Thomas's Birth Story, Part 2

In this part of Thomas's birth story I am going to discuss labor/delivery.  In part 1 I discussed my non-stress test and decision to be induced.

Before I start, I wanted to share my very last picture before having Thomas.  Unfortunately I didn't get a picture on the morning I went into the hospital, but this was taken just a few days before.

Saturday, 11/12/11

Saturday morning started very early, as we had to be at the hospital at 7:30.  Todd and I woke up, got ready, ate breakfast (thankfully the doctor had cleared me to eat some breakfast) and headed to the hospital.  We packed A LOT of stuff... MUCH more than we really needed to, but I feel like that's probably pretty common.  However, maybe not as common... I actually packed some papers thinking maybe I would do some last minute grading while laboring!  HA!  That SO didn't happen.

When we arrived at the hospital they were all ready for us.  I quickly changed into a gown and was hooked up to a fetal monitor, contraction monitor and blood pressure cuff.  I would basically be attached to these things for the ENTIRE time I was in labor (here is just another example of how nothing went as I planned... in my plan I was going to be walking through contractions, changing positions and what not to stay comfortable).

The doctor came in soon afterward to check me and give me drugs to start my contractions.  I was told it would probably take 2-4 doses of drugs (at 3 hour intervals) for my contractions to really get going and my body to take over.

The first set of drugs started some contractions, but they were very spaced out and not too difficult.  Todd and I passed the time by playing cards and watching football (yes, that's right... we watched FOOTBALL while I was in labor... Todd basically thinks I am the best wife ever).

About three hours later I got my second dose of drugs and learned I was no further dilated (not uncommon).  This dose of drugs did exactly what it was supposed to.  It brought my contractions closer together and made it so that I could get the pitocin.  By the time the doctor gave me the pitocin, I was starting to get uncomfortable and my contractions were getting tougher.  I remember her telling me when she gave me the pitocin that my card playing hours were over...

She was wrong.  Despite the pain, Todd and I continued to play some cards (to take my mind off the pain).  But this time around I was having to stop pretty often to breath and get through my contractions.

After some time on the pitocin, I was checked around 6 o'clock only to find I was NO MORE dilated than I had been when I came in!  UGH... at this point I pretty much had a complete mental breakdown.  This was NOT how it was supposed to happen.  My body was SUPPOSED to take over and do what it needed to do so I could actually DELIVER a baby.  The nurse was FANTASTIC.  She talked me through it and just kept me focused on the positive... I was going to have a baby... instead of the negative... it wasn't looking like it was going to be ANY time soon!

At this point I was allowed to take all the monitors off for one glorious hour.  I was cleared to walk around the hallways of the hospital... just as I had PLANNED.

That was siginificantly harder than I expected.  We had planned on doing an hour of hallway walking... I think we maybe made it 30 minutes... and most of that was spent with me bracing the wall fighting through the contractions.  After a much shorter time than expected, I HAD to get back to my room.  I WAS EXHAUSTED.

When I got back my nurses had switched, which I almost had another mental breakdown about... my first L&D nurse had been SO GREAT!  Luckily, I returned to my room to find that my second (and last) L&D nurse was equally fantastic! 

At this point I decided to get some drugs to "take the edge off" the contractions and allow me to maybe rest up for the night ahead.  I don't remember what I was given but it helped a little bit.  I could still feel the contractions but it just made them easier to get through somehow... as if my mind knew I would be able to relax more inbetween.  But despite the drugs, I was still in SUPER pain and SUPER exhausted.

At this point the nurse came in to talk to me about an epidural.  Let me put in here that I DID NOT really want to have one.  It wasn't that I was scared or nervous about what it would do to me/the baby, I simply wanted to try natural.  I didn't like the idea of losing my urge to push... like I said, I wanted to try to keep it natural.

HOWEVER... the nurse told me that my doctor had commented that maybe I should get an epidural to help my body relax.  They thought this would really help my body take over and dilate.  Plus, with the pitocin my contractions were only going to get WAY worse, possibly worse than they would get naturally.

At this point Todd and I decided it was going to have to be epidural.  I was in a lot of pain, both of us were EXHAUSTED, and my body was NOT doing it's job.  Plus, one major reason I had not wanted an epidural was because I wanted to be able to move, walk, etc... and with all the monitors, that wasn't happening.  I came to the conclusion that at that moment, the ONLY real reason I had left not to get the epidural was because I was stubborn and would be able to say I did it all naturally (well, natural being relative to having been induced)... and that was a REALLY bad reason to resist.

So around 9 o'clock-ish I got the epidural... and the worst part of it... getting it!  Youch!  But mere minutes later I was enjoying some sweet relief!  I was also given some benedryl because I had broken out in a rash, so between the two drugs, I was OUT LIKE A LIGHT!  And basically slept on and off for the rest of the night...

