3 weeks later and I am finally getting a chance to sit down and write about our beautiful birth adventure. A friend told me to try and write about it ASAP so that I could remember and document all the great details. So this post is for me... and anyone who wants to read it. I can't promise it will be short. My sweet baby is fast asleep in his swing, but as any mom knows- he's just a ticking time bomb waiting to wake up so I better get writing!
Tuesday evening (Dec. 13) we checked into the hospital and were greeted by a very sweet nurse who was adament in helping my baby's birth be exactly as I wanted it. She was an older woman who has worked the night shift in Labor & Delivery for many years. She accompanied us with many over-used child laboring jokes, but made us feel at home. She administered the Cervadil (medicine to help my body get ready), put in my IV, and hooked me up to all the machines. Low and behold, I was already having contractions- every 6-8 minutes!
We enjoyed watching the machines charting my contractions and visited with my parents. Around 11:00, the nurse gave me a sleeping pill to help me rest and Tim and I gave it our best shot. Around 2AM I woke up in serious pain (back labor) and thought I could handle it. I agonized for two and a half hours before I asked the nurse for some pain meds :) This allowed me to get a little more sleep for the big day!
Wednesday morning came fast and I was served what would be my last full meal for 36 hours! I was given Pitocin to help the labor process and around 1PM, the midwife (Julie) broke my water. What an interesting feeling!
She encouraged me to go ahead and get an epidural so that I could enjoy my labor (which I was not against). So I made my last trip to the bathroom before I was tied down to the bed with numb legs! Tim and I shared some good laughs as my water continued to trickle. The anesthesiologist and his team came in and administered the epidural. I sat on the bed with arms crossed over pillows in front of me, while my water continued to run. Worried that everyone thought I was peeing the bed, I forgot about the giant needle going into my spine. When they finished, the nurse said I was her first patient to get an epidural without flinching!
Tim and I spent our last afternoon as the two of us cooped up in the hospital room, but enjoying each other's company while I continued to dilate. His mom stopped by to bring him some snacks and they walked into the hallway to get a drink. The first time Tim had left my side in almost 24 hours and ... all the sudden the baby's heart rate drops. The nurse comes running in to get me to lay on my side and they hooked me up to oxygen to help his heart rate. I had to stay hooked to the oxygen for 30 minutes. When Tim walked back in the room he was shocked to find me in that state. Needless to say, he didn't leave my side again.
By 7PM, I had reached 5cm and Julie told us that the next two hours were critical. If I didn't make good progress, then we would consider a c-section. At 9PM Julie came in with fingers crossed and SURPRISE... I was 8 cm! At that point, I began to think, "Okay, this might really happen." She told us I had 2 more hours to get to 10cm. We spent time visiting with great family that were hanging around for the arrival of our little bundle. At 11PM, I became very nauseous and threw up with a room full of visitors. I'd say this is when my impatience reared its head as I asked my visitors to leave the room, haha.
At this point Julie and my nurse came back in to check me and I was 9.5cm! Now I'm thinking: "holy shit... we're REALLY gonna do this." Apparently I never thought I would get that far. It was another 30 minutes before we were ready to push. It was then that I realized my baby's birthday would be December 15, 2011 because we were passing midnight. It was surprising how calm the atmosphere was in my room. It was just Tim, me, Julie, and the nurse. Oh, and my two mothers tried to sneak in an appearance, but my midwife intercepted them :) Although I am glad I could not feel the pain, I did not like the fact that the epidural left my right leg dead- I couldn't even lift it on my own!
An hour and a half later... and I'm still pushing with limited progress. Brooks' heart rate dropped again and I had to put the oxygen back on. At that point, the midwife started the c-section conversation. She invited the doctor on call (my favorite doctor, Dr. Bowers) in to assess the situation and give her input. After 30 hours of labor, she strongly suggested that I have a c-section. The baby seemed too big and we didn't want to put him into any more stress. Tim and I gave the go ahead, and then it got really crazy!
It seems like in a matter of seconds the anesthesiologist and his team swamped the room, Tim was thrown into scrubs, and I was being wisked away to the operating room. They had already begun adding medicine through my epidural, which made my eyelids extremely heavy. As we passed family in the hallway, I remember having a hard time keeping my eyes open to look at them. We entered the operating room and they asked Timmy to stay in the hallway for a few minutes. I remember everyone running around frantically, and it seemed like there were 30 people in the room.
Tim was invited into the room and he sat down by my head and held my hand. The doctors told me I would feel some pressure and tugging, especially considering they were going to have to push the baby back up to get him out (weird)! My eyes were still extremely heavy, so I just laid there awaiting the cry of my lil' man. The rest is really a blur...
I remember the doctor announcing his birth and saying 3:15AM. In my opinion, it took a minute or two before I heard him cry. I tried to look for him out of the corner of my eye, but he was not in eyeshot. All I could think was how adorable his cry was. Tim left my side to go take pictures of him. I was still waiting to finally lock eyes on my little miracle when Tim brought the camera over and asked if I wanted to see him. So, I got my first glimpse through the camera screen!!
This is what I saw:
Brooks Daniel Hourigan
December 15, 2011
20 inches long
7 pounds 13 ounces
Eventually, they had him all cleaned up and in Tim's arms beside me. I remember being so aggravated that I couldn't keep my eyes open to stare at the handsome fellow. Tim held Brooks and my hand for the next 45 minutes while they sewed me up. The epidural had my body shaking uncontrollably, and the doctor just reassured me by telling me not to fight it. It was a terrible feeling- not a fan of epidurals!
Our first family photo :)
Yes, my eyes are closed... I told you they were heavy!
By 4:15AM they were wheeling us into the recovery room where I gave nursing my best shot (exhausted is an understatement). Eventually, our parents (the only ones that stuck around so late- thank you) came in to meet their new grandson.
So handsome!
After all the oohs and ahhs- they left to try and get a little sleep. Tim and I were taken to our new room in the mom & baby wing. It was about 7AM when we got settled there and I really had a chance to take it all in. There we were- a little family!
In the days to come we had many visitors come see Brooks Daniel. We spent countless hours staring at him and taking pictures. He is just perfect. God has blessed us with a beautiful, healthy baby and we are so thankful :)
Leaving the hospital to start our new journey as the three of us!
First time in my car seat!
