Martha Rose Eula

With the exception of last year when April I went to stay with my old friend and college roommate in Birmingham, Alabama so that we could, the next day, go look at The Clam to see if we would buy it, we have gone to the riverfront in Nashville to watch the July 4th fireworks for many years now.  Because she was so close to her due date, we decided that the heavy rains and several miles of bumper to bumper traffic and shoulder to shoulder people all under a series of explosions might not be the best place for a pregnant lady.  We decided to stay home this year for the 4th.  That day, April began feeling very slight contractions, but they were the type that could mean that pregnancy was possibly still a week away.  Nick came over and we got some food and then watched the city's fireworks from our front doorstep.  After they were over Nick and I were in the garage and April came out and said her contractions were getting pretty painful.  We called the doctor and he said to try to wait 30 minutes and if they continued to come into the hospital.  We didn't want to have a false alarm.  After about 20 minutes we headed to the hospital.

We finally got settled into the room around 11:30.  April had decided she wanted to abstain from using an epidural, so she gave birth with no pain killers.  Our parents and family came down to wait in the waiting room, as well as Nick and also April's good friend Shelby.  I stayed by the bed coaching April until Rose was finally born at 7:18 am, Friday 5th, 2013.  Everything went well and Rose was healthy.  We called April's parents and they drove down from Indiana.  By the end April and I both had been up over 24 hours and April's parents had been up over 28 hours.  Nick took the day off work.  I can't distinguish the next 3 days apart from one another, they were all a blur of days in the hospital sleeping odd hours in a fold out chair.  Many friends and loved ones came to see April and Rose and eventually we were able to come home.

I found this is how all men stand in the delivery room.

Unfortunately, The Clam isn't ready yet for Rose because she decided to come two weeks earlier than they said she would.  The nurses said she was full term, so it seems that the due date was off.  Her birth came at a very convenient time.  It rained for almost three entire straight days, so I couldn't have gotten any work done and it wasn't a complete loss being stuck in a hospital room for three days.  It finally stopped the day that we were to come home.

And the (to the car guy) very important first ride home in The Caprice.  I wanted to have a clean Caprice for the ride home but the never ending storms made sure that didn't happen, but at least we had air conditioning because it was exceptionally hot and humid after the storms.