Sunday, 11/13/11

At around 1:30-ish, I was woken up to be checked.  I was fairly alert but still kinda sleepy, when I heard the nurse say something to the effect of, "Oh my!  That's a head!  It's time to push!"  Todd and I literally went from basically asleep to WIDE AWAKE in the matter of seconds.  They got me all set up to push and helped me know when my contractions were coming.  After a few contractions, I could actually start to feel them coming.  I don't know if my epidural wasn't strong enough or the contractions were just that strong, but I was actually kinda glad.  Remember, I had said I didn't want to lose the urge to push... so now I had minimal pain but could still feel like I knew when I needed to push.  Todd was a champ, feeding me ice chips and offering words of encouragement.

At some point the doctor came in and things got way more medical!  The best part of the whoe pushing part was this story:

Todd basically send something like "Way to go, babe!" every time I got finished pushing.  At one point after a push, I looked at him and said, "You really need to start coming up with other pep phrases."  At this the doctor just started laughing.  And then she said since Todd was a PE teacher and coach she just kept expecting him to say coach-y things like "Walk it off,"  "Go team,"  or better yet, give me a slap on the rear and tell me "Good Game!"  After that, no matter what he said she would laugh.  It kept the mood light-hearted!

At some point the room was FULL of nurses.  This was when I knew we were close.  The doctor was so encouraging talking about how I had gotten his big head out and was working on the shoulders.  At some point the pain got really intense and I knew we were at the home stretch.  I remember that I was crying, laughing, feeling exhilerated and exhausted all at the same time!  Looking back I can't even really put into words what I was feeling, but I remember thinking "WHY AM I CRYING?  MY BABY IS ALMOST HERE!"  And then I saw him and heard a cry (not sure which happened first)...  Then just a blur of nurses, Todd cutting the cord, and him being wisked off.  At some point someone mentioned he had a fever and would be taken to the nursery to be checked out even more... but I got to hold him for a few (SHORT) minutes before that.

NO ONE could believe his size and Todd and I couldn't get over his head of dark brown hair!

...And then he was gone.  Which officially concludes his birth story. There is so much more to tell about his first few days after birth... but that is another (or many others) post.

The taking of my baby almost immediately after birth was again something that was NOT PLANNED.  I missed those hours of skin-to-skin time I was supposed to have... and that was painful.  But God blessed me with sleep immediately so I really wasn't aware of how painful...  more on that in Thomas's After Birth Story.

Thomas's Birth Story, Part 1

I did not want to wait to write this post.  I want to try to recall every detail before I possibly lose them and I know that if I wait too long I might never get to it.

Let me start by saying from start to finish Thomas's birth was NOTHING like I expected.  NOTHING like I planned (though I wasn't all that into planning... no long birth plan here) and NOTHING like what I had prepared myself for.

God has a way of shaking things up to remind us that he is in control and BOY did this experience help me remember that.  God is in charge and He is GOOD!

So let's start from the beginning... it's going to be a long one... and I promise I will try not to include TOO many details.

Friday, 11/11/11 (MY DUE DATE)

Friday started as a completely normal uneventful day.  As much as I had wished and hoped that I would be in labor by Friday morning... alas, no such luck.  So, as I have done so many mornings I got ready and headed to school.  Again, all through the day I was hoping to go into labor, but the day went on as normal with know need for my "What to do if I go into labor at school" emergency plan.  On Friday afternoon I had a scheduled appointment with my midwife because she was a little concerned about the fact that my blood pressure had been higher than normal on Wednesday.  So I went in to have it checked and possibly have another non-stress test.  I expected to go in, have them check it, it be normal and I be heading home quickly.  Well, not so much... My blood pressure was still quite high and so my midwife sent me to labor and delivery at the hospital.  When the nurse came in to tell me this I probably looked completely shocked and confused because she quickly added "just for another non-stress test."  Oh... :( Ok. 

We headed over to the hospital and they hooked me up to a fetal monitor.  The nurse came in and checked on me every once in awhile and kept saying how beautiful Thomas looked (to which I kept whispering to him, "She means handsome, son.")  We ended up being in the hospital forEVER... or so it seems as you watch MANY couples come in and see many laboring women or support people coming and going, nurses rushing around and talking about how many babies were going to be born that day.  ON YOUR DUE DATE... and yours is not one of them.

I was told that I would have to keep a 24 hour urine collection (GROSS) and return in 24 hours to be looked at again, but that before I left the doctor who was on-call for my practice wanted to check me out.

As we sat and waited we were talking about how realistically MOST first babies come late and that we really had to mentally prepare ourselves for not meeting our baby for another week to ten days.

When the doctor was ready we walked into the exam room and she came in a few minutes later.  I had never met this particular doctor before but at once felt comfortable with her.  I knew she knew what she was talking about and she talked me through everything.  At this point I was still only about 2 centimeters dilated (which was how I had been for about a week).  Bummer I thought.  Then the doctor said these words (and I quote as closely to how I remember them...) "Ok.  So since we're concerned about your high blood pressure we have two choices.  1, we keep you here over night and induce you tomorrow morning or 2, we send you home and you come back tomorrow morning to be induced."

WHAT?  Never once had being induced really been laid on the table except when my midwife quickly had said at my last appointment that she knew I wanted natural and she hoped we wouldn't have to induce.  At the time I didn't even realize she was talking about because of the high blood pressure... I thought she meant because of going past my due date!

Because of the VERY high blood pressure that wasn't going down, the doctor was concerned about a condition called preeclampsia which apparently can lead to complications with the mother, not the baby.  The only way to resolve the issues is to have the baby delivered.  (BTW I later learned from my midwife that the doctor that decided to deliver me, "does not mess around with preeclampsia."  My midwife said she knew that when she heard that doctor was on-call she was going to induce me).

The reason she couldn't induce me that night was because (and this time I seriously quote word-for-word), "there is no room at the inn."  ALL of the labor and delivery rooms were full so if I stayed over I would be put somewhere else in the hospital.  That didn't sound too fun and I really liked the idea of one more night at home and since we lived close the doctor felt like this was a safe choice.  I would be induced 12 hours later... that meant that my little guy had 12 hours to decide to come on his own naturally.

Todd and I quickly called family and friends to let them know the news.  Though it was not the NATURAL way I had hoped, it was still REALLY exciting that we were about to spend our last night at home without a baby and that within the next 48 hours we were going to meet our baby boy!

We came home, ate some pizza for dinner and tried to relax.  We wen to bed and TRIED to sleep, though it didn't come too easily...

...stay tuned for part 2, labor and delivery.

38 Week Update and October Snow...

I realize that this post was "so 2 weeks ago," but I'm never good about getting things up quickly... but I still wanted to document this event.

Virginia (and much of the eastern coast of the US) experienced a rather strange October snow 2 Saturdays ago.  We were prepared for it, and quite honestly didn't get much, but it was still really cool to have pictures of us walking Frosty in the snow IN OCTOBER.

True to her name, Frosty LOVES the snow!

Our morning started rather early because once we saw the snow falling we really just wanted to go get out in it before it all stopped and/or melted!  We began by taking Frosty for a walk because the sidewalks didn't really have snow sticking to them.  HOWEVER, they were still very slick with a slushy coating and seeing as how I was 38 weeks pregnant at the time we decided a walk was probably not the best choice.  So we went back to our house and just played around/took pictures.

Frosty REALLY loves to have snow thrown up in the air while she jumps at it or chases it, so we had fun playing in the snow with her for awhile.

Doesn't she look so happy?  Almost like she is smiling...

I personally just liked looking at how everything looked.  I have a rose bush in the backyard, and during the week prior to the snow I had SO many roses blooming/about to bloom.  It was crazy to see those beautiful flowers covered in snow!



Can you tell how many buds and blooms the bush had?



I, of course, also had to get a picture of my baby belly!  I mean, really, who'd have thought that with Nov. 11th as a due date I would get a picture of me in SNOW without leaving Virginia?!  Notice in the picture how my coat is open because I couldn't zip it up!  I could snap it, however, when I bet over at one point ALL of the snaps popped open!  So I just went with open coat for the rest of the day!

Finally, we attempted to get some family photos in the snow.  Here is how they turned out:

In Frosty's eyes, this is probably a pretty accurate family photo... She's the star!

This one is a bit better, but poor Frosty barely made it in!

MUCH easier to take a photo when no one is trying to hold a dog!

Todd and his furry baby.

After morning fun in the snow, we decided to go out and try to get some pumpkins.  Even though we were pretty sure our friends' pumpkin carving party would be cancelled (which sadly it was) we figured we'd still carve them at home anyway... a fun snow day activity, right?  WRONG... apparently the weekend before Halloween is NOT the best time to go out and get pumpkins... after a trip to WalMart, Martins, and Food Lion we were pumpkin-less.  However, Todd made a good point when he said "So the weekend before Halloween I can't find buy a pumpkin... but I can by WRAPPING PAPER for CHRISTMAS!"  True that.  The stores were fully stocked and ready for Christmas... ugh... it's a bit early in my opinion.

Alas, we came home with no pumpkins and with Todd coming down with a cold.  So we hunkered (sp?) down for the day/night and watched movies, ate soup and stayed inside.  By Saturday night/Sunday most of the snow was melted, but we still stayed in and stayed lazy! 

My Monday (Halloween) you'd hardly have known it had snowed... but there were still very trace amounts left on the ground as tricker-treaters made their way around the neighborhood... a first for me!

And just for good measure, here was the picture we had taken the night before as my "official" 38 weeks baby belly photo...

This was NOT staged... but isn't it ridiculously cute how she is staring up at my belly??

So two weeks late, you have my 38 week update.  Tomorrow I will be 40 weeks!  Whoa... that's supposed to be the end of a pregnancy, right?  Apparently Baby Boy Narcross did NOT get the memo... though I suppose there is still time.  We'll see...