so this isn't quite a good as a webinar but it'll do for now.and no, you didn't miss part I, it's sitting in draft form waiting to be published for those who want the WHOLE story, but if you are only interested in the action segment of this saga then this is the post for you (and if you really, really, only want the action skip to the bold text).but forewarning one--because it is a birth story, there are birth words and forewarning two--it's still a long story (who am i kidding it should be eleven parts), so grab a cold drink, as we say in new orleans, and a snack.my due date came and went as i expected (part I will cover that) and we dunaways had been continuing on as we normally would acting as if our lives weren't going to change drastically at any second (coping mechanism=denial).the morning of august 20th i had a doctor's appointment. i never had a 41 week appointment with MF (other than my persistent last minute appointment to go over my induction) so i didn't expect much. my appointment wasn't until 10:45 am so that morning i did what any 41 week pregnant woman would do and cleaned out my jewelry armoire. priorities.i got to my appointment and asked if my doctor was on time because i had a meeting to get to, because yes, it is appropriate when you're 41 weeks pregnant to still schedule work meetings. he was running a little late but i said i'd wait. after a while his nurse came in and said he was delivering several babies and would i see the nurse practitioner? sure, since i wasn't going to have made any progress and i didn't want to sit around pants-less anymore since i had work to do.i was checked and i was 2-3 cm but this was not alarming to me because i had been 1-2 cm for 6 weeks and was still the same amount effaced (some but not a lot). i was told again that they thought i'd labor "fast" (operative word) when i did go into labor, but i didn't leave with the impression that it would be that day. i got my piece of paper with my induction instructions and off to work i went. i worked a full day and went and picked up MF. since joe had to work late we went to target and came home and ate ben and jerry's for dinner. true story.
i put MF to bed and joe came home around 8:00 pm and that's where this whole thing begins...
8:30 pm. 30 rock, our nightly tradition for the past few weeks
"Where are the french fries I did not ask for? You guys need to anticipate me!" --Tracy Jordan (Morgan)
9:00 pm. contractions start, also a nightly tradition
this had happened every night for the past 5-6 weeks, and i'd been having braxton hicks contracts since 21-22 weeks this pregnancy. i'd take a bath or lie down and they'd go away, end of story.
9:00-10:00 pm. bath and blogs, also a nightly tradition
the contractions were irregular and mild and same as always. i took a longer bath than normal, enjoying my last moments of time by myself.
10:00-10:30 pm. irregular contractions
joe was asleep by this point. i was walking around and noticed that the contractions weren't going away, but they were still irregular and not lasting long.
10:30 pm-12:00 am. labor
since the contractions weren't going away i started to time them on my app on my phone and ipad, whichever i had in my hand during this time. they were getting stronger but still irregular and erratic. 3 minutes, 7 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes apart but not for an hour, and not lasting a minute each. they were getting stronger and i thought i needed to relax, using my bradley method and ina may's guide to childbirth techniques. but i never could relax enough and the contractions were getting more painful. my stomach was also upset but that's not unusual for me either. i had a plan to get my essential oils together to help with the pain and start packing my hospital bag, but time was lost in between managing contractions.
12:00 am. i wake joe up (or attempt to wake joe up)
because the pain was getting more intense i decide to wake joe up. he almost didn't wake up and rolled back over to which i said something like "i thought you'd be more excited." probably because i was getting louder to cope during contractions (see ina mays book and the connection between an open mouth and an open you know what) he got up. he kept asking what he could do, but very much unlike when i labored with MF, i wanted space.
12:33 am. joe calls my parents in georgia to tell them "this might be it"59 second call. by this point joe knows it's the real deal, even though i'm in denial, and calls my parents. i'm trying to pack my hospital bag but the contractions are so painful at this point i'm going back and forth to the bathroom because the toilet was my laboring station of choice. before you judge me for not having my hospital bag packed, i had everything organized in neat and tidy piles by that handy dandy list you see above. i thought i'd have plenty of time once labor started to pack everything, little did i know i'd be in so much pain i couldn't think or see straight. 12:42 am. joe texts my parents
"I think we're definitely going to the hospital"
and before you judge me again for not going to the hospital by now, i never had a single contraction before being induced with MF, and i never got to the 5-1-1, 4-1-1, whatever 1-1 rule of contractions. in between the time joe called and texted my parents he realized there wasn't any time to pack and told me to put my gown on and lets go. the "bloody show" happened around this time so i was somewhat convinced.
12:46 am. joe calls cambria
26 second call. i still said lets wait a minute (remember that denial thing) to call cam to come be with MF, but joe knew and called her. the minute he got off the phone with her he was trying to pry me out of my laboring cave (our bathroom) to get to the car and my water broke. not a trickle, a burst and a splash like you see in the movies, and i said "i think my water broke." instead of saying "you think?!" my sweet husband said "i know" and helped me to the front door.
i made it to our living room and when another contraction hit i fell to my hands and knees on the floor. and there i stayed in that position for the next 30 minutes.
