Rhodes' Birth Story

It is hard to believe that sweet little Rhodes has already been with us a little over two months now!  

Before the details get to foggy in my mind, I want to write my thoughts of his birth day! 

Rhodes was born October 29th, but let's back up a bit.  Rhodes' 37 week appointment was Monday, October 27th and I was not showing any signs of labor.  About a week prior to the 29th, I was starting to have pretty bad back pain.  It felt most comfortable when I was standing, so I took Beau and Palmer to the mall several days in a row and we just walked for an hour or so each day.  In retrospect, I was probably in very early labor and I'm sure the walking only sped things up a bit.  

Early in the morning on the 29th (around 4:00am) I started having contractions.  I tried to convince myself they were probably just braxton hicks contractions, but they were coming pretty quickly.  I woke Raleigh up and he started timing them.  They were never more than 10minutes apart, and quickly began getting closer and closer.  By 5:00am I was in the bath tub, hoping to slow things down a bit and we went ahead and called my mom.  Even though it was only 4:00am central time, she was awake and at her phone.  She immediately got ready and headed towards Atlanta as quickly as possible.  By 8:00am the contractions were consistently about 3 minutes apart.  I hopped in the shower to wash my hair, and they were coming every 90 seconds or so.  At this point, Raleigh was in "go-mode" getting the big boys dressed and in the van.  I was trying to get my hair dried and Raleigh kept telling me not to worry about my hair! LOL! 

My sister, Angie, was also on her way by this point and my brother-in-law Brandon.  My dear friend Ashley was on stand-by to meet us at the hospital and watch the big brothers until our family arrived.

We headed to the hospital around 8:30am.  I called my doctor's office to let them know I was on the way.  The nurse somewhat tried to convince me that I probably wasn't really in labor and that I should wait it out a bit more.  Thankfully I knew my body well enough to know this was the real thing.

My friend Ashley had already parked as we were pulling into the drop-off circle of the hospital, so she hopped in behind the wheel of the van to go park with the boys and Raleigh and I went on inside. Looking back, I probably should have given Beau and Palmer a big hug and kiss at that point, but honestly I was in quite a bit of pain by then and just wanted to get checked in.

I was surprised at how much paperwork there was to fill out, since we had already pre-registered.  Raleigh took care of all that and I'd say we were admitted into a room within about 15 minutes of arriving.  

I remember telling the nurses over and over that the room was too hot.  Sweet Raleigh said the room was actually really cool. 

Luckily, one of my favorite mid-wives was on call for the day and she quickly came in.  I was already 9cm dilated and she asked if I wanted an epidural.  I did not have an epidural when Palmer was born, but I decided to have one with Rhodes.  She said since I was already so far along it might be too late, but she would put a rush order in.  

Thankfully the anesthesiologist came quickly and the epidural kicked in.  Yay! What a difference that makes! 

By this point, Brandon had arrived and was taking care of Beau and Palmer in the lobby and my mom and Angie and Raleigh were in the room.  

Once it was go time, just Raleigh stayed.  Sweet Rhodes was born at 2:46pm in the afternoon and our lives haven't been the same since! 

We love you Rhodes!