Here I will share with you the birth story of Baby Two.
Much like any other mom of one I was getting the itch to add another addition to our little family of three. Matthew was getting older and was becoming very independent. He is such a smart, loving and caring soul. I couldn't wait to give him a sibling to love!
Much to my surprise soon after we began trying I became pregnant! I was completely overjoyed at the thought of God giving me another baby. I quickly told everyone that we were going to be parents again.
A few days went by and I kept thinking in my head "shouldn't I feel nauseous?" ..."Is something wrong?" I wasn't scheduled for a visit with the midwife for two more weeks so I decided I would just continue on with my every day activities and not worry about anything. Another day passed and I woke up early the next morning to get ready for a long day of babysitting. At this time I had started my career as a Stay-at-Home Mom and I was working on building a daycare.
It was my mothers birthday that day and she had stopped in before heading to work in Machias. As I was standing there doing the dishes I just didn't feel right so I decided while she was there I would take a few minutes to sit down, but before I even turned from the sink I felt a huge gush. A nightmare was unfolding as I knew it. I ran to the bathroom to find nothing but blood. I.was.horrified.
It was later confirmed by ultrasound that on May 20, 2009 I miscarried a precious angel. My family did everything they could to comfort me but no matter what was said it was a struggle. Many tears were shed and weeks turned into months. I picked myself up and Matt and I decided we would try again. At this point we knew that, that's all we could do.
Remarkably we became pregnant only three months after, but this (+) positive brought a lot of fears and unknowns. After experiencing a miscarriage you never quite heal. We waited just a few days before announcing the news to close family. We knew that no matter what happened they would support us and hopefully alleviate some fears. I also knew that I would have to chose a different hospital to deliver at because Blue Hill had closed. This made me very sad but after much research Matt and I decided that MDI Hospital would fit our "natural" needs perfectly.
Unlike before the nauseous feeling came and I welcomed it! My hopes for a viable pregnancy were coming true.
The days and weeks passed and my belly was growing big. We found out that we were going to be adding another boy to our family! Man was I outnumbered! Thankfully we had a female dog to level out the score, because BLUE BLUE BLUE was all I could see in my future.
At this time we were living in a two bedroom trailer and it seemed like space was hard to come by. Matt and I felt like it might be time to start looking at our options to build or buy another house. We were still very young and didn't know where life was going to take us. We decided to list the house and see if we had any offers. Three months went by and NOTHING! Not one single person had called about our house. At this point we were thinking that our only option was to build, until we got the call! Someone wanted to see the house! I was 35 weeks pregnant at this point and had no idea what we would do if we actually sold it.
Well little did I know I wouldn't even have time to think about where we would go because the next day the woman told us she wanted the house and we had a week to move! Thankfully my parents were willing to take on our soon to be family of four.
It wasn't long though before we were told about a house over in Harrington that wasn't listed yet that would fit the needs of our growing family. We made an offer and guess what?! SHE ACCEPTED IT!
The move in date for the new house was April 27, 2010 and I was due April 17. At that point we knew that this baby was going to be coming before the house. We quickly moved into my parents house and started preparing for his arrival.
My sister and mother planned a baby shower for me on Saturday April 10 and labeled it a "diaper shower". I was overwhelmed by the generosity of all who came. I ended up with over 2500 diapers to cover his bottom. What a blessing!
Still having a week to go before my due date I never imagined the events would unfold quite like they did. The guests left from my shower and we finished up dinner and everyone went to bed. I was feeling a little crampy so I decided I would get back out of bed and walk. I let Matt know that I might be in labor. I called the hospital but they informed me it wasn't anything yet and to get some rest and call back in a few hours. So after a few hours of feeling this way Matt and I decided that because it was such a long drive to Bar Harbor we would head that way. It was around 12:30 a.m. when we got into the car and started to drive. About 7 miles into our journey everything stopped. My pains were gone and I wasn't having any contractions. I burst into tears and insisted he bring me back home. My worst fear was going the entire way to Bar Harbor just to be sent back home. We got back home a few minutes later and I decided that I would try and sleep for a while longer and see if anything happened.
A few hours passed and I still couldn't sleep...the contractions started picking back up and I knew at that point my body was getting ready. So once again we packed up the car and headed to Bar Harbor. We arrived around 4:30 a.m. Where they told me I was 4 cm dilated! Around 8 a.m. My midwife came in and broke my waters and labor started full force. Again I was able to manage all of my contractions with breathing and having family their to keep my mind off the pain. I chose not to have any IVs and I knew I wanted to deliver in the water again.
Around 7cm my body was exhausted. I had been up the entire night before and I was running out of fuel. Thankfully at this hospital they allow you go outside for walks and eat during labor. They fixed me up some much needed food and that's just what my body needed! Labor is a lot of work and its silly to think you can do it without the proper fuel!
Before we knew it I was ready to push. Again I had loads of family and friends there anxiously waiting for the arrival. The long process of pushing began. With Matthew it took about an hour so I figured with Mason it would be MUCH quicker....but boy was I wrong. The room was completely silent for the next hour before my precious little boy made his grand entrance. He floated up to the surface and I placeed him on my chest. There is nothing quite like the calmness of birthing a baby in water. Their transition is so easy and they seem so very calm as they take their first breath.
Mason Ward Hurlbert was born on April 11, 2010 at 3:48p.m. He weighed 7lbs 6oz and was perfectly healthy!
