Birth Story part 2

Okay so there I was telling them I wasn't going to make it and I was throwing in the towel and wanting the c-section and the midwives decided it was time for the epidural. Hallelujah! Those words were like music to my ears. At this point I didn't have any breaks in my contractions they were doubling up one after another. She told me unfortunately since I wasn't progressed very much I was at a higher risk of a c-section and having more complications but I did not care one way or another. This needed to end. They made my mom stay outside the room because they could only have so many people in there. Ben was able to come with me. He was getting really worried at this point. None of us knew if the epidural would actually work. He knew there would be pain but he said it was just breaking his heart. Since my body couldn't hold still they had to give me a spinal first to numb my back and then I could try and hold still for them. Luckily, the spinal did take the edge off and I was able to get an epidural about a half hour later at around 10:00 p.m. That kicked in so fast and I was gone. I just went right to sleep. They hooked me up with a little pitocin and oddly enough my body just took off and started progressing. By 3 in the morning I was at a 5 and they broke my water and at 7 they started setting up the room and at 8 it was time to push. They informed me the reason I couldn't progress was because I wasn't letting my body relax. Also they said he was face up and that's what was causing the back labor. The back of his head was against the bone. So now that he was face up not only did I have to push but I had to try a bunch of positions to get him to turn. Right as they were telling me this the girl next door was starting to push and she was screaming. That freaked me out. Here is a picture of me right before I started pushing. You can tell it was a long day.



This story is almost over. I pushed and gave it my all starting at 8:20 and he was out at 9:18. He had a little meconium so they had the pediatricians in there and handed him off to them right away.



We did get him turned a little bit but not all the way. He came out sideways with his face facing the right. Because of this and since he was such a big baby I did tear a little. But he came out crying his little heart out and healthy as can be at 8 lbs 10 0z and 20 inches long. He has fuzzy dark brown hair and deep blue eyes. He's as beautiful as can be and we just love him.



I'm healing incredibly fast and nursing is coming right along. I was able to come home from the hospital and fit right back into my pre pregnancy pants.



He's a good baby until the night comes and gives us a run for our money. We don't know how to get him to go to sleep without someone holding him just yet so that has been quite the challenge. So if anyone has any great ideas please pass them our way.

He's Here!....Labor Story

As you've all probably heard Oliver Grey as made his debut! Sorry it's taking me a little while to get pics up and writing back to some of you. I have been wiped out. Who would have thought something that slept so much would take every second of your day? Good thing he's so cute. He's worth it.

I'll try and hurry to tell you the labor story before he wakes again..... :)

So everything started Saturday night really. Ben and I were preparing our talks for church, the next day in sacrament meeting. We were finishing everything up around 9 p.m. and I was saying how active he was in belly. Seriously, he was so so crazy in there I knew he was trying to get out but didn't think anything of it since I hadn't been having any contractions. Then we went to bed and at 2 a.m. Sunday morning I woke up in bed and felt a little funny. So, I got up went to the restroom in the dark and saw there was A LOT of blood in my pants. Now what? I took a deep breath and turned on the light. Tried to get cleaned up for a second and called labor and delivery. About 10 minutes after I woke up I started feeling contractions in my back only. They were coming every 2 minutes right away. They didn't feel too strong but I could tell they were slowly increasing. Labor and delivery said we needed to come in right away because of the amount of blood so at 3:00 a.m. off we went.

As soon as we got in the car I called my mom and told her I think it's time. (Worried she wouldn't make it) She reassured me she would be there. She called Southwest and got booked on the next flight to arrive at 11:00 a.m. And left her house 15 min. after I had told her. She's amazing.

So we get to triage and they hook me up to everything. Ask me about pain and I say it's about a level 1. I was joking and laughing but my back was a little achy. They checked and I was only 1 cm dilated and 80% effaced but my contractions were so regular they made us walk the hospital for 2 hours and come back and get checked. We started walking and after 20 minutes I couldn't walk or talk through contractions and they were really starting to get uncomfortable. Again only in my back though. After 2 hours we go back in and I'm still only a 1. Great. So they send us home at 8 and told us it could be days before he comes and he probably wouldn't come until Tuesday. The car ride back was uncomfortable but I was glad to get home to try and relieve some of the pressure. Laying on my back and sitting down felt like I was carrying a 300 lb weight on me. Right when we get home I get in a really hot bath. That's when I started to lose it. My sister in law Ashley called me and was trying to make me feel better (thanks by the way Ash) while I was sitting in there. I was crying and telling her the pain was so much already and I was only a 1. She told me some other things I could try and I tried some of those after my bath but they just weren't working. By this time Ben needed to go pick up my mom and I told him I would just stay home and try and take a nap. Off he went. My nap never happened but I was able to relax a little.

