It all started on Tuesday Nov 1. I had my 39 week appt. An appointment I'm sure my doctor thought I'd never see and one I didn't expect either. I limped my way into the room still steady at 208-209 lbs and prepared for the appt. I was still a good solid 3 (maybe toward a 4) and thinning but maybe only 50%. Then she asked about induction again.
Clay and I had chatted about it and come to several conclusions. I was miserable and in a lot of pain when trying to walk, sit, sleep, well pretty much do anything. I had on several occasions had to crawl to the bathroom in the middle of the night uncertain my legs/hips would coordinate the way they needed to. I was beyond uncomfortable and felt so much pressure like the baby's head was just about to come out. I didn't want to give in. I felt like I was giving up but I rationalized it was only a few days before my due date and I was physically ready. For Clay, induction eased his fears that we would go in the middle of the night and we would already have someone there to take care of Kenley, so we did it. We scheduled ourselves to be induced on Thursday 11/3/11 at 7am.
Wed went by in a blur and Thursday was quickly here. I was up and anxious a little after 4am. It seemed so weird to know the baby was coming today. I called the hospital as instructed around 6 to see if things were on schedule and learned they had 3 emergency c-sections that morning and were getting ready to start the 2nd. I would have to wait to come in until all 3 were in recovery. Later we got a call that said we should be there at 9am so the delay was only temporary.
Upon our arrival, I waddled to the mother/baby unit. Along the way a volunteer had offered a wheelchair but I declined. I was walking just not very fast. We got there and my doctor was there too. They had forgotten to call her so she was there to break my water and I hadn't even been started yet. She left to come back later and I got started. Around 10am all the paperwork was done and it was time for the drugs.
I was 4cm and about 80%effaced when we started my IV and the petocin. I could feel the contractions starting but they were mild and I was completely unaffected. At noon, my doctor came back to break my water. She warned me that things were going to get "intense" very quickly after my water was broken and I didn't think much about it. I sent Clay down for his lunch and laid there waiting. Man on man was she right. Within minutes the pain of the contractions went from mild and nearly non-existent to knocking me on my butt. They were almost immediately 3-4 minutes apart and super strong and getting longer. I labored thru them for a short time and then decided I wanted the epidural. Lucky for me the anesthesiologist was on the floor so she was in there in no time.
I remember my epidural with Kenley being a piece of cake but I was still nervous about this one. While this one also went smoothly it was much more interesting as everything seemed to be going on all at once. I was having a contraction, losing more fluid, getting my blood pressure taken, and getting the procedure where you are supposed to stay completely still and in a certain position the whole time. Fun!
The epidural slowly took affect and I was much more comfortable. I could still feel contractions and the pressure but not overly intense. At 2pm they checked me and I was 6cm. I had expected more progress but labored on. We did have a small scare when the baby's heartrate dropped and they came in to put an internal monitor on the baby's head but all was well within minutes and they were getting the accurate readings they needed.
At 3pm, they checked again and magically I was ready. Here is were everything gets blurry and seemed to move so fast. Somehow, my doctor was magically there immediately and they rushed around to get the room prepped and ready. I could feel increased pressure with each contraction and knew I would need to push soon. Then around 310, it was showtime. We started pushing and everyone seemed excited about the progress I made with each push. I pushed for 3 sets of contractions and at 319pm, baby was born.
There was no crying yet as they suctioned the baby's mouth and nose. I was waiting for the "It's a ...." and it seemed like forever and then she said, "It's a BOY!" I immediately lost it and can't tell you what happened in the next few minutes. I know they laid him on my chest but I could barely see thru the tears. I heard the doctor ask Clay to cut the cord but I remember almost nothing else. I had my boy and I was elated.
As the tears cleared, I could see that he was a BIG boy. They took him to weigh him and he weighed in at a whopping 8lbs and 14oz. The doctor made a comment about his size and how "easy" I had made it all look. Here are a few pics of it all.. .
We made some phone calls and texts as my epidural slowly wore off and I regained use of my legs. I was ready to get out of the labor room and into my other room. I was anxious to see my little girl and have her meet her little brother. I talked my way into getting moved and taking the IV with me since I had to finish the huge bag of petocin they had started and it was barely half gone. (Guess they didn't have to up it very much to kick it into gear).
We had called my mom and she had gone to get Kenley. She was going to bring her by the hospital before dinner. I could hardly wait. When they got there, Chase was in the nursery so I had some Kenley snuggles.
Then daddy wheeled in Chase....
And he got to meet his very excited Big Sister Kenley....
It was love at first site! She is absolutely smitten with her baby brother and it warms my heart to pieces.
Kenley got to open her gift from Chase too (which was a baby all of her own). However now that we are home she is always more interested in the real thing than the toy baby :)
This is where I will leave off for now. Not much time to blog between naps and nursing but more to come about the time in the hospital, coming home and life with 2 kids so far... I promise :)
