The true story of the birth of a man-baby named 

Riggins Baylor Bushnell

So it's four days past my due date and I'm starting to think this whole labor thing is never going to happen.  It's funny now, looking back, because four days is really nothing.  But when you are 9 months pregnant, four days is an eternity. I actually thought I was going to be pregnant forever.  But sure enough, around 11 pm Tyler and I are all settled in for the night, watching some "Breaking Bad"  on the ipad and my water breaks.  All day long was spent trying to induce labor.  I went hiking, did hill repeats, drank raspberry tea and pushed on some pressure points that I found off youtube after googling "how to induce labor".  And then hours later, just laying on the couch doing absolutely nothing, my water explodes.  So much fluid.  After changing my pants four times, we loaded up the truck and headed to the hospital.

The ride to the hospital was very mellow and calm.  Not at all like every single thing I've seen from tv and movies.  Since my water broke, but no contractions, I was still in disbelief that this baby was even coming.  Did I mention I thought I was going to be pregnant forever?  We checked in at the hospital and since it was nearly one in the morning with no contractions they told us to "get some sleep".  Tyler passed out immedietly on the tiny couch next to my bed.  I remember sitting up in that hospital bed, staring in the dark at the clock, in a daze.  There was no way I was going to be able to just "get some sleep" knowing what I was going to have to do when I woke up.  At around 3 am the nurse comes in and sees me sitting up and starring at the walls and tells me, "Oh honey!  You need to sleep!  You have a very big day tomorrow!"  Oh really?  She insists I take an ambien.  She hands it to me and walks away, and I debate whether or not to take it.  Since it was already three in the morning, I was scared I would be really out of it when the sun came up when it was time to get things going.  I bit it in half, swallowing half and throwing the other half away.  Immediately regretting that I didn't save the other half for something in the future, considering the pill probably just cost me $200.

The nurses woke me up at 7 am and I was not groggy in the slightest.  Complete opposite really.  I was full of adrenaline and feeling strong and confident to get things rollin'.  Heather and Candace (my friends in the O.R., where I work) came up to Labor and Delivery as soon as they got into work.  It was cool seeing them so excited for me, Tyler and our nameless babe.  They filled the whole room with positivity with their good luck chants and huge smiles.  I broke out my "Labor Beads"  that we made at my baby shower.  Everyone at my shower made a different bead and Heather strung them up into a necklace to wear during labor to think of all the people supporting me in this process.  Love that girl! 

(no, the beads are not edible.)

After they left, the midwife came in and talked to me about starting some pitocin to get my contractions going.  They hooked up my IV on a really low dose and within 5 minutes I felt terrible.  I had that horrible food poisoning feeling where you get all sweaty and panicky, feeling like you need to puke and poop at the same time.  I took off my belly monitors and ran to the bathroom.  Nothing went down, I wasn't sick, and i figured it was just the medicine making me feel weird, so I went back to bed and put the monitors back on.  After putting the monitors back on, my greatest fear started to develop as I couldn't find the baby's heartbeat.  I'm adjusting the monitors all around trying to put it on the exact spot it was picking it up before, but nothin...We paged the nurse to come in and help, and I'm trying to stay clam.  She tried for about 30 seconds and with each second her face became more concerned. She gave up and ran to get the midwife. 

Almost instantly our room became flooded with nurses and doctors, (including a handful of my co-workers who responded to the code heard overhead knowing that I was upstairs laboring).  It seems our baby's heartbeat had plummeted and the OB immediately started going to work on me.  She needed to place an internal monitor on the baby's head to see just how distressed the baby was.  Getting to the baby's head, so quickly, meant excruciating pain for me.  I was being held down and wrestled by nurses.  Ty reached in and gave me his hand to hold.  I'm sure he regretted this as he later told me he thought I was going to break every bone in his hand. The OB is barking orders at everyone in the room and I know exactly what's about to go down.  I'm just waiting to hear the "stat c-section" words... my worst fear. They maneuver me into all kinds of different positions to see if it can change the baby's condition. With nothing working, they  unlock the bed to wheel me into the operating room for an emergent c-section, they take one last second to check the monitor for any sign of a heartbeat.  And then the most beautiful sound I have ever heard in my entire life... The loud pounding heartbeats of our baby boy.  In just a few seconds his numbers all returned to normal and our nightmare faded. 

As things calmed down I was instantly aware of my surroundings.  My gown was gone and I was on all fours wearing nothing but an oxygen mask.  I looked behind me realizing just how many people had flooded into the room to help... including an anesthesiologist that I work with and who is also in my ward.  Sweet.  My OB stayed for the next hour or so, continuing to monitor the baby, and reassured us the baby was stable and everything looked perfect. 

Now I'm bed ridden because of the internal monitor (going from the baby's head, out my you know what, and then hooked up to a machine next to the bed).  My huge belly bustin' out of my hospital gown.  Good riddance enormous belly... until next time. 

