solomon, part 1: when you arrived (!)

(i wanted to write all this down so you would know the story of how it all happened. when you are older, i will tell you all about this and you will probably say-- mama, why are you telling me this??-- but, oh love, you are a miracle and you should know it.)

so it took me about a week or so to get the days straight in my head, but it turns out that i probably went into labor on a tuesday evening around 7pm. the date was May 27. at 3am on May 28, my water broke! i was surprised, even though i had had a feeling you would come early, i wasn't really expecting you to be So early. i woke your daddy up and told him, we cleaned up the little puddles i'd left around the house, and then we tried to go back to sleep.

your daddy slept, and i dozed a little, but the contractions started to get more than just annoying and then i couldn't sleep because i was so uncomfortable. so i got up and moved to the couch to let your daddy sleep some more.

that whole day i labored at home-- your daddy helped me so much. he made sure i ate food and drank water and rested as much as i could. and he helped me get into helpful positions to move you down and out. this went on until about 8pm, when we decided it was time to go to the hospital. we called our doula-- megan (she was amazing!)-- and told her we were headed to the hospital. by then, my contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart and really painful. so we figured your arrival would be soon. i was actually worried that i wouldn't make it to the hospital! ha!

when we arrived they checked me and i was 7cm! that was at around 10pm on May 28. i was so excited! only 3cm to go! i really didn't want to show up at the hospital too early, so it was great to be so far along.

well i labored all night and they checked me at 6am on May 29-- NO CHANGE. blah! i was very discouraged. because i'd been laboring for more than 24 hours at that point, and had spent about 7 hours with transition contractions. but megan suggested that we move me into a tub and it helped so much! the next time they checked me (at noon, May 29) i was 9.5cm! hurrah! the nurse said that whenever i felt the need to push i could. so that was great! i started pushing some, your daddy sat behind me and we worked together-- because i was very tired. he was, too-- he'd been up helping me this whole time!

well, at 2pm on May 29, when our doctor came in, he checked me and there was a problem. my cervix was still at 9.5 and swollen because something was caught on it and pushing against it. so they told me i couldn't push anymore. i cried and cried. because i felt like pushing you out. and i had to go against everything my body was telling me to do so that i wouldn't tear my cervix and need surgery. it was excruciatingly painful. and i was so tired. the doctor said that he thought i should get an epidural, because my body was giving out and couldn't relax-- after 36 hours of labor. your daddy and i talked about it and we decided to get the epidural. it wasn't what i had wanted for your birth, but we both knew it was the right decision. we didn't want to endanger your life or mine. so i got the epidural and your daddy held my hand and cried a little. and your nurse even cried a little, because she knew how hard we'd worked for a natural birth.

but wow! when the epidural took effect i was so happy! all my endorphins that had helped me cope with the huge pain were still there, but the pain wasn't. so i was on cloud 9! your daddy and megan slept a little and i was supposed to sleep, but i was too happy-- so i chatted up the nurse.

before i knew it, it was time to push again! i started pushing around 1am on May 30, and you arrived at 2:57am that same day! your daddy caught you and cut your umbilical cord. he said it was an amazing experience to see you enter the world and to help you out and be the first to hold you. when he put you in my arms he said, this is Solomon! "Solomon" because it means "peace"-- and God had been teaching us how to have peace and rest in His love and promises. For your middle name, we decided on "Anchor"-- taken from Hebrews 6:13-20:

So God has given us two unchanging things: His promise and His oath...As a result, we who come to God for refuge might be encouraged to seize that hope that is set before us. That hope is real and true, an anchor to steady our restless souls, a hope that leads us back behind the curtain to where God is

(vs.19-20a)

we were so happy to know your name. it just fit you. and little did we know how much we would need the reminder of your name in the coming days.

you were bigger than we expected you to be, 8lbs, 1oz and 20 inches long! and had a head full of dark brown hair almost an inch long. i was so happy to finally meet you-- after all that time. i couldn't believe you came out of me! you looked too big!

(first hellos.)

and so after almost exactly 48 hours, my labor was over and you were here! it didn't really seem like such a long time when it was happening. your daddy and i just lived contraction to contraction and all the time just blended together. the only thing we knew was tiredness and pain, and comfort when there was a break in-between. your daddy was amazing. he never left my side and held my hand and encouraged me every second of that 48 hours. your daddy is a strong rock who loves you and loves me more than we will ever know.

so that is the story of your entry into the world!