Wes Wild: A Birth Story

Wes' birth story starts really early on the morning of September 28, 2018 - Like 3am early! We had scheduled Wes to be induced on his due date, which was September 28 - also our wedding anniversary! (Awwww!) We were all packed and ready to check in to the hospital at 6am, but during the 3am hour, I woke up to contractions. I started timing them and they were pretty regular! I couldn't go back to sleep, so I stayed laying in bed, timing contractions and wondering if I should wake Jon up.

Around 4am, Jon woke up and asked what I was doing awake. I told him I was having contractions, they were 4 to 5 minutes apart, lasting about 1 minute, and getting increasingly more painful. We both got up and got ready to head to the hospital. At 5:30, we got ourselves in the car and started driving. Since there is a Starbucks across the street from the hospital, Jon decided to stop off and grab a coffee in the drive thru. This Starbucks always has a long line in the morning, and sure enough, even at 5:30am, there was a line. I remember sitting behind a car that must've ordered the whole menu while I was having a painful contraction. I joked that they needed to hurry up because I was having a baby!!!

We got to the hospital and up to the labor and delivery floor at 6am. They took us to the room where we would deliver the baby and got us settled. I put on my hospital gown and they hooked everything up to my belly. They asked me if I was having any contractions, and I let them know that I was. At 7am, when they checked me for the first time, I was 4-5 centimeters dilated! All on my own! Without an induction! I was super excited about that.

They held off on the Pitocin to see if I would continue to progress on my own. Also, once I was hooked up to the machines, they noticed that Wes' heart rate would slow down whenever I had a contraction. That was another reason they did not want to start the Pitocin. At first, it didn't seem like that big of a deal, but as my contractions progressed, the nurses started to act more worried about his dropping heart rate. They had me shift positions, onto my side, to see if that would help - it didn't. His heart rate would slow down so much during each contraction that sometimes it almost seemed to stop. We could hear it on the monitors and it was a scary sound when it got very slow. The nurses said it was most likely just his position as he was traveling down the birth canal, but I started to panic. I didn't want anything to happen to him and I also didn't want an emergency C-section. I got very nervous and started crying a few times. In general, I felt very nervous on the day of Wes' birth. I had previously had two completely smooth birth experiences, and I was just really nervous about having something go wrong with this third one. I had a lot of anxiety leading up to the day and on the day of.

Time flew by as I labored, and they told me I could have my epidural at any time. I felt like I was ok for a bit - the contractions weren't unbearable - so I held off for a couple hours. Around 8am, I requested my epidural, but it took the anesthesiologist an hour to make it to my room. By that time, I was in a lot of pain and wishing I would have requested it earlier! The epidural went totally fine, and I was pain free in no time, around 9am.

At 10:45am, I felt something wet between my legs and thought my water had broke. I asked Jon to come take a look. He didn't tell me what he saw, just told me to call the nurse. When the nurse came in, she took a look and said, "Oh, that's blood!" I panicked a bit. Was that normal? She told me it was and said that probably meant it was baby time. She checked me and sure enough, I was fully dilated and it was time to push!

The nurse paged my doctor who works in the building next door and she came right over. By 11am, I was ready to push! I pushed a few times and time seemed to slow down. It felt like nothing was happening. I remembered how fast the pushing had gone with Elle, and I started to get nervous that this would take longer, but I was wrong! Only 12 minutes later, our little Wes Wild was here!



As soon as he came out, Jon cut the cord, they cleaned him off a tiny bit, wrapped him up and put him on my chest. He curled up against me with his little hands on the side of his face and stayed like that for a while! I immediately fell in love with him. I could just tell his sweet, loving spirit in that first moment! It was literally love at first site. I was so nervous about having a boy after having two girls and didn't know how I would feel, but I fell in love with that little boy the second I saw his face and have only fallen more and more in love with him every day since. It was such a calming thing to immediately know that yes, this was the person that was supposed to complete our family. He was perfect for us. I knew that immediately.



