Powell Sprout: Imogen's Birth

I've been meaning to write this all down for 3 months. Hopefully I can recall it all correctly.

Imogen,

You were born on your due date. April 3, 2014.

The drs wanted to induce me, but I refused. I knew you'd come when you wanted. In an effort to stave off their induction pressure, I agreed to have my membranes stripped the morning of the 3rd, at 10:00 am. It hurt like hell.

By the time I got home, I was in a fair amount of pain. I took a bath, and made sure I had my bag packed in case you came that day. I straightened my hair, and put on waterproof mascara.

I called your dad and told him that I needed to go in to the hospital. Once we got there, they checked me and told me that you weren't coming yet. They told me to go home and walk for 2 hours. So we left. The ride home my contractions got more and more intense. By the time we got home (5 minutes or so after leaving) I could barely walk. Your dad convinced me to go straight back. I was screaming so loud, I don't know how he focused on driving, but he did and he got us there fast. A really nice woman whose name I didn't catch saw us coming in, and got me a wheelchair and ran with me to the elevator and up to Labor and Delivery. I'm glad she was there at that moment.

Once we got there, we went straight back. They told me that you were already WAY down, and that I'd dilated to 5cm since I was there, which was about 10 minutes earlier. You were coming today, for sure.

I changed into my gown, and waited to be put in a birthing room. My contractions were so intense that I can't remember how many I had or how long they lasted. I remember that I had no time in between to rest. It was exhausting. I had such a mix of fear and pain and excitement and panic. It was incredible.

Your dad was awesome. I'm sure I nearly broke his hands holding on to them. I grabbed his shirt so much that I'm surprised I didn't rip it. He spoke up when any of the attending nurses got snippy or rude, which they did. He knew exactly what I wanted and exactly what I needed, and he made sure they did too. I'm so happy that he was there, and that he is who he is, and that he is your Daddy.

After a few hours of constant contractions, fussing at nurses, and screaming for pain meds that they didn't have time to give me, I felt like I needed to start pushing. It was so empowering. I felt more vulnerable and more powerful than I've ever felt in my entire life. You were coming. We were going to meet you. I was finally starting to feel like myself and we call cracked jokes and laughed when I could. It was a pretty pleasant experience.

I was given some medicine to take the edge off, since I was completely exhausted after how fast labor was. I was so thankful for that and I don't regret it at all.
I pushed maybe 10 times, and there you were! Your Dad got to watch you come, and he got to touch your head as you emerged into the world. I liked watching his face when he first saw you. They said, "And here's your baby girl" and the first thing I said was, "SHUT UP!!" Everyone laughed.

They gave you a quick wipe down, since there was meconium on you, and handed you to your dad, who handed you to me. You were so beautiful. You still are, of course, but I can't explain how overwhelmed I was with how beautiful you were when i first saw you. We both loved you so much already, and we had just met you.