September 2nd, 2018 was the greatest day of my life. The days leading up to Havens birth were really hard. I wasn’t having any contractions, there was no sign Havens was going to make his debut anytime soon, and I was 100% over being pregnant. In fact, I hated being pregnant. At seven weeks pregnant I was getting sick eight times a day, and when I say ‘sick’ I don’t mean that I was getting nauseous eight times a day, I mean I was puking my guts out eight times a day while also feeling nauseous all day long. That first week of “morning sickness” I lost five pounds. I moved up my OB appointment and was given medication to help my morning sickness. (Thank goodness for Diclegis.) I went from being sick eight times a day to only once or twice a day; it eventually turned to once a week and then finally every other week. In 40 weeks the longest I had gone without getting sick was two weeks. But back to the birth..
At midnight on September 2nd I woke up and my pants were wet, nothing crazy, but enough that it woke me up. So I got up out of bed, went pee (just to be sure I hadn’t peed my pants cause with pregnancy you never know), changed my clothes, and before I had a chance to get back into bed my pants were wet again! I changed again and went out to the living room to figure out what was going on. My first thought was that my water broke but it didn’t happen the way everyone said it would. The movies always show a huge gush of fluid that makes it so obvious that the women’s water broke, even my doctor said that’s what would happen.
I started googling “39weeks pregnant slowly leaking”. The only thing I learned was that there was no way to know if my water was leaking unless I went to the hospital to have it checked. I really didn’t want to drive to the hospital just to have them send me home without a baby (my hospital was 40 minutes away). I decided to call my OBGYN’s on call nurse and just as I did I started to have contractions. They came quick and lasted quite a while. My nurse told me since I was now having contractions I should definitely head to the hospital!
I went back to my room, got back into bed, woke up Justin, and told him, “Justin, I think we are going to have a baby today.” I instantly started to cry. There were so many emotions I began to feel all at once. It took him a while to believe me but once he did he jumped out of bed and started to get everything ready. I on the other hand took my sweet time. Contractions were coming every 5-7 minutes but they were bearable. I showered, dried my hair, and slowly made my way out the door with Justin. It was now 3am and we were on the way! Once in the car we called my mom to let her know what was going on. We told her we were on the way to the hospital but were unsure on whether or not we were going to have the baby that day. Halfway to the hospital the contractions became really strong. They were no longer bearable and I was ready to be at the hospital. Once we finally got there Justin dropped me off at the door, went to park the car and we walked into our triage room together.
In triage we discovered my water was definitely leaking but I was only dilated 2 centimeters. Contractions were coming every 3-5 minutes and were still painful but I wasn’t ready to have this baby just yet. My nurse told me to walk around for an hour to help speed things up. After 20 minutes of walking I got sick and had to return to my room. I got put back in bed and was given an IV to give me fluid and meds to help calm my nausea. After about an hour they came to check me again and was still only dilated 2 centimeters. We decided it was time to give me the epidural in hopes that my body would relax and begin to dilate.
Once I was moved to a labor and delivery room the anesthesiologist came in and gave me the epidural. I truly believe there is a special place in heaven for anesthesiologists and the epidurals they give. Getting the epidural was painful but quick. After a couple of minutes they gave me a catheter and that was honestly the worst part. About 10 minutes later I couldn’t feel anything; IT WAS MAGICAL! My mom and sister had finally arrived and got to hang out with us while we waited for the final stages of labor. My nurse told me I’d most likely dilate one centimeter an hour but luckily things went pretty quickly! From 7am-11am I dilated seven centimeters. I was finally nine centimeters and Havens was sitting really low like he was ready to go. At 11am, while still nine centimeters, my nurse decided we would start pushing to see if Havens would move a little more and to get to ten centimeters.
It was finally time to push! Everyone left the room except my nurse, my photographer, and Justin. My delivery nurse was my least favorite nurse I had. She wasn’t very encouraging and wasn’t very helpful. My amazing photographer Elise was more helpful than she was. She gave me advice her nurse had given her when she had her baby and it was so helpful! (Thanks Elise!) After an hour of pushing the OB came in and we were ready to go! Once she was there I pushed for another ten minutes and Havens Daniel Rice was born at 12:10pm!
The second he was born he put those lungs to use! He screamed as soon as he was out! I had made it known I wanted to do skin to skin as soon as he was born so once he was out he got placed on my chest. He was so perfect! He had the prettiest big blue eyes, perfect skin, and was so chubby! None of us could believe how big he was! Being such a small person, everyone assumed I would have a small baby but boy were they wrong. Havens had his nurse come clean him up a bit and put a blanket over him while we sat and cuddled. I was so exhausted but looking at Justin and Havens I was so in love and so happy. Justin and I just kept looking at him with so much admiration and love. The nurses kept asking if I was ready to have them take him and get cleaned up and weighed and I kept saying no. While I was holding him I was getting stitches. The epidural was wearing off and not only was I not ready to let him go but having him in my arms made the stitches a little less painful.
Justin went over with Havens while his nurse took him to be weighed and checked out and the rest of my family that was at the hospital came into the room. My mom, Madeline and Cameron came in and got to see Havens as he was being weighed. He weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce and was 21 inches long! He got cleaned up and wrapped in a blanket and his Dad got to hold him for the first time. My heart was so full! Seeing my two boys together was such a special and sweet moment. Justin was made to be a dad. In that moment you could feel how much love he had for that little boy and I have never loved him more.
A little while later my Dad, Jonathon, and Logan made it to the hospital and everyone got to hold Havens. Getting to tell my Dad what Havens name was also special. Havens was born on my Dads birthday and that was one of the many reasons he has Daniel for a middle name. I couldn’t even tell my Dad what we had named Havens without crying so I made Justin tell him. We hope that he is as hardworking, caring, and most importantly as selfless as my Dad is. His first name is from Justin’s side of the family. William Havens Rice was Justin’s grandfathers name. We both loved the name Havens and there is no one in the world Justin loves and respected more than his Grandpa. We know Grandpa Bill is looking down on him and pray that Havens can live up to his name.
Overall I loved giving birth (although I would not be saying that without that beautiful epidural). If I could give one word to describe the whole experience it would be that it was magical. It was magical that my body was able to grow another human and create a safe environment for that little human to live in for nine months. Magical that my body somehow knew how to deliver that same little human. It was magical the way I felt as I became a mother and watched the love of my life become a father. Most importantly though, it was magical how much love I felt in my heart as a held my newborn son. I will never forget that moment.
I’m so thankful for Justin. He was so calm and so loving for not only the delivery but for the nine months leading up to it. Havens is so loved by his Dad, he has him wrapped around his little fingers. I’m thankful for my family who drove eight hours in one day just to meet their grandson and nephew. I’m thankful for my mom who was my saving grace the week after Havens was born. She took such great care of all of us and we could not have done it without her. I hope I am as good of a mom as she is! I’m thankful for Havens for being the sweetest little baby and for making me a mother. But most importantly I’m thankful for my Heavenly Father. I’m thankful for his perfect plan. I’m thankful that families are forever and that I get to spend eternity with my Husband and Son and all of the future Rice Babies that will one day join our family. I could not be anymore in love with the life I live!
Raising the Rices 