Kal's Birth Story: Part 2

Here's the second half of Kal's birth story. I had to break it up into parts because I tend to get worked up when I tell stories and don't want to miss any detail... Anyway, carrying on...

Yeah, so, Kal was apparently so excited to join his family here on Earth that he couldn't wait any longer. That night, we all went to bed like normal. At around 12:45 or so, I was woken up by a pretty painful contraction. I had experienced some painful Braxton Hicks for many weeks/months before then, so I didn't calk it up to being anything important. I had the feeling I should look at the time on my phone, just in case, but wasn't took worried, and quickly fell back asleep. I was awoken by another painful contraction... about 7 minutes later. I thought, "Ouch! Ah, no big deal, get back to sleep. Braxton Hicks can happen close together too." And then again... 6 minutes later. Thinking, "Ouuuuch!" A really sharn pain, then a pop and whooosh. "Uhmmm, did that just happen?! Was that my water breaking?" I waddled to the bathroom as fast as I could to see if I didn't just pee my pants really bad, because, well, those kind of things happen when you're pregnant. I didn't want to have to wake up Jonald and panic him over my bad bladder control, after all.

Well, along with another super painful contraction, I came to the conclusion it had been my water that had broken, and went to wake up Jonald. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: "Babe, my water just broke."
Hubby (getting straight up): "OH SHOOTS! What should we do?!"
Me: "Uh, we should probably go to the hospital now... Dang, I need to pack! I didn't even pack my hospital bag yet!"

Hahaha. So, in between crazy painful contractions every 5 minutes or so, I packed just the necessities I could think of, threw them in my backpack, and we were on our way to the hospital.

We left the house in such a hurry, but I was lucky to be sporting these fashionable socks that night before I went to bed.

When I arrived at the hospital, I was actually walking, smiling, and doing quite well in-between contractions. I walked all the way down the hall to the Women's Center, and only had to stop a couple times due to my contractions. I think I was probably in a state of mental shock that it was actually happening, and was just trying to be in a good mood at first. Then, we got in a room, they checked me, and I was dilated to about a 6 or 7. The nurse left the room to get some paperwork, and apparently she didn't think we were in any hurry, because she didn't come back for (what seemed like) forever. The contractions were then about every minute and really painful. I sent Jonald to call a nurse into our room. A nurse came in and decided she was going to check me- during a contraction- alll up in there. Ahhhh! Jonald couldn't bear to see me in so much pain as the nurse was checking me and started to feel light-headed, so he sat down in a chair next to me. I was at an 8. I decided to ask for an epidural because it was all going so fast and I didn't think I could mentally handle the shock that I was in labor, much less the excruciating contractions that were then on top of each other and getting MUCH worse each time.

As the nurse was putting in my IV (I think I had to get one since I had told them I was probably dehydrated from being so sick on Sunday), Jonald's light-headedness caught up with him, and he passed out, slumping off the roller chair he had been sitting in and onto the floor. Poor guy! Well, that freaked the nurse out, so she immediately tried standing up (still holding the needle in my arm, mind you) to see if he was okay, and she called in for help. They got him some orange juice and had him lay down on the couch by the wall in my room. They kept insisting he go to the E.R. and get checked out, just in case, because they thought he may have hit his head on his way down to the floor. But, at the same time, I definitely didn't want my husband leaving me in the room alone while I'm in active labor! Jonald said his head didn't hurt, and thankfully, the nurses said he could stay with me in the room as long as he sat in a chair that didn't have wheels on it.

It seemed to take ages for the anesthesiologist to arrive. We decided for me to have a spinal (much faster working) and an epidural (takes a little longer to kick in, but lasts a little longer) because of the rate I was progressing in labor. After it kicked in, ohhh man, was that anesthesiologist my best friend! I mean, I could definitely feel when I had contractions happening, but the labor pain was all gone. It worked perfectly, and I don't regret getting those at all. That was the best money I've ever spent for doctor's bills!

The moment he was done putting in the epidural, they helped me go back to laying on an incline and checked me again. All I heard was, "Okay guys, she's ready to go! She's at a 10!" and a doctor and all these nurses surrounded me at once. I'll spare you all the other "fun" details during that time of pushing, though. I didn't have to push too long, and our baby boy had arrived!

As I held him in my arms, I just couldn't believe he was here already! I looked down at him, and the name "Kal" seemed to fit just right, so I asked Jonald if he felt the same way too, and that was it! We decided on his full name, Kal Alan Morgan Gonzalez.

Holding our sweet boy

 I cried, and cried, and cried- probably a whole mix of emotions including shock, exhaustion, and extreme love. This was a whole different feeling than after I gave birth to Kayelee and cried as I held her in my arms for the first time. I was instantly in love with him. I finally felt what I had heard other moms experiencing when they got to hold their baby in their arms for the first time. It's as though you have so much love for them you're about to burst because you never knew you could feel all that love for such a little thing at one moment. It's a different kind of love than I have for my husband, although my love for him is overwhelming as well. All I can say is it's a "motherly love." It's incredible. It's as though I could feel Heavenly Father's love and presence reaching to me, touching me, through my son, since my son had been in the Premortal Existence just a short time before then.

It's too bright out here, Mama!

This little boy has been such a light in our lives. It's as though he is a portal in which I can feel God's love for me. It's as though I can experience, even if it's just a just a small, minute glimmer, of how much love God has for all His children, including his Son, Jesus Christ... Of how much our Heavenly Father must love all of us, to allow His only begotten son to painfully experience that night at the Garden of Gethsemene for all of us- our sins, our pains, our mistakes, our illnesses- and then to be betrayed, scorned at, mocked at, spit at, and then to die on the cross for all of us, all so Christ could break the bands of death, both physically and spiritually, and rise again on the third day and complete the his part of the Atonement.

Daddy's turn to hold his son (:

Our sweet Kal has grown my capacity for love and my testimony more than I even knew was possible. I can't wait to watch him grow and see what more lessons he has to teach me. (: