Well, on Friday, we were all scheduled to leave at 7pm to make our trek to St. Louis. But, at 6am when I woke up and Kelly was actually awake, I knew that "today was the day." Kelly doesn't get up that early and come to find out, she had been up since 3am with contractions six minutes apart. Of course I was running around the house cheering, but as the contractions got more intense, she wasn't so amused. We all went to lunch and had a yummy Mexican meal. Yeah, that's exactly what you want right before you have a baby, huh? :-) Peyton must have liked it because at Kelly and Rob's 1:15 appointment, they were told that she was dilated to 4 cm and was ready to go to triage.
By that afternoon, she was hooked up to every imaginable cord and monitor just waiting for things to progress. As the contractions got stronger, she got more and more anxious for Rick, also known as "Heaven Walking." Rick is the anesthesiologist. He gives all the good drugs. Just about the time the contractions were a BIT too much to handle, Rick delivered the goods and she was on cloud nine.
We all sat around Kelly, kind of like she was a campfire. We watched her smile through contractions she didn't know were there and we laughed and told stories passing time. Right about the time Rob and Mike (Kelly's step-dad) were out of the room was when her water broke. Good timing, huh? The doctor checked her and lo and behold, she was ready to start pushing. Enter Rachel with the cheering again. But, Kelly assured me that it would probably be best to wait until her husband got back. Whoops - yeah, that makes good sense.
So, pushing started at about 10:40 and by 11:19, Peyton was born. It was the textbook labor and delivery. Where is the Discovery Health Channel when you need them?
So the next morning, JD, Lorelai and I headed up to the hospital to visit the growing family. I didn't think it was possible, but Peyton got cuter overnight! Kelly and Rob were doing fairly well, under the sleepless circumstances. We were able to spend a little bit of time with them, until Lorelai got crabby. It was time for her nap. I didn't think it would happen, but it did. We had to leave. And not just leave the hospital, but leave North Carolina. We needed to leave that night at 7 and had a lot of little things to do to get ready.
So, saying "see ya later" to the Douglases was really really hard. I have to be honest that as we hugged, I cried...but it got worse in the car. Then, as we pulled away from Hope Mills and onto 95, I lost it again. I realized that there were a lot of people I didn't really get to see before we left. It made me sad. I know that there we'll probably be back to NC, and probably by next year, but that doesn't make it any easier.
We've called NC home for the past almost four years. The friends we've made here have been ones we'll continue to have for life. Coming and going is just part of the military life, but this is the first duty station I've been at and the first friends in the military I've made. Y'all have blessed our lives tremendously.
So, onto the trip...we put all our junk, Rusty and Lorelai in the mini-van and headed out. Lorelai pretty much slept the whole way except for a few tosses and turns when we went through the mountains. Okay, I slept pretty much the whole way too. About 14 hours later, we arrived in O'Fallon, IL at JD's parents' house. Yesterday was tough with "car lag" as we were all pretty tired. But, we're all back to normal (whatever that really means) and we're ready for spending this week with Granny and Papa. Then on to St. Peters to spend a week with Grandpa. By the end of this month, Lorelai will be 7 months old and we'll be at our new home in San Antonio, ready to start the next chapter in our lives.
The last few days have been very bittersweet.
OH AND HOW COULD I FORGET?? LORELAI SAID HER FIRST WORDS!!! "DADA" WAS FIRST, THEN "MAMA." She definitely prefers to babble "dada" much more!!!!!
~ Happy Birthday, Peyton!
~ Congratulations, Kelly and Rob!
~ Kris, Amy, Kathi, Kari, Rebecca, Chelsea, Kristine, and Jaime - I didn't get to see any of you before we left and I'm sad about that.
~ Good luck with the baby, Rebecca!
I'll miss everyone!!!!
10 comments:
Thanks for all the pictures! I get teary eyed every time I see pictures of a birth :) I miss you already and I know you had a lot going on before you left! I hope to get a visit from you this coming year! Drive Safely to TX!
Rach -
Just wanted to thank you "publicly" for everything that you've done during this move (and everything you continue to do)...you're the best wife, mother, and friend a guy like me could ever hope for...
For all Rachel's friends - thank you for all your support to Rachel (and Lorelai and me) over the past four years - I cannot tell you the impact that your friendships have had on our lives...you are all invited to Shertz, TX to visit...I'm sure Rachel will make new friends down there, but you guys will be impossible to replace...and those of you that have moved on from NC ahead of us (Jess, Mindy, etc) your continued friendship means a lot to Rach and me...
Awww...how sweet! She's a beauty! We miss you already!
rachel, i must say we are all lucky to know you. thanks for all of your positivity. i made up that word just for you. (atleast i think i made it up) hope we get to meet up when you get to st peters!
amy b
Great blog entry. I think I'm going to take what you wrote and then adapt it to match my experience :) It's pretty much the same, but I would definitely focus more on how fabulous the epidural was....oh, it still puts a smile on my face.
Hey - can you send me the code for the slide show? It's great. I figured I should probably have it on my blog too. How are we going to save these blogs for Lorelai and Peyton to see? Is that possible?
Alright, I think I'm going to lay down while Peyton is still asleep and take a nap. We'll see how that works.
LOVE YOU and MISS YOU!!!
Kel
I can't belive your not in NC anymore. I feel so blessed to have connected with you and know we will stay in touch for a very long time to come. Remember if the inn is full at Kelly's place there is always a room for you guys at our place. Well till June 08 that is and then you will have a new holiday home in our next duty station. All my love to the three of you.
Rachel...
boy, oh, boy can I relate to what you are going through! The crying in the car...yep, done that! Crying as you drive away from a home that has been home for 4 years...yep done that too!
Girl, you are so special and I have been blessed to call you friend!
Kallie
You make me so happy and sad at the same time!!! Miss you girl!!
Amy & Addyson
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!!!! :)
You are SLACKING bigtime on your blog entries. I think I know why - your Dad only has dial up and I can't blame you for not wanting to take the time to update your blog that way.
Good luck driving to San Antonio tomorrow. I hope Lorelai is a perfect angel.
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