Good Friday, and guess what happened at 4am???????? You guessed it, Jackson started with his trickiness! I woke up with contractions, glanced at the clock, and thought.....that little rascal!! HOWEVER, about 4:30 am, I had to get out of bed. The kids were all still passed out in the living room, so I climbed on the bottom bunk in the girl's room, and started my watch. I was having pains every 9 minutes, for about a minute! I called my Mommy, woke her up, and said.....get to Texas and meet your grandson! I assured her I would go to the hospital when they were 6-7 minutes apart, just like the DR ordered! She requested I not have him for at least 6 hours, because that is how long it would take her to get there! Oh Mom...this baby is not coming any time soon!
I woke Hubby up at 8:00. We were supposed to take the kids to ChuckECheese for Brit's bday. He opened those eyes, saw the time, and he said in his most annoyed voice
"WE ARE NOT GOING TO CHUCK E CHEESE AT 8 am!!!!!!!!!!"
"No baby, but if you want to meet your Son, you best get up!"
"Let me brush my teeth....DO I HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO BRUSH MY TEETH?"
I laughed at him, and assured him he had plenty of time! My contractions were 8 minutes apart, and the DR said come when they were 6-7. I had all the bags packed, and waiting by the door. He and Tony loaded the trunk, and we headed to drop the kids off at Kippy's. Time: 8:35.
Pulling out of our neighborhood, TIME:8:38....contraction! breathe!
Waiting at the first stoplight, TIME: 8:41...contraction! BREATHE!!!
Grabbing Tony's hand, listening to the kids ask 10000000 questions, TIME 8:44, contraction!!!! BREATHE!!!!
At this point, I was trying to remain calm, so I wouldn't alarm my children excitingly chatting in the back seat! HOWEVER, I was terribly worried that they were about to witness the birth of their baby brother in THE CAR! Hubby, sensing my need to get somewhere with medical equipment fast, began to speed. NOW, if you know Hubby, this is quite the feat in itself. He NEVER speeds, never litters, he always buckles up, always stops at yellow lights, yields to pedestrians, and now he is going 65 in a 30! And running every red light we come to! Thank GOD for police training! Just when I was about to think things couldn't get worse, I heard sirens!!! The girls immediately started crying, thinking the baby was going to be born in jail. The poor officer took one look at the whale (me, in case you were confused) reclined in the passenger seat, sweating, with 3 kids crammed like sardines in the back seat, yelling "ITS MY FAULT, ITS MY FAULT, I TOLD HIM TO HURRY FAST! IM SORRY" and told Hubby to hurry up and get me to the hospital!
We make it to Kip's, Hubby runs the kids into Kippy's house, runs out with a package of Depends (don't ask) and speeds out of the drive!! GPS is leading us out of Kippy's neighborhood with the famous, recalculating....u turn....HOLY COW, don't you KNOW we are about to have a baby!? In the car?!? You know where every McDonald's in the world is, but you don't know this??
We are about 5 miles from the hospital, when i really start to panic. Contractions have reached 1 minute apart, and with each passing one, I say "OH BABY, PLEASE JUST LET MOMMY GET TO THE HOSPITAL, PLEASE DO NOT BE BORN ON THIS HIGHWAY, PLEASE!"
TIME: 9:32 We finally make it to the hospital, and Hubby pulls under the first awning he can find. We leave the car there, and rush into the hospital doors. I have an immediate sense of relief, because I see a big yellow sign that says "Safe Baby Zone". I, apparently, was unaware that meant it was a safe place to leave your baby if you were abandoning it!?! Still, i felt safe! LOL
My safe baby feeling immediately left when I walked into the hospital. I'm guessing half the staff took off work to celebrate Good Friday, because the place was a ghost town. We walked down a hallway, long enough for 2 contractions. Finally, a sweet janitor, asks us if we need Labor and Delivery!? DUH! She says she will walk me to the 2nd floor while Hubby parks the car. I agree, and off we go to the elevators. I only made it a few steps when another contractions starts, and I double over onto the floor to breathe my way through it. After a good minute, I look up, and my guardian angel/janitor is nowhere to be found. After 2 contractions, I make it to the elevator, get in and push floor 2. The elevator doors swoosh closed, and I am covered in silence. The walls begin to close in, and I start to have my very first ever panic attack. I am just certain that any minute, the elevator will get jammed between floors, and I will be stuck to deliver this baby alone! To my surprise, the doors open and the Hallelujah song starts to play! "HAAAAAAALLELLUUUUJJAAAH!"
