Thursday, March 24, 2011
At 8 days overdue, I had my second appointment of the week for monitoring. At 11:00 AM, I had an in-office ultrasound. Everything with Baby looked great, (he) was measuring 41 weeks and 2 days, estimated weight of 9 lbs and 8 oz. Holy moley, that was not what I was expecting to hear...
and ouch.
Tim and I went downstairs to a little cafe that is in the Medical Building where my OB's office is. We ate lunch, chatted, sent a few texts....and I was wound up so tight with anxiety wondering just what the OB would say at my appointment. I was scared about talk of induction, about the risks to me & the baby, about being overdue....
12:15 PM ~ hooked up to the NST. Baby is relatively quiet. I contract a few times, but nothing more than usual. Continue monitoring...Dr. H wants us to get a more reactive strip, so he gives us another 15 minutes on the monitor. Finally Baby is a bit more reactive, but there are a few minor decels that Dr. H doesn't love. A few more minutes of monitoring, and Baby looks better.
We discuss the next steps with Dr. H. He says the closer we get to 42 weeks, the more risks there are to the baby - including fetal distress (how we met Dr. H, who delivered Jacob - via emergency c-section), meconium, not tolerating labor as well, etc. The risks were very real, and very scary to hear. However, Dr. H was not forceful in presenting the facts. He informed us that if the NST had not been as good as it was, we would not be given options at this point, rather just a direction to head to L&D. He said the NST bought us another 24-48 hours of knowing the Baby was "doing okay". (yes, I am freaking out internally at this point...oiy!)
Dr. H checked me. I was expecting him to say I was still 1 cm. Instead, he said I was "a solid 4cm" dialated. He sweeps my membranes.
Ouch.
As soon as Dr. H leaves the room and I am dressing, I can literally feel the anxiety leaving my entire body.
Whew...it won't be long now. This thought will be a reccurent thought for me over the next few hours.
1:30 PM -ish: we leave the appointment and head to Bor.ders. My husband is in heaven - he loves books! I am too tired to do much thinking or engaging, but I walk around. I am a bit uncomfortable with some contractions. We finally sit and drink frozen coffee shakes, send a few e-mail updates, check FB, and read a magazine. I am not loving how I'm feeling, and am contemplating whether we should just head back to the hospital (across the street) or go home and get our acts together. But I don't want to be crying wolf, if this is just how I'm feeling after a membrane strip. I could feel like this for the next day or two....?
It won't be long now.
3:15 PM or so: we arrive home, and relieve our sitter. I've called my mom at this point to inform her of the appointments, and how I'm feeling. I spend a few moments with the big boys, but am so exhausted, all I want to do is lay down. Tim is wrapping up a few work emails, playing with the boys, and some other things. I go and lay in our bed. Jacob comes in a few times to ask me random questions. I'm sure he can sense something is different. Kids know those things, don't they? I try hard to nap, to no avail. Tim has come in at one point, monitoring me and asking questions. He desparately wants to avoid the mad rush of a trip to the hospital that was Nate ~ the one where he drove 80 + mph and baby was born 35 minutes after arriving.....yikes.
Contractions? Yes. "Here is the phone - TIME THEM". Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think. I just want to nap! Contractions = 3-8 minutes apart. Difficult to talk through, definitely not napping through them.
I get up.
It won't be long now. I tell Tim that we should get our things together, call his parents,
this is it.
I'm officially in labor. It was a relief to finally admit that out loud, and to myself for once....the fourth time over :)
Meanwhile, I check my voicemail. My mom sounds a bit panicky on the phone ~ "I don't think you should wait too long, and I am having this feeling that things are going to go fast from here...call me back".
Tim's parents come. My mom is not far behind them. We get the big boys loaded up in their cars. The moms talk and agree to ride together to the hospital (Tim's mom had originally thought she would go home and help get the big boys settled, and then come up to the hospital a little later).
5:30 PM-ish: Tim and I leave the grandparents and boys in the driveway. We are talking and laughing at our "dog-and-pony show" as we drive away. I am contracting, they are closer together, and I have to stop/concentrate through them. In between them, I am sending mass texts to my girlfriends and family, and I am coherent, laughing, talking with my husband, and enjoying the spring sunshine on my face. It's a beautiful day! Let's have a baby! Meanwhile, I talk to on-call OB who says, "you sound like you're doing well, and talking through them....ooooh, this is your fourth baby? And you're 4 cm? Yes, you should get to the hospital!" We hit some rushour traffic, Tim does a few erratic lane changes, but nothing crazy and we thankfully don't hit a gridlock...
6:00 PM-ish: we arrive at the hospital. Tim contemplates dropping me off and parking the car. I insist that I will walk in. I am drinking water, carrying my purse and a bag. Tim and I walk together into the hospital ~ how surreal is that?! I speak to the information lady where we first walk in. "You're in labor? Do you want a wheelchair?" She looks a bit strained as I pause for a contraction. Yes, labor. No, no wheelchair, please! We enter the elevator. As we are entering it, another family is going up to L&D too, and are all excited to see one of the nurses - Bunny. BUNNY?! Except I'm saying this out loud, much to Tim's embarrassment. Nurse Bunny is exiting the elevator, on her way to grab some dinner. Bunny was with us when we delivered Wyatt via VBAC on Christmas Eve 3 years ago. She was (IS!) an amazing nurse! I'm saying all of this to her....and am asking if she's working tonight. She is, indeed. She calls up to L&D and requests that she gets assigned to me.
