Callie is 8 months old. Which is weird, because we just left the hospital with a newborn yesterday. What kind of twilight zone is this?

This seems like the right time to share her birth story with the world. I have been a LITTLE busy with three kids… I LOVE a good birth story! This one is Rated G. Just fyi. lol

I was so anxious leading up to Callie’s birth because her due date was RIGHT at Christmas. Well, two weeks before to be exact. We had Christmas programs for both kids, shopping, decorating, all the things. It was a busy time. I was PRAYING to God to let me make both of the kids programs before Callie made her grand entrance. Molly’s program specifically because it was a “Mother’s Night” at school! Oy! Also, the guilt that comes with adding another baby in, while still giving the attention to the others!

Molly’s event came and went. Praise. Carter’s event came and went. Hallelujah. That morning, as I was sitting at his Christmas program, I said “okay, the baby can come anytime now.” She came that night. HA! I see you , Lord.

Did you know we waited to find out what we were having? That is why I referenced “the baby” all of the time. BEST SURPRISE EVER! Especially since I was convinced it was a boy!! However, it really drove people nuts!!! HA!

Moving on. We left the Christmas program and went along with our day. I had a doctors appointment that morning right after the program, and everything was fine. I was progressing, but no signs of labor.

That night, Scott was working in the garage and I was making dinner. I felt THE POP and knew. My water broke. Again. (It did with Molly,too) At 38 weeks. Again. I nonchalantly opened the garage door and said, “hey, my water broke. I guess we are meeting this baby today!” (It’s no big deal, I mean you might want to stop working soon..but take your time) ;)

I continued to make dinner, like you do, #momlife. I walked around like “okay, now what?!” I guess you pack a bag at this point? This is my third time at this, and you still freak out a minute. We called my sister in law to come sit with the kids and get them in bed. I called the midwife and told her that my water broke at 5:00pm, but no contractions had started yet. We decided to wait home a little bit longer before I went into the hospital anticipating a longer night. HAHAHA Little did we know…

At 6:00, I had my first contraction. They were sporadic and short. I was making everyone nervous by staying home, and since I didn’t want to deliver the baby on the kitchen floor, I let the midwife know that we were heading in at 6:30pm. I am SO glad that we did, because my contractions started getting really intense and close together on the way to the hospital. We got checked into the room by 7:00pm. They saw that I had a midwife and led me to the room with the birthing tub. I said, “ohh..no…I want the epidural…like now” and they showed me to the other room. lol. Lets just say things got intense FAST and I was not playing around.

We did the admission dance of paperwork and iv fluids. When the anesthesiologist came in, I wanted to kiss him. I don’t remember exactly what time it was because I was just ready to die at that point. (kind of dramatic, kind of not). WELL THIS WAS FUN! I got a whopping 4 needle injections because apparently, three kids later, we discovered that I have scoliosis and it makes it hard to get the needle in the right spot. LONG STORY SHORT, it didn’t work, they gave me more, and only one side took it.

At 9:37, the nurse went out in the hall and told Scott and my mom that he was done with the epidural and they could come in. I told her that I was feeling a lot of pressure/pain in my lower back. She said that she needed to check me before she did the catheter anyway. She did. And I was complete. SWEET JESUS.

They scrambled and got the room ready as fast as they could, and Miss Callahan was born at 9:52pm. They all took their guesses before she was born and thought it was a boy, too. So when they lifted her on my chest all gooey, they said “what is it dad?” and I don’t think he wanted to touch her, LOL, so I reached down and grabbed her leg and the nurse said “it’s a GIRL!” I kid you not, I looked at the nurse and said, “shut up!” None of us could believe it! Best surprise ever. Seriously.

She came in like a wreckingggg balllll. But seriously. What a whirlwind. From 5:00pm standing at my stove cooking dinner, to 6:00 not even having contractions yet, to 9:52pm holding a sweet baby GIRL! It just seemed like a dream! Well, minus from about 6:30-9:30, that was more a nightmare. HA! BUT STILL…

Callahan Burke, you are the perfect little grand finale we didn’t know our family needed! This third baby business is so sweet. I truly feel like I can enjoy her because I know how quickly it goes now. Also, having two big helpers is a major bonus, too! ;)