It's Sunday and we are home while Brandon is at church with the girls. I am finally pulling out of the haze of childbirth and believe me, it was a haze.
We had a great experience and almost a party-like atmosphere in our delivery room my family said. And it's true because it was his birthday party.
I think all of my friends have related how hard saying goodbye to your girls are the time before you go to the hospital. Well, Tuesday night before our scheduled induction, there may have been some tears as Brandon strapped them in their carseats and I hugged and kissed them. We enjoyed our night on Tuesday watching totally senseless TV that I love. And then we tried to go to bed for our induction that was set at 6 am in the morning.
We probably got 4.5 hours of sleep that Tuesday night before our induction. I was up at 4 am and never went back to sleep. We had some breakfast and coffee and then we traveled to the hospital.
Once we got there we were directed to our room, registered and got hooked up to the IV to get some fluids as well as pitocin around 9 am. I was checked at the hospital again and the nurse said I was only 1 cm dilated and somewhat "soft." Layman's terms? He was pretty comfy.
So, I had a small dose of pitocin that they increased after about 2 hours. At first the contractions were manageable and I actually finished half of a book while rolling on the exercise ball, while Brandon did some reading.
Since he was still high up, I wanted to try some exercises to use gravity on my side. I did knee to chest, resting on my knees, exercise ball, bending over bed, etc. And I probably went about 1 cm per 1.5 hours. Around 2 pm, the contractions were becoming so painful I had to stop talking and use breathing to get through them. The nurse would ask me what my pain level was, but since I had never gone to 10 cm, I had no idea what the next level of pain would entail. Through laboring I was probably around a 7 on a pain level. It hurt, but it wasn't the hurt I felt toward the end in the epidural hot spot.
The nurse checked me at 2 pm and I thought for sure I would be at least a 6. But, she said I was probably near a 5. Okay. I know this seems so minor, but that darn cervical check hurt. And I was in pain since contractions were around every 1-2 min. And I was getting confused and not able to do anything but concentrate on making the next contraction.
Brandon and the nurse, Connie, told me to try the epidural at this point since the contractions were coming close together and I was going to have my water break at some point. I was in a haze and didn't even realize the difference between my water breaking and getting an epidural. I was just focusing on the next contraction that hurt like a mother.
We got ready for the epidural and I was nervous. The epi scared me more than anything. I mean, I was sweating a lot and just in this panic. I had a great experience with Ava, but with Sophia they had brushed against my nerves removing the needle (sometimes happens) and it had sent this extreme nerve shock down my left leg. It felt like I was struck by lightening down my left leg.
Since I love running, I concentrated hard and squeezed and hugged Brandon as they were inserting the needle and just imagined myself running toward the finish line of a race. You know, that feeling of being completely spent, but giving it everything you have. Well, I told Brandon after conquering my fear of that darn needle I was going to run a marathon. I felt like I could literally conquer anything after that was over. And I didn't have the shock and our nurse was amazing.
After getting the "juice," the tone of the room changed from intense to party-like. We had nurse Jane that had helped deliver Ava, along with Kristen, and Brandon in the room. We talked about lobster, shrimp, food (I was starving), and personality tests (literally five minutes before I pushed Rdyer out).
Brandon and I had a great time too together since it was just him and I. I jokingly told him he needed a whistle. While the whole experience was intense, the room was very relaxed and had such a peace about it. It was a very bonding moment in our marriage.
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| After epidural. Life is good. :) |
My water broke in a gush around 4:45 pm, just as I woke up from a nap. I texted B who was downstairs and called the nurse. I told her I went really quick with Ava and Sophia after my water broke and was already shaking a little bit since I was transitioning. Then I felt a lot of pressure and I knew that baby Ryder was on his way. I told the nurse that it would be quick and she checked me and said I was almost there and hurried to call Dr. Mini from St. Anne's where she was delivering another baby. She made sure the resident was able to deliver if Dr. Mini didn't make it and then came back in the room.
They also capped off my epidural since I had a big hotspot in my right leg/thigh where the pain was radiating. OK. This pain? This was that "10" pain level that they had talked about. It hurt. So they came and capped off the epidural maybe 15 minutes before I delivered. After that I started shaking and thinking I might throw up so Brandon helped me hold a bucket just in case. This shaking continued for probably two hours after baby and the nurse said its a result of the adrenaline that your body produces to get you ready for baby.
We could hear Dr. Mini's heels clicking down the hall and she came in all smiles and said, "Do I have 5 minutes to change?" So she got scrubbed up and got ready to deliver.
I just remember her saying, "Are you ready to push this baby out?" And all I could think was this is such a surreal experience. I am sitting here with my husband and nurse holding my legs and I am about to meet this little person that has been my buddy for the past 41 weeks. It's just this happy, scary, surreal episode.
After maybe 4 contractions and pushes, little Ryder made his big debut with a big spray of water halfway across the room! He got our nurse, but missed the doctor. Brandon cut the cord and we both marveled at how much he looked like Ava and his piercing eyes. They got him ready and put him on my chest for a moment and then the nurse got him cleaned up and Brandon held him since I was still shaking so much. He was such a sweet little boy. He nursed for 30 minutes right away and had no problems.
Brandon and I were just so excited to meet him. The girls and my parents came in after I was cleaned up and we all cuddled him. The girls told my mom, "He's out!" Brandon's parents were able to come and visit the next day and they enjoyed cuddling him as well.
We are just very blessed and thankful for a smooth delivery, great nurses and awesome family and friends.
1 comment:
Praise Jesus!!!
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