My Journey

....the moment I had waited for my entire life, it was finally here.

May 4th, 2014--My due date.

We had just gotten home from looking at new neighborhoods & houses. Then they started. Contractions. Real contractions. I texted my mom because I knew these were different. I had told Grant, and of course, his anxiousness left him feeling to antsy to sit inside. Outside to shoot hoops was how he kept his mind distracted while we waited. My mom assumed they were just false alarms--I mean, who goes into labor on their due date? (5% of people...that's who). But as they increased in intensity, and grew to be 6 minutes apart, we knew this was the real deal. It was about 10 p.m. and we all went to lay down (My mom was at our house by now, and we were just waiting for them to last the 60 seconds..I WAS NOT going to the hospital until I knew I would be admitted. I was not going to get sent home..If I arrive at Sparrow, it's because my daughter is on her way). As soon as we went to lay down, I had a few consitent contractions lasting over 1 minute..it was time.

11 p.m.--Arrival at Sparrow triage. I completed paper work and was moved over to a room in  triage. The quiet hospital, dimmed lights, and machines waiting to be hooked to me were soothing. I had my two biggest supporters by my side. I recall chugging a bottle of water, because I knew I wouldn't be allowed anything to drink once active labor started and I was hooked to IVs. A nurse in triage came in and checked me. 3 cm. With the removal of her hand, I felt a huge gush. A warm sensation. "Uhh...something just happened". The nurse and my mom jumped up, only to discover my water broke. Do you know how many people have their water break on its own? 8%. This got us all excited, anxious, and the realization that we were going to meet our daughter soon had me all sorts of crazy. I was immedietly admitted and moved over to Labor & Delivery. Here. We. Go.

May 5th.

3 a.m.--A check by the nurse showed that 4 hours later, I was still at 3 cm. No progress. They weren't sure what was holding things up, so..Pitocin was my new friend. (Joke..pitocin is no one's friend...at least not mine.) Things progressed quickly, and with another check, a different sack of water was found. The doctor broke that new sack and there it was again..the big gush of water. After that, contractions got intense fast, and they got LONG. After a trip to the restroom and feeling like my back was breaking in half (back labor is no joke..terrible), I requested my epidural. Instant relief. I was able to nap and during that short time, went to 9 cm. A quick text to my support team saying simply "9" sent them all in a panic, running up to the third floor, in fear they would miss the birth. Luckily, I was too numb on one side, and had to wait for some feeling to come back so I could feel the urge to push.

2 p.m.--Time to start pushing. We did practice pushing for about an hour, and she was "right there". Everyone got ready, our family photographer was there to capture the moments, and after another hour of pushing, I hear the words "here she is, grab your baby!". I got to reach down, and help pull our daughter from my own body. Miraculous. Tears of incredible joy streamed down my face, overwhelmed that this was my reality. We had a daughter, she was here, she was healthy, I did it.

Completely taken back by the emotions of seeing her for the first time, her sticky self laying upon my chest, there was no greater moment in my entire life. The instant love you feel is like nothing you could ever describe in words. It's like living in the best dream that you never want to wake up from...and the best part is, you don't ever have to.

My journey to motherhood was amazing. I would do it a 1000x over if our daughter was the outcome. She's amazing. Everything I have ever dreamed of, ever wanted, ever imagined. I look at her and see a symbol of her daddy & I's love. I think to myself, 'How in the world did I get this lucky? Do I deserve all this?' I'm not sure, but I am thankful every second of everyday for all that we have been blessed with.

I look at her tiny fingers, and know that someday I will have to give my blessing to some boy to take her hand. I know someday, I will see her tiny feet board a school bus and off to her first day at Kindergarten. I know someday, she will have all these same feelings as she brings her own children into the world. All these things remind me on a constant basis to soak up every single second. Every cry, every time she strokes my face with her hand as we nurse, every dirty diaper, every smile, and every hiccup. These are the moments I've waited all my life for. They won't last forever, so we must treasure them. Bottle them up in the back of our hearts and be thankful you have those memories. After all, someday that's all they'll be...memories.

Delaney Vaughn, you are my world. You have filled a whole in my heart that no one else could have possibly filled. I look at you and can't help but smile. We hope you follow your biggest dreams and always know that you have two parents that wished upon a star for you, and that wish came true in a way that even we couldn't have dreamed of.

I love you so much my sweet girl,

Mommy

*Stay tuned for an edited version of this post. Complete with pictures from our birth, captured by McShane Photography.