I can't believe that this time last week, I was timing contractions and waiting for G to come to home. Now, our entire life has changed and we have this precious person in our home. It's crazy how much can change in such a short amount of time!! We love this kid! Here are some pics and his birth story...
It was a wonderful and eventful day! I had resigned myself to the fact that he would have to be induced later in the week and was contemplating what date would be best to pick before I went to my Dr. appointment on Tuesday. Cocoapuff had other plans though. :)
I woke up Tuesday morning a little bit before the alarm feeling different and like maybe, just maybe this could be the day. I told G that this could be it, but that if it was it would take a while, so I would let him know what was up after my 10:30 appointment. I took him to work and came back home not realizing that those mild contractions were coming every 5 minutes. I took a shower and tried to get ready, but the contractions had gotten a lot stronger, 60-90 seconds long, every 5 minutes apart and strong enough to stop what I was doing, I had only been up for about an hour and a half/2 hours. I called the Dr. and they told me to go to Labor and Delivery instead of wait for my appointment. My mom came to the rescue and went and got G from work so we could go to the hospital together. I put my makeup on while I waited and prayed that this was the real deal-I was super anxious that I would get to L&D and be sent home without a baby.
We arrived at L&D and had an amazing nurse waiting for us. Much to my delight, I was indeed in active labor and progressing way faster than I thought. It was 9:30 when they started the admitting process. Unfortunately for me and my tricky veins, they had to try 3 times to get an IV in! George almost fainted and after the 2nd try had to go to the cafeteria and get something to eat and drink and some fresh air. (I later found out that before he made it to the cafeteria, he was crouched on the floor outside of my room with his head between his knees-the nurses were very attentive to him.:) I was amused by this, but also a little concerned about how he would handle the rest of the day. In the end, I didn't need to worry at all!
My mom came up and I was glad to have both she and G hanging out while I labored. I used the huge yoga ball and had a pretty fun time chatting with them and breathing through contractions. They were shockingly bearable and I was excited to be in labor. Again, to my extreme surprise, things were moving along FAST! At 11:30 the nurses guessed I had only about an hour or two left before baby time-I couldn't believe it and was super excited! They got the room all set up for delivery and my contractions got more and more intense. I went from anticipating a long, typical first time labor to thinking I'd have a baby in my arms in no time flat.
That's when the back labor really kicked in (because this little dude was posterior-fun) and I hit that magical "transition" stage of labor-the hardest and most intense stage, which is supposedly fairly short as well (that's what the books and labor classes say). Not for me. Things got really, really tough! I had 3 big goals for my labor-no cussing, no attitude, no epidural. So far, so good, but I was wondering how long it would last. After a few hours in transition I decided that the mild IV drugs they offered sounded good. They helped a lot and put me back in the land of bearable. Then, I got sick. Something I had read could happen, but didn't expect would happen to me. For some dumb reason, when I was offered nausea drugs, I did not ask my typical questions about ALL of the possible side effects. Stupid. It made me so incredibly sleepy! I could not force myself to stay awake and would doze off, just to wake up mid, terrible contraction. If I had it to do again, I would just be sick instead of taking that medicine. My contractions were very strong and very long, but they weren't as productive anymore. I felt like it was one contraction after another with no break in between, which gave me great hope because everything I had read and heard said that means it's about time to push. Nope, not for me.
Thankfully, my Dr. was back at this point and decided that Pitocin would help speed up the process by making my contractions shorter and more intense. I was happy to get this done and wanted this baby out! I had been looking at all of the "stuff" for delivery for hours now and felt like I was not any closer to having a baby! George and my mom were amazing through this. They helped with my back pain and encouraged me nonstop.
When it was time to push, again it was not what I expected. People say things like you have this overwhelming urge to push and become super woman and get energized and stuff like that. I was tired, but wanted that baby out. I don't know how long I actually pushed, I just know it was longer than I thought it would be and he was in a wonky position. My hubby was great by my side, even when I was crying and telling him that I don't want anymore babies, just get this one out of me!
When he was finally born, it was a huge relief-I seriously thought it would never happen! I was so relieved to have done it and have my baby in my arms.
In short, labor and delivery were not what I anticipated at all-in good ways and bad. I think a lot of it had to do with the psychology of thinking it will be long, then being told it will be short, then having it long after all. (My Dr. did confirm that my labor did NOT follow typical labor patterns, though she was amused that I kept saying "The books don't tell you this!") I did achieve my goals though-no cussing, no 'tude, no epidural! I'm still processing everything else. I had great nurses and really love my Dr. I'm so thankful we have a healthy, beautiful baby. I loved our hospital and the support they gave me. No one tried to talk me into anything I didn't want and everyone was super helpful and encouraging.
The further away I get from delivery, the more fondly I think of it. Like I said though, I'm still processing. George on the other hand, talks about it everyday! I will admit, I was worried about how he would cope, since the idea of the man being present for birth was so totally foreign to him. He was so beyond amazing!!
We are adjusting to life with a newborn and loving our new little family.
