Your birth story

This morning started off like others had - eat a little breakfast, repack the car again "just in case" the OB decided you should be born today, etc. At 9:45 I arrived at the OB office , sat in the rocking chair and tried to catch my breath and bring my blood pressure down. The entire time I sat in the waiting room I could feel anxiety building - I knew then my bp levels weren't going to be good.

The first reading was bad -155/100. She then had another nurse recheck it who confirmed that it was indeed that high. Dr. Youngkim comes in the perform a cervix check - once again nothing happening BUT he finally utters the words I'd been hoping for :

"you've reached 38wks and its time to have this baby."

Wow. You're coming finally!

I immediately call your dad giving him the update and we both agree to meet at home. We have roughly 3 hours to make sure we have everything we need for your arrival. It's very difficult to accurately describe how my feelings at this point because now only did it mean that we finally get to meet you, but you won't be in my belly anymore. Truly bittersweet.

We arrive at St. Davids Hospital on 32nd street in Austin at 5pm. After check-in, we are first put into L&D room 3 - which is pretty small, has no bed for daddy to wait this out and is in the busier part of L&D (translation - loud mamas giving birth to loud babies). I ask if we can move to room 22 because its much larger and at the end of the L&D. After an hour we get our request granted and off we go, into the bigger/nicer room. Sweet :)

In this day and age, everyone is so used to live updates. My phone and daddy's phone rings and receives new texts constantly. Only a couple of people know that you're about to make your way into the world. We really wanted to make this a personal experience so only daddy & mommy's best friend Amanda will be there. We really want to have time alone to be with you and for mommy to recover from labor instead of trying to pull energy for visitors. Your Aunt Rita is texting me, making me laugh and helping me pass time too. I get on the Peach to update your other aunties on the progress. Oh yea, you will also learn one day that you share a birthday with mommy's really good friend Kim's daughter, Aliya. They live in Canada and we hope one day to meet them in person.

Monday , 11/17
6pm - insert cervidel - a medication that is used to soften my cervix and make me dilate. could cause contractions.

6-3am - daddy and I are a little restless. We watch TV, including Heroes and I even hop online to chat with a few friends to let them know we are already admitted. Kim, from the Peach, is my connection to the online world- there are so many wonderful women who have waited for years for your arrival so if I don't keep them posted mama is likely to be in big trouble. Daddy also passes the time taking funny pictures. I hesitated sharing this, but then I thought to myself : this is who we are. We joke about things that most people wouldn't. Dad was ready to catch his little football.

Tuesday 11/18
3am-6am- back labor - The best way to describe this is to be repeatedly stabbed in the side where the pain only radiates to one half of your body. Lamaze techniques do help, but the worst part of back labor is that there is no peak therefore no relief from the pain. Although daddy was asleep most of the time he did get up close to 5am to give me a massage.
6am- Dr. Youngkin arrived to check my cervix. We have a winner! I've dilated 3cm just on the cervidel alone.
6:30am - The devil drug, Pitocin, is added to my IV line. This should start the contractions that will eventually lead to your birth. Because of my blood pressure issues, I'm also put on magnesium which has side effects like drowsiness and nausea. The "mag" will drip into my IV during the entire labor & delivery process and into the next day at the hospital. They give momma this medicine so she doesn't have seizures while I'm trying to have you.

The bad thing about magnesium is that is makes mom feel really HOT. So we have the delivery room temperature right around 50 degrees and Auntie Amanda and Daddy both take turns wetting clothes with cold water and ice and placing them on my head so I'm confortable. It made me feel much better even if it looks like I'm miserable.

9:00am -First cervix check with Pitocin at work and we're at 4cm. Progress is slow, but it's ok because I'm ready for the epidural. I'd rate the pain at this point at a 4 out of 10. There's this chart right by my bed that has a row of faces that start off really happy and then at the end, well, no one is smiling! I wanted the epidural before I looked really angry. A few minutes later my angel, the anesthesiologist, arrives to give me the epidural. I get three strong contractions while he's inserting the line into my spine and my labor nurse, Linda, God bless this woman holds me and makes the process really easy. I'm told within minutes I'll feel relief. They were so right. Where was daddy at this point? Outside because huge needles are not his favorite sight. Soon after your Auntie Amanda arrived. She's my other labor coach. I was so happy to see her!

11:30am- Another cervix check and I'm up to 6cm~. We're making good progress. Meantime I'm eating tons of ice, have a fan running because the magnesium is giving me hotflashes and it's nothing short of sitting in a hottub kinda feeling.
12:30pm - Lets do that fun cervix check again because I noticed that I'm starting to get a feeling like you're way way low and I really don't want to have someone walk in and say "Oh my God we see the head crowning". The great thing about the epi is that I don't feel a thing when it comes to the cervix checks. They could have built a boat in there and I would have slept right through it. On paper, you're vitals are still great. Oh yea, the cervix was now at 8cm. Yes, we progressed 2cm in one hour. It won't be long now!

1:30pm - We're at 10!!! Holy smokes! We went from 6 to 10 in two hours. Linda, the LD nurse asks if I don't mind waiting a while before I started to push to give you time to move down the birth canal. No problemo to me. We do just that.

3pm- The pushing starts. Mind you, I've never done this before so I'm not sure if my methods are really working. The wonderful thing is that I don't feel a thing. The bad thing is that I don't feel a thing. I'm just not sure you're coming down!

5:30pm- My contractions are very strong according to the monitor, but not on top of each other like they could be. They are still 5 minutes apart at times. But the pushing continues!!

5:45pm- Dr. Y comes in and informs us that your heartrate is starting to decelerate so we have to choose - vacuum assist or forceps. Since I already know the vac assist process we immediately opt to use it. With the help of your auntie Amanda and daddy we team up to get this done!







After several more pushes, with all the might I had left in me and pleading prayers being sent up to God with each second I can feel you coming. Once I felt your head about to crown I gave it one last push and the room resounded in cheers. They could see your face! One more push and you slipped out and my love, there you were.

The most beautiful sight we've ever seen.

You were born at 5:58pm. Daddy was the first to hold you. He kissed you on the forehead, told you he loved you and by then we were all crying. He placed you on my chest and I called you by your name Rowan and you immediately stopped crying , opened your eyes and looked right at me. Your Auntie Amanda is the one taking all these amazing photos for us so we will never forget your birth and to share your amazing entry into this world.
















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While mama is receiving medical attention from the doctor (he gave me an episiotomy to make sure you came out with that last push), Daddy and Amanda are over with the nurses doing all the fun stuff like seeing how much you weigh.

Birth Date : Tuesday, November 18, 20o8
Drumroll : 6 pounds
Length: 18 1/2 inches
Apgar score : 9














My worries that you wouldn't take to nursing were squashed within minutes of your birth. You latched on like a champ and I have never felt so alive in my life. For the first time in my life, someone is completely dependent on me. Wow, what a feeling.
Happy Birthday Rowan David Garza! We love you!!!!



To your daddy - Thank you for giving me the most precious birthday gift possible, for overcoming your own personal fears of the childbirth process and for being the absolute BEST labor coach/partner possible. You never waivered in massaging me when and where I needed, filled up cup after cup of ice chips for me because I loved crunching it while time passed, dealt with a room temperature of 50 degrees because I was boiling up due to the meds and yes, you even cut the umbilical cord. WOW! I could not have been blessed with a better husband to share this experience with. I love you.