Theo is turning four this month, and I have never written about his birth story! Since I started blogging when he was 3 and my girls were 1, I feel as if there is a huge void in my blog from the first few years of parenting. I learned a TON in those years and I want to share that information! Also, since I wrote about Josie and Margo’s birth story, it’s only fair that I write about Theo’s.
I like to tell Theo a childfriendly version of his birth story. He loves hearing it and I plan on telling it to him every night before his birthday… well, maybe I’ll stop once he’s a teenager.
Once upon a time, there was a lady who was pregnant. She had a baby growing inside of her belly and she could not WAIT for him to come out so she could meet him. She wanted to hold him and kiss him and see what he looked like! She didn’t know what he looked like, but she knew that she loved him so much.
One freezing cold morning in January, she woke her husband up very early. “Wake up, wake up!” she said. “The baby is going to come today!” They got all of their bags that were packed and went to the hospital.
{We went to the hospital because I thought that my water broke. When we got there, my water hadn’t actually broken, but I was in the stages of early labor. Since I was 4 days past my due date, they let me stay.}
The doctors at the hospital were going to help them get the baby out so that they could give him hugs and kisses. It took a little bit of time for the baby to be ready to come out.
{They officially broke my water around 9:00 AM. At that point I was like “ohhh, that’s what it feels like!” I was only 3 cm dilated, but my contractions were really painful and I hadn’t gone to sleep the night before because I was too uncomfortable. I really wanted an epidural so I could get some rest. They suggested I wait since I wasn’t very far along, but they gave me another medication to help ease the pain. They also started me on a very low dose of pitocin. When they broke my water, there was meconium, so we wanted to get the baby out sooner rather than later. They also hooked me up to a monitor to monitor my contractions.}
It hurt a little bit, but she didn’t care because she already loved the baby so much and she couldn’t wait to hold him. They gave her some medicine to help her feel better and rest.
{My contractions became extremely painful later that afternoon. My nurses tried to convince me to hold off on the epidural; they didn’t think my contractions had been strong enough for me to progress much further, but I knew differently. Sure enough, as soon as they gave me the epidural, they checked me and I was fully dilated!}
It was time for the doctor to come in and help get the baby out.
{I was so relaxed while I pushed. I had been in so much pain all day and it was nice to finally feel nothing. I pushed for less than five minutes and he was born at 5:05 PM. When he came out, all of the nurses exclaimed at how big he was. Small babies run in my family, so I thought big was 7 or 8 pounds. Ohhh, no. He was 9 pounds and 22 inches long! He was such a big baby!}
(Can we take a moment to be grateful that cell phone cameras have improved so much in 4 years!)
The lady held her baby in her arms and she turned into a mommy and the daddy turned into a daddy. “I love him so much!” the mommy said. “His name is Theodore Craig Rogers.” At this point in the story, Theo exclaims “that’s me! I made you a mommy! I did that!” and it’s the MOST PRECIOUS thing ever.
{The reality is that we didn’t name him until the next day. I knew I wanted his name to be Theodore Craig (Craig is my maiden name) and call him Theo for short. Ben didn’t want his full name to be Theodore and wanted to just name him Theo. I didn’t push the matter at all because I didn’t want any sort of resentment. Finally, Ben was holding him, and he looked at me and said… “I think he is Theodore Craig.”
My labor was so easy and peaceful. I’m so thankful because I know this is definitely not the case with everyone. I look back on it and I wouldn’t change a thing.}
The mommy and daddy took the baby home and they were a family. The end.
You can read my twin birth story here.