For the next ten hours I go through as many contractions as I can handle.  But being bed ridden forced me to throw my "birth plan" out the window.  I wasn't able to walk the halls, use the birthing ball or the jacuzzi tub.  All I can do is roll on my side, and grip the bed rail during each excruciating contraction.  My arms were sore for a full week after the birth from gripping the bed so hard.  So it was time for the epidural.  I had my A-team anestesiologist ready and waiting.  He came up lickity split and hooked me up to some wacky drugs.  Oh sweet druggy bliss.  It was amazing to watch the monitor show a contraction spike and feel nothing.  It felt like cheating, but oh man, I was happy.  That is... for about an hour.  Then the contraction pains started coming back.  I pushed the button over and over to bolus more medicine, but before long, the contractions were back in full effect.  At that same time, I started having terrible back labor.  I felt frozen.  I couldn't get the pain in my back to subside no matter how I turned, sat up in bed or slouched.  I called the midwife to come in because I was starting to lose it.  My epidural wasn't working great and the back labor was out of this world intense.  She checked me and said, "so... you're cervix is gone."  In my delerious state, I didn't know what this ment and I almost said, "where did it go?"  She was just telling me it was completely thinned out and it was time to push.  

Right then, beautiful Heather walked in the room.  She said, "I text you!  Why didn't you text me back?"  Haha.  I had asked her earlier to be the photographer of this main event.  She agreed, but I think that was before she knew what she was signing up for and for how long.  My nurse Kathy and Tyler my love each grabbed a leg and it was time for my first push.  The nurse said, "now look at the monitor and when you see a contraction coming then that's when you know when to push."  I said, "I don't need to look at the monitor...  I feel every contraction!"  I don't know if she didn't believe me or what, but she looked confused.  I felt one coming (without looking at the monitor) put my chin to my chest and gave a big ole push.  I was wincing at the pain of the contraction.  My midwife said, "This isn't right.  You're epidural should be masking more of the pain. Hmmm... what to do, what to do.  We could have the anestesiologist come back and take a look, or we can just do a few pushes and see where we get."  I agreed to push for 20 minutes or so, mostly because I felt like I needed to, and I didn't know how sitting up to re-do my epidural was even an option at this point.  I felt too far progressed and just wanted the baby out!  20 minutes turned into an hour, and an hour turned into two.  It just kept going and going.  After every push, everyone in the room would say, "you're so close! great job!  He's almost here!"  And I would think...what a bunch of liars.  It felt like an eternity.  Pushing three hard pushes, every two minutes for two and a half hours. This was by far, the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.  I was moaning, groaning and roaring.  Everytime I got a glimps of Tyler he looked completely shocked and in disbelief at what I was doing.  He tried to mask it with an awkward smile, but he looked freaked.  He later told me, "Am... I don't understand the labor process.  It shouldn't be that hard.  I was thinking God made a mistake, making it this way.  It is too crazy hard."  This totally cracked me up.  Tyler was/is the coach of all coaches.  Even though he looked freaked out, he said everything perfect and never stopped cheering me on.  He even let me put him in a backwards headlock when the baby was crowning.  I dang near popped his head off.  

Finally after all the "you're soooo close! and He's almost here!'s"  the midwife put on a sterile gown and gloves.  So finally, I know this is going to happen, the baby is actually going to come out.  But at this point it was too late.  I was too beat down and tired.  I was pushing as hard as I could and for so long I felt like I was getting no where.  I was so exhausted and was saying that I couldn't give one more push when I realized, no one is going to do this for me.  I could half-ass my pushes as much as I want, but that isn't going to get me anywhere.  And if I didn't accept this insane amount of pain and push this baby's big fat head out, then I would stay pregnant forever.  (this actually went through my mind).  So with the craziest loudest roar, and beet-red tomato face, I pushed as hard as I possibly could.  The room lit up with excitement and I knew his head was out.  His cord was wrapped around his neck and his arm came out with his head and he was clenching the cord in his fist  (most likely, causing the earlier problems with the collapsed cord / heart rate drop).  My midwife pulled him out and plopped him on my chest with a loud thud.  I looked at this person on my chest and couldn't believe what I was looking at.  Not only could I see how massive and swollen he was, I could feel his weight on my chest.  He threw one of his big paws on my face and it was so strong.  I couldn't snap out of my shock.  I kept muttering, "you are big.  you're a big baby." 

  

So relieved to be done pushing...  no more pushing...  no... more.  

I remember thinking he looked like a puppy.  Such a weird thought, but kinda true...

It was the happiest I had ever seen Tyler in my entire life.  So amazing.

Starting to pink up.   

.  

Checking out this thick dark hair.  Love it.

Tyler and I, of course, hi-fived.  We've been hi-fivin' it for ten years, but this one was the most deserved.

The cutting of the cord.  Look at that chubba-wubba!

I think Tyler just realized he's a dad.  

The camera angle and his arm rolls makes him look enormous.  Oh Big Riggs.  

He snuggled in so close and instantly fell asleep.  I could of froze time right then and there.  

Yeah, so the miserable last month of pregnancy, the back pain, the swollen legs, the 3 hours of pushing... it's all starting to make sense.  

I love this picture showing exactly how long he was.

My boys.  I could not be happier looking over and seeing these two people together.