Some of my best memories are from when we became a family of three and brought Noah home. We were excited, anxious, tired, and we were learning how to be parents all at once. That combination sounds like a recipe for disaster. But in fact, it’s a time that I often found myself wishing I could go back to. Before we were expecting Ryan, I used to tell my husband how I wish I could go back in time to when Noah was born so I could relive those memories and really appreciate them for what they were; priceless.

Fast-forward about four years and my wish had come true. We find ourselves reliving the newborn stage, only this time, we added a preschooler into the mix. You would think that because we had already brought a little bundle home once before, this time wouldn’t feel as special. Except that it does. All of the emotions and feelings that I once had when we brought Noah home came creeping back in when we came home with Ryan.

Ryan James came charging into our lives on September 30, 2017 when I was just about 38.5 weeks. I say charging because my labor went from 0 – 60 in record time [Total opposite from his brother Noah who came 5 days after his due date].

The day that I went into labor was 5 days before my scheduled C-section and probably one of the busiest days I had had in a long time. Lou had court that morning so I was on my own. Noah had an eye Dr. appointment followed by my last OB appointment and then a haircut for Noah in the afternoon. We finished the day off by stopping for ice cream with our big boy! By the end of the day I was exhausted! So much so that I had to cancel dinner plans we had with some friends of ours (you know who you are). I remember telling them that I just felt really tired and out of it. Little did I know that my body was telling me I would be in for a long night!

That night, I remember laying in our guest bed while Lou sat next to me on the computer. I was talking to my mother on the phone and I was telling her that I thought I was experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions but I wasn’t too worried about it. It was about 10:00pm by the time we made our way upstairs to bed and we decided to watch some TV. When I had the first contraction I tried to ignore it. This baby wasn’t supposed to be coming for another 5 days! When I found that I couldn’t muster up the strength to speak through it, I told Lou “I think I just had a contraction.” He didn’t really think anything of it either but he said “Let’s time them and see how far apart they are.” You’ll have to excuse our lack of urgency. See, Noah came 5 days after his due date and only after I had been having contractions on and off for a few days. There was no way that this was happening now.

But it was! The contractions started off as being 12 minutes apart, and then they were 8 minutes apart, and at one point even 5 minutes apart! We monitored them for 1 hour before accepting the reality – this baby was coming whether he was scheduled to or not! We also realized that we had never asked the Doctors how far apart my contractions had to be before we should head to the hospital. In our minds we were scheduled for October 4th and so the only plan we had in place was one that included that scheduled date. On that morning we would leave Noah with my in-laws, drive over to the hospital pain-free, where I would go in for surgery and an hour or so later we’d be holding our baby boy. Ha! Life is more fun when it throws you curve balls. Said no one ever. 😉 [In case you’re wondering, we called the doctor and told her what I was experiencing and she said “get down here NOW!”]

Of course nothing had gone according to plan, but you’ll learn that most things don’t once you have kids. My in-laws were not nearby like they would have been if it were October 4th! Thank God for friends who are family because as you moms already know, it takes a village. This super friend left her 2 month old to come and watch Noah for us until my in-laws could get to him. We have truly been blessed with the people in our lives.

The 15 minute ride to the hospital was the most painful car ride I’ve ever had. The contractions were getting stronger and they were coming faster. That’s what I mean when I say it went from 0-60 in no time. We arrived to the hospital a little after midnight and the next two and a half hours felt like two and a half days! As I waited for them to prep the operating room and to prep me for the cesarean, I prayed for time to speed up. How ironic because since he’s been born I’ve been praying for it to slow down!

This labor was a lot more painful than my first. And unfortunately, I couldn’t get the epidural (or spinal in this case) until I was in the operating room. They prepped me, and then re-prepped me because I mistakenly touched my stomach after they had sterilized everything. Whoops! With Lou by my side, we heard the cries of our little boy at 3:48am. We were parents again and it was a wonderful feeling! Having a cesarean isn’t easy, especially when all you want to do is hold your baby but can’t because you’re still being operated on and you can’t stop shaking from the reaction to the anesthesia. Throw in the fact that I hadn’t slept in about 20 hours and it puts a damper on that precious moment. But not to worry, Daddy was right by my side and held “baby no name” until mommy could.

We spent the better part of that day soaking up hugs and cuddles with our new little man, just the three of us. Noah and my in-laws didn’t arrive to visit until later that afternoon. The next 4 days were spent in the hospital with us getting acclimated to life as a family of four. The past five months have been filled with cries, sleep deprivation, baby spit up and more laundry then I’ve done in my lifetime! But, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I am exactly where I want to be.