Just got done at the doctor for a regular check up. No change to report in my cervix. Have been having contractions all month. Nothing painful or consistent. Baby Boy is healthy. I'm feeling ok. Sore and ready to have this little baby. But definitely feel like 1 more week is manageable. Next week's appt is scheduled. The doctor says we will discuss an induction at that time. I really don't want to be induced. I call Hubby and tell him the news. I can sense a little disappointment in his voice, as I'm sure he senses it in mine as well. I pick up the girls from my friend's house and I am quite discouraged and emotional. She can tell I didn't get the news I wanted from the doctor. ("You're dilated to a 5! And..OH! You're water just broke! We need to get you to the hospital right away!" Ok, maybe not quite that extreme, but any change would have been nice!!) I head home with the girls, looking forward to a restful afternoon.
May 22, 2012 2 p.m.
I start having contractions 8 minutes apart. Not too painful, but enough that I can definitely feel them. I get some water and get comfy on the couch. Thinking they will go away...
1 hour later...
Still contracting. Quite consistently. I start pacing the house. Is today the day? Should I call someone? Do I dare get my hopes up? I don't want any false alarms. What are you doing in there, little guy? I'm texting my nurse friend like CRAZY. She is probably thoroughly annoyed, but answers each question with love and grace.
I start having contractions 8 minutes apart. Not too painful, but enough that I can definitely feel them. I get some water and get comfy on the couch. Thinking they will go away...
1 hour later...
Still contracting. Quite consistently. I start pacing the house. Is today the day? Should I call someone? Do I dare get my hopes up? I don't want any false alarms. What are you doing in there, little guy? I'm texting my nurse friend like CRAZY. She is probably thoroughly annoyed, but answers each question with love and grace.
May 22, 2012 5:30 p.m.
Contractions are 5 minutes apart and getting stronger. They are bearable, but definitely make me stop what I am doing to breathe through them. I continue with dinner anyways. Pregnant lady's gotta eat!
May 22, 2012 8 p.m.
Contractions are coming every 2-3 minutes! My phone is about dead from me using the timer and texting all afternoon and evening. Not necessarily painful contractions but so very intense. They make me sweat. Hubby barely believes me. I decide to call it. We call our dear friends to come watch the girls, and then we are off to the hospital!
Contractions are 5 minutes apart and getting stronger. They are bearable, but definitely make me stop what I am doing to breathe through them. I continue with dinner anyways. Pregnant lady's gotta eat!
May 22, 2012 8 p.m.
Contractions are coming every 2-3 minutes! My phone is about dead from me using the timer and texting all afternoon and evening. Not necessarily painful contractions but so very intense. They make me sweat. Hubby barely believes me. I decide to call it. We call our dear friends to come watch the girls, and then we are off to the hospital!
May 22, 2012 9 p.m.
We are at the hospital getting checked out. They won't officially admit us until we know for sure we are in active labor. They lead me to a room, give me a gown and hook me up to all the monitors. Nurse checks. Still only dilated to a 3. Another nurse comes in frantically asking if our nurse needs help. She says they've been watching the monitor at the nurses' station and my contractions seem really steady and strong! Our nurse says there is surprisingly nothing happening yet. (Nothing happening, my butt!)
May 22, 2012 10 p.m.
My contractions are coming every 2 minutes and are SO uncomfortable! My cervix is still not changing. The nurse helps me out of bed and tells us to walk the halls and she will come check me again in an hour. Still contracting regularly. Still wondering if tonight is his birth day.
We are at the hospital getting checked out. They won't officially admit us until we know for sure we are in active labor. They lead me to a room, give me a gown and hook me up to all the monitors. Nurse checks. Still only dilated to a 3. Another nurse comes in frantically asking if our nurse needs help. She says they've been watching the monitor at the nurses' station and my contractions seem really steady and strong! Our nurse says there is surprisingly nothing happening yet. (Nothing happening, my butt!)
May 22, 2012 10 p.m.
My contractions are coming every 2 minutes and are SO uncomfortable! My cervix is still not changing. The nurse helps me out of bed and tells us to walk the halls and she will come check me again in an hour. Still contracting regularly. Still wondering if tonight is his birth day.
