Adam Turns Four... Later

If you were to ask me what today is, I would tell you it is Adam's birthday. Technically, it is not though.

Four years ago, I went into the hospital to be induced. I arrived around 7pm with the assumption that he would not be born on the 30th. I mean, the 31st was just mere hours away. There was no way he would be born today but then I did it... I made a silly comment that would change EVERYTHING. I jokingly said, "He could still be born today."

They started up my induction with some cervadil which had put me into labor once before and sure enough, it worked. No pitocin needed. My contractions came on strong and hard. I kept begging the nurse to check my progress but she kept putting me off. She would say "Let me know when you want checked" so I would tell her, and she would say, "Oh, not yet. Let's wait til X time." I rocked in a squeaky rocking chair to ease my contractions and everyone in the room was cracking up cause they knew when they were getting bad.

I asked the nurse one last time to check me... around 1130pm and again, she wouldn't. She wanted me to take a walk, or take a shower. I finally gave in and said I would take a shower. I knew there was no way I could go walking. I barely made it to the bathroom on my own. By the time they got me undressed and in the shower I was in so much pain that I was screaming that the baby was coming.

The nurse came rushing from the next room and was shocked when she saw me. I could tell she was embarrassed since she would not listen to me when I asked her to check me earlier... so when she got me back in the bed and checked me, what do you know... I was complete and ready to push.

I couldn't though. I had to wait for a doctor and I was getting very agitated. I was ready to have this kid and they were dilly dallying around. I could hear the nurses chit chatting and I finally shouted, "JUST GET A DOCTOR IN HERE!" To which they replied... "The dr is in here." Ok, so I did feel a bit sheepish but COME ON I am about to shoot a kid across the room here.

Then all hell broke loose. And when I say hell, I mean my water... it popped, like a balloon and sprayed EVERYWHERE. It felt like a movie... a comedy, actually. But it was not funny, not to me. The dr finally came over and I was given the go-ahead to push. I was assured it was after midnight so I pushed to my heart's content... or more like to Adam's content. Just 2 1/2 pushes later, he was out.

The called out his birth time as 12:00:59 (so almost 12:01) and I was so excited. He wasn't born on the same day as my cousins, he would have his own birthday (at least in our family). I kept asking the nurses to be sure I heard them right and then it happened.

"No, he was born at 11:59"

"Excuse me?! I thought you said..."

"Yah, I did, but we have to go by the clock on the monitor, not the clock on the wall."

WTF?! Yah, I was MAD! I mean, it all worked out fine... the 30th fits in with our family (long story) but still. Come to find out, on New Year's Eve, when I spent it alone, in my hospital room watching the ball drop, the time on the wall was actually right... or at least right on with everyone else in the world, just not the hospital monitor.

So yah, technically he was born on the 31st... and that was when I cut to cord (the most surreal thing EVER), so shouldn't be just count that as when he was born since he was still attached :p