happy birthday, scottie.

SHE IS HERE!! Well, she’s been here for 13 days, but I’ve finally gotten the time to write Scottie’s birth story – and it’s nothing short of amazing.

After Labor Day Weekend, I made the decision to spend my weekends in Wisconsin to be closer to Rachel – in case she went into labor and to be close if she needed help with anything. My husband or I would take long walks with Rachel and her youngest daughter, in hopes of helping the labor progress.

On the morning of Sunday, September 9th, Rachel started having contractions and was timing them. They started at about 10 minutes apart, then 8 minutes apart and they progressively got closer and closer together. Rachel called the hospital, and the midwife asked her to get in the tub to see if contractions would slow down – they didn’t. Around noon that day, I drove Rachel to the hospital with my mom & sister (Matt was on his way because he was supposed to work) to get checked out at the hospital. At this point, Rachel was 37 weeks pregnant. The midwife checked Rachel and she was 2cm dilated and about 50% effaced. We decided to walk the halls of the hospital for 2 hours to see if she progressed at all. Four hours would go by, with little to no change, so we all headed home. Matt & I decided to stay in town that night at my moms on the off chance she would go into labor. And the next morning, we headed home.

I came back to Wisconsin the following Friday (September 14th) to spend the weekend close to Rachel again. Matt drove up on the 15th cause he was off as well to be close in case anything happened. In Rachel’s previous pregnancies, her labors lasted around 3-4 hours and we had about a 2 1/2 hour drive so all of us had been anxious we would miss the birth. Nothing happened over the weekend, so we all went to Rachel’s doctor’s appointment on Tuesday, September 18th for her 38 week appointment. She was STILL sitting about 2cm and 50% effaced, so with zero progress, Matt & I decided to head back home to Illinois. We were starting to go a little stir crazy waiting for our little girl, LOL.

Matt & I went back home to Illinois to be with our pups – who were probably so confused we kept coming and going – each time we’d tell them MAYBE we’d come back with their little sister. 🙂 We went to a movie Tuesday night and Rachel was texting me during the movie about how she was having contractions – although nothing crazy yet.

We went to bed that night and Rachel had told me that in her previous births, she had gone to the hospital around midnight or 2am with contractions and had her children in the early morning hours. For some reason that night, I woke up both at midnight and again at 2am and thought “well, we aren’t having a baby today” — until the phone rang at 3am! I had Rachel’s ringtone set to a certain one so that we would know when it was her and it definitely startled both of us! She was beginning to have more consistent contractions about 11 minutes apart and given her birth history, the hospital wanted her to come in right away. Matt & I got in the shower, loaded up the car, and headed for Wisconsin at 4am on September 19th.

Rachel and her husband arrived at the hospital around 4am (right about when Matt & I hit the road) and when they checked her she was 2.5cm dilated. They began walking the halls to see if she was progressing and she was! They checked her again around 5:15am and she was 3.5cm and 60% effaced so they went ahead and admitted her to the hospital.

Once I knew they admitted her, and that this was REAL, tears welled in my eyes. We were about twenty minutes from the hospital at this point and it all just hit me. I called my mom around 5:40am to let her know this was happening and Rachel was in labor and we both cried. This was the last few moments of just my husband and I being alone. Everything we had been through over the last six years – five egg retrievals, nine IVF transfers, six miscarriages – and now our journey to three was almost over. It just didn’t seem real – heck, it hardly seems real now as Scottie is here next to me.

Rachel continued to progress and was 7cm around 11am and we walked the halls of the hospital like crazy. She also got in and of the tub as well to help with the labor.

Around noon, the midwife broke Rachel’s water and that’s when shit got real, LOL. She was in and out of the tub, pumping to help contractions as well, and we walked a little bit more. Watching Rachel labor was one of the hardest things for me to witness – she handles pain like a champ but it hurt me like heck knowing she was going through all this pain for US. She’s an incredible person to do this for us.

At 1:52pm on September 19th, our miracle, rainbow baby arrived. There are absolutely NO words that will EVER even come close to describing the emotions I felt when she came out and was handed to me. I was absolutely sobbing – she is so incredibly beautiful and watching Rachel give birth was truly one of the most magical things I’ve ever witnessed in my life.

Scottie was 6 pounds 8.8 ounces and 20″ long.

What makes Scottie’s birthday even more special, is the fact that she shares a birthday with MY DAD, whom she is named after. SHE CAME ON MY DAD’S BIRTHDAY!!! Talk about life coming full circle.

These past 13 days have been the best days of my life. I literally have no clue how I have lived this long, without her in my life. My heart is just exploding with joy and love for her.

I’ll never be able to put into words what it is like being Scottie’s mom. I will NEVER EVER forget absolutely EVERYTHING we went through to get her here. She was worth absolutely ALL of the heartbreak.

I will never be able to repay Rachel for the greatest gift we will ever receive. We love you so much Rachel, and I can’t wait to share with Scottie her story as she grows up.

A HUGE thank you to Mary at Fox Valley Birth and Baby for spending the day with us and capturing these priceless photos for us to cherish for years to come.

Thank you to everyone that has followed us over the years and have supported, prayed for, and sent love as we kept on pushing for this moment. All of you are what kept us going, and we hope you welcome baby Scottie with open arms.