Well, Sam is almost four months old and I'm just now getting to his birth story. Poor guy! I just realized that I have a draft from Georgia's first birthday party that was never finished and published so it's been a while since I've had time to write. There are plenty of other things that I need to be doing right now but while the littles are napping I thought I would try to get Sam's birth story jotted down before I forget all the details. It was quite a whirlwind of a birth so I want to make sure we have it written down. Plus, the girls have one so of course he needs one too :)
Going back to October 5th 2016 we were debating whether or not we should evacuate for Hurricane Matthew or not. Sam was not due until the 15th but both girls came early so my doctor was pretty sure he would as well. We knew that we could potentially get stuck in bumper to bumper traffic so that would not be an ideal situation if I went into labor. We literally watched every update that came out on the hurricane to see what the possibility would be of it hitting Charleston. Of course not every track was the same so it made it very difficult to make a decision on what we should do. The whole idea of evacuating with two children, one on the way, and Paul's grandmother with her dog just sounded like a nightmare. I have been through quite a few hurricanes living in the Panhandle of Florida, one of which was Ivan, so I knew the potential damage and aftermath of a hurricane. Neither option sounded great but we chose to stay since the hospital is literally across the street from our neighborhood. We decided that if the hurricane strengthened to a category 3 or more then we would evacuate.
I was supposed to have my doctors appointment on the 7th but was rescheduled for the morning of the 5th since the office would be closing the 6th for the hurricane. Of course school was cancelled so I had to bring the girls with me to the appointment. That was lovely but now looking back it probably just prepared them a little for what was to come that evening. I had them strapped in the double stroller with lots of snacks so they wouldn't attempt to get out while I had my exam. My doctor was not in the office that day so I saw one of her partners, Dr. Sapp. She checked my progress and I was only dilated to a 1. I asked her about the whole idea of pregnant ladies going into labor with the barometric pressure change and she said it was true. I was sort of hoping it was just a wives tale haha. At that point I knew I was not going anywhere! Later in the day I started having some contractions but nothing too painful. I had been having Braxton Hicks since about 28 weeks so I knew these were more like labor pains but not strong enough or consistent enough to head to the hospital. I think it was around 4:30 that afternoon the girls and I headed to O'Charleys to pick up dinner. My contractions were getting stronger. Paul had gone to make arrangments with his grandmother for the storm. I called him on my way home and told him we may be heading to the hospital that night. Of course all our friends in the area, even our neighbors, had evacuated so we were trying to figure out what we would do with the girls if I did indeed have to go to the hospital. We ate dinner and the contractions started picking up but still not consistent. I tried to continue on with getting things ready for the storm but the pain was getting a little more intense. At about 7:40 I told Paul I was going to rest on the couch for a little bit. Next thing I know my water broke around 7:50. Paul started frantically gathering our bags and girls. I texted the one friend that I knew was still in town to let her know that we were heading to the hospital. They live in Summerville which is about 30 minutes away. Little did we know as soon as I sent her the text, her and her husband were trying to find a route to get to us. It was not an easy task since 26 was closed heading our direction and many of the alternate routes were closed as well.
I believe Paul made it to the hospital in record timing. We arrived at the hospital at 8:15. My contractions were pretty intense by the time we arrived. They put me in a room and started checking me into their system asking a million questions as I'm tossing around in the bed in pain trying to answer the nurse in between contractions. The girls are sitting with Paul in the room not sure what to think. This was definitely not how I had imagined delivering our third child haha. Since I had Strep B they started the antibiotics and checked to see how much I was dilated. I was at a 7 so the nurse carried on with another twenty questions. I just kept asking her when I could get an epidural and she kept telling me they would call the anesthesiologist in as soon as I got through two rounds of antibiotics. At this rate it was not looking good. I think I started to panic a bit because I was not planning on a natural birth. I have friends that have done so and I give them major credit for it but I like going the easier route with an epidural. After being there about 20 minutes I was in a lot of pain and the nurse was till checking me into the computer system. I told her I felt like Sam was ready to come out. She checked me and I was at a 9. She called in the doctor and he apologized that I would not be getting an epidural. He said it was "go time!" Panic and fear had pretty much taken over at that point haha. I told Paul to take the girls out because I didn't want them in the room. The doctor gave me a local anesthetic which I think hurt worse than not having anything at all but it sounded better than nothing at the time.
