Cooper Charles McCord

Welcome Cooper!

Finally on Sunday, September 20th, Cooper decided he was ready to join us. My parents had just gotten in Friday night and were very excited they had not missed the birth. It's pretty interesting that Aurora came the earliest and Cooper the latest. Although knowing Aurora and Connor's personalities it isn't that surprising ;)

I had a few random contractions throughout the evening that had a little more "bite" to them, but nothing I would even describe as early labor. They were more like the contractions I remember having the day before Aurora was born. It did make me think that things were getting closer though!

Around 8pm I decided to go upstairs and take a bath. I had 3 or 4 fairly intense contractions in the tub which were 5 minutes apart. Then I started to feel a little nauseous, so I got out and went to wake Matt up and tell him I was pretty sure Baby was on the way. He had crawled into bed and passed out when I got in the tub. I had a few more before he got up to call the midwives because they were pretty intense and not very far apart.

At 9:00 Matt brought the baby monitor downstairs to my mother and we were off to the birth center. My contractions were pretty intense through the car ride and I could feel them moving deeper into my pelvis so I figured things were probably moving along pretty quickly.

We got to the birth center around 9:20. I got out of the car but couldn't make it across the parking lot before throwing up everywhere... At least it wasn't in the car! Aubre, the midwife, came out and I remember her saying "I know you don't want to walk right now so let's not even think about it let's just get inside"

They checked me inside and said I was completely dilated so at this point they weren't going to bother trying to get my antibiotics started (I have been Beta Strep Positive with all three pregnancies). Then they let me get in the tub. I remember the intensity being so strong I wasn't even sure how to sit down in the tub but felt much better once I did. I think I started pushing right away and Cooper was born in maybe 3 or 4 good pushes. Even though the entire labor was faster than Connor's, I felt more in control for the actual birth.

Proud Big Sister Aurora

It was no surprise to me that out came a boy, but I think Matt was surprised again ;) Apparently Cooper was pretty blue when he came out but Aubre said that was pretty common and she didn't see anything to be concerned about. Even after the blue faded he was extremely pale for quite a long time though. After the birth Aubre left us to hang with Cooper so she could attend to another Mama. 

At some point the nurse came in to check Cooper out and take measurements. He was by far my biggest baby at 8 pounds and 21.5 inches long. We were at Mountain Midwifery until about 2am when they discharged us and sent us home. It was a crazy quick night but there isn't anywhere I would have rather been at the end of it than in my own bed with Matt and Cooper!

Connor's Birth Story

Connor Howard McCord was born Wednesday morning at 9:17am, just in time for Thanksgiving! He is 7 pounds 4 ounces and 19 inches long.

Nanny and Grumpa arrived Tuesday evening to celebrate Thanksgiving with us and to watch Aurora in case "the baby" decided to come over the holiday. We stayed up chatting for a while and then went to bed. I had very irregular contractions from about 3am until Matt and I decided to get up and shower around 6:30. I got in the shower and the intensity diminished but so did the amount of time in between. I think I went from having 45-60 second contractions to having 20-30 second contractions but all of the sudden I was only getting a 3 minute break in-between. Matt called the midwives and after listening to me through a contraction told us we should head their way. I was surprised to hear this since I still felt very much in control and the contractions were not as strong as they had been when we went to the birth center with Aurora.

Matt had taken Aurora down to Nanny and Grumpa when she woke up so I assumed everyone knew what was going on. However, when I went downstairs to get in the car Nanny looked up from the couch and said, "Oh, where are you off to?" Hah! Apparently Matt hadn't told them anything.

The drive to the midwives was more uncomfortable than I remember during my labor with Aurora. When we arrived at the midwives I was about 8.5cm dilated and quickly got in the tub. The contractions were coming super fast at this point and were really gaining in intensity. I think the only way to characterize this birth is fast and furious! I never got to the point of "I can't do this" with Aurora, but I definitely did this time.

Right before the birth there was a last minute gender vote. Matt and all the midwives said girl, but I knew better :) I had thought boy through most of the pregnancy, but was unsure towards the end. I carried the same as with Aurora so I started to think maybe girl. But as soon as I went into labor I was absolutely sure Connor was a boy! 

I didn't have to push very long, I would guess maybe 10 or 15 minutes. Then Connor was here! I think your Matt was a little shocked but so happy to have a son. He squeaked a little bit but settled right down with us to rest and try to nurse. After about an hour Matt cut Connor's cord and he was weighed and measured. I ate a little and got a bath. Then we were on our way home! Everything happened so fast that we almost beat Nanny, Grumpa and Aurora home from breakfast. By about 2:30 we were back home with Connor and I tucked in bed upstairs.

Aurora's Birth Story

Aurora Lynn McCord was born Sunday evening at 6:18pm. She is a perfect 7 pounds 1 ounce and 19 1/2 inches long.

Matt and I woke up Sunday morning around 9am. We stayed in bed for a little while just talking and I remember thinking that we should enjoy this because it could be our last time. How true!

We were still in bed at 9:30 when my water broke. They aren't kidding when they call it a gush, I am definitely glad I wasn't out in public somewhere! We took showers and packed up the last few things in our bags and headed up to the birth center so I could get antibiotics (being GBS positive). We stopped on the way to get bagel sandwiches and by the time we arrived I was apparently having a few small contractions that the monitors picked up but I still wasn't feeling much of anything. I got my antibiotics around 11:30am and the midwives sent us home.

We got home and I was still not feeling much. I think I had a few small contractions in the car but nothing major. Matt went to finish staining the changing table and I cleaned up the house. Unfortunately I didn't get very far before the contractions picked up big time. They were super intense and I never had more than a few minutes between them. I just paced around the house until it was time to go back to the birth center for more antibiotics. I had no idea how far along I was but I remember thinking if my labor got much more intense I was going to be in trouble. In hindsight I should have known that this meant I was in transition, especially since right about this time I got threw up in the kitchen sink. It was classic Matt to yell, "in the garbage disposal!" when he figured out where I was headed ;)

Oddly, things got a little better when we got in the car. I think it had more to do with the fact that I had already gone through transition though because usually people say labor is worse in the car. When we arrived at the birth center around 3:30pm I was 9.5cm and they told me I was free to start pushing whenever I felt like it. I got in the tub and started pushing… and pushing… and pushing. I'm not sure you were quite ready though because I never felt the urge to push and it seemed to take FOREVER. After a while the midwives got me out of the tub and we tried a ton of different positions to try to move you down. Then at 6:18pm baby girl Aurora was born. Never for a second during my pregnancy had I doubted we were having a girl.

Our little family of three snuggled in bed together at the birth center for 12 hours before heading home. Poor dad had to drive his new baby girl home in a horrible rain storm, but we made it safely. What a crazy, awesome day!