The Story

Grady is three weeks old today and it's probably time I write down the actual story before I forget it.  

As I previously wrote, Friday the 22nd I felt tired and was hoping to go into labor.  I even went as far as sitting on an exercise ball to speed things up.

Little did I know...

Steve and I put the kids in bed late on Friday night and then we turned on a movie in our room.  I was really uncomfortable and was having weird pain.  They weren't contractions...but I just hurt.   At midnight we turned out the lights and Steve kissed me goodnight.  Honestly, 30 seconds later my water broke.  I jumped out of bed and ran as fast as a pregnant woman could run to the bathroom.  

Steve yelled out, "Whats wrong?"

I yelled, "My water broke!"

"Are you sure?"

"Uh...yeah I''m sure!"

I have never had my water break on it's own before.  New experience.  

I can only describe it as having the flood gates open full force.

...there is no privacy or decency involved.

It's wet, wet wet.

Steve called my friend Annie who is a labor and delivery nurse.  She had just come off a 12 hour shift, but got out of bed and came to my rescue at the hospital anyway.  Love that woman.

Steve then called my mom who came over to stay with the kids, and finally I called my sister JaNae in Boise who crazily got in her car and drove the two hours to Twin.

We drove to the hospital (two blocks...so a short ride) and got checked into labor and delivery.

By the time we got to my room, I was soaked to my shoes.  Lovely.

Annie helped deliver Saylor so she knows how my deliveries can go really fast.  After being at the hospital for only an hour, I was checked in, hooked up to my IV for antibiotics and had my epidural placed.  Beautiful.

An hour later, my sister JaNae showed up and an hour after that my mom walked in after having my dad replace her at my house.

So it was a WALKER GIRL PARTY!!!   

I was numb, in no pain whatsoever, and had two of my best friends there.  Perfect way to have a baby!  (poor Steve)

Only way it could have been better is if my sister Jolyn could have been there too.  Why does Kansas have to be so far away? 

Due to the speedy nature of my past deliveries, I was sure this boy was going to arrive by 3 am.   However, because my epidural was SO good, it slowed my labor and around 4 am, I was given pitocin to speed things up.  In the mean time, we all sat around made jokes and tried to stay awake.  We also made bets on how big Grady was going to be.  My mom won and was only 5 oz off.

Only at one time did I feel really awful during this experience.  It was when my blood pressure dropped- also due to my fabulous epidural.  It was short lived, but please enjoy the picture.  

When one goes to the hospital at 12 am, make-up and hair are not on the agenda.

My sister JaNae took control of the photo taking and was wonderful enough to document the experience.  My only regret is I don't have any good pictures of her!  

Contracting away.

When I was dilated to a eight, Annie told me Grady was stuck sideways in my pelvis and was not dropping.   She had me roll over onto my hands and knees.  Please remember I was numb as the day is long.  I joked all throughout my pregnancy that I felt like a bloated marine animal.  After being flipped over completely numb from the waist down, I can honestly say...no joking aside...I have experienced beached manatee.  

After a ton of laughing over my precarious situation and two contractions, I rolled back over to my back and SURPRISE!  Grady had descended and was ready to be born.

When it was time to push, I had to ask Steve to get his handsome self over to help me.  He was sitting on the couch minding his own business.  Apparently me not being in pain made him skeptical of how close I was to having a baby.  Also, he was in the same room as three Walker women and that can be overwhelming.  Add one of those Walker women being in labor and you might describe Steve's own personal...well you get the idea.
Thank you JaNae for capturing the look of angst on his face perfectly.
Steve doesn't enjoy the birth process.
(I find this hilarious and I tease him WAY to much about it.  Love you Steve.)

Two contractions and a few pushes later...

Grady Paul came into the world!

Oh man how we love this little boy!

Thank you JaNae and Mom for being with me during this miraculous moment.   There is nothing better than a newborn and sharing him with my mom and sister was beyond words.  

I'm so grateful for Grady and feel honored to be his mother.  How lucky Steve and I are to have five healthy happy children in our care.  We are truly blessed.