This delivery was quite the story to tell, so pull up a chair. I'm going to start off by back tracking a little bit. I had been having strong contractions since Thursday March 1st. It all started when I decided to mop the floor like I was on speed. (My life is like a living WOD, trying to get in as much as I can in the littlest amount of time.) I was going so fast because I had to take the kids to gymnastics and I didn't want them to be late, of course. Unfortunately my contractions were not consistent, though they made me stop in my tracks each time I had one because they were so strong. Jon was still at work and I contemplated calling him to come home. Luckily I did not. I guess my body knew I had an agenda - getting the baby blanket knit before she came...I know, talk about crunch time, right?! So that night I sat and knit all the while having contractions and waiting for Jon to get home. He arrives home and my contractions stop and I'm able to go to bed. Day #2 of contractions same thing, but in reverse. Now the more I sit the more contractions I get, and the more running around I do the less frequent of contractions I have. That night we even went out with about 10 other couples to celebrate one of their birthday's at Mikuni's, which was tasty! Thank you for CHICKEN! I then get home and I'm able to sleep, contractions are gone again. Ok, day #3 of strong contractions and still, life goes on. Same thing - the more I sit the more contractions I get and the more I run, the less I get. We even went to a baptism. So I text my mom telling her how annoying this is getting and she suggests to take a bath and relax. I suggested it to Jon because I was ready to be done with these heavy contractions. He suggested we get some sleep and do it in the morning...SERIOUSLY? Who's the pregnant one? So I went to bed angry, to say the least. And sure enough, nothing happened and I was able to sleep. OK so it's day #4 and I'm tapped. Same thing contractions come when I sit and go away when I move. I told Jon at 9:30a that I was going to get in the bath. He said, "Ok, I'm ready". So I get into the hot bath which feels really nice and my contractions start to come a little closer together. All the while the contractions are getting even stronger and I can hear Rylee and Brody fighting in the playroom while Taylee is right next to me outside the bath tub ramming Brody's cars on the side of the tub into the wall over and over again. I'm thinking, "Where the heck is Jon?". Jon is taking his sweet time in the bathroom. ANNOYING!! Who labors with their kids right there?! AHHHHH!!!...apparently me. So our first choice in people to watch the kids were at church and didn't get out until noon so I suggested a back up. Jon called Anson Call and asked if the kids could come over in the next little bit if things start to get going. Michelle had the revelation to have Anson call us back and said, "Just bring the kids over now". At this point I was starting to get a bit uncomfortable and Jon decided to check me and could feel the baby's head. He then went screaming through the house yelling at the kids to get their shoes on because he was leaving NOW. I actually remember chuckling as he was getting so frantic with the kids and I said, "You might want to hurry". Jon leaves and is back in minutes. He runs in and says I have to get out of the bath and I say, "I just want to push". He said, "Don't you push!"...Really? Like I have any control over that. So he drags me out of the bath and attempts to put clothes on a wet body...difficult. We finally make it outside and my neighbor says, "So you're going to have the baby on the due date, huh?" I just wave my hand annoyed thinking, "As if I'm going to carry on a conversation with you right now! I don't think so." Jon throws me in the back of the car, all the while I'm saying I need to push and Jon is yelling at me not to. Next thing I know I'm being tossed around in the back of the car as Jon is going 80mph out of our court and on the phone calling 911. He then coordinates with dispatch to get EDH FD Medic 85 to station 84. He pulls into station 84 as they are getting dispatched to the call. The medic comes around front and it is a blessing that they were there just shooting the shine with the guys at Station 84. If I would have had to wait for the medic to get there from their home station, I would have delivered in their app. bay. Jon pulled me out of the car and onto the gurney and into the back of the ambulance. Jon all of the sudden goes into medic mode and starts telling everyone what to do. He's delivered a couple babies now and the guys on the ambulance have little to no experience with it. They tell Jon to just stay at my female end while they stay up at my head. Contractions are coming fast as they are going code 3 down Green Valley. I remember Jon pushing for us to go to Kaiser Roseville, which is about 35 minutes out so we wouldn't have to deal with insurance issues and they said they couldn't because of protocol. As he's telling everyone what to do he says to start a line and I argue that I don't need one and that they are just going to pump me full of pitocin, which will make me retain water, look fat, contract my uterus and I don't want to be stuck a million times even though my veins are like ropes. The medic reassured me that he is "more awesome than the nurses" and then I informed him that I was a nurse and could dance circles around him when it comes to starting IV's. He laughed and apologized and then sided with Jon. That deserved a dirty look from me to Jon in between contractions. All of the sudden Jon said, "Here she comes!" because he could see the head crowning. Then all of the sudden there was a HUGE explosion of fluid that hit the back of the ambulance and shot up Jon's arm and leg causing him to jump back. My water had broke! I've never had my water break with such force. It was pretty awesome looking. I all of the sudden said, "That feels so much better". Then the baby sucked back up inside and my contractions seemed to stop, which was a nice little break. Then the next contraction she came sliding out. Jon and another medic caught her, suctioned her, clamped and cut the cord, wrapped her and threw her on my chest. Then the ambulance stopped and the back doors opened. We had arrived at Mercy Folsom. They pulled me out of the ambulance and wheeled me in through the ER and straight up to L&D. While up there they checked out the baby and me to make sure everything was fine, and it was. It was a text book delivery and I couldn't get it out of my head what one of the medics was saying, "THIS IS SO COOL!" over and over again. Cracks me up! From the time I got into the bath to the time that she was born was 1 hour. I am so proud of Jon for delivering our baby. He was surprisingly excited and confident all wrapped up in one, which made me feel like I was in good hands. It was such a great experience to have with each other. We decided on the name Britlee Pauline (middle name after my grandmother).
