One year ago today is one of those days that I will never forget! Rebecca and I welcomed our third son, Josh, into this world and man did he make a grand entrance! I still remember ALL the emotions just as it was yesterday - all the excitement, the fear, the uncertainty and so many more! I know many of you know the story, and to those of you who dont, Ive decided to share it again on Joshs 1st Birthday! We love you little man - Happy Birthday! So many of you are waiting to hear the story about baby Joshuas arrival last night! I will start by saying that I have a very special bond with each of my boys - different things that have happened with them that make our relationship extremely unique! Well, the same can now be said about Joshua and me (and of course my lovely wife Rebecca!) Last night at 6:20pm, I was just starting to get food out to feed the boys, Becca and myself. From our bedroom, I hear, Colby, I just had a contraction, but this one was way different than the ones I have been having all week. (See, for almost a week know, she has been having contractions consistently, just not very intense. Different times, we were ready to go just to call it off because they either stalled or just werent really intense enough to warrant a trip to the midwife.) So I tell her thats great, maybe this is really it this time! I continued to get some food ready for Becca because if this was it, she needed to eat so her body would be ready for whats about to come! The next contraction came about 9 minutes later and it definitely was more intense and so at this point, I just knew deep down that this was the real thing! I called my mom and she called the midwife just to let them know what was going on and to be on alert. The midwife had just sat down with her daughter in Dallas to eat because it was her birthday! So instead of staying to eat, she immediately got in the car and started her trek to Sherman to meet us just in case! About 5 minutes later, as we were about to eat, she said, Im having another contraction!! and of course my first thought was, wow, that wasnt 9 minutes!!! At this point, were starting to tell the kids to get their socks and shoes on, that tonight we feel that baby Joshua is going to be born up (a phrase Jake came up with, and Im not sure where he got it from!) No sooner than we could tell them about this, Becca said, Colby Im having another one......again 5 minutes had passed by. At this point, my sense of urgency picked up just a bit because I thought this is it, its really happening! As we continued to get the boys ready, she had a couple more that were about 5 minutes apart. And THEN, Colby, Im having another one - except at this point, only 2 minutes had passed! Needless to say, 2 minutes later, another one came, and again 2 minutes after that, another! The energy level at this time was through the roof BOYS WE HAVE TO GO!!! We left the house about 7:10 - 7:15 and began heading over to Sherman to meet my parents and brother to drop off the boys and then head to the midwife. As we got closer and closer to Sherman, the contractions had jumped from 2 minute intervals to 1 minute intervals and at this point, we stopped keeping track, because the writing was on the wall! I called my brother Cory as I was making the exit to say get outside, be ready, we need to be there less than a minute. At this point, I think he and even dad wasnt aware of how serious the situation was......and honestly neither was I! As soon as we dropped off the boys, the hazards went on, and we rushed to the House of Birth. We get about 2 minutes away and Becca says the words that NO ONE wants to hear in the car, not at the birthing center - Colby I feel I need to PUSH! My response was, I feel you dont need to push, were almost there, youre doing great! As we make the turn into the birthing center, things got REAL, and they got REAL, really fast - the midwife wasnt there yet..............So we call her and she is flying trying to make it and the realization of shes not gonna make it set in when she said, Im coming into Howe.....thats at least 10 minutes away.........so I did what any rational guy would do - baby, youre doing great, but Im gonna need you to just hang on a little bit longer! We made it up to the front porch of the center and I just KNEW the door would be unlocked so we could at least go inside.....not sure WHY I thought that (wishful thinking I guess), but believe it or not, it was LOCKED! I honestly dont remember how much time we spent on that porch before Becca said Colby, I cant not push. Up until this point, Ill be honest, I was scared - down right scared - Ive NEVER delivered a baby and we are outside on a front porch. When she said Colby, I cant not push, it was like a switch went off - the fear was gone and it was like instinct took over. Actually, looking back, it was as if God intervened and brought a peace to me that everything was going to be ok. So there we were, my beautiful wife who was such a trooper and did PHENOMENAL and I couldnt be more proud of her, myself, and the midwife on speaker phone.......and all of the sudden I see Joshuas head, one more contraction/push and then his torso! And there he was!! My beautiful baby boy in my arms, on the front steps of the birthing center, just me, him and Becca! Words cannot explain the feeling that I had, nor that Becca had! We were so overjoyed and in disbelief of the miracle that had just taken place! Even now as I write this, I get watery eyed just thinking about it! Joshua Alexander Meals was born at 7:52pm - 1 hour and 31 minutes after the first contraction took place. As we sat there waiting on the midwife, I looked at Becca with concern and asked Youre not mad are you?! Her response Colby, we just delivered our son unassisted! It doesnt matter to me that its on the front porch, what we just did was truly AWESOME and Im so very happy! At 1 hour and 33 minutes, the midwife arrives and we go inside, momma, baby and a SHOCKED daddy! The mixed emotions I had during all of this will be with me forever! It truly was amazing! I know Ive said it throughout this story, and Im going to say it again - I could not be more proud of Rebecca and the job she did last night - the bravery, perseverance, everything! Im truly a blessed man!
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 13:52:33 +0000
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