Stanger Sayings: Augie Gene Stanger

The Birth Story:

This is how it all began! On June 3, 2012 I woke up at 6:00 a.m. to contractions, not that it was too big of a deal because I had been having contractions off and on for almost a month! I had two incidences of false labor (once on May 25th and another on May 27th) so when I woke up with contractions I just laid back down to see if they would keep coming. Sure enough they were steadily coming at 20 minutes apart; I hopped in the shower because I was thinking if today is the day I am not going in not bathed :) So we got ready for church and I was making sure kids had a bag packed, house clean, ect. just in case. We got to church and sure enough the contractions kept coming at 20 minutes apart and the reason I kept my eye on the time was because these contractions were hurting. We were in Relief Society and just sitting there was not helping my situation, but thankfully I was sitting next to Sister Sutherland who happens to be a doula, and so she would rub my back and my belly while I was having the contractions. Bless her heart it helped so much, and then she got up and walked with me around the building because I kept getting back pains that would not go away and it was from sitting.

We went to my mom's after I made sure everything was packed and the house was completely spotless (someone was coming to look at the house on Monday so I was concerned) after church. My contractions moved down to ten minutes apart and when they happened I would have to brace myself/figure out positions that would help me get through them because they were getting more intense and hurting. We still did not go into the hospital because we wanted the contractions to be closer together and we were scared we would get sent home again after the two false alarms.

We left my mom's at around 6:00 p.m. and headed home to take Kona home and on the way there my contractions were 6 minutes apart and I had to use breathing techniques to get me through them so when Clay asked what I wanted to do I replied, "There is no way I can make it through the night with these things." So we took Kona home and dropped the kids off with Brianne and Clint because we could not get a hold of Grandma & Grandpa Stanger (they stayed with them that night and the next day) and headed to the hospital. We got there around 7ish and my contractions were 4-6 minutes apart and like I said before they HURT (so I knew they were not false, but I still had my reserves). When we got off the elevator we passed Dr. Coleman which made me super excited because with him there I knew he was close and if I was in labor he would not be far.

We were admitted and after getting stripped down and strapped up to the monitors it was time to be checked. The moment we were waiting for and I was dilated to a SIX!! We were so EXCITED that we would not be going home, but we were going to have our baby. So while I was there the contractions started getting closer together and things were moving along great. Clay and I decided together that I should go without an epidural and so I was in it naturally and doing pretty good might I say :) I tested positive for the GroupB Strep and I knew that once I was admitted I would have to have an IV for antibiotics, what I did not know is being in labor and so scared of needles= 3 tries until they could get a vain! It was not pleasant whatsoever, but finally they got it and we were hooked up and geared to go. At 8:40 p.m. Dr. Coleman broke my water and I am not sure when I started pushing, but usually I look forward to this part because with Tate and Brittley I did not push very long and they were out and that was that. With Augie I pushed for a little while longer and during the pushes the Dr. would reach in to turn Augie because he was posterior. Needless to say it was not very fun and it hurt worst than anything else, but finally at 9:58 p.m. I gave birth to a 7 lb 12 oz 20 1/2 inches long baby boy!

I just started crying tears of joy when he came out because I could not believe I had my baby at last in my arms. He came out not crying at all which scared me to death, but nothing was wrong, they just slapped him on the back and the crying came, but not for long. The moment they put him on me the crying stopped, my little boy not even minutes old knew me right away and so I was very emotional as they cleaned him up while he laid on me.

Normally I always get a picture with my babies right after I have them, but it was hard labor and I knew I was probably a pretty sight to see, but Clay took this picture anyways. Kind of fuzzy, but I cannot explain the enormous amount of love I had for this little boy; I was so excited to finally meet him at last!