Bradys Birth Story:

After a lot of back and hip pain I was ready to be done with pregnancy! When I went in at 35 weeks the doctor couldn't reach my cervix and I wasn't having contractions, so she marked me down as 0cm dilated. When I went in for my 36 week appointment I was at 4cm and we were all pretty shocked! After that I was super paranoid I would give birth at any second, but I held on another week and at my 37 week appointment I was at 5 cm, very effaced, and the he was at a +1 station. As a FTM the doctor kept saying "... I can't believe you're still pregnant!"

The appointment was on a Tuesday afternoon, so I went back to work, told my boss about my doctor appt, and everyone got really nervous about my being at work instead of at home (no way I was having my baby at my workplace!). I packed up my stuff and worked from home for the next few days.

On Thursday (New Years Eve) at about 5pm it looked like I had peed myself, but I didn't remember doing it. The doctor had warned me that, because Bradys head was so low, my water breaking may not be super obvious so I should call if I wasn't sure since this baby could come fast! I called in and they suggested I head straight to the hospital. When I got there they confirmed my water had broken, but it had only done so a little bit. I wasnt having contractions yet so my doctor broke my water the rest of the way and 1.5 hours later I was at 10cm. I got the epidural about an hour into having contractions since they came fast.

Brady was still at +1 so they gave me some pitocin and wanted me to wait to push until he got to +3. Josh and I watched Cops for about 2 hours while my body did it's thing.

The nurses were rooting for me to have the first baby of the year, but the pushing stage took 2.5 hours so it didn't happen. Toward the end Bradys heartbeat was dropping during contractions so I had to get an episiotomy :( But then out came my beautiful little boy! He was born January 1st at 2:53am, 7lbs 8oz and 22 inches long ❤