Thursday, December 4, 2014

Reed's birth story

I know I said I wanted to be better at blogging, and I haven't been, but it's a new year so let's try this again.  Reed's due date was January 5th and he was born December 30th.  Just barely a week early.  I really did not want to be induced this time around, even though my experience was not bad with Stella.  I just wanted to let things take their natural course.  Towards the end however, the anticipation was starting to give me anxiety.  Dalton and I discussed it, and we both agreed that we never had that feeling with Stella.  With Reed I had consistently measured big, sometimes up to 4 weeks ahead and both my Dr and I were pretty sure I would go early.  The week of my company's Christmas party (a week before Christmas) I had my Dr's appt early in the week.  My Dr said she was pretty sure this was MY week! I hoped so too, especially because she would be on vacation the following week and I really wanted her to deliver me.  She was pretty sure that my labor would go fast since I think at that point I was already dilated to 3-4cms.  Really? That is almost half way there! At that point I really had no idea that women could walk around being that dilated and NOT be in labor! Little did I know that you could walk around much more dilated than that and not be in labor, as I would soon find out. My Dr was so confident I would have the baby that week that she ALMOST didn't have me make an appt.  Now I know better than to listen to Dr's predictions, but I feel like I am pretty in tune with my body, and I FELT like it was almost time.  Anyways... I made it through the week.  Bummer!  The following week was Christmas, and since my Dr was out I had to see another Dr in the practice.  She checked me and I was 4-5 cm's dilated 80% effaced.  At this point I am thinking.. maybe this WILL be a Christmas baby.  Christmas Eve I kept waking up with contractions, but nothing consistent enough to be concerned.  Christmas came and went and NOTHING! This baby was perfectly content staying right where he was but I was ready to evict him!
 That brings us to December 30th.  I had asked Dalton to come with me to my appt, just in case they did send me to the hospital, which at that point I doubted.  As a matter of fact I had a little bit of a nervous breakdown driving to the hospital and I cried telling Dalton that I was just ready to NOT be pregnant anymore.  That really is unlike me because I really don't mind being pregnant, and I have to say that I am blessed to have fairly easy pregnancies, but the anticipation was killing me.  The fact that we kept thinking he was coming and he wasn't PLUS that I was beginning to get pretty uncomfortable was making me really dislike pregnancy.  My Dr's appt was that morning.. somewhere around 9:30-10ish.  When my Dr walked in the room I told her, "Look who is STILL pregnant!" We both laughed about it, she checked me and I was still 4-5 but she decided to send me over to the hospital and put me on a low dose of pitocin to see if we could get things kicked started.  Remember how I was telling you that I really wanted my Dr to deliver me? Well now comes the fun part.  The Dr tells me, I have two surgeries today, one at 1 and another at 3.  If you have the baby while I am in surgery someone else will deliver you.  OMG, now I have a window? WTH? Ok, fine.  About 10:30ish I am all checked into the hospital.  I feel good, contractions are small, still nothing I can't handle.  At about noon  my Dr comes to check on me before her first surgery.  As she is checking me, my water breaks, I am 5-6 cm's. It is now about 12:30, and this, for me, is when my labor really started.  Fast forward 2 hours.. I am now in some serious pain.  They won't let me get in the bathtub (possibly because my water was already broken?), they don't have a birthing ball.  Sitting hurts, standing hurts, pretty much anything I do hurts.  I am looking at the clock because I know that my Dr will be out of surgery in an hour and a half.  I didn't want to get an epidural too soon because I knew that with Stella I went from 3cm's to 8-9 cm's in an hour after getting the epidural. By 3pm I tell them I need an epidural, at this point breathing is not helping, I can't get into any comfortable positions, plus I am hooked to the IV for the antibiotics for the GBS so I have to drag that thing around everywhere!   You know that moment, when you are in labor and you FINALLY decide to get an epidural when you are in excruciating pain and you have to WAIT for the anesthesiologist to come? Ya I am there.  The anesthesiologist gets there probably about 3:20 or so and I get my epidural.  After he leaves they check me, I am 7-8cms.  No wonder I was in so much pain! It is now about 3:40.  Just after 4pm my Dr comes by.  She is now out of BOTH surgeries and I am officially in the clear to deliver LOL.  She checks me and says, I think we can start getting ready to push! Holy cow! I can't believe it is time.  The nurses start getting everything ready, and before you know it, it is time to push.  If you've given birth before you know that they have you push with each contraction, counting to 10, taking a breath and then pushing again.  Basically that means you push for 10 seconds, take a breath, push for another 10 seconds, etc.  After just 3 pushes (aka 30 seconds) Reed Michael was born.
I hear the Dr and nurses say, he is a big baby! I remember looking at him and thinking (out loud), well how big is he? I hear a nurse say 10.9.  I don't think I can believe my ears.  I say, did she just say 10.9?  Holy cow!  Just two weeks prior the Dr told me she didn't think he would be more than 8 1/2lbs.. I was thinking more like 9 1/2lbs, but 10.9!? Looking at him I couldn't believe that I had been carrying something that big in my stomach!  He was perfect of course.  Dark hair and eyes, ten fingers, and ten toes.  It wasn't until we got moved to our room that they got a chance to measure him.  He was 22 1/2 inches long!
 Now THAT is a big baby! I honestly couldn't have asked for an easier labor, or a better Dr.  The recovery after giving birth was MUCH easier than with Stella. My Dr came by to check on me the following morning and told me that since we were both doing so well, she would allow us to go home IF we wanted to.  UM YES PLEASE! LOL It is New Years Eve and I just want to be home with my babies.  I missed Stella so much being in the hospital just a day.  Later that afternoon my mom brought Stella by to meet her baby brother.  I think she cared more about investigating the room, but my heart overflowed with love holding these two in my arms.  
Just a few hours later we were able to pack up and go home.  My little bear in his going home outfit.