My Anchored Hope: Sawyer's Birth Story

I cannot believe it has been almost six weeks since we had our baby boy! I will be doing lots of updating and backtracking since it has been so long since my last post. So let's start with the evening of October 24, 2011....this is Sawyer's birth story.

The hubs and I wanted to go somewhere all nice and fancy to eat on the night before the big day so we decided on none other than (are you ready for this?) Cracker Barrel! Ha! It really was such an enjoyable evening. We talked, laughed, and shared our excitements and anxieties with one another. Then there were those extremely quiet moments, just thinking about what was to come on the next day. That feeling of knowing your life is going to change the very next day is indescribable. We had no idea what to expect. That night, we did some last minute packing and sat with the dogs, still just wondering what life was going to be like after baby. Surprisingly, I slept pretty good that night. Blake did not. He was more nervous than I was. I woke up at 5:00 to a text from my mom saying she was almost at my house. She was beyond excited. I jumped up out of bed, showered, and kind of just walked around like a little lost puppy. My mom arrived and she helped me get things together. At that point, I was just scatter-brained. I walked around in circles just making sure I was not forgetting anything. It was the weirdest feeling, just getting ready to leave the house, looking around, knowing it was the last time we would be just a "couple."


Leaving as a duo, coming home as a trio!!

My mom and I before heading to the hospital. So thankful for her.

So, we packed the car and headed off. I was to be at the hospital at 7:00 a.m. Blake drove. I don't even remember the drive over to the hospital. Neither does Blake. I remember him looking so scared and nervous. All we remember is that it was very foggy on the way over. We stopped at a gas station near the hospital for 2 reasons. Reason #1: Blake needed his energy drink. Reason #2: Well, let's just say my stomach was absolutely rolling and I wanted to be sure I was "empty" before I started pushing! haha! Never in my life had I used the bathroom (like, really used the bathroom) at a gas station until that moment. Funny moment.

So we arrived at the hospital a little before 7:00 a.m and they escorted us to our room. I got into my hospital gown, sat on the hospital bed, and just waited for what was next. I was kind of freaked out at that point. We took a few pictures and then the sweetest nurse came in the room. She was wonderful right from the start! I KNOW God sent her to me. I'll tell you how nervous I was. She went to take my temperature and I stuck out my arm. Since when did they start taking temperatures with your arm? It was another funny moment. My mom and Blake were laughing uncontrollably and I was just red-faced. Nurse Kathy laughed with us. In my defense, this was my first time EVER being in a hospital bed, that I can remember anyways. At 18 months, I had surgery due to a cleft palate.


I love him.

This lady treated me like a princess!

They broke my water around 9:00 a.m. and the contractions began. I never felt a contraction until around 1 or so that day. Let me tell ya, as soon as that first hard contraction hit, I asked for my epidural. Blake was still so nervous at this point. When the guy came to give me the epidural, Blake literally ran out of the room. Ha! He was getting pale at this point. Just the anxieties and nerves were getting to him. My mom stayed with me for the epidural. She was such an awesome supporter. She stayed right there with me and just having her hold my hand was such a big help. What in the world do people do without those things!? I thought about my granny who had 8 kids and my mom who had 4 without epidurals. Man, I admire all y'all out there who go natural. It's definitely not for me. I never really was in a lot of pain that day. This may sound crazy, but the most pain I felt was probably when they administered the IV.

My sister, Misty, had to work that day and I had planned on her being in the room with me when I delivered. I needed someone to help with mom when Blake passed out (or so I thought.) Ha! Misty was so afraid I would have Sawyer before she could make it to the hospital. Sometime after 3 p.m. she walked into the room. I was so thrilled to see her! I wanted her there.

My dad was supposed to have one of his teacher evaluations that day and the principals made him come on the hospital. I was so excited to see him!

Around 5:30 p.m. I started pushing. This was it. Baby Sawyer was about to make his debut. Blake and I both got very emotional when the doctor finally came in. We just looked at each other with tear-filled eyes and held hands. We knew it was close. All I can remember is people coming in with tools/equipment and such and that's when Blake lost it. The nurse told him to go stand in the corner for a minute. We really thought he was going to faint. I also remember hearing my sister tell Blake, "Get over here!" So the next thing I know, Blake was standing next to me again. He seriously went from being a white ghost who was about to hit the floor to someone with a loud voice yelling at me to "push, push!" Haha! I remember looking up at him and saying, "Wait a minute, weren't you just over in the corner about to pass out?!" Blake said when he saw Sawyer's head, it all changed. He went from being nervous and scared to being full of amazement and excitement. When they saw his head, they just kept going on and on about his head full of black hair. I remember the nurse saying, "I want to braid his hair!" I was so excited! I really was hoping he would have a head full!

At 6:31 p.m., our bundle of love was born. When out of the womb, the nurses took him to clean him up and I could not wait to hold him. While they were working with him, I heard his cry. It was so stinking cute, such a quiet little cry. The moment they placed him in my arms is something I never ever want to forget. The day before I went into labor, one of my best friends, Michelle, told me that when he was born, my whole reason for being here on this earth would be clear. And clear, it was. When they put him in my arms, I felt something that I had never felt before. It was something more than I could have ever imagined. I didn't know I could love one thing so much. I just remember talking to him telling him how much fun we were going to have in this life. We couldn't get over how alert he was after just coming out from the womb!