Zachary's Birth

Went in for a standard weekly appointment on a Monday. I remember telling the doctor I felt like I was never going to have this baby. She laughed and said all moms feel that way from about 35 weeks on, but to fret not, he would have to join us at some point. Babies don't live in bellies forever. She offered a check to see if I was dilated (to maybe give me some hope) and I agreed. I was discouraged when she told me that I was dilated to 1 cm.

I continued my daily life, perhaps just a little slower. On Thursday afternoon, I approached my CFO's office to ask him to sign something for me and suddenly my pants were wet. I was shocked, and...let's be honest, a little embarassed. Luckily, he was on the phone, so I dashed into the bathroom across the hall and discovered that my water appeared to have broken. I pulled my shirt as low as it would possibly go and made my way back to my office. A quick phone call to Mike, a whispered conversation with a co-worker to notify them I was leaving, and I was on my way.

My mother had short labors. I was the oldest and the longest. At four hours. I was hoping my labor tendancies took after my mother, so Mike was very nervous when we ran into traffic on the way to the hospital. What was usually a fifteen minute drive took over an hour due to an accident blocking the road. No worries though, I was still barely contracting when we reached the hospital.

After a total of 18 hours of labor and six hours of pushing, it was determined that Zachary would not be coming and we would have to have a c-section. We FINALLY got to meet our son and our worlds changed forever in that instant.

That was three years ago and I still remember most of the moments vividly. It was a special day, and even though it didn't go exactly as planned, it was still one of the most beautiful days of my lives.