May 22, 2012 11 p.m.
We meet the nurse back at our room. She checks. Nada. Zip. No change. I could just cry at this point. In fact, I think I am. Our nurse says- I don't know what to tell you. The definition of labor is cervical change. And your cervix has not changed in 2 hours. But if I send you home, I don't know how to tell you when it's real. Because you are contracting rather intensely every 2-3 minutes. Nurse leaves to discuss with our OB. I'm feeling so bad that I fell for another false alarm. (I did with Lili too.) Hubby just got our bags and now we have to turn around and go back home.
May 22, 2012 11:30 p.m.
Then, it happens! I feel water. (Yuck but yay!) I call the nurse. She looks and says- Good news! You're not going home! She immediately hooks me up to fluids and penicillin for the Group B strep. I need to get 3 doses in before he is born, and they need to be spaced out a few hours.
Hooray!!! Ohhh...ouch ouch ouch.... Hooray!
Hooray!!! Ohhh...ouch ouch ouch.... Hooray!
May 23, 2012 12 a.m. (7 days from due date)
3-4 cm dilated. I think I'm handling contractions rather well. Maybe I could go all natural with this baby.... Nah! WHO AM I KIDDING?! I didn't prepare myself for that! Give me the epidural, stat!
May 23 2012 12:30 a.m.
Contractions are so painful and intense. I could never adequately describe a contraction to someone that hasn't felt them. My sister shows up and I try to tell her. Period cramps- times a million. She cringes and rubs my arm and gets a cool cloth for my head while I breathe and move my hips back and forth through another contraction. These are 1 1/2-2 minutes apart. And they aren't messing around anymore! The anesthesiologist gets the epidural in after a half hour of painful sitting up and sitting still through at least 16 contractions. Longest 1/2 hour of my life. (In her defense, she did an awesome job of not hitting whatever the last guy hit to give me a spinal headache after I had Liliana. Not fun. I'd take that 1/2 hour of overwhelming pain over the 10 day recovery from the headache any day!) Dilated: 5-6 cm.
May 23 2012 12:30 a.m.
Contractions are so painful and intense. I could never adequately describe a contraction to someone that hasn't felt them. My sister shows up and I try to tell her. Period cramps- times a million. She cringes and rubs my arm and gets a cool cloth for my head while I breathe and move my hips back and forth through another contraction. These are 1 1/2-2 minutes apart. And they aren't messing around anymore! The anesthesiologist gets the epidural in after a half hour of painful sitting up and sitting still through at least 16 contractions. Longest 1/2 hour of my life. (In her defense, she did an awesome job of not hitting whatever the last guy hit to give me a spinal headache after I had Liliana. Not fun. I'd take that 1/2 hour of overwhelming pain over the 10 day recovery from the headache any day!) Dilated: 5-6 cm.
May 23, 2012 1 a.m.
I am still feeling contractions. And they hurt. The anesthesiologist explains (through my fog of immense pain) that I have a "hot spot" in my low abdomen. Right where the contraction settles for the longest amount of time. She tries to fix it by pushing more epidural. They strongly suggest that I stay on my back so that the epidural can properly spread. Number 1 rule (maybe not number 1, but pretty important) you don't lay on your back when you are pregnant. You get light headed and pass out. I came very close to passing out a couple of times. Between the baby laying on my spine and the terrible pain from the contractions that were coming every 1.5 minutes, I was struggling. And Hubby could tell. It was hard for him to watch me in that much pain and feel so helpless. Somewhere during this next hour, they push another thing of epidural.
I am still feeling contractions. And they hurt. The anesthesiologist explains (through my fog of immense pain) that I have a "hot spot" in my low abdomen. Right where the contraction settles for the longest amount of time. She tries to fix it by pushing more epidural. They strongly suggest that I stay on my back so that the epidural can properly spread. Number 1 rule (maybe not number 1, but pretty important) you don't lay on your back when you are pregnant. You get light headed and pass out. I came very close to passing out a couple of times. Between the baby laying on my spine and the terrible pain from the contractions that were coming every 1.5 minutes, I was struggling. And Hubby could tell. It was hard for him to watch me in that much pain and feel so helpless. Somewhere during this next hour, they push another thing of epidural.
