Ruth's Arrival

Monday night, the 17th of November, I was talking to my sister-in-law Tia on the phone. I sat down on the couch and suddenly felt a gush of liquid and said, "Tia I think my water just broke, I have to go to the hospital!" Brad called Jerry (our boss, so he could cover the motel while we were at the hospital) and then excitedly started scurrying around our apartment gather odds and ends to take with him to the hospital. Neither of us expected her to come 3 days early so he hadn't packed anything for the hospital yet. By 8:15 we were out the door, 8:45 I was in my hospital room undressed and hooked up to the fetal heart and contraction monitors and by 9 pm my contractions were really picking up in intensity. I didn't know going into the hospital if I wanted an epidural or not...but by 11 pm I knew it was time. I had this notion that getting an epidural was the easy way out and that I wouldn't have a true birthing experience or that I would be hurting Ruth if I got one. But then I had a realization that I am blessed to live in a time when epidurals are routine procedures so I got one...and it was the best choice for me. By 11:30 the full effect of the epidural was felt, I could still feel when I was having contractions, they just didn't hurt any more. Now I was free to enjoy myself, Brad and I started laughing and joking and watching cartoons on tv. Then we realized that we still had not settled on a middle name for Ruth. She was practically here and she didn't have a full name yet! We were debating between Elizabeth, B, Eva, Bouddica, and several others. We decided on Elizabeth because it flowed the best and reminded us of England. By 1 she had a full name and I guess she knew because by 4 I was fully dialated. I only had to push for 30 minutes and by 5:10 am Ruth Elizabeth Laws entered the world. It was a strangely surreal moment to see the child I had been carrying for the last 9 months. She weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces and was 19 inches long!