Sunday, July 12, 2015

Little Sir's Birth Story

On July 6, 2015 at 11:09 a.m., we welcomed Little "Sir" into our family!  He weighed 9 pounds 5 ounces, was 20.25 inches long, and had a head circumference of 14.5".  This is the story of how he made his entrance into the world.  (Warning:  Birth can be gross to many.  You might say TMI; I say it's how God designed us.)

For more than half of this pregnancy, I have had Braxton Hicks contractions that only got stronger.  On the night of the 4th of July, they were becoming painful and I really thought I might be going into labor.  The contractions got to be about 10 minutes apart, but when I got up for the day on Sunday the 5th (my due date), they fizzled out.  I kept having them all day, but they weren't regular or painful anymore.  I'd say around 10 p.m. is when they started in again at about 10 minutes apart.  I tried sleeping, but that didn't work because I was worried about whether or not I should call my mom to drive 1.5 hours to watch CJ.  By midnight they were about 8 minutes apart, and I was convincing myself to call her.  Eventually, I gave in and she arrived at our house about 3 a.m.  I still hadn't woken up Hubby to tell him that tonight was the night because he just finished the busiest weekend of his career and I wanted him to have stamina in case this thing went for another 24+ hours.  My contractions were 3 minutes apart and growing in strength when my mom got there which was when we were told to go to the hospital.  I could still talk through them though, so I woke Peter but delayed leaving until 4 a.m when they were 2.5 minutes apart.

When we got to the hospital, they checked me, and I was 4 centimeters and the contractions were now 2-3 minutes apart.  I was GBS+ so I got my first round of penicillin, which burned going into my arm so bad!  They let me labor a little longer and I think I walked around some while Hubby took a nap on the couch which I was ok with.  At 7:30 a.m. my midwife decided to check me again since she hadn't yet, and I was only at 5 centimeters, 90% effaced and -1 station with contractions still 2-3 minutes apart.  We decided that to really get things going, it was best if she broke my water.  Then the fun started.

The contractions got stronger, and I wasn't able to talk or walk through them.  At 9 a.m., I got my second round of penicillin in the opposite arm and it was such a big distraction from trying to stay relaxed through the contractions.  I think that's when the pain started getting the best of me.  I was determined to go without the drugs this time since the epidural ruined everything last time.  I had a lot of back labor and my labor & delivery nurse and midwife were convinced that if I got on my hands and knees or stood and leaned forward resting my arms on the bed that the baby would get into a better position.  They were pretty much right about that.  By 10:15 or so, I really had to pee, but my labor nurse said that I had to promise I wouldn't push once I got in there.  I couldn't make that promise, so I stayed where I was at.  I started pushing at 10:55 a.m.  The pain was so intense and I wasn't breathing correctly so my arms and legs started getting all tingly--I never expected that.  Poor Hubby got a little woozy and had to sit, then lay down, but I've passed out so many times I don't blame the guy.  No way would I be able to stand and watch all of that go down myself!  After 16 minutes of pushing, our second baby boy was placed on my chest immediately!  I think my first words were, "Oh my gosh, it's CJ!" 



We delayed clamping the cord, and then shortly after I got to experience what it feels like to deliver a placenta.  Ew.  But I must say, God did an amazing job of making this whole process work out and creating an entire organ to sustain a baby's life inside its mother.  I can't remember if I started nursing him before, during or after the placenta ordeal, but he latched on and wouldn't let go for the longest time.  Our "sacred hour" of bonding turned into 2 hours because he was nursing so long.  I did have a second degree tear and I do remember nursing him while getting put back together.  The only pain medication I received was the shot for the stitches.

I was told that I had to get up, pee, and walk to my postpartum room in order to get my IV out.  I did all but the last one because while I was standing waiting to go, I quickly realized I was too lightheaded to make it all the way there.  I got a wheelchair ride instead, which is fun.  You don't get to ride in a wheelchair everyday if you don't have any physical challenges.  Since Little Sir was so large, they kept checking his blood sugars which kept improving.  They said he had a small heart murmur the first day, but it was gone by the second day.  We stayed in the hospital until after dinner on the 7th.  Some people argue to stay at the hospital an enjoy the extra help while you can, but I argue that I cannot sleep in a hospital.  So we went home, and life as we now know it has begun!

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