Leo’s Birth Story
It all started Saturday, September 19th, 2009. John and I went to the hospital at 7:00p.m. (after the Florida game) for what I thought was real labor. I had been having contractions since 3p.m. and they were 3 minutes apart and lasting 45 seconds each. Well it turns out I was only 1 cm. stretching 2 cm. and 50% effaced. The nurse had us walk outside for an hour to see if I would progress any. When she checked me an hour later I hadn’t progressed at all. Needless to say we were sent home with the diagnosis of “False Labor.” I went to sleep at 11p.m. still having contractions but they completely stopped by 11:30… We were so excited then so disappointed because we wanted to meet our little baby so bad.
Fast forward almost a week later to Thursday, September 24th, 2009. I woke up to mild contractions. They were randomly coming and going so I just told myself it was false labor again. I had a Dr. appt. at 9a.m. and Dr. Walsh told me I was 3 cm. and 50% effaced! She also hooked me up to the machine to check on the baby since I hadn’t been feeling much movement. The baby looked great but she saw that I was contracting every 5 minutes. She told me to call once the contractions got unbearable. I still wouldn’t let myself get too excited thought because I didn’t want to get disappointed again. I drove to the Town Center and went to Babies R Us to walk around and get things going. I bought some wipes and baby shampoo and a snickers bar. (I was starving more than ever the whole pregnancy). John met me for lunch at Magiano’s and I ate a salad, eggplant parm. And chocolate cake! It was a delicious meal! Still contracting, I decided to go home and take a nap. After a nice nap I woke up and was still having mild contractions. I went to the bathroom and noticed some bloody show on the toilet paper. I still couldn’t get too excited. I picked up Isla from preschool and took her to the library to get some new books. Back at home, John got home early and we ate dinner and took a family walk. I then put Isla to bed and decided to watch T.V. and time my contractions. I bounced on my birth ball and noticed my contractions were finally picking up in intensity with some pain. John had been watching the South Carolina/Ole Miss game and went to bed at 11:30. This is the exact time I knew it was the real deal. I decided to let him sleep for 30 more minutes and then I’d wake him up. He was so out of it when I woke him up and said it was time to go to the hospital. We called Uncle B who came over to spend the night and watch Isla. By this time, I was actually crying with each contraction. We got to the hospital at 12:30a.m., September 25th. April, our nurse, checked me and I was 4 cm. and 60% effaced but she said the baby was still high. She wanted me to walk a little more to see if the baby would come down. The walk was excruciating! I would grab on to John and “dance” with him and moan in pain the whole time. After about 20 minutes of walking down the maternity ward, I heard a nurse say, “She’s going to wake up our patients.” I was sooo mad! We went back into the front room and I continued to moan in pain with each contraction. April decided to admit me to our room right away and we walked down to room 8. She checked me again and I had progressed to 5-6cm. WOW! I was hooked up to an I.V. and had to receive 2 bags of fluid before I could get the epidural. The time was 1:30a.m. and it was 2:30a.m. when all the fluid had been administered. From 1:30-3:30 is really a blur. I was in so much pain I thought I was going to die. I even had to have oxygen because I was so lightheaded. The anesthesiologist took FOREVER to arrive and by this point I was already 8cm. They made me sit on the side of the bed with my feet on John’s legs and sit still while she inserted the needle. That was impossible! I bit through the oxygen mask because I had never felt so much pain in my life. At first all that was numb was my abdomen. I felt all the pain and pressure still down low. It hurt so bad I was even pushing too early to ease the pain. Finally, 30 minutes later, at 4a.m., relief set in! Thank God for epidurals! But by this point I was 9cm. After an hour of happy laboring, I was 10cm. and ready to do some practice pushing. Our little baby was right there and ready to be born. I even got to see it all on a mirror in front of my bed. At 5:30a.m., Dr. Walsh showed up and everyone was ready for our baby to be born. Twelve minutes later, I pushed out the baby’s head and cried with joy when I saw the baby’s face. Then Dr. Walsh said, “O.k., on the next push, John you call what the baby is.” So I pushed and out came our Baby Boy! J I immediately saw the baby’s bottom and that it was a boy. I looked at John and knew he had seen it too. He said, “I can’t believe I have a son!” What an amazing surprise! It was totally worth it not finding out. It was an amazing moment. I really can’t believe how blessed we are to have a girl and a boy who are perfect in every way.
John Leonard Halman IV was born Friday, September 25th, 2009 at 5:42a.m. He weighed 8lbs. 9.5oz. and was 20 ½ in. long. He was placed on my belly immediately and I kissed him all over. He’s amazing and such a precious little guy. I nursed him right when he was all cleaned up and John and I had our first moments with him alone. We are sooo in love and couldn’t be luckier. Happy Birthday, Leo! We love you!
