Our baby Gabe is almost a month - these past few weeks were definitely a whirlwind - our concept of day and night is so out of wack. But just now am i able to get to the computer and blog for a bit.
I've loved every experience thus far. You can read all the book and articles you want, but nothing prepares you for this big milestone in your life.
I want to backtrack and record my labor story - just because i don't want to forget that incredible experience.
I knew baby was coming. i had 2 major signs:
1) on the morning of May 19 - i had a dream (keep in mind that i barely dreamt at this point bc i could hardly sleep. in my dream, i saw my dad and he said to me, "He's not coming today, he's coming tomorrow."
2) I received that beautiful forward from Wil's dad - the one i posted on May 19th, where God told the baby, you'll meet your guardian angel tomorrow.
Everything was referencing "tomorrow."
May 19th - 7:45 am - I woke up feeling cramping - but not unbearable - but i had no clue what to feel so we called the doctor and they said to come in.
1:00 pm I stayed in triage for a few hours for them to monitor the baby's heartbeat and my contractions. They also checked my dilation and i was only 1.5 cm dilated. After they checked my dilation my cramping became more severe but they were still like 8 minutes apart.
4:30 pm - They figured i was in early labor so they recommended i go home and wait it out. At home i was miserable.
10:oopm - The contractions were getting stronger and stronger, but they still weren't 5 minutes apart like the dr suggested they should be before i went to the hospital. Wil was so sweet to me. He rubbed my back everytime the contractions came. He lit candles all around the living room and played relaxing music for me. He knew how important it was for me to have a "spa-like" experience during the labor.
For me, the contractions felt like severe menstrual cramps combined with the feeling of my lower back being pulled apart. The cramps i could deal with, but my back was torture. The only way i could get through them was Wil rubbing my lower back.
May 20th 3:00 am - I couldn't bear the pain any longer so we got ready to go the hospital. I took a shower and made sure everything was packed in my hospital bag. I kissed sushi goodbye for a bit and we made the real trip to the hospital.
4:00 am - we arrived at Emory University hospital and i was officially admitted because i was 4 cm dilated.
6:00 am - I finally asked for epidural because the contractions were coming every 2 minutes and i couldn't stand the pain anymore. i was cringing all the time.
7:30-9:00 am - the epidural arrived sometime during this time frame - i don't even remember anymore. i just know it was like a dose of heaven. People say the needle is so scary looking because its huge, but i didn't look at it and i didn't care. I just wanted pain relief - STAT!
(I was feeling happy after the epidural :) )
9:00 am - 11:00 am - Heaven! Wil and I were able to finally get some much needed rest. we hadn't slept for over 24 hours. The dr's were checking me and i was gradually dilating as i should - without the need for any medication.
11:o0 am - the Emory team broke my water
12:00pm - i was given the ok to start pushing. At first i had a hard time trying to figure out the right way to push - since my legs were so numb i couldn't concentrate my efforts on the right spot, i was pushing into my chest. But once i figured out the feeling of pushing right, the baby came out in no time. Dr. Fennessy and the Emory team was amazing. they were cheering me on, encouraging me to push once they could see the top of the baby's head. All they kept saying was, he's got a full head of hair! Even wil saw this. Amazing can't even describe how wil was during this whole experience. he was there for me the whole time. he encouraged me to push when i needed to. he helped me rest when i could. He held my hand the entire time. I am so lucky to have him as a husband and now a father to our son.
1:51 pm - Gabriel Viggo Cayetano Leano arrived into the world, crying his little lungs out with a full head of black hair weighing 8 lbs 5 ozs measuring 20 inches long. I couldn't stop staring at this little baby. The most wonderful moment though was when baby Gabe was crying his first cry, and wil starting talking to him in a soothing voice and he stopped crying! The baby recognized Wil's voice! That was a moment i'll never forget.
It's so true when they say that you forget the pain once you see your baby's face. All the pain was worth it - i would love to try for another one in the near future :)
1:51 - that was the moment my world changed. It made me a mom.
baby - Gabe 
