The Final Chapter in this Journey

When I began Big Bellies and Tiny Toes, I did so just for the pregnancy so that those who were not interested in all the bump pictures, etc would not have to see them. Well, this post will be the final post I make to this blog. At least until we have another child.....Just Kidding...Kinda. Anyway....

We PROUDLY welcome MORRIS WESLEY FORD IV to our family!

He was born September 3, 2010 at 10:04 PM at Brookwood Medical Center after 14 hours of labor.

He was born at 7lb 12oz and 20 3/4 inches long.

This is going to be a long post so if you are not interested in the details and just want to see pictures then scroll to the bottom.

Friday (9/3/10) started like any other Friday, I got up on time and we made Taylor something special for breakfast...Cinnamon Rolls. While sitting in the Kitchen relaxing with Morris I had my first contraction of the day, at 5:56 AM. I really didn't think much of it other than that is the first time I have had one before 10 AM. I started messing with the laundry and had my second contraction at 6:06 AM. The contractions progressed to 7 minutes apart by the time we left the house. We left late b/c we decided to go ahead and pack our hospital bags and load the car. By the time we got Taylor to school my contractions were 5 minutes apart. We started thinking that Today could be the day! We got to our doctors appointment at 8:30 and agreed we would not tell him about the contractions unless i was 5+ CM dilated. We went through the appointment as usual and I was only 3 CM dilated but I was 80% effaced. So we left the appointment and went to chick-fil-a for our usual "after doctor" breakfast. We then headed to Morris' office so he could wrap up a few loose ends and I could relax. At this point my contractions are 3 minutes apart. Around noon we left and went to Buy Buy Baby to purchase a few things and walk around. After we went to Sams to loiter. Through out the day I was checking in with Mom to ask her resident OB nurse (Bonnie) about what I was feeling and what I should do. At this point Bonnie suggested I go eat lunch...a spicy burrito to be exact. So I did. About 30 minutes after eating that my contractions got more intense...not painful yet but stronger. Around 2:30 Morris started to get really nervous and was insistent that we go to the hospital. I called the Dr. that was on call and let him know I was coming. We checked in at Brookwood at 3:00 PM. After being examined I was still only 4 CM dilated but 100% effaced. We talked with our Nurse, Shelly, and she suggested that I walk the halls for 30 minutes and be rechecked. We did this 2 times, 30 minutes walking 15 minutes being monitored, for a total of 90 minutes. After this I was 5 CM dilated. At this point we made the decision to have Dr. S (the Dr. on Call, not my usual Dr.) to break my water. After he broke my water it took 3 hours for me to go from 5cm to 7cm and then 1 hour to delivery of Morris. Unfortunately I lost Nurse Shelly an hour before Morris was born (she had worked the max hours she was allowed to work). She was the best nurse I could have ever had and she acted like a true midwife to me. She loved my birth plan and was extremely supportive. Dr. S was also AMAZING! He was truly supportive and adapted to what I needed in order to achieve my goal.

Most of you knew my birth plan. Despite 14 hours of labor, with the support and encouragement of Morris, I was able to deliver our son with no medication as we had planned. Yes, it was hard; Yes, it was exhausting and Yes, it hurt. The 2 most common questions I get are: 1)Was it worth it....ABSOLUTELY and 2) Would I do it this way again if we had another child...MOST DEFINITELY.

Below are some pictures from the Labor and of Morris:

The best nurse ever! Shelly was absolutely amazing!

Finding relief on the birthing ball through CM 5, 6, 7, and 8. Morris is the best Birthing Partner!

He even let Shelly take this picture!

Getting wiped off and checked for just a minute before given back to me

Loving on our sweet baby boy!

Going to our room:

Taylor meets her Baby Brother!

A very proud and exhausted Daddy!!

So that concludes the Pregnancy Journey! To continue to follow Morris and his Sister Taylor go to our Family blog http://morrisandallison.blogspot.com/.