The fun thing is, my body did this one all on its own! They never gave me Pitocin before the birth! (They did give it to me after he was born to help everything contract back down.) So induction or no induction, this little boy was coming out right on time on his due date! Now every year, we will celebrate his birthday and our anniversary on September 28, and we'll always remember what a perfect anniversary gift he was. :)



After he was born, I just held him for an hour or so, snuggled against my chest, while my epidural wore off. I will always remember that time of us snuggling, me eating a sandwich from the cafeteria and drinking a Sprite, Jon taking photos, us talking about his little face and hands and his light hair. Once it was time for us to move to our recovery room, Jon took him and held him for the first time while I got ready to relocate. They started me on my Pitocin drip at that time, and that's when the after birth contractions started. These were so painful for me after Elle's birth and even more painful after Wes' birth. I experienced them for days after we got home and sometimes I would just cry through them because they hurt so bad. It was like labor contractions all over again, but for days!

Jon's mom came to El Paso for Wes' birth to help us with the girls, so Jon was able to stay with me at the hospital that first night. No one got much sleep, though! Wes would not sleep in the bassinet, and I was terrified for someone to fall asleep while holding him. So we alternated being awake all night and taking turns holding him and changing diapers, and I just remember how exhausted my body was. I was so thankful when the sun started to come up. At this hospital, there was no nursery that could take him for a few hours to let us sleep. That was rough! But we made it through!

The next morning, Wes got to meet his sisters for the first time! I had bought presents for the girls from Wes and I gave them to the girls when they got to the hospital. I remember Elle kept asking how they were from Wes, like how did he get them?? I told her he drove to the store and picked them out himself - they thought that was hilarious.

Wes also got his first sponge bath that morning, and he was circumcised. We were very nervous about the procedure and had done a lot of research before about if we even wanted to do it or not. We decided in the end that we would do it, but we chose our own doctor to do it and he came to the hospital and performed the procedure. Jon's mom cried when they took Wes back for it - we all anxiously awaited his return. He came back sleeping, completely peaceful, all bundled up nice and tight. We were so relieved that it went well and that he was ok!



We were cleared to go home later that day, so we only spent one night in the hospital! We headed home as a family of five, and our arms and hearts have been SO FULL ever since.

Elle Evergreen: A Birth Story

Elle's birth story starts early on the morning of Friday, February 13th. Even though I had hoped to go into labor naturally the second time around, Elle decided to stay put so we scheduled an induction for the 39th week, like we did with Wren. The night before the induction, I did start having real contractions for the first time (instead of the Braxton Hicks contractions I had for weeks), but they weren't strong enough to get labor started that day, so we continued with the induction as planned. 

Jon and I woke up around 4am on the morning of the induction, showered, dressed and finished packing our hospital bags. We woke Wren up around 6am. We went into her room together with the video camera and filmed her waking up, telling her today was the day she would become a big sister. She was so sleepy, and I don't think she understood, but it was a sweet moment to have with her before the big day. I had been emotional for weeks thinking about how the second baby would change things for Wren - I just wanted her to know how much we loved her.

The only family member we have close by is Jon's mom who lives a couple hours away in northern Virginia, and we had asked her to be in the room with us for the birth. Thankfully, Wren's daycare opens at 6:30am everyday, so we made plans to drop her off when they opened since we had to be at the hospital at 7am. We got her dressed for the day, gave her a quick snack, loaded our bags into the car and headed to the daycare - it was still dark outside and very cold.

When we got to the daycare, I walked Wren in like I always do. However, since it was so early, she was going to a different classroom with a different teacher that she didn't know and no other kids had arrived yet. When I bent down to tell her goodbye, she started crying and threw her arms around my neck - scared because everything was so different. I immediately started crying, too. I had been worried about this happening and really wanted her to feel like it was a normal day, nothing to be afraid of. I comforted her and told her that daddy and Gigi (Jon's mom) would see her that afternoon to pick her up to meet her baby sister, and I headed back out to the car. The lady at the front desk stopped me to ask me some questions, and I could not stop crying. I kept apologizing to her - telling her it was an emotional day for me. She probably thought I was a crazy person!

Back in the car, Jon and I headed to the hospital, driving into the most beautiful, brilliant sunrise - all pinks and reds and oranges. My excitement and nervousness grew the closer we got to the hospital.