They arrived back home at 1 p.m. I was feeling a little better and my mom was rubbing my back during contractions while I was on my hands and knees. While she was doing that, Ben was enjoying his Colts game. Lol. He kept trying to show me replays but I wasn't having it. Ben gave me some toast to eat to give me some energy. Then things changed really quickly. At 4 p.m. the contractions were still coming 2 minutes apart but I couldn't get through it without crying. My mom said it was time to go. So off we went again.

The car ride was even worse. We got up to triage and they started asking me all the same questions but they could tell something had changed. One of the questions was is the baby moving? And I said, "I don't even know I haven't been paying attention we're not on good speaking terms right now." Everyone just laughed. So then it was time to get checked. I was only at 1 1/2 cm and 90% effaced. Are you kidding me!? I told them I wasn't going to make it. Luckily they realized how bad my contractions were and she said we'll get you some pain medication and have you take a nap and see what happens from there. But before I could do that they had to take all these blood tests and they brought someone in to try and take my mind off of the contractions so I could sit still long enough for them.

So they wheeled me in a quiet room and gave me 2 doses of morphine and thought those would do the trick. It was the strongest thing they could give me. Well that was a no go. I started to get delirious. For those of you who don't know back labor is the worst you could have. Ben kept saying it's okay it's okay and I finally said it's not okay. I'm really not going to make it. I started telling my mom I need a c-section I can't do this. It was only 8:00 p.m. So the nurses changed their plan asap.

Sorry but baby needs to eat.....I'll come back.

Guessing Game

I had another doctor's appointment yesterday. Nothing new really. I'm now 80 percent effaced and still not dilated and the baby's head is at a -1 station. He's looking like 7 lbs right now. The due date is on Monday and I'll have my next appointment next Thursday if I make it that far (which it sounds like we will) and we'll set an induction date for that following week. So really I only have about a week and a half left to wait. I can do that easy.

I want to see what everyone's guess is for when he'll come, what time, how big, how long, hair or no hair and anything else you would like to guess.

My guess is he'll come Feb 1 at 3:00 in the afternoon. 8 lbs 2 oz, 21 inches with lots of dark brown hair.

Is he coming now?

Ben officially got home Thursday morning so Oliver is more than welcome to make his debut but I'm thinking he's going to try and stay in for as long as he possibly can. For all of those that are interested.....I'm 39 weeks today, 50% effaced but I haven't started dilating yet. But the good news is his head is really low and they seem to think things can change very quickly. So we'll see. Regardless he should be here in 3 weeks or less. Can you believe it?!?

Yesterday we had a fun experience, Ben and I were at church sitting in sacrament meeting and when we got up to go to the next class I was soaking wet! I don't think anybody saw but it was still really embarrassing. My skirt was soaked and there was a puddle on the bench. Of course Ben and I immediately thought could that have been my water breaking? So I ran and hid in the car while Ben handled everything and we went home. I changed and we packed up the car and had everything ready to go. I was having regular contractions but they weren't strong at all so I knew those weren't real so we decided to kind of wait around a little, eat some lunch and I laid down. Nothing was happening. Then we kind of figured it probably wasn't my water breaking but Ben told me to call the hospital and see if they could give us some signs to look for just to be safe. Apparently, the nurses on Sundays don't like to talk and they kept cutting me off and telling me just come in. So better safe than sorry we went in. They did an exam and a couple ultrasounds and after an hour and a half they told us it wasn't my water breaking.

That's what we figured. So next appointment is this Thursday and we'll see if I've progressed any then. Until then I'll show you the completed nursery.


Here's his (and guests) bathroom. Designed with love by Ben. We call him our little monkey because he's always moving around so that's where the monkeys came from.


And I had to show this because I was so proud of myself for making it all on my own. My first sewing project, this nursing cover.

Don't come out until Daddy comes home....

Do we all know the tune to the primary song "I'm so glad when daddy comes home, glad as I can be." Well that's the tune Ben has been using every night when he sings to little Oliver, "Don't come out until Daddy comes home." Ben left for his final trip before the baby comes yesterday. And guess what, I went full term today. He isn't scheduled to come back until anywhere from the 13th-15th. I'm not really too worried about it since most babies do come late when it's your first. But, since I'm expecting him to come late does that mean he's going to come early? I sure hope not. Ben gave me about 40 numbers I can call in case something does happen and they'll take care of me and make sure Ben gets called. Also, there's a few people from church that are aware of the situation that I can call as well. So here goes...pray for us that this little one will wait. My next doctor's appt is on the 14th and that's when I'll get checked to see if my body is progressing at all. As for right now they say he's already starting to drop. The head's pretty low. The midwife says he's probably going to be a small little guy at 6 or 7 lbs and healthy as ever. Today I'm starting to get the baby's and my hospital bag ready and start washing all his bedding and clothes. As for me I'm still feeling really good. My backaches have disappeared for some reason. I feel like I've been given a sleeping pill these last couple weeks. I get tired very easily. Last week Ben and I toured labor and delivery and it freaked us both out a little but it also helped us feel more prepared. I'll try to keep everyone updated more frequently now that it's so close and next time I'll put up some pictures.