Another whirlwind birth story! At 39 weeks, I was very ready to be finished with labor. I had started paying attention to contractions at 7 pm on Saturday. They were about 5 every hour and continued without stopping through Monday. They slowed to around 3 an hour then. The contractions were noticeable and I automatically began breathing through them even though they were painful yet. I fully expected to go to the hospital sometime Sunday afternoon/evening. Tuesday I had a Dr. appt. I saw Dr. Hamre since my regular OB, Dr. Anderson, was out of town. I was at 3 cm but since I was having so many contractions he wanted to see me back on Thursday. Tuesday to Thursday the contractions got stronger, but not closer together.
I went in for my Dr. appt at 2 pm on Thursday. While waiting in the exam room my contractions got stronger and I had several in the hour I was at the office. I was at 4 cm dilated so Dr. Hamre sent me to L&D to be monitored for a couple hours. Was monitored from around 3:30-5:30 pm and at that point was still only at 4 cm but having strong contractions every 3 minutes so I was admitted to the hospital. I was so happy that the end was in sight!
Matt made his way to the hospital while I got a bag of fluids in preparation for an epidural. My contractions weren't horrible yet, but I was uncomfortable sitting in bed and I already hated the contractions plus I was tired from having had contractions for basically 5 full days. I decided to have an epidural and to hope my labor progressed. Matt arrived and shortly after I got the epidural, which went a lot better than when I got one with Jackson because my contractions weren't as strong yet. The first prick didn't work well and I could feel my middle (lung area) numbing instead of lower area. They redid it and it was so nice to be able to just relax. Matt commented that it was kinda like an extended date night since we usually only have 2 hour dates for dinner. Not exactly the kind of date I would ever prefer, but it was nice having some kid free time while we eagerly awaited our newest kid.
Around 8:30 pm Dr. Hamre came to check on me and I was at 5 cm and he broke my water. I dilated another 2 cm within half an hour. The nurse kept coming in to readjust the fetal heart rate monitor. It would slide down my belly but the heart rate would also decline with each contraction. I lay on either side with a birthing peanut between my legs to help move baby down into position and to hopefully relieve any pressure on the umbilical cord to make sure nothing else was wrong with the baby. Around 10 pm I was feeling a lot of pressure and was pretty sure it was time to push. We had been watching Men In Black on the TV, but I was turned away from the TV most of the time to help with the baby's heart rate so we weren't watching too closely. When I told Matt to call the nurse he said we should just finish the movie, which only had about 15 minutes left. The nurse came to check and sure enough, I was at 10 cm and baby was right there ready and waiting. She got the Dr and other nurses needed. We did 3 pushes in each contraction. We did two practice contractions and baby's head was almost out! The Dr came in to deliver and within two more contractions baby Chase was born at 22:18! It was so shocking to me! He was so ready to come out and he just slipped right out with minimal effort on my part. I felt a surge of emotion, but more so excitement. I didn't cry like I did with the other births. I think having the epidural allowed me to just get excited for birth and have a nice rest.
Chase Andrew is perfect! He is a little peanut at 6 lbs 14 oz and 19.75 inches long, our smallest baby. He was born on July 28. On the record he was born at 37 weeks and 6 days, which may be more accurate than my original due date count of 39 weeks. He snuggled onto my chest immediately after birth and stopped crying when I held him, stroked his perfect cheek, and cooed at him. He knew me and took comfort from me and that is just the best feeling! He was looking around and sucking the air when the nurse measured and weighed him, so they brought him back to me and he latched on quickly and has had no problem nursing. He has no cone head since he wasn't in the birth canal for too long. He is absolutely beautiful!
After I hit 37 weeks, every time the house would be clean, the dishes done, the laundry out away, groceries restocked, and myself shaved/plucked/nails done/ beautified... I would expect the baby to come! Every time I had to do a chore again I was hopeful baby would decide to come then so I could just be done with keeping everything perfect and ready for when he arrived. I was so relieved once he was born that I could relax a bit on chores and making sure we had plenty of snack options for the boys.
Speaking of the boys, this would have been a very different birth experience without our newest sitter, Nikki Bae. I met her at PWOC just a few weeks earlier and I enjoyed chatting with her. Later I realized that she doesn't have kids and may be willing to babysit! She came to meet the boys once and hen babysat them for a Dr. appt once. She was watching the boys for my Dr, appt when Chase was born. I warned her I may have to stay at the hospital so she came prepared. She stayed with the boys from around 1:30 pm- 12:30 am. She was so amazing and I didn't worry about the boys at all. What an amazing feeling.
We have had three happy and healthy birth experiences and three perfect babies. I am so thankful for my three sons.
No comments:
Post a Comment