MICHAEL ALLEN BROWN III IS FINALLY HERE! 9/1/2008 @ 9:10 A.M.
THE STORY
The Beginning
So I had been having contractions off and on all weekend long, but they were minor and I knew they weren’t worth going to the hospital. But Monday morning, around 1:30 a.m. I woke up to a serious contraction. I thought I just had a stomachache so I went to the bathroom to use the toilet, but as I was sitting on the toilet I had another contraction. These were more painful so I thought I might want to pay attention to them, and at 2:15 a.m. I woke my husband up and told him. We started keeping track of how far apart they were, and how long they lasted. They were getting stronger and longer. They hurt so much! At 3 a.m. we called the doctor, but she told us to wait another hour. As I sat there waiting in pain, I couldn’t believe this was it. At first I thought it could still be false labor, but there was no way false labor was this painful. We called my mother (who lives in Cols. Ohio) and his mother, and told them it was time. At 4 a.m. we left for the hospital…
The Middle
I got to the room at 4:24 a.m. and my contractions were 4 minutes apart. I was in so much pain, I couldn’t stand it. During my whole pregnancy I was quite certain I was going to have a natural birth, but that was the last thing from my mind at that point- I wanted the epidural! After only 3 more horrible contractions, I told the nurse, and in about 30 minutes, I was completely pain-free (thank God for epidurals!). When I arrived to the hospital I was 5 cm dilated and 80% effaced. By around 6 a.m. I was 8 cm. I couldn’t believe how fast it was happening. By 6:30 a.m. I was 9 cm dilated. The nurse called my doctor and told him that I the baby was almost here. He was supposed to arrive at 7 a.m., but the doctor didn’t come in until around 7:50 a.m…by that time I was completely dilated! The epidural was a little too effective so the doc said that it had to wear down a bit before I could start pushing. By 8:30 a.m., it was pushing time!
The Arrival
After about 40 minutes of pushing, Michael Allen Brown III was born, crying, kicking and screaming, at 9:10 a.m., September 1st, 2008. I couldn’t believe how amazing the whole situation was. They pulled him out and laid him on my chest…we were both crying! He was so beautiful! After being cleaned off and taking a million pictures with everyone in the room, I finally got to hold my son. He ate immediately, latching on great. My son was in the world, I was finally a real mommy!

(this is the first true photo of our little person...I am so excited to see him/her. She/he was sucking her/his thumb, and moving their arm all around. Little Bryony or Michael, you're so full of character, and I love you so much!!!)
(32 weeks here)

(at 37 weeks)

(my hubby)

(two proud parents-to-be)


(my mommy and me at the baby shower)


pregnancy