Introducing Owen James....

Owen James Heffel arrived at approximately 1:05 am on Wednesday, April 21, 2010. He weighed in at 7 pounds 4 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. He sure knows how to make an entrance too, because he was born in the front seat of our Mazda 5 at the Quality Gas Station near Golf Links Road in Tucson. We were about 5 miles from the hospital, but there was no way Owen was waiting! When the Heffel's are ready to enter the world, they come fast! Carson was a fast labor as well, so I wasn't expecting Owen's to last long, but I had no clue it would be as short as it was.

As I said in my last post, Carson and I were busy that entire day, and I didn't have any contractions - until I was at my friend's jewelry party that night at about 7 pm. At first I thought they were just cramps or braxton hicks, because it was barely noticeable. Then, as I was driving home from Hereford, which is a 50 minute drive, they started becoming more noticeable, but they were still really sporadic, so I still didn't think I was in labor yet. I got home around 10 pm and told Jason excitedly that I was having contractions and that maybe we should finish packing our bags just in case. I then took a shower and got ready for bed and even tried to go to sleep, but by that time, they were starting to hurt, so I started practicing my Bradley method relaxation techniques and told Jason to start timing to see how far apart they were. This is when I thought, okay, I am in labor for sure, and we'll probably be heading to the hospital tonight.

They were 6 minutes apart and the contractions were lasting almost a minute, so we called my doctor, who was supposed to be getting back into town that evening. Unfortunately, her plane had been delayed so she was still in Phoenix. We had agreed ahead of time that if she was out of town, she wanted me to go to Tucson Medical Center, instead of Sierra Vista's hospital. Benson is in between the two, so either way, I knew we were going to have to drive, which worried me. I remember at my last OB appointment, I told my doctor, I just do not want to deliver him in the car! I think I probably jinxed myself. =)

After relaying some calls between ourselves and my doctor, calling my friend, Autumn, down the road to come watch Carson and getting on the highway, it was about midnight. I was still having contractions at 5-6 minutes apart when we left and 45 minutes later, Owen was in my arms! I think that was the longest trip to Tucson I have ever taken or will ever drive. Thankfully, I had been planning on going natural (well, trying to) since I went the majority of Carson's birth naturally (up to 9cm, I probably should not have gotten an epidural, but they did not check me beforehand and no one thought my labor would go that fast.). So my relaxation techniques helped me quite a bit. Jason told me I was surprisingly calm throughout the whole ordeal. I remember getting off our exit and thinking there is no way we're going to make it because I my body was feeling the urge to push and I could tell his head was near, and I just prayed it would all work out somehow. I told Jason to pull over NOW. =) So he found the first place, which happened to be a thankfully empty gas station. At least I didn't have any bystanders. =) By the time he pulled in and got to my side of the car, Owen's head was out. One more little push and Owen was in Jason's arms. It was literally that fast! I don't think either of us really had time to even think about what was happening, we just kind of reacted and thankfully everything turned out okay. Jason had called 911 when we were getting off our exit, so the man told Jason to cover the baby and to tie the umbilical cord with Jason's shoelace. The ambulance and fire truck showed up about 1-2 minutes after Owen was born. Owen cried out a couple of times and then just kind of looked around while he was in my arms. Owen and I then got to ride in an ambulance to the hospital, and he breastfed in the ambulance, which was a good sign he was okay.

When we got to the hospital, Owen was a little cold, but they said that happens if a baby is born outside the hospital, so he was put under a heat lamp for a little bit, and then he was fine. He didn't have any other issues during our stay, so we are so thankful he is such a healthy baby so far. I don't think it really hit us as to what happened until the next day. To me, it still feels like a dream or a scene I saw in the movies. God was definitely watching over us that night! I'm also so grateful Jason was by my side. We made a great team! I thank him for staying calm even though I know he was freaking out inside, for taking such good care of Owen and I, and for thinking on his toes and calling 911 and pulling over when he did. He is such a wonderful husband and father, and I couldn't have done it without him by my side. Here are some pictures from our hospital stay.

Where it all went down...