The Dynamic Duo: Ethan & Owen: The Day You Were Born: Owen

On November 15th, 2011 began a day that changed our lives. Jarred was in California for work and Ethan had spent the night at Grampa and Nana's with his cousin Liam. I was home alone with Sadie. I started waking early in the morning almost every hour with the need to pee. I was so exhausted that it did not fully hit me until around 10 am that this was not pee that I had to keep using the restroom for, I was leaking amniotic fluid. I was also having a lot of cramping and discomfort. I immediately called the doctor and made an appointment to go see my doctor. I was full of so much emotion, but tried to remain calm. I called and talked with Carol and told her what was going on. She of course tried to keep me calm and on track. Jessica was on her way already to pick me up, but to her surprise it would be to the doctor's not our dad's house.

I called Jarred whom was preparing for his big lecture at his work conference. He thought that I was calling to wish him luck, but actually it was to tell him that I was pretty sure I was going into labor and had an appointment to see the doctor. Jarred was rather taken back from this information and truly thought I was playing a joke on him. As he quickly came to realize that it was no joke he asked for me to keep him updated as he rushed off the phone to make flight plans and talk to his boss.

Jessica arrived at the house a little after 11am and she helped get my bags in to the car as well as water proof her front seat of the car. Haha. We began the journey to the doctor's office and all the mean while I was having minor contractions and leaking more fluid. Jessica in order to relieve the stress was trying to keep me in good spirits. As soon as we got to my doctor's and I stepped out of the car my water completely broke in the parking lot. It felt like a scene right out of the movies. So I waddled into the office and was checked and sent straight to the hospital. I was already 4 centimeters dilated and 75% effaced. My doctor clearly stated to me "You need to go directly to the hospital, do not pass go, do not collect $200 dollars, do not stop for anything, go right to the hospital."

We arrived at the hospital greeted by my mom and dad and we made our way up to labor and delivery. Just the same as when I was there with Ethan, the nurses station did not seem to think I was in labor, especially this time with Owen. They were going to put me in a room to be checked out and sent home until a nurse who had information from my doctor spoke up and said that I was in active labor and was having this baby today.

As I got settled into my room around 1:30pm I was started on antibiotics and petocin. I had my consult with the anesthesiologist and was trying to get some rest. Jessica was doing a great job keeping Jarred updated and he luckily was able to get a flight back home, but would not get into BWI until around 10pm. After a few hours on petocin I was starting to have pretty regular contractions under a minute apart and they were beginning to become intense. I asked for the epidural. They checked me and I was at 6 centimeters and 85% effaced. Everyone was asked to leave the room and they began to prep me for the epidural. As I tried to sit still on the edge of the bed I felt the urge to push and kept telling the nurse that I could not sit still any longer. Needless to say that as soon as they could get the needle out of my back and check me I was fully dilated and they could see Owen's head. There was no time to push meds this baby was ready to come out and fast.

The nurse called in my mom and said that I was ready to push. In under 10 minutes with just a few good pushes Owen Bradley Nicholls was born at 6:29pm weighing in at 6 lbs. 2 oz. and measuring 19 3/4 inches long. After having the cord unwrapped from his neck he finally let out a scream and my little bundle joined the world a month early. I was able to hold Owen for a few minutes and they took him up to NICU to check his lungs and he had low blood pressure and low blood sugar.

After I got settled into my new room, several hours later, Jessica wheeled me upstairs to the NICU to check on Owen. When we got back it was not too long after that Jarred arrived at the hospital and we made our way up to the NICU for him to meet his new son. We were greeted with great news that Owen was going to be released to the well baby nursery, so we got to stay with him until then. It was a very long, emotional, and chaotic day, but the end result was an absolute miracle.