6:30-ish: we get settled into our room: 327. The sun is shining brightly into it, it is warm in there! Thermostat check = 80 degrees. EWW! Turned down...
I get changed, answer some questions, get on a monitor. Baby looks great. Admitting comes up to ask me a million more questions. I am officially admitted at 6:52 PM. I request a heplock (granted!), and to get up and move as soon as possible (granted! after a few more minutes of monitoring). I stand and sway in the room ~ my mom and MIL are there, and Tim of course. They are chatting (sometimes I chime in, othertimes, I am lost in my own head) and the TV is on. I remember getting annoyed with having the TV (or maybe it was the news?) on.
I am checked: 5 cm. I am thinking I have another 3-4 hours, at least. Ughhhh...that feels like eternity!
We spend a few minutes chatting with Bunny, our nurse. It finally clicks with her who we are: she remembers a Wyatt (she loved his name), and she remembers my mom (they worked together in L&D yeeeeears ago).
There is a student nurse there too, Sam. She has beautiful long red hair. It is her last shift on the L&D unit, and I am her last patient! There were a few other staff who were in and out too ~ their names escape me now, but they were all lovely.
Time? No idea: I am suddenly too exhausted to stand up. I climb into bed and turn over to my left side - I am gripping bedrails in a familiar way (did this with Nate too). They are wanting to get me back on the monitor....I am starting to get terribly uncomfortable, and the feeling of
wanting to die is starting to overtake me. Ahhh...Transition.
It won't be long now. We are alone - the moms, Tim, and me. My mom looks at my face and asks, "Beth, are you feeling pushy?". Yessssss....
My mom calls Bunny. Dr. L (my primary OB! Yippeeee!) is on-call, and she is paged several times. She is finishing up charting at the office, and is now driving over to the hospital (across a few parking lots). The nurses are moving at rapid speed.
Dr. L arrives. She wonders if she has a few moments to change? She throws on a glove, checks me, and says, "Nope, we're going to have a baby instead!". She stashes her things in a corner of the room. Tim tells me later that she delievered our baby in heels.
I love Dr. L ~ she is just what I need at the moment. She is so patient, and kind. She is so reassuring and not rushing me at all. I start pushing.....gaaaaaahhhh.....oooouuuuch....and I am.so.tired. The baby's head is partially out (lots of hair!) and I pretty much want to call it quits. I am so tired, and hurting, and feeling like I absolutely cannot do this for one more moment. Dr. L lets me rest...God Bless her!
Okay, get this kid out, I think...and I give it my all. I don't know how long I pushed, or how many pushes it took, but finally.....done!
7:56 PM ~ IT'S A BOY! (I
knew it!)
He is brought right up to me. I don't cry, but I feel....relief. True and utter relief. I am now more tired than ever, and I am shaking something fierce. I deliver the placenta (Tim said that was a cool part) and get a few 2nd degree tears stitched up. No episiotomy needed, whew! I am holding our newest son - and he is gripping my finger with the strongest grip ever. I didn't know newborns could grasp so hard! He is crying, but he is beautiful and easily calmed by my voice.
Everything with the two of us looks great. He is weighed and measured: 9 lbs 2 oz (same as my dream!) and 22 inches of gorgeous boy.
I am able to get up on my own, I get a shower (Tim is able to assist me), while Baby gets a bath with the Grandmas. I finally get to get the darn heplock out of the side of my wrist: yeowch. That thing hurts like hell - isn't that a funny thing to think after just delivering a 9 + lb baby?!
The medical staff leave us alone ~ we take pictures and snuggle, and Baby nurses perfectly for nearly an hour. I look him over: he has such long finger and toenails! He'll need a mani and pedi soon. He is alert, and the perfect color, and has lots of dark hair ~ the most of any of the boys. His ears were pinned to the side of his head when he was first born, but slowly, they are starting to "curling up" (for lack of a better term?) - they are Tim's and Nate's ears. I love them!
We make phone calls, send texts, take more pictures. Bunny wants to know his name, but we are still undecided and need the night to sleep on it. We agree to leave his name in a note for Bunny.
My Dad arrives sometime after 9:30 PM with Sub.way. I eat a footlong sub, chips, and have some coke (with no heartburn! Yippee!) and am still famished....ha! We visit with my dad, mom, MIL, and we are all enjoying this new baby ~ the eighth grandchild for both sets of grandparents.
Around 11 PM, everyone leaves. It is just me, Tim, and our newest boy. Bliss! We enjoy him as his parents by ourselves for a while....an hour or more?
We then settle in to get some rest. Tim is snoring within minutes. Me? Not so much. I sleep for a while, but then toss and turn ~ I am too keyed up to sleep. I get up to get ice water, see Dr. L in the halls. She is now wearing scrubs and a lab coat. It is around 4:30 AM. Poor Dr. L. On-call hours must be rough.
Friday, March 25. We eat. We shower. We snuggle our newest boy. We snooze. We send emails, texts, and make phone calls ~ he has a name! Everett Joshua.
:::
More about Everett, meeting his big brothers, and what life has been like over the last 2 weeks to come. For now? Snuggling babies, changing diapers, feeding hungry mouths and cleaning dirty feet.....it's busy and crazy and I'm honestly loving every minute of it!
