a 5. On the other hand I didn't want to wait so long that I couldn't make it all the way up to my moms big tub up all the 450 stairs. Margie checked me and I was a 5! Wow! To a 5 in an hour! I felt like that was pretty good! Things where definitely moving along. I headed up stairs to get in the tub...I got in the tub around 4:00. The tub couldn't fill fast enough! I also felt that the hot water could have been a little hotter but it was still warm enough to be very soothing. I was having some back labor and Eric was right there to put pressure on my back during my contractions. It was so nice to have him there. I started to feel like I should get out and make a trip to the potty before things got any more intense so I had margie check me to make sure it was ok to get out... I didn't want to have a baby on the toilet! At that point I was a 7. Im not sure how long I was in the tub at that point but I know it wasn't long. I had a couple of really hard contractions on the toilet and just wanted to get back in the tub. It was probably only 15 minutes after getting back in the tub before I was in transition. It was crazy how in tune with my body I was. I knew where I was in my labor without anyone saying. Margie had been in the other room while I labored in the tub but as soon as I started transition she came in and she said "Somethings happening now!" because I got a little more vocal. The way I felt was crazy, The hormones and endorphins that your body releases make you feel high in a sense. I didn't realize that I was getting "flighty" until Margie told me that instead of wiggling around every contraction I should push... I told her I was trying... After she pointed that out to me I did a lot better on focusing on bringing my baby down. After that I reached down to see if I could feel him and he was right there! My bag of water was still there. It was so weird when I felt my water break. The pressure was a lot stronger after that. I couldn't help myself so I reached down to see if I could feel if he had hair. Margie was laughing and said that she never had a mom reach down and see if there was hair. I felt like I would never get him to crown... It really only took about 2 or 3 contractions to get him crowned and one more to deliver his head. It was crazy to look down and see his little head there! I checked for a cord around the neck and couldn't find one Margie told me not to pull on him ... Duh! I needed to feel what I had just done, pushing a baby's head out is a big deal! On the next contraction I delivered his shoulders and pulled him up to my chest. It was the best feeling ever! Bryant was born at 5:49. I loved that I did everything myself. I told Margie early on that I wanted to catch him myself. I was so happy to be able to! Margie was very hands off. She was there if I needed her but not if I didn't.