We parked at the hospital and headed up to the labor and delivery floor where we met our nurse for the day, Annika, and got shown to our room. At this hospital, you only have one room for your whole stay. The room that you labor and deliver in is the same room that you stay in for the remaining recovery days. I loved this so much. It meant we could settle in right away and not worry about moving our bags after I delivered. It also meant I had plenty of time to rest and snuggle with Elle after she was born, instead of being rushed to get up and move rooms. I don't see why all hospitals don't do this - it made our experience so smooth.

All of the rooms on the labor and delivery floor are large with big bathrooms, a small table and chairs, a small couch that folds into a bed and a wall of windows. We had the last room at the end of the hallway. Annika gave me a gown to put on and left us to get settled. We unpacked a few things, and I changed and climbed into bed. Annika came back a few minutes later, got me hooked up to all of the monitors and gave us a run down of what to expect for the day. Next, she got everything ready to put my IV in, which turned out to be the worst part of the day - even worse than pushing the baby out!

I have never been a fan of needles, and I get super nauseous when anyone talks about blood, needles, veins, etc. When she was prepping my arm, she joked that my veins were so good she could throw a needle and hit one - which totally jinxed me! It ended up taking her three tries and three different spots to get the IV placed correctly. After the first try didn't go in correctly, she tried wiggling and pushing the needle into place, all while talking about collapsed veins and valves, and I felt myself getting sick and really, really hot. I looked at Jon and told him I was going to pass out and/or throw up. Annika quickly gave me a bucket to throw up in, and I dry heaved a few times (I hadn't had anything to eat or drink since dinner the night before - you can't eat before an induction). Jon got a magazine to fan me and a cold rag for my neck. Annika took the needle out and gave me a break to calm down. I thankfully did not end up passing out, and once I relaxed a bit, Annika tried two more times and was able to get the IV in and start some fluids. I was SO glad when that part was done.

Jon and I hung out for an hour or so, setting up the iPod with our playlist and the camera, until my doctor stopped by the room on her way in for the day, around 9am. She double checked that we for sure wanted to have a baby that day - and we said YES! - so she broke my water and told Annika to go ahead and start the Pitocin. I couldn't believe how quickly things were going - my water was already broke and it was only 9am! I knew from my experience with Wren's birth that the contractions would get a lot more painful now that my water had been broken, and that made me nervous.

Annika came into the room shortly after and confirmed that I did indeed want an epidural (yes, yes I did!), so she set out to get my name on the epidural waiting list. Jon was hungry by this time, and we chatted about where he could go to pick up some breakfast. He had just gotten his jacket on to head out when Annika came back in and let me know the anesthesiologist was on his way. Jon and I were both so surprised - already?! It wasn't even 10am!

Jon went ahead and left in search of food (they don't let anyone stay in the room for the epidural procedure), and the anesthesiologist came in a few minutes later. He was a young guy, super friendly and laid back. I was really nervous about the epidural because I didn't have the best experience with it during Wren's birth. Annika helped me get in the correct sitting position on the bed and basically hugged me from the front to help me hold still. Even though it did hurt going in - a lot of pinching and stinging on the right side (and was probably the second worst part of the day) - the anesthesiologist was able to get it in correctly the first time - hallelujah!

While he finished taping all of the tubes to my back, he joked with me about the teddy bear I had with me (a bear I've had forever and also had during Wren's birth). I told him it was kind of like having an extra pillow - he and Annika laughed and said it was totally fine if I needed it for comfort. I laughed and admitted that maaaaybe it did make me feel better. The mood was light and happy and the sun was streaming in through the windows. I couldn't believe my epidural was already in (before 10am!), and I hadn't felt a single painful contraction yet. It was pretty amazing.



When Jon got back from getting breakfast (he ended up going to Krispy Kreme for coffee and donuts, and I was SO jealous), his mom also arrived at the hospital. She entered the room right as Annika was placing my catheter - ha! What a way to greet someone! (You have to have a catheter with an epidural since you're numb from the chest down and can't feel when you have to use the bathroom.) I was not nervous or embarrassed at all about having Jon's mom in the delivery room with us. She has a very laid back, calm personality, and I knew she would be great to have in the room. My mom was with us for Wren's birth, so it was super special that Jon could have his mom there this time around. (Even though she does now know me a lot better than she did before - ha!)

