It began at about 6:30 A.M. June 13, a Thursday morning.

For us, it was a regular day. I woke up at six, took a shower, and went into the living room to read. As I was reading, Shale called for me from the other room.

“I think my water just broke.” I said, “Well, okay! Let’s do this!”

Flustered-ness ensued.

A Month Early

We frantically began to gather up all the stuff we knew we needed to take and quickly got in the car for the hospital. It was only about an eight minute drive, so it wasn’t too bad–it was probably about a five minute drive since I drove twice as fast!

We got to the OB Triage unit to make sure her water did in fact break. It did, of course. They ran some tests to make sure both were doing OK (which they were) and told us that since Jovi was technically 35 weeks we would need to be transported to OU Children’s Medical Center.

We didn’t necessarily want that, but it was a blessing in disguise. If she would’ve been 36 weeks, Jovi would be born in Ada but then transported to OU, and we’d be separated–nobody wants that! So it was a good thing.

Before they transported her via ambulance, they explained that she was dilated to a 1. As a result, it wouldn’t be a rushed drive to OU. I wasn’t able to be in the ambulance with Shale, I drove up with my mom.

Escalating Quickly

When I got into her room at OU, I asked the nurses how far she was dilating. I was waiting to hear 2, maybe 3.

The nurse told me she was at a 7! Within an hour and a half, Shale had gone from 1 to 7! Jovi was ready to come–and soon!

At 12:39 P.M., Jovi Grace Long was born. As you might have seen from Facebook photos, she is absolutely precious. We are so grateful to God for her. And Shale did so well. She was a rockstar.

Home Now

We thought we’d be able to go home the next day since Jovi was 7 lbs and was healthy. That wasn’t the case. She was technically a preemie, even though I think the due date was off. Her blood sugar was a bit low and we had to get tests done that exceeded a certain number three times in a row before we could think about going home.

In the middle of the night on Saturday, we finally got three in a row!

Later that day, we were told we could leave. Jovi was amazing on the way home. Now Shale and I are trying to, well, be parents.

Thank you all for you congratulations and support! We are very excited to start this journey.

Soli Deo Gloria