I step off, into another ghost town, and make my way down one of many halls. I swear I see tumbleweeds, and hear the distant roar of hoofprints. Oh wait.....that is my heart pounding with every step I take to ward off pending contractions. Finally, I hear the elevator doors behind me open with a "ding". Fully expecting to see my husband come off the elevator, I give a huge sigh of relief. I turn around, and see my sweet angel/janitor pushing a wheelchair off the elevator in the opposite direction. I felt like Kate Winslett on the movie Titanic..."COME BACK, COME BACK, COME BACK,"THANK HEAVENS she hears my panicked shouts, and nearly knocks me down with the chair! I sit down, barely squeezing between the armrests, and beg her to "Pa-LEASE hurry!!!" She takes off pushing, when I realize there are no foot rests on this thing! No wonder my rear barely fits, I am in a kiddie chair!!! There are no foot rests because the chair was made for people that don't have long enough legs to touch the ground!!! So here I am, crammed into a tiny wheel chair, drenched in sweat, husbandless, holding my legs in the air! NICE! Angel/Janitor wheels me straight to a sweet lady in a white labcoat! I am in the middle of a contraction, and DR says "Los CuantosTienan Preguntas(or something along those lines)!" I am not answering her because A)i am in severe pain and B) I have no clue what she is saying!! She says it several more times, and is OBVIOUSLY aggravated at me, but for numerous reasons I can not answer her! Finally, after the fleeting contraction, I scream..."IM AMERICAN AND HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE SAYING!!!" "How many pregnancies have you had?" Thinking she was asking how many babies I am having, I respond, through tears, "OH DEAR LORD, I AM ONLY HAVING ONE BABY!" "No, sweetie, how many babies have you had??" When I answer this is my 3rd she says "GET HER IN A ROOM NOW!"
They wheel me and my kiddie chair into a room. One nurse is digging through my purse for my insurance card, another is taking my blood pressure, another drawing blood, and one on my cell phone trying to get Hubby located. One rather large lady is undressing me, saying "Oh honey, you are sweating!!" YA THINK???????
The DR does "the check", and within seconds they are throwing the rails to the bed up, and telling me to keep my hands in because we are going to the delivery room! Hubby shows up just in time to wipe my face before they shuffle me down the hall! We park in the Delivery room, and of course, I ask about my epidural! The doctor politely responds, "Sweetheart, we are pushing this baby out NOW!"
TIME: 9:55 Panic arrives!
I cry, "I can't do this!" To which the hubby says, "Baby you HAVE to do this!!!" I am a sweaty, mascara-running, sobbing, shaky mess! Hubby wipes my face, and the pushing begins! I'll spare you details here!
After what seems like an eternity, my sweet Hubby looks me in the eyes and says in the most serious voice I have ever heard him use "This baby has to come out, NOW!" He also tells me he will get me food if I do. For those of you who know me, know I like my food! I was, for once, an obedient wife. Jackson Luke Buchanan entered this world at 10:14 am, only 42 minutes after we arrived at the hospital. I was waiting for them to hand me that precious baby, and waiting to hear the beautiful sound of his first cries. But, I suddenly realized I was waiting too long. They were not bringing me my baby, and I certainly was not hearing him cry. I started to sob. Tony, still as serious as before, goes over to the table where a team of doctors was surrounding our baby. I kept saying "He's not crying....he's not crying..." Tony came back to my bedside, with tears in his eyes! Tears, and silence certainly weren't good signs. My head was spinning, and my heart stopped. I was trying to talk, but no words were coming out. Tony grabbed my hand, and kissed my forehead. He told me that the baby was having troubles breathing, but he was ok. All I could think was....he isn't crying!! I closed my eyes and prayed that God would breathe air into that baby, because i couldn't bear to open my eyes again if he didn't. Just then, I heard the sweet cry of our baby boy! The sweetest sound I have ever heard. I knew at that moment just how good God really is!
From the moment he was conceived, to his first breath, he truly was a miracle baby!! You see, Jackson had wrapped the cord around his sweet little head, in his attempt to fast trak it into this world. He wasn't getting enough oxygen, and then he was having problems getting out! His daddy probably saved his life, when he told me to get him out now! I know he will continue to make a difference in the life of that little boy!! And I really am the luckiest girl on the planet!