Once Jon's mom arrived, it was really just a waiting game. Jon and I played around with the camera, took selfies (of course!), read magazines, talked to family and friends on the phone and tried to nap a few times. Annika came by to check me and rotate me from side to side every hour or so, and I continued to dilate a little more each hour. After she left, we would make bets on how much more I would be dilated the next time she came back. My doctor was supposed to come by around noon to check on me, but when it hit 12:30pm and she hadn't made it by yet, Annika stopped by again. I told her I was starting to feel the contractions more strongly - not necessarily pain, but a lot of pressure. She said that probably meant we were getting close. Sure enough, she checked and I was dilated almost to 9!

Jon and I were a little shocked - it had all happened so fast! Annika left to call my doctor and gather a few things we'd need in the room when the baby arrived, and Jon and I texted and called family and friends to let them know we were about to have a baby. My doctor got to our room a little after 1pm and helped the nurses get the bed ready for delivery - and then it was time to push!

With Wren, I pushed for one hour, so I was prepared for the pushing to take a while. Little did I know, things go A LOT faster the second time around. I only pushed for 10 minutes with Elle - and I know for sure, because we have all of it on video. The whole delivery was such a fun, peaceful, enjoyable experience. That is probably the weirdest way to describe delivering a baby, but it really was. My doctor started off by giving me a quick reminder on how to push. Then I would push three times in a row, then rest, push three times in a row, then rest - pushing during the contractions and resting in between. In between when I was resting, we would all chit chat - about the weather, about the songs on our playlist, about the baby's name (which we hadn't told the nurses or doctor yet) - and then we'd concentrate again when it was time to push. Jon and I laughed when we first watched the video of the day, because we are all laughing and joking around in between contractions - not what you would expect of giving birth!

Just like with Wren, everyone could see Elle's luxurious head of hair before she made her grand entrance. At one point, my doctor asked me if I wanted to look down and see her coming out. I said a big 'no thanks!' to that - haha! (Jon's mom was hilarious afterward - even though she's had three kids of her own, she kept shaking her head with wide eyes and saying "I just didn't know" when we asked her how it was to see it all happen up close and personal.)

After my fourth set of pushes, Elle Evergreen Klock was born! (And to the song she was named after!) The doctor held her up for Jon to cut the cord and then the nurse wrapped her in a blanket and placed her on my chest. I was able to hold her for a few minutes before she was moved to the bassinet in the room to be weighed, measured and cleaned off a bit. They did all of this right in the room with us, and then gave her back to me as soon as they were done.



Once Elle and I were both cleaned up, the nurses helped me sit up and get comfy in the bed, then quickly cleaned the room, rolled everything out that was no longer needed and left us alone to snuggle our new little bundle - and I absolutely loved this. When Wren was born, they took her to the nursery for her newborn tests and her first bath shortly after she was born, so we didn't get that special snuggle time. With Elle, we had her all to ourselves for a couple hours before the baby nurse came in and gave her a bath in our room. Then we had her to ourselves for another chunk of time before they took her to the nursery for her newborn tests later that evening.

I don't think I'll ever forget the way I felt in those first few hours after Elle was born. It was such a different experience from Wren's birth. With Wren, there was a lot of nervousness, worry and lack of confidence in those first few hours. With Elle, all I felt was love. Overwhelming, overjoyed love. Love for her, love for Jon, love for the whole wonderful experience. I could not stop smiling, and I just felt so happy. It really was the best day - I would do it over and over again if I could.



Elle was born at 1:42pm. Jon and his mom left around 4pm to pick Wren up from daycare and grab some dinner. They arrived back at the hospital around 6pm with food from one of our favorite BBQ joints, and Wren got to meet Elle for the first time. It was so fun to see them together and to see Wren's reaction. She seemed to understand that the baby came out of my belly (and she still sometimes tells people that when they ask about Elle). She touched Elle's face and counted her fingers and then ran around exploring the hospital room. We ate dinner together, and I finally got up and moved around the room a bit (which is always a little scary after giving birth and having an epidural).

