Caleb's Birth

Here's a confession: I love birth stories. Love them! I could read them all day. With that said, Caleb's birth was everything I dreamed of and wished for.

Monday, January 20th, I was having hard contractions all night. Starting at 25 weeks or so, I had annoying Braxton-Hicks contractions all the time. So much we considered naming this boy Braxton...maybe. These new contractions were different, harder and more intense. I had Danny call his cousin to make sure they could watch Ellie if things progressed and we ventured out to Target to grab our last minute baby necessities. But nothing happened. Tuesday morning, I went to see my doctor. I was barely 37 weeks and not expecting her to say much in the area of progress. She surprised me by saying that I was 3 cm dilated, almost fully effaced, and that the baby was at a minus 1 station. Oh wow! She went on to tell me that I wouldn't make it to the end of the week without having a baby. Holy cow! I tried to stay level-headed, but, hey, that was exciting news! I called my mom and told her she better change her flight and get here soon. She called right back and said she was driving to Utah the next day. Someone was a little excited!

Danny's birthday was the 22nd. Poor guy got shuffled into all the happenings, but we still had fun celebrating our favorite 27-year old. My mom got in late that night. I hadn't really had any contractions that day, so I was feeling a bit of pressure to get things going. The 23rd came and my mom, Ellie, and I went walking. All day long. We walked the mall, Costco, Target, and ended with a much needed trip to Cafe Rio. By this time, contractions were coming, but still irregular. Danny came home from work and things really started to pick up speed. At about 6, contractions were coming about 5-6 minutes apart, so we finally decided to head to the hospital. The whole way there, I just kept thinking, "They're going to send us home. We've been timing these all wrong and I'm going home." We got to the hospital, found Labor & Delivery, and got all checked in around 7. The nurse checked me and said, "Wow, Melinda! I'm impressed!" I was already at 8 cm. Woohoo! We were staying!

This whole pregnancy I'd been debating with myself whether I wanted to go natural or have an epidural. When it was actually time to make that decision, I decided to go natural. I mainly wanted that experience, to feel what so many women before me have felt. Maybe it was the historian in me, I don't know. (That was a joke, by the way.) So here we were, about 7:30, close to 9 cm dilated, pretty much fully effaced, and no epidural. My nurses kept coming in and checking on things. My doctor wasn't on duty that night, so we were waiting for the other doctor to come and break my water. That was all that was holding me up. Finally, the doctor came and did her thing about 8:45. I knew that once my water broke, the pain would increase immensely, but that we would be that much closer to meeting our little boy. A little after 9, I could feel that it was time. The doctor and nurses came in, I pushed a few times, and he was here!

Caleb Dean Crane made his early entrance at 9:45 on January 23rd, 2014. He weighed 7 lbs 9 oz and was 20 inches long. He had the most beautiful cry and as they placed him on my chest, I was instantly in love. He was absolutely perfect! After getting both of us cleaned up, everyone left the room and it was just Danny and I with our little boy. Heaven on earth. That was such a special moment for us. We were moved to our new room and started settling in. We quickly found out that this little guy loves to eat! He is a snuggler and has such a sweetness about him. We came home from the hospital on the 25th and began our life as a family of 4. Yeah!

We love our little boy and are so thankful that this birth experience went the way it did. It was absolutely perfect! We are all adjusting well, mostly thanks to my mom. She really helped us out those first few days home. Ellie loves her brother! She gives him hugs and kisses and tries to be so careful around him. She's such a sweet girl and you can tell she just wants to play with her Caleb, but for some reason he's always sleeping. Soon enough they will be doing everything together. That will be so fun to see.

Welcome to our family, Caleb!

Leaving for the hospital.

In-between contractions.

He's here!

Proud daddy!

Meeting Nana for the first time.

Family of 4.

Finally opening those eyes!

Big sister!

Going home!

What recovery looks like.

Told you she was adjusting well.