Today my baby boy is one year old. (This is going to be a long post!) Here is a flashback to one of the the happiest days of my life:
I'll start with the day before he was born, I had contractions ALL day about 5 minutes apart. I called the nurse at my OB's office and she said unless they started getting more intense or closer together to just stick with the regularly scheduled appointment that afternoon. I went in, to find out I had progressed to about 3 1/2 centimeters (about 3 cm the week before). My OB said to just go home and try to relax, take a walk and if I can sleep through them try and do so...
I woke up in the morning with no contractions. I was very bummed, definitely wanted to meet the little person I had been carrying for the past 40 weeks! Well, I got ready for work after a pout session to Matt about how I just wanted to have the baby already. On the way in to work I started having contractions... I remember having to tell myself not to get too excited, probably just false labor like the day before.
At work I continued doing my desk work I had been doing for the past few months, kinda boring but necessary work. Still having contractions but not necessarily getting closer just slightly stronger than the day before. I was in a conversation with a woman that sat a few desks over about how she was feeling (she was in the early stages of her pregnancy), but I realized I wasn't really paying attention to her... I was paying attention to the contractions and thinking "okay, this is different." I had been asking what labor contractions felt like throughout most of my pregnancy, people said they were hard to describe but you'll know and I'm pretty sure I did, at the time I wasn't so sure. I started timing them, 4 minutes apart... Called my boss and left him a voicemail, I was going home. I called Matt to tell him I was coming home, he wasn't scheduled to work until noon, then called the doctor's office. She said to go ahead and head to the hospital, she was going to call and let them know I was coming.
About noon: I got home, Matt met me outside with the hospital bag and we headed to the hospital. I was definitely uncomfortable the entire ride and the bumps were the worst! I don't think they caused pain, but I found them irritating!
We got to the hospital and passed on the valet parking, it was a long line and I could walk. Up to the 3rd floor, just like they told us in our class. I went to the check-in window told her my name and said my doctor's office should have just called to let them know I was coming. She asked "what are you here for?" and I think I replied "to have a baby"... the sign above her said "Labor and Delivery" so I was completely annoyed with why she was questioning me. I was HUGE, obviously a pregnant lady. She must have finally caught on because I'm sure I gave her this dumbfounded look as to why she was asking stupid questions, and she said "oh, contractions?". "Yes" and they took me back to be triaged.
I was 4 centimeters dilated and they called my OB, she said to go ahead and admit me and break my water. We got checked into my labor and delivery room by about 1:30 pm... it was a bit of a wait for a resident to come and break my water. That was definitely the strangest feeling... and pretty much the grossest! We tried different laboring positions and using the ball but things were INTENSE. I thought I was being a whimp... millions of women had done this before me! I asked for some Nubane (spelling? it was an IV medication) which I was told would help take the edge off and make me kinda sleepy. It definitely did, but only for about 45 minutes... I asked for more and was told the 2nd time around wouldn't be as helpful. Okay, more positions and breathing.
My OB had come to check on me in the mean time (I believe while I was still relaxed under the IV drugs) and told me Jack would probably be born about 8 or 9 pm. Things were getting really intense, I suspect this was when I was going through the transition part of labor. I asked for an epidural... I really hadn't wanted one for numerous reasons but this was far more than what I thought. My nurse checked me at about 4:30-4:45 pm and I could tell by the look on her face she was surprised... I was fully dilated. The nurse kind of rushed around the room trying to get all the "instruments" ready just in case they were needed, she paged my OB, then after a few minutes realized that she needed to page a resident because they'd be to the room quicker. She also brought another person in... this girl (probably around my age) was somewhere above a candy striper but below a nurse.
The resident arrived... I wanted to push really bad at this point and had actually gotten a few pushes in before he showed up. Matt was SO helpful counting and holding my Continued with pushes... I overheard the nurse ask the resident if she needed to call the NICU. I freaked out, asking over and over what was wrong with my baby. He said his heart rate was dipping during contractions, but coming back up (which I remember learning was normal from our birthing classes) but he wanted to get the baby out on the next push. He was going to use the vacuum extractor for 15 seconds (I think) on my next push... My baby boy was born!
He was placed right on my chest while Matt got to cut the umbilical cord then they rubbed him down. I remember asking if it was a boy or girl, who knows if they told me right after he was born but I was THRILLED!! They took him away to weigh him and put a stocking cap on him. The nurse said 8 lbs. 2 oz.... as close to a direct quote as I can recall was "I had an 8 lb. baby?!" He was perfectly healthy and beautiful!
Here's the 1st picture of Jack and me:
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