That night, Jon went home to stay with Wren, and I stayed at the hospital by myself. This had been our plan all along, and I was a little nervous about being alone, but I have to say, even though I would've loved having Jon there, I also really loved having those two nights in the hospital just Elle and I. That first night after everyone left, Elle and I snuggled, watched TV, played on Instagram (and loved reading everyone's sweet congratulation notes) and called Jon and my sister a million times to chat. I had planned to send her to the nursery around 10pm so that I could get a good night's sleep, but I was on such a high - I didn't want the day to be over! I stayed up with her until almost 2am, just hanging out, before she headed to the nursery and I went to sleep.

All in all, Elle's birthday was such a great day - probably the best birth experience I could have ever asked for - and a day I will always think back on with a smile and so much love. I can't wait to tell her all about it one day. :)

Wren Winter: A Birth Story

Arriving at the hospital // Heading to our room

Because I was scheduled to be induced, Wren's birth story starts out pretty peacefully. My mom, dad and sister flew into the Nashville airport and drove to our house the afternoon before my induction, and we all went out for a pizza dinner at our favorite restaurant that night. Afterwards, we went to bed early, and surprisingly, I slept like a rock! (I thought my nerves would keep me up, but they didn't.) 

The next morning, Jon and I woke up at 4:45am and got ready to head to the hospital. We showered and dressed, finished packing our hospital bags, took one last belly photo and jumped in the car. It was still dark outside on our drive, and we called Jon's sister, Kelli, on the way. The night before, we had told everyone that the baby's name started with "W," so Kelli tried to guess the name, then gave me some advice and encouragement for the day ahead. (Wren was one of Kelli's name guesses, but we didn't let on that she had gotten it right.) 

Once we got to the hospital, we went in through the Emergency Room (since the main lobby wasn't open yet), and they sent us up to the Labor and Delivery floor. Checking in felt very surreal - it was hard to believe we were really having a baby that day. 

We arrived on the Labor and Delivery floor around 5:30am. The nurses showed us to our room (which was so nice, spacious and comfortable), and I was told to change into my gown. I remember being unsure of what - if anything - I was supposed to keep on under the gown. No one told me, and obviously, this was my first time having a baby so the whole experience was new! I decided to go with nothing, except for the tube-top-like thing around my belly to hold the monitor on. 

After I changed, I sat in one of the chairs in the room and was talking with Jon when the nurse came in to get my IV going. She told me to get in the bed so we could get the show started, and that's when it really started to feel real. She was super nice and kept me chatting about my pink nail and toe polish while she put my IV in. I was nervous about that part (I really don't like needles), but she did a great job and it didn't hurt at all. By 6am, I was comfy in the bed, the sun was coming up and the Pitocin was flowing. 

In my hospital gown // The Pitocin is flowing

Just a few minutes after my IV was in, the nurse came in again to check my contractions on the monitor, and surprised Jon and I by letting me know I was already having contractions. I swore that I couldn't feel them at all. Jon watched the monitor and told me when I was having a contraction, and I figured out that what I had been feeling for a few days (what I thought was the baby stretching out really far and pushing into my ribs), was actually a contraction. I still remember feeling that exact same thing at dinner the night before - so funny that I was having a contraction and didn't even know it! That got us pretty excited.  

For our first few hours at the hospital, it was just Jon and I in the room, and Jon went around taking pictures of everything, including the little station they had set up and waiting for our baby girl. During this time, I continued feeling the contractions as pressure in my rib cage, but they didn't bother me at all. An hour or so in, the nurses on duty changed shifts, and our new labor and delivery nurse, Sherry, came in and introduced herself. (After that, she would come in every hour or so until delivery to check my dilation and increase my dose of Pitocin.) At this point, I felt fantastic. We took some videos, talked to our families on the phone and tried to relax.

Everything ready and waiting for little Wren

My family arrived at the hospital around 9am. When they arrived, I was still feeling great and had dilated a little bit. They made themselves comfy in the room, and we took photos, looked at magazines, watched TV and played on our phones while we waited.

Waiting, waiting, waiting // Family photo op

An hour or so after my family arrived, my doctor came by to check things out for the first time and decided to break my water. I was really nervous about this - I had read that it could be painful - but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Jon was able to stay in the room with me and hold my hand, which helped a lot. It was definitely an uncomfortable feeling, followed by a rush of warm water, and then it was over - but once he broke my water, the contractions definitely got worse. 

