Moore Miles & Memories: Cohen Casey Moore 9/01/13 Birth story & hospital experience.

August 31st..."Labor" Day weekend. The nation was pumped for college football to begin and I was excited to get this baby out of me and be able to see my..... you-know-what again. The last week of my pregnancy seemed so incredibly long. I cant compare the feelings I experienced those last few days with any other event in my life. The anticipation was a killer. We scheduled an induction because Brad was participating in an intense program with the military with zero flexibility. Missing just 8 hours of this 13 week course would lead to his dismissal in this highly desirable and elite training. Most importantly , he wasn't allowed to have his cell phone on majority of the day for security purposes and it he was there 6 days a week for 12-14 hours a day. I was exhausted from worrying over the thought of him not being around as I went into labor so our doctor gladly agreed to induce, even though this was my first baby. Obviously, there was still a chance I could have the baby before Sept 1 , but regardless my nerves were calmed. We planned to induce Saturday night in hopes to have the baby on Sunday. This way Brad would be available & present the entire time. My mother in law, Diane, who came to help for the first couple weeks, flew in from Georgia a couple days before and we couldn't kill time fast enough. I was hot, living in my husbands basketball shorts, waddling and waiting. Finally the time came. I showered and shaved my legs and got ready like I was 21 and headed to the club...in my XL yoga pants of course. Who knew when I would be able to take the time to curl my eyelashes again, right? Driving to the hospital was something I hope to never forget. Brad's excitement had me mesmerized. He was so ready to be a dad and it melted my heart. Here we were in love to full capacity completely unaware a greater love existed and that we would know it soon. We listened to our favorite songs, and talked about what we thought baby Cohen would look like. I wasn't scared , just ready. My heart pounded and I held back tears of excitement as we pulled up to the hospital. Everything became real. Holy cow, literally. As we walked in, I tried to pay attention to my body and what it felt like. I focused on the waddling ( what I like to call pregnancy swag), the roundness of my belly, the tightness in back, the wideness of my hips, my movie-star status boobs, my thighs rubbing together, itchiness of my skin stretched to capacity, my protruding belly button, and my hands shaking. Weighing in at 186 pounds, 51 pounds heavier than I was just 40 weeks ago, and completely out of my comfort zone , I was ready to get started. I got settled in my stylish hospital gown and answered a few questions to the nurse.. After she "checked" me and reported back to my doctor, they felt it necessary to tell me that the induction may not work in the allowed time for a vaginal birth. They thought that my body wouldn't be able to deliver the baby in time after the medicine started which would result in a C-section delivery. What? Does this mean my baby isn't ready? She said I could come back in a week and we could try again. Excuse me? Come back in a week? She may as well have said next year. Bradley and I prayed and after a few minutes of weighing out our options, we decided on taking our chances. We felt confident that things would go well. At 10:00pm I got my first dose of medicine. By the 9:00am the next morning my nurse came in and was impresses by the progress I had made. We were going to have a baby today!! I slept majority of the day and at 3:30pm a lady wheeled in a cart with what seemed like a gazillion tools on it. Clearly she borrowed them from a serial killer.Wait a second?! Um, don't you just catch the baby and snip the cord? Get that cart out of my room. Now. For the first time in 40 weeks, I felt sick. That cart meant the time was near. ITS GO TIME. Cohen Casey Moore was born at 5:50 pm. Perfect for my OCD. When My doctor told me the baby was one push away, I looked at the clock. 5:49. ARE YOU KIDDING ME( I was born on 1/15 @ 1:15)? That will drive me nuts the rest of my life. One. More. Minute. Phew. So there he was. 6 pounds 11 oz and 19.5 inches long. AMAZING. I AM A MOM!!!!! I loved labor and delivery. Loved it.Yes, Im being serious. Yes, I had an epidural an I'd love to kiss the human that figured that wonderful thing out. If you didn't have one, I'm sorry ;). We left the hospital Tuesday and we were so happy to be a little family. I had an excellent recovery. The human body is amazing. I was in the gym by Thursday. I had a baby 4 days ago and just ran 3 miles? I'm sure you are all dying to tell me about how I shouldn't have done that. Just like I shouldn't have drank soda while pregnant, raced a triathlon at 34 weeks, or ran a marathon, right? Listen, It felt great and my uterus didn't fall out. I was so happy to not be pregnant and yes I, "listened to my body." Thank you very much. Overall, my pregnancy and delivery was amazing. I didn't get sick, didn't need stitches, and learned to love and respect my body. Having a baby must be the most spiritual experience we have on Earth. I truly believe motherhood is our greatest role and responsibility as women. Here are some pics from the hospital and the first few days.

{ I will have another post coming up soon about my experiences through pregnancy & recovery, watching my body change in so many ways, body after baby, and the details nobody talks about! I will also include before and after baby body pics and include safe workout tips.}