This pregnancy was a roller coaster ride from the very beginning. Around mid-February I felt I'll and there was a day I called in sick at work (which is way rare, I barely have missed work over a four-year span). I was sure it was just some food poisoning or the stomach flu. 

So, I get back to work and my friend Carie was like: "uh ... Do you think you could be pregnant?" And then I started thinking about it and I was like oh, my goodness! A group of friends and I went to lunch that day and I ran into a pharmacy on the way to take a pregnancy test. Sure enough, we had little Riordan on the way! 

It was definitely a surprise, but a good one. My youngest is almost 8 years old so it had been a while since we had very small children. We thought we were done and I had zero baby stuff anymore; had given it all away many years ago.

The pregnancy was going well; however, in my second trimester we got bad news: test results came back and they told me I was at high risk for having a baby with Down syndrome. We had to go a few times to meet with a genetic counselor and to the specialist and finally they did some ultrasounds and blood tests and the baby looked just fine (but the genetic counselor still scared us with all these probabilities they calculate based on your genes). 

The third trimester was challenging in the sense that I was juggling two kids, husband, job and prepping the house for baby. I felt really tired and during the last weeks of pregnancy I kept having false labor (days and days of irregular contractions) and was so sleep deprived (still am) that it was just ridiculous! I went to the hospital on my 37th week because I was having contractions about 2 min. apart and it turns out that a UTI was causing the false labor. The monitor showed that indeed I was contracting but it wasn't productive (I wasn't dilating).

I spent weeks contracting here and there and finally on my 40th week the doctor told me that he would put a progesterone  gel to help my cervix get going. I have a history of having really strong contractions but not being able to dilate or progress being super slow. I had attempted a natural birth at a birthing center with my daughter and I ended up being transferred to a hospital because my water had broken and it had been more than 8 hours and I had very strong contractions but I would not dilate past 5. 

Anyway, I went on October 16th to get the gel going and they applied it at the hospital around 7 a.m. The nurse that applied it was AWFUL! She had long nails which I could feel through the gloves when she checked me to see if I was dilating and needless to say it was really painful - I even teared up some, not going to lie.

I started contracting every 2-3 min. And the contractions were VERY uncomfortable but I was only dilated 1 and still not completely effaced so they sent me home. I was like: "So, how will I know when I'm in active labor? My contractions are really close apart and I'm in a lot of pain". They said "oh, you'll know, honey" (sarcastic nurse, seriously!)

I went home and by 2 p.m. I was crying for mercy. Still contracting every 2 min. But the pain went to a whole other level. The weeks of contractions I had were a joke compared to these. In order to cope with the pain, I imagined I was riding it like a wave and visualizing it that way helped a lot in trying not to tense up and just giving into the force of each contraction. Josh (my husband) called the doctor and I was like: I can't spend another day like this. Induce me today, take me back to the hospital but I can't cope with this kind of pain! 

The doctor was just like: I can't tomorrow because it's my day off but we can induce you on Friday or you can go back to the hospital today to get checked if you feel like you're really in labor. I was flabbergasted! Seriously doctor! What did I just paid thousands of dollars for then?

By 7 p.m. I couldn't take it anymore, I literally screamed at Josh to take.me.to.the.darn.hospital! The car ride was awful! Nothing like bouncing while having a hard contraction - you can't concentrate or ride the contraction; it was a disaster. Anyway, we made it to the hospital and they checked me (this nurse, Tiffany, was much better) and I was dilated 3. She called my OBGYN and they decided to keep me there and I literally yelled hallelujah! At this point I had been sleep deprived for weeks and was truly exhausted. I had no doula and Josh, bless his heart, is not very good as a labor coach so I decided to go ahead and get an epidural. I asked for one and at first they gave me some pain meds via IV to take the edge out of the contractions. It worked for a little bit and then they gave me the epidural when I was only dilated about 3 and a half. A lot of things were going through my mind like: I really wanted a natural birth with no meds but, heck, what can I do now; I'm so tired, let's get this over with, etc.

They checked me and I was dilated 4 and they put a little pitocin, not much, just a low dose to help labor progress. I had been admitted to the hospital around 7:30 p.m. And by 12 p.m. I was dilated 6. 

My epidural started wearing off and they assured me that it was normal because it was a walking epidural so I wouldn't lose feeling completely. They gave me a little button to press and it would release a little more meds into the epidural's drip. About an hour and a half later I pressed the little button. I was in serious pain and the nurse checked me - I was dilated 8! 20 min. later I told Josh to call the nurse, I was feeling like I needed to go to the bathroom and fast! I felt sooo much pressure, it was awful. The nurse was like: "it's normal, hon. You will feel better soon when the pain medicine kicks in again. It's normal to feel some pressure" and I was like: "No! You don't understand, I need to use the restroom like NOW! Something is coming out!" She was incredulous and when she checked me, I was 10 cm and ready to push! 

She frantically called the doctor to come in and then told me to not push yet. I was like: I don't care what you say, I have to push NOW. She then gave in and coached me on how to push. We tried it four times, by the fifth time the doctor showed up (no scrubs, just his regular clothes but he did wash his hands and put some gloves) and on my sixth push, the doctor told me to "hold it". I did my best ... And then the doctor was like: "look down Gina!" And the baby was coming out on his own. Easy peasy he came out and they cleaned the baby while the doctor delivered the placenta and stitched me a little. Riordan was alert and he smiled at Joshua. It was amazing! Baby Riordan was born healthy, although small. He's so precious and such a sweet baby! He's a week old now and every day with him is amazing. He makes the cutest faces and we spend time gazing into each other's eyes and cuddling. I love this stage and I'm determined to enjoy every bit of it because they grow so fast.

Ari and Kristen love him to pieces and Ari specially is very protective of him. I'm so thankful for this huge blessing The Lord sent us.