What I was feeling as pressure in my rib cage, moved down to my lower stomach, and the contractions started to feel more like period cramps. At first, I was able to talk and joke around during contractions, but as they intensified, I had to stop and focus on my breathing to get through them. They went from feeling like mild period cramps to feeling like a metal belt was around the lower part of my belly and every few minutes, it would heat up really, REALLY hot and there was searing white hot heat around the bottom of my belly.

During one of the first bad contractions that I had, I was holding Jon's hand but my eyes were all over the room, jumping from place to place. Jon kept telling me to look at him, look at him, so I finally did, and - as weird as it may sound - I found that staring directly into his eyes during a contraction really helped me focus and get through it. There is something a little unnerving about starting directly into another person's eyes without looking away (even if it's your husband's eyes), and I feel like it helped take my focus off the pain and gave me something else to think about. For the rest of my labor, I would stare into his eyes every time something hurt, and even though he'll tell you it made him feel kind of weird at times because of the intensity of my stare, I honestly believe it's one of the things that helped me through the pain the most. (I also had my teddy bear with me to squeeze - a stuffed animal I've had for 10+ years that always makes me feel comforted. Jon joked that most people would bring a stuffed animal for the baby, not for the mom. Haha!)

The contractions get more intense // Jon helping me through a contraction

After a couple hours of the more painful contractions, the nurse came in to check me again, and I was dilated to three. She checked with my doctor, who said that I could get an epidural at that time if I wanted to. I had it in my head that I needed to wait until I was dilated to four to get an epidural, so I told the nurses and my family that I would hang in there until I was at a four. 

Right after I told everyone that, the contractions got worse. Where it had been feeling like a hot metal band around my lower belly, it was now a crushing pressure in my pelvic area. In addition to staring into Jon's eyes, I was also crushing his hand with each contraction. My family encouraged me to go ahead and get the epidural (there really was no sense in waiting for one more centimeter), so I told the nurse I was ready for it.

When the anesthesiologist came into the room, she told us that everyone would have to leave - including Jon - for her to do the epidural. I immediately felt panicky. I didn't want to be by myself. I needed Jon to hold my hand because I was scared (I had watched videos of epidurals on YouTube and had totally freaked myself out about them), but out everyone went, and I was alone with the nurse and the anesthesiologist. 

They had me sit up in the bed crossed legged, facing one side and hunched over, and asked me to relax my spine. This was way easier said than done, since I was a nervous wreck about the whole thing. I tried my best to relax, but didn't do a very good job. I could feel the needle poking on my left side and it hurt, so while I tried to hold as still as possible through the pain, the anesthesiologist said I was moving too much and got a little frustrated with me. She finished putting the epidural in, and left the room. When Jon and my family came back in, I was a little upset. I told him that I had tried to stay as still as possible, but that it had hurt and I was worried the epidural didn't go in right. (I had heard too many stories about people having to get them done twice because the first one didn't work, and I really wanted to avoid that.) 

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the right side of my lower body was completely numb, but my left side (the side I had felt the needle poking me in) felt totally normal. We told the nurse, and she had me shift in the bed so that I was lying toward my left side to see if the medicine in the epidural would drip down to my left side to numb it. 

It didn't work. Thirty minutes later, my right side was blissfully numb, and my left side was in so much pain it was almost unbearable. By this time, my contractions had intensified immensely, and although I couldn't feel them on my right side, the left side of my pelvis felt like a semi truck was backing over it. The pressure was so intense that the best way I can think to describe the feeling is something like what your bones would feel like if they were getting crushed by a car. The contractions were coming every three minutes or so, and I would stare into Jon's eyes, smashing his hand and trying my hardest to relax my body - sinking into the overwhelming pressure - breathing through it - until it passed.

Forty five minutes later, we told the nurse about the pain, and she suggested we redo the epidural. I agreed, and my family left the room while our nurse went to find the anesthesiologist. Jon and I were left alone in the room while we waited, and that was the only moment during my labor that I began to panic. The pain was so intense that I literally felt like I would not be able to go on if the epidural didn't work the second time. For the first time all day, I started to cry. Jon did his best to calm me down, telling me the second epidural would work and I would be fine.

