If I concentrate too much on the fact that it has already been two weeks, my mind will start to fast forward through his life.
When all I really want to do is press "pause".
He entered the world much like his sister and brother.
Requiring encouragement!
I had high hopes for it to be different this time, but alas, he followed in their footsteps.
(pre-p.s. I didn't "blog" when I had my other two kids, so this is really just an extra way for me to journal before I forget. Just skip the boring parts!)
We stayed at the hospital that Wednesday night so I could use medication for cervical softening. I was already 2 cm, so I just knew it would work miracles. My nurses were nice, but we started off badly when it required 3 attempts to get an IV in my vein! Apparently, I have "rolling" veins in my wrists but the one they finally got in my hand wasn't much better. I was SO happy to get that sucker out the next day!
On Thursday morning, I headed up to L&D at 6 AM without much change in my cervix. I found out later that they did not use my second dose which kinda irked me, but it was what it was. We had decided to break my water because I was still holding out on the Pitocin. My doctor was very patient with me! Unfortunately, the water breaking did not go well the first time. No fun. No luck. I was still too high and apparently my bag was so tough that I could patent it for a new brand of non-tear trash bags!
So we waited a few hours more. I walked and rocked. Finally, with no changes, I relented to the smallest dose of Pitocin. My day nurse was really nice. She was originally from Australia and she did a great job of taking care of me and keeping me preoccupied with conversation. My husband was pretty bored at this point; just reading and eating. It didn't help that the "beds" (his and mine) were awful the night before. So, he AND my doctor were happy to see the "Vitamin P" drip get started.
Things moved forward slowly and eventually we did get my water broke. And the Vitamin P kept doing its job. Pretty soon, I was about a 5 and debating how much longer I wanted to wait before the epidural. I always think I am going to be that woman, but alas, I never am. With my dtr, I had already labored 24 hours and was just too tired not to get an epidural. With my son, I realized that 5 was about my limit again. It doesn't seem to be the intensity/pain of the contractions, but more dealing with how quickly they come without a break. And I have been blessed in that all my epidurals have not slowed my labor, which was always my fear.
So, the medicine man came to see me and I knew I was in good hands because his scrub hat said OU. As in OU Sooners. I told him I wanted a low-dose epidural and it was perfect.
Pretty soon after my epidural, my friend Golda got there around 7:30 PM. She was the perfect distraction from the four walls my husband and I had stared at all day. She brought me the sweetest gifts and kept me preoccupied. I progressed to a 7 pretty quickly. About 15 minutes after that, the feeling changed and I was pretty sure that the time had arrived. The nurse checked me and confirmed that we needed to prep quickly. Yay me!
Although preparations were swirling around me, my mind seemed to be in slow-motion. Maybe it was my mind's way of taking it all in~ the last moments of my last pregnancy, the wonderment of how the time went by so fast, being thankful for a healthy pregnancy, that someone new would be joining our family, wondering what the kids would really think the first time they met him; swirling, swirling, swirling.
Despite the fact that he was my largest baby, I found the delivery my easiest. The epidural was just right (not too much, not too little), my body wasn't overly tired, and I had this incredible feeling of peace and control.
Ten minutes and about 4 pushes later, our little man joined us.
My friend took pictures, my husband watched over the baby, and I relaxed.
One little miracle that we discovered after delivery....at some point in his 9 months of growing inside me, he had acrobated enough to get a knot in the cord. A knot that could have changed our story. But it didn't. Thank you Jesus!
As we ended our evening with a meal and our sweet baby by our side, we had much for which to be thankful.
And I suspect much more with each passing day!
My big sweet boy!
Those that knew him from his first breath.
A sweet man brought by this pillow while we were at the hospital. A church group makes these for the newborns. Golda increased his coolness with the bib and shoes!
And then she presented me with this awesome work of her hands! She ordered the same fabric I was using and made this for him. I can't wait to take his pictures with it!
The trio!
The kids presenting little brother with his "welcome to the world" gifts.
Little brother knew just what little man wanted!
A "sister" necklace for his #1 big sis!
Stacey