It all started Saturday, September 19th, 2009. John and I went to the hospital at 7:00p.m. (after the Florida game) for what I thought was real labor. I had been having contractions since 3p.m. and they were 3 minutes apart and lasting 45 seconds each. Well it turns out I was only 1 cm. stretching 2 cm. and 50% effaced. The nurse had us walk outside for an hour to see if I would progress any. When she checked me an hour later I hadn’t progressed at all. Needless to say we were sent home with the diagnosis of “False Labor.” I went to sleep at 11p.m. still having contractions but they completely stopped by 11:30… We were so excited then so disappointed because we wanted to meet our little baby so bad.
Fast forward almost a week later to Thursday, September 24th, 2009. I woke up to mild contractions. They were randomly coming and going so I just told myself it was false labor again. I had a Dr. appt. at 9a.m. and Dr. Walsh told me I was 3 cm. and 50% effaced! She also hooked me up to the machine to check on the baby since I hadn’t been feeling much movement. The baby looked great but she saw that I was contracting every 5 minutes. She told me to call once the contractions got unbearable. I still wouldn’t let myself get too excited thought because I didn’t want to get disappointed again. I drove to the Town Center and went to Babies R Us to walk around and get things going. I bought some wipes and baby shampoo and a snickers bar. (I was starving more than ever the whole pregnancy). John met me for lunch at Magiano’s and I ate a salad, eggplant parm. And chocolate cake! It was a delicious meal! Still contracting, I decided to go home and take a nap. After a nice nap I woke up and was still having mild contractions. I went to the bathroom and noticed some bloody show on the toilet paper. I still couldn’t get too excited. I picked up Isla from preschool and took her to the library to get some new books. Back at home, John got home early and we ate dinner and took a family walk. I then put Isla to bed and decided to watch T.V. and time my contractions. I bounced on my birth ball and noticed my contractions were finally picking up in intensity with some pain. John had been watching the South Carolina/Ole Miss game and went to bed at 11:30. This is the exact time I knew it was the real deal. I decided to let him sleep for 30 more minutes and then I’d wake him up. He was so out of it when I woke him up and said it was time to go to the hospital. We called Uncle B who came over to spend the night and watch Isla. By this time, I was actually crying with each contraction. We got to the hospital at 12:30a.m., September 25th. April, our nurse, checked me and I was 4 cm. and 60% effaced but she said the baby was still high. She wanted me to walk a little more to see if the baby would come down. The walk was excruciating! I would grab on to John and “dance” with him and moan in pain the whole time. After about 20 minutes of walking down the maternity ward, I heard a nurse say, “She’s going to wake up our patients.” I was sooo mad! We went back into the front room and I continued to moan in pain with each contraction. April decided to admit me to our room right away and we walked down to room 8. She checked me again and I had progressed to 5-6cm. WOW! I was hooked up to an I.V. and had to receive 2 bags of fluid before I could get the epidural. The time was 1:30a.m. and it was 2:30a.m. when all the fluid had been administered. From 1:30-3:30 is really a blur. I was in so much pain I thought I was going to die. I even had to have oxygen because I was so lightheaded. The anesthesiologist took FOREVER to arrive and by this point I was already 8cm. They made me sit on the side of the bed with my feet on John’s legs and sit still while she inserted the needle. That was impossible! I bit through the oxygen mask because I had never felt so much pain in my life. At first all that was numb was my abdomen. I felt all the pain and pressure still down low. It hurt so bad I was even pushing too early to ease the pain. Finally, 30 minutes later, at 4a.m., relief set in! Thank God for epidurals! But by this point I was 9cm. After an hour of happy laboring, I was 10cm. and ready to do some practice pushing. Our little baby was right there and ready to be born. I even got to see it all on a mirror in front of my bed. At 5:30a.m., Dr. Walsh showed up and everyone was ready for our baby to be born. Twelve minutes later, I pushed out the baby’s head and cried with joy when I saw the baby’s face. Then Dr. Walsh said, “O.k., on the next push, John you call what the baby is.” So I pushed and out came our Baby Boy! J I immediately saw the baby’s bottom and that it was a boy. I looked at John and knew he had seen it too. He said, “I can’t believe I have a son!” What an amazing surprise! It was totally worth it not finding out. It was an amazing moment. I really can’t believe how blessed we are to have a girl and a boy who are perfect in every way.
John Leonard Halman IV was born Friday, September 25th, 2009 at 5:42a.m. He weighed 8lbs. 9.5oz. and was 20 ½ in. long. He was placed on my belly immediately and I kissed him all over. He’s amazing and such a precious little guy. I nursed him right when he was all cleaned up and John and I had our first moments with him alone. We are sooo in love and couldn’t be luckier. Happy Birthday, Leo! We love you!
Leo on my chest right after being born
Our 8lb. 9.5oz pefect baby boy
What a precious family
Nothing beats this moment
Heaven sent
My two angels meeting each other for the first time
The love I have for these two is indescribable
Such a "wittle guy"
Oh how I love you
Mommy's sweet baby boy
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