Once the anesthesiologist came in, I was determined to be relaxed and as still as a stone this time around. Thankfully, the first epidural had numbed me enough that I didn't feel a thing the second time around. I was able to hold as still as she needed me to be as she went up a vertebrae and re-inserted the epidural catheter. The anesthesiologist, my nurse and I made small talk about Taylor Swift, since one of her songs was playing in the room. (Jon and I made a special playlist for the day with only the artists/songs that I love - it included plenty of Taylor Swift, Mumford and Sons, Phillip Phillips and Bruno Mars - and it was so nice to have the room filled with my favorite songs during labor and the rest of our hospital stay.) 

Five minutes after the anesthesiologist finished and left the room, I was in heaven. My left side went completely numb, and I was the happiest woman on the face of the earth. Jon came back into the room before the rest of my family. I was nervous for him to go get everyone else until I knew for sure that the epidural had worked, so we chatted for a while until it kicked in. When my family came back in, I was a laughing, joking machine, and everyone could tell it had worked the second time. 

My nurse checked me a few minutes after my second epidural, and I was dilated to five. She put my catheter in (which I was scared about, but I didn't feel at all), and we all settled in for more waiting.

The anesthesiologist arrives for my epidural // Dilated to five

While we waited, Jon took more videos of me talking about the day and how I was feeling. We hope to one day edit all of the videos that he shot into one birthday video for Wren. Because I couldn't eat after midnight the night before the induction, I was SUPER hungry once the day got started. At one point, we asked the nurse if I could suck on a candy cane or some kind of hard candy since I was so hungry, but she said no - only ice chips (and oh, how many ice chips I ate!). I would definitely say I was surprised by how hungry I was all day long, and it was a constant, intense hunger that lasted all the way until my family brought me a Steak 'n Shake burger and shake by request post-delivery (Yum!!).

Jon captures the day on video // Me and my sister, Brianne

A couple hours later, after a few almost-naps (I seriously almost fell asleep a few times after I had the second epidural - that's how relaxed I was despite my mountainous contractions on the chart), my nurse came in to check me and was surprised to learn I was dilated to nine. That woke everyone up! 

My nurse rushed out to tell my doctor, and I decided to touch up my hair/make-up (A girl's gotta look good when having a baby, right?!). The next half hour was filled with excitement and anticipation as my nurse and other nurses bustled in and out of the room - setting things up, moving things around and getting everything ready for a baby. As my sister and dad left to wait in the waiting room (my mom and Jon stayed with me during the delivery), I started to cry out of sheer nervousness. Yes, I was excited that it was finally time to push - this is what we had been waiting nine months for! - but I was also terrified! 

My nurse, Sherry, had been terrific the entire day, but she truly shined during the next hour. She was the best labor instructor I could've asked for. Before we started, she described how I should push in a way that I could understand (remember, all of this was new to me!). I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get the hang of it, but I gave it my best shot when she told me to push for the first time - with Jon on one side of me and my mom on the other side. After my first push, everyone was so encouraging, telling me I did great and encouraging me to give it my all again. I remember thinking they were all just being nice. I couldn't possibly have done it right - I had no idea what I was doing! But my nurse swore I was doing a good job, and continued to count and encourage me through every single push for the next hour. (At one point, during a break, I told her how amazing she was. I still can't imagine what it would be like to deliver babies everyday for your job. She was the best coach I could've asked for, and I'm so glad she was there that day to be with us. We were all so thankful to have her.)

After pushing for a little bit, I started to regain some feeling in my legs and lower body, which was actually really helpful during the delivery. I started to be able to feel when a contraction was coming (instead of having the nurse tell me from looking at the chart), and I would say "I need to push," and everyone would be there to encourage me as I did.

Looking back on the entire experience, I can say that the contractions didn't feel anything like I thought they would, but the pushing was exactly what I had expected. It felt like what you would think pushing a baby out of your body feels like.  For me, the fact that I was so hungry, made the pushing even harder. Sometimes, a wave of hunger would come over me with such intensity that I didn't have the energy to push until it subsided. (You know how sometimes you get so hungry you feel nauseous? That's how it was during the pushing, which was terrible - I just wanted to EAT.)