12:54ish am. cambria arrives at our house
cam guesses she got to our house in 7 minutes or so after joe called. joe had the car running already by the time she got there. during this time joe tried to get me to get in the car twice, but i couldn't do it. every time i tried to stand up a contraction would come and back to the floor i went.
in between the two times he tried to get me to the car they put maple outside. joe said we needed to call an ambulance and i didn't want him to but he thought wiser.
12:59 am. joe calls 911
despite me begging not to, joe called 911. he was transferred 3 times and was a) asked what street our neighborhood was in and b) was that neighborhood in New Orleans. we found out later that because of where our house is the cell call likely went to Jefferson Parish EMS first. helpful. 1:00 am-1:11 am. and deliverythe more i tell this story i realized that by this point i knew that the baby was coming, but at the same time it didn't feel real. i was going through the motions, whatever those motions are for having an unplanned home birth on the floor. i felt the "ring of fire" with each contraction and i knew that baby was low, low, low (cue apple bottom jeans). joe and cam were standing in the living room by our ottoman and when a strong contraction came i reached my hand between my legs and screamed "the head, the head." joe said "the what?" and ran around behind me. a minute or two later another contraction, and the baby was born. baby is crying, but not loud, so cam tells joe to flip baby over and pat the back. i tell joe to take his shirt off and put baby skin to skin then asked repeatedly if it was a boy or girl? neither joe nor cam were preoccupied with this necessary information like i was and finally joe says "oh yeah" and flips baby over and says "it's a girl!" and also says "i'm so sorry i've been calling you a boy." 1:11 am. cambria calls 911, againbecause you know, no ambulance. 5 minute call. she is also transferred to what we affectionately call the "baby-delivery help desk" to a man with a very thick accent. he is trying to walk her through cutting the cord and is giving directions in centimeters which is not helpful. as she is preparing to cut the cord, New Orleans EMS arrives. 1:16 am. the EMT's arrivecam runs out to the street and the EMTs mosey in the house. they said they were the closest unit and they were more than 15 minutes away. in the time between when the baby was born and the EMTs arrived felt like a lifetime. joe and cam were doing everything they knew to do in the moment and i felt helpless and paralyzed. there were a thousand things that could have gone wrong but my mind couldn't go anywhere but the moment so i stared at our hard wood floors, praying my baby was ok, wondering how much blood i was losing and wishing i could open my eyes and all this was a dream that would be over. 1:16 am-1:50ish am. EMS nonsensethe EMTs were nice but horrible. there were comments like "i haven't done this in three and a half years" and "do you think you could walk to the street? because we don't know if we can get the stretcher up to the house." they also tried to move the baby while the cord was still attached to the placenta that was still inside of me. after they cut the cord and i said "no i won't walk to the street but i'll walk down the front steps," some firemen appeared from nowhere to help me up. there was so much blood on the floor my shoe slipped but i kept it on and walked out my front door and down my front steps with the friendly firemen climbed up on that janky stretcher. they wheeled me to the street and pitched me in the ambulance. while being wheeled to the ambulance i'm calling out for joe to get the disposable cooler out of our trunk for the placenta because i wanted to save it to encapsulate it (clinging to normal here people...yes, I referred to placenta encapsulation as normal). joe appropriately ignored my request and was getting into the ambulance and the step on the ambulance fell down. so yes, my husband almost broke his leg in the process. after we were all in the ambulance we sat there for what felt like eternity and i kept saying "take me to baptist." so we drove along the bumpy new orleans streets in our glorified über ride while joe held the baby and i contracted and delivered the afterbirth. 
1:50ish am. ochsner baptistalmost an hour after joe called 911 we arrived at ochsner baptist and the labor and delivery staff were amazing (that can be part III). they asked me what her name was and i kept saying " she doesn't have one" and finally called across the room to joe and said "you can name her since you delivered her." and he did--Charlotte Elizabeth "Ellie"
she weighed 8 lbs 12 oz and was 21.5 inches.no one thought to look at the clock when she was born, inconsiderate, so we say around 1:05 am, august 21, 2015.21 days later it still doesn't feel like it happened to me, and since i'm a delayed processor i'm thinking in 3 months this will all set in. but this is part of my story, and the big bang start of ellie's story and i want to tell it. even if it's a little painful and embarrassing because i'm a person who wants to appear strong and a perfectionist and this was, well far from that. but it's not about us, and that i'm thankful for."With every breath you give to breathe, I pray it’s your glory that they see. And of all the words this world could say, may they say I am full of grace.I’ll be the first to confess I’m not always found at my best. But Lord be my strength in those moments I’m weak and I'll keep on giving the grace I’ve received. And finally when I see your face and I’ve reached the end of my race, I don’t want to be known for finishing strong. But as someone that your grace carried all along."--Morgan Harper Nichols, 'A Prayer for Grace'
