It has been over three years since Rhen's birth. I have dishes to wash and laundry to fold, but instead I write. I write because one day my memory will be stored with so much more that I am afraid to remember less and less of the day he was born.
Rhen's birth was a surprising experience because I had pictured it very differently. I had gone in to work that afternoon feeling extremely drowsy. I was moving slowly and that was very unlike me. A couple hours into my shift I lost my mucus plug. Instantly, I knew that he was ready to join us. I told the manager and my co-workers that I was leaving, and I wouldn't be back because I was having a baby that night. I don't know how serious they took me, but my intuition could not have been more spot on.
I showered, straightened my hair, packed a small bag and arranged where Anistyn would stay if I was really to go into labor. My husband teased and said, "It'd be nice if you could get me out of work tomorrow." I said I would do my best and we all went to bed.
12:01, the first contraction that woke me. I had never experienced contractions at home. I laid still. Minutes later, another one. Okay, is this really happening?! I got up from bed and went to use the restroom. I stood in the hall after and wondered if maybe I should go downstairs and start walking on the treadmill to get this show on the road. I decided to go back to bed and started to time them. I drifted off to sleep again but it wouldn't be long before things really started moving along. I felt the sharpest contraction that would break my water and to this day I still recall hearing a loud pop right before it happened. It was baby time!
I don't know if there is anything that will make a man sky rocket out of bed faster than his wife telling him that it's time to go have a baby. We gathered our things quickly and were on our way. Because I had experienced a 13 hour labor before and was aware that all I would be able to eat in the next several hours were flavored ice chips I asked Ben to make a pit stop for powdered doughnuts. I ate them all as I twisted and turned in pain in the passenger seat.
Checking in to the hospital and signing consent forms while experiencing labor is not an easy task. The receptionist asked if she could get me a wheelchair, but I declined her offer. As I tried to make my way to the OB department I clung to wall for support and looked back to see her bringing this wheelchair I had previously turned down.
I am not sure if I don't remember as many details or if the next part was truly a blur. Everything moved along so quickly. I was informed that the doctor I had bonded with the last nine months of pregnancy was out of town and would not be delivering me. I don't recall the reasoning but an oxygen mask was placed on my face and as a result I could not hear anything the anesthesiologist was saying. I expressed my frustration and the powdered doughnuts started to make their way out. It got more exciting. There was no time for an epidural. It was time to push. WHAT THE CRAP?! Ben gave me a blessing in the most chaotic moment and we laugh about that sometimes. I have to put this in here because I know he will appreciate it, but if you have watched Dragon Ball Z he said that when I was experiencing the last moments of labor I turned into Goku Super Saiyan because of a bulging vein in my forehead. Push, scream, vomit...push, scream, vomit...and he was here. What a relief it is to nestle a warm, wet, healthy baby right next to your face. I kissed him and held him close. Children are the reason I believe in love at first sight.
Rhen James Robinson
February 5, 2016
4:34 AM
7 lbs 1 oz
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