When it was time to start pushing the doctor asked if I wanted them to bring Paul back in the room. I never really answered him because of course I wanted Paul there for the delivery but didn't want the girls to see me in pain. Right when the doctor said it was time to start pushing, Paul walked in the room without them. We had no idea that our sweet friends, Jack and Jess Sanders, were on their way to the hospital. They literally arrived just in time to stay with the girls so that Paul could be in the room for the delivery. That was definitely no coincidence, that was the Lord! With the girls it only took a few pushes to get them out but it was definitely a different experience without the epidural so it took a few more for Sam. I literally had moments of hoping for a C-section so they could just get him out instead of having to push him out haha. After about five good pushes I told them I just couldn't do it. Paul and the doctor looked at me and said "Yes, you can! We can see his head, you are almost there." I think I had about two more good pushes and he was out at 9:33pm. He weighed in at 7lbs 13oz and was 20.5" long. This delivery was definitely a different experience than the other two. I am so thankful that it was quick! Our friends came in with the girls and then had to head out because the security would not allow them to stay. Due to the hurricane, they were shorter on staff and higher security. Technically they were not even supposed to be in the waiting room but thankfully Sam came quickly so they were able to stay until he arrived.
Our sweet friends stayed with the girls at our house and took great care of them while we were at the hospital that night. Paul went home to take over the following afternoon and stayed with them that night. It was still up in the air when I would be able to go home because I had not been able to get two rounds of antibiotics in before Sam arrived. Typically they like to monitor him an extra day to make sure all his vitals remain normal. So the talk was that I would not be released until Saturday morning but because of the hurricane they would keep me until Sunday after it passed. Then after the pediatrician came in on Thursday he said that he would check his vitals and blood work that evening and if things continued to look good then they may consider discharging us both Friday. Typically they would not do this but under the circumstances they were going to make an exception. At this point we were thinking Sam and I would be in the hospital until Sunday and Paul would stay at the house with the girls through the storm since the hospital would not allow them to stay. Again, not an ideal situation but we really had no other choice. Then Friday morning the nurse came in and said they were going to let us go home at noon. I called Paul and he scrambled to get the girls ready to pick us up. Coming home was bittersweet because I wanted to be home with my family but at the same time we were about to endure a hurricane with a two day old baby.
We continued to watch the hurricane track and at about 1pm Friday they said there was a potential for it to gain speed and Charleston could possibly get hit worse than they were expecting. They also said the storm surge was going to be very high. This was a concern to us since we have the lake behind us. At that moment we made the decision to throw our stuff together and hit the road to Columbia which is a couple of hours from us. I think we had until 3 to get out of town before the bridges/roads could possibly shut down. We literally threw stuff in the car and all five of us along with Paul's grandmother and dog hit the road! Thankfully our governor had called for an evacuation earlier in the week so the majority of people had already left town. The roads were pretty clear so we were able to make it to Columbia in a couple of hours. Our friends allowed us to stay at their mother's house while she stayed with them so we could have the house to ourselves. It was such a blessing! 
The news said the storm would pretty much be gone by Saturday afternoon so that morning we started getting our things together so we could head back as soon as it was gone. We did not want to be stuck in all the traffic heading back with a newborn. Probably 24 hours after we packed up to head to Columbia we were back on the road driving home. Thankfully we made it back to Charleston safely without much traffic on the road. Sam was quite a champ on his first road trip! He did a great job sleeping pretty much the entire drive up and back.
Of course we didn't have power when we returned home but we did not have any damage to the house so that was a relief. There is just something about being back in your own home. As we were driving back to Charleston my mom, brother and cousin were on their way up from Florida. They had to go through Georgia since parts of 95 had been washed out. They made it up in the wee hours that Sunday morning. It was such a blessing to have some extra hands to help out with the girls. Thankfully we were some of the lucky ones that had our power back on by Sunday afternoon. 
Grandpa and Nana came up a couple weeks after to visit. It was great to have them here.
