Wesley James: a birth story

Water was broken, bags were packed, off to the hospital!

Wesley was due on April 9th.  That day we had spent the morning with my mom, and then I headed to my doctors appointment while she watched Tuck.  I picked up my number one pregnancy craving  (a blueberry kale salad) on the way to the doctor’s at my favorite bistro for an after lunch treat.  At my OB’s they checked me, and I was a bit more dilated and more effaced, but I told him I’ll ride it out until 41 weeks and he was fine with that.  I really wanted to go into labor naturally, I wasn’t feeling super uncomfortable yet, so I was in no hurry.  I picked up Tuck so he could nap at home.  Tuck is doing ISR – which is an intense swimming class.  JB takes him every night at 6 – so he had come home early like usual.  Tuck was laying next to me asleep in bed when all of a sudden at 5:30 my water broke!  I hollered at JB to get off the phone from the other room and to come here!  I told him my water broke, I started to cry, which woke tuck up, JB started to dance around singing “we gonna have a baby”, and he called his parents.  His parents live about ten minutes away thankfully and scooped up Tuck.  He still made it to swim class!  I started to pack a few last minute items and off we went!  The hospital is ten minutes from our house and I had no steady contractions yet so the ride over was easy.  JB dropped me off at the front and went to park the car.  There was a volunteer at the front directing everyone and I let her know my water had broken and I needed to go to labor and delivery.  She got real wide eyed and told me to sit down in the wheel chair!  She called labor and delivery and told them it was a code violet.  Which apparently means I’m having the baby right there in the lobby.  I had no idea what was going on and was just smiling, talking to her about her births in a blizzard in detroit, when about 10 nurses, one of which had a stretcher, from labor and delivery start running in my direction.  When they saw me obviously in no distress and no baby coming out immediately they were all confused.  The volunteer meant well!  We all had a good laugh.  A sweet girl I grew up with checked us in and as her shift was ending, she got to pick out who would be our nurse.  Our nurse was amazing!  Truly an angel.  I discovered that my doctor I had been praying I would get was the one on call.  It all felt surreal!  My mama arrived around 7:30, we breathed through contractions together until 10 when I got the epidural.  The man gave me an amazing epidural.  I could feel pressure from contractions and move my legs but I couldn’t feel pain.  Total opposite of last time!  I told my nurse I wanted to labor down for as long as I could.  Around 1am she checked me and Wesley’s head was right there!  My doctor came in and it was time to push. Within 5 pushes and fifteen minutes my precious Wesley came screaming into this world and was placed directly in my arms.  at 1:10am our Wesley was born!  Just an hour after his due date – what a punctual guy!  I looked over and there was JB with a couple big crococodile tear rolling down his cheeks.  JB, our nurse, the doctor, my mama – everyone was such an encouragement to me as well.  I did not stop crying at how beautiful it was.  What a miracle it all is.

After they cleaned him up and weighed him, they placed him back in my arms to start nursing.  He went right to nurse and pretty much hasn’t parted since.

JB went to grab me some dinner since I hadn’t eaten.  I was able to walk fine after 30 minutes.  Time just flew.  I could not sleep to save my life!  I could have put him in his bassinet, actually gotten some sleep and he would have been fine, likely not made a peep.  But I could not stop obsessing over him.  My doctor that delivered him stopped by before his morning C-sections and said “I’m so proud of you!  you did it”.. he is so precious.

Before I knew it, it was 7 am and time to move us to the a different maternal ward.  My nurse put me in a wheel chair to move us and had us out by the nurses desk for a bit.  I was sobbing.  I just kept saying “I’m so happy!  I’m not sad, don’t worry about me! I’m just so happy!!” All of the nurses were laughing at me at this point.  My pediatrician, who is tucks too, was there and he was giggling at me as well.  I bided my time staring and nursing until Tuck was to meet Wesley around 11.

JB went to get us some good coffee.  Wes and I facetimed Heather on her way to work and we both just boo-hoo’d over every inch of him.  Then my sister came up, my dad, shannie, stefanie, my in laws around this time too.  I just sat from 7-11 staring at Wesley and crying.  When you become a mom, you become the worlds biggest creep (:  and it’s acceptable! Holy hormones!  But even now, the hormones are maybe a little less raging, I can still cry on a dime thinking about it all.  It is just such a miracle.  How many times am I gonna say that?  seriously it could get out of hand.  but it just is!

And then Tuck met Wesley and it was a whole other sobfest in the best way imaginable.  I can’t believe I’ll get to watch and guide these two boys with JB into adulthood.  It is way too much! I feel an enormous amount of gratitude that I get to be their mama, that I get to raise them with the best person I know, their father.  The rest of Wesley’s birthday was spent with more visitors and JB and I just beamed the whole darn day.  It was honestly the best day of my life!  We got to take him home around noon the next day.

My in laws took Tuck to Busch Garden’s on Saturday – rough life that kid has!  They dropped him off after and we popped a bottle of champagne with my in-law’s to toast Wes.  {and to celebrate that I actually get to toast!} That night my parents brought us dinner and we all ate while my dad held Wesley, and made up a fib that he had already had dinner.  He hadn’t, but just wanted to hold Wesley I found out later.  We are loving being a family of four (errr five, sorry lola!).  JB took off this whole week and I just couldn’t be happier to get a whole week with all three of these guys!     

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