No two birth stories are ever alike

I constantly read how every child has a completely unique birth story. However, I did not realize how true this was until my second daughter was born.

With Grace Ann (aka BooBoo), I didn't even realize I was in labor until my water broke. BooBoo put me on bedrest at 6 1/2 months due to contractions that had me already dilating. Then when the doctor finally gave me the ok to get up and get things moving, BooBoo decided to arrive fashionably late.

What I believe set labor in motion was having to stand for 1 1/2 hours in line at Red Lobster b/c no one could give up their seat for the extremely pregnant woman and b/c someone else said that they were us and took our table for 6. Come on, seriously? It amazes me how rude people can be. Anyways...That same weekend the fiance and I took a 2 1/2 hour car ride down to visit my family. When we got back the next evening I was feeling icky but I just assumed it was from the car ride.

At 1am on Monday, March 6, 2006, I woke up with what I thought was a stomachache. I got a glass of water and went back to bed. Then at 2am I awoke with a start b/c of wetness all around me. I actually thought that I had peed the bed before I realized that my water broke (with meconium in it)! So after yelling at the fiance to wake up b/c it was time, we headed to the hospital.
(the best part about this was that I had an appointment set for that morning with my ob/gyn to set an inducement date)

At 10am I was in so much pain that I finally agreed to the epidural that I had not planned on due to my ginormous fear of needles. Finally a few hours later when I was finally dilated 10cm I started to push. For 2 hours I pushed before the ob/gyn decided that BooBoo was not going to budge from her spot in my left hip. So the ob/gyn decided that we were going to have to do an emergency c-section (thank goodness I got the epidural). So at 5:03pm, BooBoo was born weighing 9lbs, 4oz and measuring 20 3/4 in.

Right after the c-section they knocked me out and moved me to the recovery room. I at least got to see BooBoo for a couple of seconds after they had cleaned her up. She was so beautiful that I couldn't help but cry. B/c I was so out of it from the drugs I didn't even get to feed BooBoo in the first hour. Breastfeeding and my recovery were both very painful but thankfully nursing got easier.

With Brynley Eleanor (aka Bug), things were so much easier. The ob/gyn and I scheduled my repeat c-section for 38 weeks. On Wednesday, August 5, 2009, I went in at 5:30am to get prepped for my c-section. At 7:30am I was wheeled into the operating room to receive my spinal and have my baby. I had to hold the nurse's hand while getting the spinal and I felt bad b/c I squeezed it so hard! But she was really nice about it which helped calm me down. After getting my spinal and getting prepped on the table, the fiance was allowed to come into the room. I was completely awake throughout the entire process. When they pulled Bug out and I heard that first cry I automatically started to bawl. When the doctor held her over the curtain and I saw her little face I cried harder. Bug was born at 7:54 am weighing 6lbs 15oz and measuring 19in.

Thankfully this time they did not knock me out after so I had the opportunity to nurse Bug within her first hour of life. I had a much smoother recovery in the hospital with Bug than I did with BooBoo. I was practically dragging the nurse own the hallway on my walks. I am still so glad that I was awake for so much.

So I think the biggest difference between BooBoo and Bug's births was their size. BooBoo was about 2 1/2lbs bigger than Bug which makes Bug seem so tiny all the time. As different as their births were I am just so glad that they were both healthy.