Reeve Part One: Waiting on the World to Change.

Hello blog! Golly gee, it sure has been a while since my last post, which was about pineapples. That tells me it's been nearly a MONTH since I posted! So much has happened and changed in our lives, and it's kinda spectacular that I've found the time to blog right now. At any moment, the most precious angel will awake and be ready to EAT, so it may take a while for me to actually share this post. Let me preface with an apology for any errors. I'm running on fumes and chocolate these days, so I might not come across as the grammatical guru that I truly am deep within. It's seriously a victory if I put clothes on during the day. For real. 
Well, I really want to share Reeve's birth story. I've thought a lot about this, and I've come across two main dilemmas: 1) how much to share? My story isn't glitz and glamour by any means. I was NOT Beyonce, relaxing in the most elegant and peaceful manor while Reeve gently slid out of my body. Umm no. So what all should I include in my story? I don't want to get on Derick's bad side by mentioning my girl parts too much. (He does a good job changing diapers...I need to keep him happy!) 2) How am I going to find the time to sit down and write a story that long? Our boy eats frequently. I mean, FrEqUeNtLy! ---and the boy awakes!---(An hour later---) See what I mean? I guess I'm just going to type until I am called to duty elsewhere. Actually, my friend, Heather, has a really cool blog that has been a point of both reference and solace during my pregnancy/mommy journey. She had the best idea by breaking her birth story into parts. Duh, why didn't I think of this?? Anyway, I'm stealing her idea. View her hilarious and heartwarming blog here: cakeandgreenbeans.wordpress.com
Anyway, without further ado, here it is. Part one of: The Birth Story of Reeve Magnus Roberts aka Brother aka Muscle Man.

On the evening of Thursday, September 20, I was at my parents' camper at Onslow Beach here on base when I thought my water broke. (Later, I truly found out what it's like when your water breaks. Had it truly occurred at the camper, there would have been no question.) I got everyone excited (despite my deliberately calm demeanor) by saying that I might need to eventually go to the hospital that night. Derick and I hung out at the camper for a while, then headed home so that I could shower just in case we decided it was time. Nothing big happened until I tried to get out of bed to use the bathroom and nearly fell over in pain. Now that I  know what an actual contraction feels like, that early pain is quite laughable. But at the time, despite everyone's insistence that I "would know" when I was having a contraction, it felt like maybe the real thing? So Derick and I loaded our bag, Reeve's bag and the car seat into the car and took off. They wheeled me in a cool wheelchair to the maternity ward (doesn't the word "ward" make you think of a crazy-person place?) I thoroughly enjoyed the wheelchair ride. I wanted to tell her I could walk, but the ride was too fun. At this point, I wasn't having any pain, so I was pretty convinced they were sending me home. The nurse, Rita, who was one of the many gems in this story, told me that she was so excited I was there. I was apparently the only person on the birthing wing, so she was thankful for some potential excitement. Too bad for her though because after several tests and a couple hours of watching TV and drinking apple juice, they determined my water was in tact. I'd just peed my pants, which I'd initially told Rita I thought might have happened. She said the pain was caused from dehydration, so she gave me a giant Onslow Memorial mug, which I love, and sent me packing. The whole packing thing bummed Derick out a little bit. He was determined to get as many days off as he possibly could, and he really didn't want to go to work the following day. But we went home, went to bed, and waited some more...

FF to Monday, September 24. I was at the camper again. My mom made a roast in the crock pot, and she was making mac and cheese and potatoes to go with it. She'd also bought a pecan pie, and my in-laws brought a coconut cake and chocolate cake. (We were really trying to persuade Reeve to get out here where the good stuff is...although it was a trick, seeing as he had a direct line to the good stuff while in my bell.) Anyway, Derick was at work, and I'd just assumed it'd be a long night for him, judging on the previous nights. I took Paris for a walk with my mom. During the walk, something felt strange, but again, I didn't want to excite everyone. I can be a drama queen, so I made it a point to be calm and not make anyone think it was the real deal. I tried to text Derick to see when he'd be coming, but he didn't respond. I had the "strange feeling" again, but didn't want to say for sure my water had broken. I mean, I was totally clueless about the weird things going on with my body during the entire pregnancy, so who was I to say for sure? My mom and Derick's mom were a little excited, despite my unusually collected disposition. My mom was freaking out that the draw bridge that connects Onslow Beach to the actual mainland of Camp Lejeune might be "drawn" to let some boats pass, thus leaving me on the beach to deliver the baby. My dad failed at his attempt to reassure her by saying, "Well, I'm sure someone around here has a radio and can just call up to the guy running the bridge." My mom wanted to know who would be the one to run around the beach searching for "the guy with a radio."
Derick finally arrived, and by that time, even my calm self couldn't control the obvious enthusiasm. We scarfed down our supper. Dad got mad at me for climbing/jumping over the edge of the couch. We left one of our vehicles at the beach, and rode off into the distance. We came home and repacked the car with the same stuff, and I left some food for Paris (who was still at the camper). During this time, I was still trying to not get my hopes up. My doctor had scheduled an induction for the following Wednesday since I'd be past 41 weeks. I wasn't too worried because I knew Reeve would arrive sometime that week regardless.
 We headed to the hospital anyway. This time, my wheelchair wasn't as cool as the previous one, and it took a little longer for the nurse to come fetch me from the emergency entrance. I was wheeled up, though, and much to my surprise, sweet nurse Rita was there again. They went through the same protocol. I put on the stupid pointless gown that showed the world my everything, peed in a cup, watched football, and waited. At some point, Rita's shift changed and I received two new nurses, Anna and Brittany. Brittany was a nursing student in her final semester. Both these girls looked half my age. I immediately missed Rita. 
We kept our parents as updated as we could. They really couldn't tell us anything until the results from the tests came back to determine whether my water had actually broken (now I know that the correct term for what happened is "ruptured membranes.") We just kept waiting.
Finally, Anna came in...or at least I think it was Anna... anyway, someone came in and told me that my membranes had, in fact, ruptured. I was about to have a baby....at some point anyway. My mind went a little blank. Sure, I was hooked to the monitors. I could hear and somewhat see his little rapid heartbeat. I could feel him kick in my belly. I could see the excitement in Derick's eyes, but it didn't seem real. I was about to be a mom? Me?? A mom? No way. Reality slowly burrowed itself into my mind when I came out of the bathroom to see that Brittany had written "Happy Birthday Reeve!" on the dry erase board with the How Are You Feeling smileys. It was happening. This hospital bed would be my home until Reeve Roberts was in my arms. I was about to be a mom. Me. A mom.