May 23, 2012 1:45 a.m.
Epidural kicks in! HALLELUJAH! 6-7 cm. Just relaxing now and trying not to pass out from laying on my back.
May 23, 2012 2:15 a.m.
I'm at a 10! You're almost here, baby boy! (Knowing it went so quickly, maybe I could've handled this without the drugs. We will never know!!)
May 23, 2012 2:30 a.m.
A kiss and an exit from my sister and it's time to start pushing. 3 contractions later and we have a handsome baby boy screaming at us. What a sweet sound to this mama's ears! They have to rush him away so the NICU can look him over. I guess my other water bag burst and there was some meconium in it. They need to make sure it didn't get in his lungs. Also, my nurse only had time to push 1 bag of penicillin. So between that and possibly breathing in his own poo, we are worried about our little guy. He comes out, and the doctor suctions his mouth right away and as the NICU nurse took him to the warmer, we heard the sound we were all waiting for. That tiny little baby cry. And we hear it for the next 4 minutes straight! Thank you, Lord. They put a tiny little oxygen mask on his face. It's pretty cute. Probably just because it's on his face. I don't get to hold him just yet. But I'm ok knowing he is ok.
Baby Boy is born at 2:45 a.m. Tipping the scales at 8 pounds, 9 ounces and stretching 20 inches long. He has a ton of hair and is oh so handsome!
A kiss and an exit from my sister and it's time to start pushing. 3 contractions later and we have a handsome baby boy screaming at us. What a sweet sound to this mama's ears! They have to rush him away so the NICU can look him over. I guess my other water bag burst and there was some meconium in it. They need to make sure it didn't get in his lungs. Also, my nurse only had time to push 1 bag of penicillin. So between that and possibly breathing in his own poo, we are worried about our little guy. He comes out, and the doctor suctions his mouth right away and as the NICU nurse took him to the warmer, we heard the sound we were all waiting for. That tiny little baby cry. And we hear it for the next 4 minutes straight! Thank you, Lord. They put a tiny little oxygen mask on his face. It's pretty cute. Probably just because it's on his face. I don't get to hold him just yet. But I'm ok knowing he is ok.
Baby Boy is born at 2:45 a.m. Tipping the scales at 8 pounds, 9 ounces and stretching 20 inches long. He has a ton of hair and is oh so handsome!
May 23, 2012 5:30 a.m.
After several failed attempts at getting some sleep, Hubby and I are anxiously waiting to see our little boy. We are exhausted, but want to see our baby!
May 23, 2012 6 a.m.
The nurse begins to help me get cleaned up to go to my recovery room on the floor below. Because they pushed 2 extra things of epidural, I cannot feel myself from the hips down. At. All. It is the strangest feeling in the world. It takes awhile to get me in a wheel chair. (This feeling continues until 10 a.m.!)
The nurse begins to help me get cleaned up to go to my recovery room on the floor below. Because they pushed 2 extra things of epidural, I cannot feel myself from the hips down. At. All. It is the strangest feeling in the world. It takes awhile to get me in a wheel chair. (This feeling continues until 10 a.m.!)
May 23, 2012 6:30 a.m.
I am in my recovery room. And it's time for me to finally hold my son. I have been waiting for this moment for so long. I hear the cradle being rolled in. There he is. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. And look at all that hair! What a handsome little boy. And he's mine. Mine and Hubby's. What an amazing feeling to hold this precious little being that I helped create and carried inside of me for so long. What a gift. Empty body. Overflowing heart. Complete bliss.
May 23, 2012
Hubby and I barely function on 2 hours of sleep and pure adrenaline! Taking in every bit of our new family. Hubby goes home to shower and bring the girls. Cadee walks in first and just beams at the sight of her brother. She climbs up on the bed with us and asks to hold him. Lili comes in a little bit slowly and I will never forget the look of relief on her face when she sees that I am fine. And that there is a new baby in our family. The rest of the day is a joy overload. We all silently take in his tiny little features. Pictures, kisses and hugs.
Smitten. We are all absolutely smitten.
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