Thirty minutes into pushing, Sherry started telling me that she could see Wren's head when I pushed. At first, I found it motivating. Her head! She was there! She was coming! But then I started to get grossed out. I really don't have a strong stomach when it comes to certain things (like blood and guts and babies coming out of bodies), so when she started telling me all about Wren's hair (She has so much! And it's dark!), I had to stop her. I still laugh when I think back to that moment. I told her I wasn't trying to be rude, but asked her to please stop telling me about the details of what was going on down there - I didn't want to know. Ha!

Once I had been pushing for about an hour, my nurse decided it was time to get my doctor. Up until this point, it had been just me, Jon, my mom and Sherry in the room. Once Sherry went out and got my doctor, things got a little more exciting. Suddenly there were other nurses for me and nurses waiting for the baby, too. I could tell it was getting close. 

Once my doctor came in, he watched as I pushed a couple more times and made a joke about the music in our room being better than the music in the room next door. (He said the girl next door had whale sounds playing, which made me laugh!) Then everything happened in a blur of quickness. I remember hearing my doctor ask for some sort of tool. I remember feeling him cut something (but not feeling any sort of pain from it). I remember Wren's head plopping out immediately after the cut. (I say "plopping" because that's seriously how it felt.) I remember both Jon and my mom's hands jerking up to cover my eyes as my doctor held Wren's head and cleaned out her mouth (they both knew I would get queasy if I looked). I remember feeling the need to push and asking "Can I push again??" and being told "No, not now!" I remember a few seconds later being able to push and feeling the rest of her body come out. I remember opening my eyes (I kept them closed through the last pushes) and seeing Wren for the first time as the doctor held her and saying "That's so crazy. That's so crazy!" over and over again. I remember telling Jon to "Go, go!" over to be by Wren and take pictures while they finished with me. I remember being so glad that my mom was there to hold my hand while I finished the delivery and they stitched me up. And I remember when they were finally done with me and with Wren, and Jon brought her over to me for the first time.

She was crying at the top of her little lungs, and the nurse told us it was good for her to cry because she had a little bit of fluid in her lungs. I was shaking so much, and even though I wanted to hold her, I was so, so nervous because I couldn't stop shaking. (Those of you who have been induced know that the Pitocin brings on major, teeth-chattering body shakes. It was definitely disconcerting.) Jon kept asking me if I wanted to hold her, but I kept saying not yet. She was so tiny! And I was terrified of holding her before I got my body under control. 

Wren Winter makes her debut at 4:38pm // 7lbs 8oz, 21 inches long

A few minutes after they finished with me, my nurse asked me what I'd like to drink - I could have Sprite or water. I chose Sprite and was overjoyed that I could finally eat/drink again! As soon as she brought it to me, I chugged it like someone dying of thirst in the desert. Once I had something in my system again, I felt myself - and the shaking - relax a little. I told Jon I was ready to hold her, and he handed her to me for the first time.

She was just the tiniest, cutest, funniest looking thing I had ever seen! Her face was sort of bruised along her cheekbones and she had goop all over her eyes, but still, she was so, so cute - and TINY! If anything, that is what stuck with me the most. She was the tiniest creature I have ever seen, and I was literally terrified of hurting her because she was so small. I remember wanting to talk to her so she could hear my voice (because supposedly babies can recognize their mom's voice from being in her belly for so long), and I remember feeling so unsure of myself and so scared that I would hurt her (because she was so tiny!) but desperately wanting her to know how much I loved her.

Holding Wren for the first time // The Klock Family

Even now, more than three months later, I still think about the day Wren was born all the time, and I'm pretty sure I always will. It was the most surreal, 'is-this-really-happening' day I've ever experienced, the most painful day I've ever experienced (even with the epidural!) and the most awe-inspiring day I've ever experienced. Knowing her now - her little face, her little smile, her little personality - I can't believe that was her in my belly all along, just waiting to come out and join our family - but I'm so glad it was. She is absolutely perfect for us, and we could not possibly love her more.

Wren Winter - Your birthday was the best day ever, and I hope you know how loved you are -  now and forever.

xoxo