Birth Story
Alvin is here! It seemed like he was never going to come. I was even joking days before that maybe I wasn't actually pregnant at all but had instead swallowed a watermelon seed. But he was just taking his sweet time and I was trying to be patient and let him come on his own rather than being induced like my doctor was ready to do.
Monday morning around 4:00am I started having more consistent, painful contractions. By 5:00am I felt like I should get out of bed, shower and get ready before it became too painful to do much of anything. By 5:30am I woke Richard. I had no idea how long it would take and we weren't sure if Richard should go to work or not. We decided to keep a close eye on my contractions and time them for an hour. They were coming every 6 min. so we thought we better head to the hospital or chance having him along the side of the road. My sister was already staying with us. She took off work to be here to help with the baby. Since he hadn't come yet and she couldn't get change the days she had off, she had been helping watch the girls so I could get final things ready. It wasn't what we planned but it sure was helpful. We knew the girls were in good hands and we were able to leave right away.
We got to the hospital about 8:30am and settled in to our room by 9:00am. I was only measuring at 4cm and my contractions had calmed down considerably. I started worrying that maybe we had come too soon. But it was actually perfect timing because I had tested positive for group b strep and needed to be on my second round of antibiotics before the baby came. The nurse got me started on that and then I tried out the birthing ball for the first time. I hadn't had time with Eloise and I didn't know what I was missing with Olivia. I loved it! I was able to literally bounce my way thru the contractions. After the first dose of medicine the nurse unhooked me from the IV and I got up to walk the halls. Between the ball and moving around, labor went pretty quick and easy.
By 11:00am I was having major contractions and the ball and breathing weren't enough anymore. I chose to go without an epidural so things were getting pretty hard. I got on my second dose of antibiotics a little before noon. About the same time my doctor came back to check on me. He could see that my contractions had picked up and when he checked me again I was dilated to 8 cm. He said that he thought if I started pushing, it wouldn't take long at all to get the baby here. It was either that or wait until I was 10 cm which could take another hour or more and lots of hard contractions. I was tired and ready to hold my baby so I went with his suggestion.
They waited just long enough to pump a little more medicine in me and then around 12:30 pm they set everything up for delivery. After the first push, my doctor noticed meconium in the fluid and called for the respiratory team. The plan was to have the baby brought right to me, but this changed things. The doctor said he didn't want our baby to cry right away because he would potentially aspirate on the meconium. The respiratory team arrived in less than a minute and were ready and waiting in a few more.
It only took three contractions, a few pushes each and 5 or 6 minutes total and our boy was here! I have to say though, that pushing without the urge to push is not an easy thing. In some ways I wish I had waited for my body to do things on its own. But it worked.
The doctor had Richard quickly and urgently cut his cord and then he was rushed over to the team to eventually have 10 ml of meconium pumped out of his stomach. It seemed like forever before I got to hold Alvin. The cord had been wrapped once around his neck which is probably the stress that caused him to poop. He was very purple and it scared Richard pretty good. Luckily I couldn't see but not seeing was also driving me crazy. Normally I'm holding and admiring my sweet new baby during the stitching up process so it isn't that big of a deal but instead I was being sewn up and having more painful contractions and listening to my baby scream across the room. Actually though, the screaming was a relief because it meant his lungs were doing well.
Finally they brought him to me all cleaned up and cleaned out. I got to nurse him and really see him for the first time. The first things I noticed were his eyes and side burns (yes, he actually has side burns and they are adorable!). I fell hard and deeply in love. And there's no going back.
Monday morning around 4:00am I started having more consistent, painful contractions. By 5:00am I felt like I should get out of bed, shower and get ready before it became too painful to do much of anything. By 5:30am I woke Richard. I had no idea how long it would take and we weren't sure if Richard should go to work or not. We decided to keep a close eye on my contractions and time them for an hour. They were coming every 6 min. so we thought we better head to the hospital or chance having him along the side of the road. My sister was already staying with us. She took off work to be here to help with the baby. Since he hadn't come yet and she couldn't get change the days she had off, she had been helping watch the girls so I could get final things ready. It wasn't what we planned but it sure was helpful. We knew the girls were in good hands and we were able to leave right away.
We got to the hospital about 8:30am and settled in to our room by 9:00am. I was only measuring at 4cm and my contractions had calmed down considerably. I started worrying that maybe we had come too soon. But it was actually perfect timing because I had tested positive for group b strep and needed to be on my second round of antibiotics before the baby came. The nurse got me started on that and then I tried out the birthing ball for the first time. I hadn't had time with Eloise and I didn't know what I was missing with Olivia. I loved it! I was able to literally bounce my way thru the contractions. After the first dose of medicine the nurse unhooked me from the IV and I got up to walk the halls. Between the ball and moving around, labor went pretty quick and easy.
By 11:00am I was having major contractions and the ball and breathing weren't enough anymore. I chose to go without an epidural so things were getting pretty hard. I got on my second dose of antibiotics a little before noon. About the same time my doctor came back to check on me. He could see that my contractions had picked up and when he checked me again I was dilated to 8 cm. He said that he thought if I started pushing, it wouldn't take long at all to get the baby here. It was either that or wait until I was 10 cm which could take another hour or more and lots of hard contractions. I was tired and ready to hold my baby so I went with his suggestion.
They waited just long enough to pump a little more medicine in me and then around 12:30 pm they set everything up for delivery. After the first push, my doctor noticed meconium in the fluid and called for the respiratory team. The plan was to have the baby brought right to me, but this changed things. The doctor said he didn't want our baby to cry right away because he would potentially aspirate on the meconium. The respiratory team arrived in less than a minute and were ready and waiting in a few more.
It only took three contractions, a few pushes each and 5 or 6 minutes total and our boy was here! I have to say though, that pushing without the urge to push is not an easy thing. In some ways I wish I had waited for my body to do things on its own. But it worked.
The doctor had Richard quickly and urgently cut his cord and then he was rushed over to the team to eventually have 10 ml of meconium pumped out of his stomach. It seemed like forever before I got to hold Alvin. The cord had been wrapped once around his neck which is probably the stress that caused him to poop. He was very purple and it scared Richard pretty good. Luckily I couldn't see but not seeing was also driving me crazy. Normally I'm holding and admiring my sweet new baby during the stitching up process so it isn't that big of a deal but instead I was being sewn up and having more painful contractions and listening to my baby scream across the room. Actually though, the screaming was a relief because it meant his lungs were doing well.
Finally they brought him to me all cleaned up and cleaned out. I got to nurse him and really see him for the first time. The first things I noticed were his eyes and side burns (yes, he actually has side burns and they are adorable!). I fell hard and deeply in love. And there's no going back.
He looks just like daddy.
Admiring our miracle.
Monday Night Football = bonding with Dad
Meeting big sisters for the first time
I think they like him.
Our new family! I can't believe we have three kids!
Because of the group b strep we had to stay in the hospital an extra day just as a precaution. We joke but it's also true, that with how fast he came he wasn't in the birth canal long enough to contract anything. We had major cabin fever before we were done, but tried to make the best of our time. We even had time for a mini photo shoot.
Time to go home.
Congrats, Al! He is the sweetest! You are amazing for doing it without any drugs! Can't wait to meet him! :)
ReplyDelete