Life of the Rainers

Canon's Surprise Arrival

Canon's due date was October 13th and I was just sure I was going to deliver him late as I hear from most moms and my doctors that first time moms typically deliver late. Well on October 13th at 3:39 a.m. I woke up with a sharp pain in my back. I could not get comfortable to go back to sleep so I decided to go downstairs and try the couch. The couch didn't help any and then all of sudden I started cramping. I woke Jess up and told him I didn't feel well and that I was going to try and get in the bath tub to see if the pain would go away. I never was able to go back to sleep so I showered and got ready to go to our 40 week OB appt. I thought I was in labor, but just wasn't sure. I was kind of embarrassed to tell the dr. I thought I was in labor for some reason. She ended up telling me that I was possibly in early labor and that is could possibly be false labor. She said my stomach wasn't tight enough or the pain I was having wasn't patterned. She did an exam and said I was 80% effaced and 1 1/2 cm dilated and let me know my induction date was scheduled for the following Monday, but she didn't think I would make it til then. She made is seem that I would have the baby in a few days. So we left that appt and I was kind of disappointed because I "thought" I was in labor, but she made it seem like it could be a while. We called our family to just give them a heads up to be ready in case I really was in labor.

So Jess dropped me off at the house and he went on to work. About an hour after he dropped me off my pain started getting worse and I started timing the contractions. Jess came home at 3:00 p.m. to go to class and my contractions were about 7 minutes apart. He went on to class to take a test. At about 4 p.m. my contractions were 3 to 5 minutes apart. I kept calling my mom and she helped me time them. At about 4:30 I texted Jess to tell him he might want to think about coming home, I thought it was getting close. I got in the shower to get ready to go to the hospital (and plus the shower just felt good). Jess finally got home and didn't quite understand that I had been in labor all day ( by myself I might add :)) and that it really was time to think about going to the hospital. I think he thought I would be acting irrational or something if I was really that close to going to the hospital. So I convinced Jess to pack up the car and get ready to leave. I finally called the dr. at 6 p.m. and told her what was going on and her response was "well are you going to come on in" and my response was I was afraid she would turn me away because I was progressed enough. For some reason that day I had developed this fear that they wouldn't admit me because I was in false labor. She told me if I could tolerate the pain to stick it out and another hour and then call back. So that is what I did. Our friends Brandt and Jill brought us over dinner and then we took a walk. In the middle of the walk I told Jess I was done and ready to go to the hospital. I called the dr. back at 7 p.m. and she barely got a word in before I told her we were on our way. On the way to the hospital I was in great pain and just wanted to get to the hospital. We got there and I could barely walk, ha! When the nurse took me back to examine me to see where I was I looked at her dead in the eye and told her she could NOT send me home. She said, "well sweetie I can't control that". They hooked me up to monitors and the pain kept getting worse. The dr. came in and I told her the same thing," do NOT send me home". She checked me and let us know I was 100% effaced and 4 cm dilated and that I was getting admitted!! I was so relieved but could not believe I was that far along. I asked for the epidural at that point and they said once I got admitted they would call for it.

So we get admitted around 8:30/9:00 p.m. and I didn't get my epidural til 11 p.m. Boy was I glad to see the anesthesiologist. Right after I got the epidural the dr. came in and I was 7 cm. I was progressing fast. Jess and I were able to sleep about an hour before our nurse and the dr. came in (about 2 a.m.) to tell us it was time to push. Our labor and delivery nurse, Lindsey was amazing! I pushed for about an hour before she told me Canon was stuck and I had about an another 30 minutes before he would be here. Within 5 minutes of her saying this the dr. walked in to check me. Dr. Chawla wasn't gowned and only had one glove on when she came in. She sat at the end of the bed to check me. I was in the middle of pushing when she checked me and out came Canon. It was a surprise to everyone! Everyone just looked at each other and the dr. and nurse were stunned. No one was ready for him to make his appearance, but Canon was! Our perfect baby boy with all 10 fingers and 10 toes was here (3:33 a.m.)!!! He was absolutely beautiful!!! I didn't get to see or hold him much before he was taken off due to having a lot of fluid in his lungs, but the few seconds I had with him was precious and unforgettable! I didn't get to see Canon again until a few hours later, but Jess was able to be with him in the special nursery to see his first bath and to take pictures.

Around 9:30 a.m. my parents made it to the hospital (they had driven all night) and around 11 a.m. Jess's parents arrived (they had driven all night as well). We were so thankful they were there and God provided them with safety as they drove!

Thanks for letting me share our wonderful labor story with you! I have such great memories of that day. God truly blessed us with a perfect day and a perfect baby boy!

Love,

Rachel