Cruz's Story

The day that Cruz entered our lives was so amazing, here is the story of our day:

On July 7, 2011, I woke up a few times because of contractions. They weren't regular, so I ignored them and tried to sleep. Once I got up for the day, I noticed I was having a lot more contractions than normal and they seemed to be coming at more regular intervals. I decided to take Mace on a walk to see if that would help me to know if the contractions were braxton hicks or the real ones. After a while of walking, I decided that the contractions were getting stronger and stayed pretty regular. We headed home and I called Tyler. Tyler was so excited to hear that I was at the beginning of labor. We decided that I would call him back when the contractions were 5 minutes apart.

Around 12:30, I called Tyler and told him that it was time to start heading home. We took Mace over to Tyler's parents. It was so crazy thinking that, that was the last time I would see Mace before Cruz was born. I had all different kinds of emotions. Part of me wanted to get to the hospital as soon as possible and another part of me was nervous that I wouldn't be progressed enough and sent back home. We drove around for a while and ended up stopping to get food. I knew that they probably wouldn't let me eat anything besides ice chips, and I was hungry. After eating, we drove around for a little bit longer and eventually decided it was okay to go to the hospital.

We got to the hospital at 3:31 PM. We learned that several other women were in labor, and that they didn't have a room for us yet. We were sent to a triage room, where a nurse came in and got us somewhat settled. She checked me and told us that I was dilated to a 5+! We were really happy because that meant we for sure got to stay. They were really nice and checked on us frequently. Luckily a room opened up about an hour later. It took a while to get readjusted and settled in the new room. I asked them to check me again and they said I was at an 8+. They left to call my midwife and I decided to take a quick bath. The water really helped to take the edge off the contractions.

I was really happy to see my midwife. I was worried that her partner would be delivering because my midwife wasn't on call. We decided that it would be a good thing for her to break my water. I was almost fully dilated and the bag wasn't breaking on it's own. As soon as she broke it, I started transition. Transition was rough. I had a hard time focusing and trying to relax. My midwife was great about helping me remember to breath and focus. I remember her saying at one point, "This is the part where you are going to think, 'Why did I decide to go natural?'" Everything from there went really fast. I did a few little pushes and then I got that urge to push that everyone talks about. Tyler quickly got on a pair of sterile gloves and went down to the end of the bed. My midwife guided Tyler while he helped deliver Cruz. I only had to push a few times before he was out. He was born at 7:11 PM. Tyler got to hold Cruz while they wiped him off a little before handing him to me. It was so amazing being able to feel everything while giving birth. It was so neat to have Tyler be so involved in the birth. Tyler enjoyed helping deliver Cruz a lot more than he thought he would. 

Cruz is such a beautiful baby. He looks a lot like Mace. He has more hair and it is a little darker than Mace's. He has no wrinkles, he is just filled out perfectly. I am obsessed with his cute little feet. I think he got my arches. I kind of hope so, because finding shoes that fit Mace can be frustrating. Tyler and I were both so shocked to find out that he weighed 9 lbs 10 oz! He was 21 inches long. We both thought that Cruz might be a little smaller than Mace. I measured 41 weeks at my last appointment, but I figured that to be because I always felt like my due date was off. 

Shortly after giving birth, we called Tyler's parents. and they brought Mace to the hospital to meet his new little brother. Mace was really overwhelmed and a little confused too. Mace wanted to be held by whoever was holding Cruz. It was fun holding both of my boys at the same time!

Cruz slept in the room with me both nights of our hospital stay. I was planning to send him to the nursery so that I could get some sleep, but I never needed to send him because he slept just fine right next to me. Tyler stayed with me the first night that Cruz was born, but spent the night with Mace at home the second night.

We stayed in the hospital till Saturday afternoon. We enjoyed our stay; the staff was so accommodating and they really let me be part of Cruz's care. We had several friends and family members come visit us and we enjoyed showing off our new little guy.

Cruz's birth was so different from Mace's. It was really neat to be able to feel like I was in control of my body during the entire labor process. I felt like I have had much more energy than I did when I had Mace. I also feel like I have healed a lot quicker. As long as things go well with future deliveries, I will definitely deliver the rest of my babies naturally!