Welcome to our family, baby Charlie: A birth story!

Our final family member is HERE! And today on the blog, I'm sharing baby Charlie's birth story. Spoiler alert: his birth was my favorite of the three because I finally felt like I knew what to expect. 

I'd had my last appointment with my doctor on Wednesday, February 3 at 38.5 weeks. At the time, I was 1.5 centimeters dilated, and she told me if I wanted to, we could go ahead and schedule an induction for the following week since I would be over 39 weeks. We went ahead and scheduled it for a variety of reasons, but the main reason was because of the due date. Charlie was due on Henry's birthday, and the thought of not seeing Henry turn 6 was really making me sad. Inducing meant we would be home in time to celebrate with him, and I was really wanting that. 

So, I called her office on Thursday to make the induction appointment. At the time, they had me come in for a Covid test (my first one! Not terrible! Not my favorite!), and then we hunkered down. 

On Saturday the 6th, we had a super purposeful family day. We spent the entire day together playing, watching movies, and being our family of four. It was glorious, and it was just what we needed before baby came. 

At 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, I woke up to go to the bathroom. At the time, I remember thinking that I had a cramp, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. A few minutes later, another one, and a few minutes after that, another. They were still feeling really light, but I downloaded a contraction timer app and started timing just in case. Sure enough, they were 6-7 minutes apart, lasting about a minute each. At 3, Harrison called out over the monitor for Dan. I woke Dan up to see what Harrison needed, but I also told him I was pretty sure I was in labor so not to get too comfy in Harrison's bed. He asked if I thought it was for real, and I said I was pretty sure it was. 

Instead of going back to sleep, I decided to take a shower. Still SUPER glad I made that decision because within 40 minutes, I was waking Dan up to tell him he needed to get packed for the hospital. I called my parents around 3:50 a.m. telling them not to panic but that I needed them to get ready and head to our house to be here with the boys. Two minutes later, I called my doctor to tell her contractions were regularly occurring about six minutes apart, and she told me it was up to me if I wanted to head into the hospital. I gave her a resounding, YES, we'll be heading in. If there's one thing I've learned by my third labor, it's to trust my body and what it's telling me. 

My parents arrived around 4:30, and I knew for sure we needed to go. We headed out around 5, and got to the hospital to register around 5:30. By 6, I was in triage, and the doctor on call came in to check me. He told me I was dilated 4 centimeters, so he'd call my doctor to see if she wanted them to keep me. I knew in my head we wouldn't be leaving, but it still made me nervous to hear him say that! Approximately 2 minutes later, and to ensure we were able to stay, my water broke. So, we were admitted! 

INTERLUDE! This is my third pregnancy. My first, we got to the hospital around 1 a.m., and Henry was born at 6:38 a.m. With Harrison, I dilated from 3-10 centimeters in less than 80 minutes. We missed the epidural (ouch) AND there wasn't enough time to get the doctor, so the two nurses in the room caught him! So I know that I labor quickly and that we wouldn't be leaving the hospital even if they didn't admit us. Additionally, both Harrison and Charlie literally didn't drop until it was time to push, so that's never been a helpful indicator for me that my babies were coming. I had no idea that was a thing! But it is! 

Back to Charlie. By 7, we were in our hospital room, and meeting our delivery nurse, Julia. We have been blessed with the BEST nurses each and every labor, and Julia was no exception! She too is pregnant (due in April), and we had lots to talk about while we waited for Charlie to come. Once we knew for sure we were ready to go, I asked for the anesthesiologist so I could get my epidural. 

Now, I'd like to interject here and say I've labored all the ways. I've gone into labor naturally, I've been induced, I've had epidurals, I've given birth naturally. But I'll say that as Charlie's birth loomed nearer, I was starting to get some major anxiety remembering Harrison's birth. His was fast but terrifying for me, and it happened so quickly, there was no time to process. I didn't want that again. And I was on three hours of sleep and already in pretty severe pain, so I decided epidural was the way to go. 

Dr. Steele was in the room right as he came on shift, and once I had the epidural, I felt nothing. It was AWESOME! Julia checked me again around 7:45 and said I was between a 5-6, so now was time to rest. I couldn't, though. So we watched the morning news. And when Julia came back at 9:15 a.m. to check me again, she  said I was at 10 centimeters, and it was go time. WHAT?! I thought maybe around lunchtime! But nope, we were ready! 

She called for the doctor, and the rest of the nurses assembled, and it was time to push! I gave two pushes, and Julia said, "Look down! You can see your baby!" And it was the coolest freaking moment of the labor and maybe one of the top ten of my life. I'd never looked before - too scared with our first and too fast with our second. So to have that special minute is one I'll never forget. 

And on the third push, he was here! Charlie Joseph, our third sweet boy, arrived with a strong cry - our tallest babe (which makes sense because LORDY did I feel him moving around in there!). He's the perfect baby to complete our family, and we couldn't be more thrilled if we tried! 

Big brothers met him at home the following night, and it was love at first sight... and pretty much ever since! Our oldest especially adores him and wants to hold him all the time. Our middle son goes back and forth between loving Charlie and trying to figure out if he likes him. But that could just be the three-nager in him. 

Having a baby during Covid was definitely different. We were home from the hospital 36 hours after we got there, and of course, we had no visitors at the hospital. But it was really nice to have a little time just us before coming home and being a family of five. As much as we wished grandparents and friends could have come to meet him at the hospital and afterward, it WAS kind of nice not having to entertain or feel like we had to work around visits. Even the nurses in the mother/baby unit seemed to visit a little bit less (which, could also be due to the fact that this was our third baby. They made it super clear that we could page them at any time!). 

It's been two weeks since this little love came along, and we're just happy. Sleep deprived, caffeine-filled, and happy. It's cliche, but it sort of feels like Charlie's been here all along, and the transition from two kiddos to three hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be... so far. But we've also learned some tricks along the way, and I'll be sharing those with you soon! <3 

Photo Credit: OMG Photography