I have to say, I would not change anything about Zac’s birth. It was certainly much better than many births, but for me and Tiffany it was difficult enough and a real challenge. You can read about it on my blog. But as difficult as I found it to be, I wouldn’t change a thing. I learned a lot about us and a lot about Christ through Zac’s birth. I grew closer to Tiffany and my heavenly Father by that experience. It was joyful and difficult and exhausting and painful and amazing all in one. So again, I can honestly say I wouldn’t go back and change a thing. At the same time, I prayed persistently for this birth to go differently. I prayed for a smoother labor and delivery. For less intervention from the medical staff. For less stress on Tiffany and her body. For a quicker labor. And because of his gracious nature, God answered every one of those prayers.
I was leaving for work around 6.45 am on February 8th when Tiffany poked her head out of our bedroom door (I was downstairs reading on the couch). Tiffany never gets out of bed before I leave for work, so I knew something was about to go down. She told me she thought her water had just broken. I went back upstairs and we talked for a few minutes and she told me it was actually just leaking. She thinks. She doesn’t know for sure. Last time that happened well into labor and no one really even remembers it. She called the doula and let her know it was leaking. We decided not to call the mid-wife yet. I went to work thinking at any moment Tiff would call and let me know labor was underway. That didn’t happen, ALL DAY! That was a long day.
I went home for dinner and nothing had begun yet, the water had stopped leaking, which was a good thing if contractions weren’t going to also start. I got back to work around 6pm and around 6.30 Tiffany called and told me her water had broken. It was certain this time, once you experience it you know the difference between breaking and leaking pretty clearly I’m told. Contractions still weren’t really time able so Tiff called the doula again and I finished up at work- getting home around 8pm. I was really praying a lot for contractions to start since the doctors and mid-wives don’t want you going past 24 hrs once your water breaks. Contractions started around 9pm. They were very far apart, anywhere from 9-14 minutes and inconsistent at that. But they did keep coming until 11pm. That is when we decided to make the move to the hotel in Greenville. They weren’t going to stop and we’d rather head over now than have to make the drive at 2 am if that became necessary. Another call to the doula to let her know the plan.
We got to the hotel around 12.30 am and checked into the last available room! Tiff had a few manageable contractions and we both decided to get some sleep. I woke up around 2.15 am and asked Tiff how things were going. She had slept some too, but contractions were getting a lot stronger. She didn’t know how much longer she could make it in the bed. We called the doula and asked her to come to the hotel. Contractions were still about 8 minutes apart but were much stronger and lasting a lot longer (up to a minute and a half long now). We decided to go ahead and call the mid-wife as well. We told her about the water breaking earlier that night and where the contractions were. She told us to call back when we were ready to head to the hospital.
Tiffany got on the floor on her hands and knees for the next few contractions. It was immediate, contractions went to 2.5-3 minutes apart and very strong still. They did get shorter, 45-60 seconds long. They stayed 2.5-3 minutes apart for the next 40 minutes while we waited for the doula. Finally! The real deal had arrived...
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