Saturday, July 17, 2010

birth story

i always wondered what SAHMs did all day long, especially with "just" a newborn baby. now i know. i think 70% of my day is spent either trying to get the little guy to eat, feeding him, or cleaning up from feeding him. the other part is spent sleeping or rocking a baby. okay so i'm exaggerating...it's been nice having my mom and b around all week to hang out with, but i'm off my regular activity schedule. sorry for the delay -- without further ado, here's how it all went down:

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sunday july 11 i woke up with kind of a crampy stomach, but didn't think much of it seeing as how i was already 8 days overdue and not willing to jump the gun on any labor hints. i still hadn't had any of the alleged physical signs that i'd be going into labor soon so i figured i still had a while to go, even though this mysterious cramping continued every five to ten minutes throughout the day.

we went to church and lost count of how many people said "no baby yet??" we came home and my mom and i cooked dinner for the three of us + the in laws. i didn't eat a ton, which ended up being a smart move. everyone stayed to chat for a looong time and i was feeling really tired, so i was relieved when everyone left and we could chill for a little while.

since the next day was my birthday, we made plans for the day assuming there'd still be no baby. my mom was going to make my favorite chocolate chip scones for breakfast and we had massage appointments at noon. and of course, i had a doctor's appointment in the morning and a potential appointment to start induction that night, but i didn't really want to induce so i was thinking of cancelling and waiting for the baby to come on his own.

b and i were watching seinfeld in bed around 11 p.m., and i decided to go to sleep. like five seconds later my ongoing cramps, which had been present all day, suddenly started hurting a LOT more. i said "i don't think i'm going to be getting much sleep tonight" -- ha, famous last words -- and we got the laptop and started timing it: about five minutes apart and a minute long, which is what my doctor said to look for in "real" labor. but, according to him, they needed to do this for one hour consistently before i came to the hospital so i settled in to wait it out.

b eventually went to sleep and i kept timing contractions on this lovely website, as they hurt more and got slightly closer together. at 2 a.m. i called my doctor's office to get advice on when to come in. i DID NOT want to get there and be sent home. the doctor on call said it sounded like i could still wait it out at home for a bit because my voice didn't sound strained enough. haha. FINE. after that the contractions came every three minutes and lasted at least a minute -- and they HURT. i breathed through each one and squeezed b's hand + our headboard every time one came on.

at 5 a.m. i couldn't take the bed anymore so i got up and started getting ready. i still wanted to labor at home as much as possible, so my mom and b got up too and we watched the beginning of the burbs [a fantastic although not necessarily effective distraction] while i suffered through more contractions. at 6 i called the doctor again and she said i definitely sounded more ready, plus since i was so overdue there was no way they'd send me home. hooray! b packed up the car and just as we were getting ready to leave i lost my mucous plug. [gross, sorry.] yay -- it was for real!

so after 7 hours of laboring on my own at home we got to the hospital at 630. the nurses took a look at me and said "this is the real deal" so i got to skip triage and go right into labor & delivery room #9 -- i was dilated to a 4! after all the contractions i was feeling sick and tired and i HURT, so i told them i was ready for an epidural.

the anesthesiologist had me all set up by 8 a.m. and i loooooved it. i got a walking epidural, meaning it was less dosage so i could still move & feel my whole lower body -- BUT not the pain. all i felt were kind of tingling in my legs, and some pressure during contractions. i was a happy camper after that. when my mom -- who had been telling me to buck up and do a natural childbirth for the past nine months -- came in afterward and saw me smiling and talking, even she had to admit the epidural was fantastic. that helped my body calm down and i was at a 7 within the next hour or so.

at 11 a.m. everything was ready to go. my fabulous nurse had me do a couple practice pushes, and at 11:15 my doctor came in and we started the serious business. it was hard work but everything was fine until he was almost out -- then i saw the doc grab the scissors for an episiotomy and my concentration was shot. i was really hoping to NOT get one of those so i think it freaked me out a little, plus those last few pushes hurt extra bad so i was crying pretty hard at the end. and then it was over and the doctor pulled out this tiny pink boy with dark hair! i couldn't believe he had come out of me -- all 8 lbs 6 oz of him. when they weighed him, b said "yeah! nice job babe! eight pounds, he'll be a football player for sure." haha.

and that was it! 13 hours of active labor -- not too bad. i got stitched up and the baby got clean and we all got to rest. our hospital stay was amazing -- that will be another post -- and now we're home with little jack. we'd decided on the name jack a long time ago, but had seriously struggled with a middle name for months -- then finally decided on parker, the city we are randomly living in during this also-random summer internship so he can always remember he is a colorado resident. plus parker is just a cute name anyway. i also hadn't wanted to share my birthday with him, but now i can definitely say he is the best birthday present i ever got. although he now owes me a massage ;)

sometimes i feel like i am just babysitting someone else's kid, but most of the time it is so fun to have jack here and know that he is ours. i was never really a newborn-loving person -- i prefer babies that can smile and interact -- but this baby is seriously cute. i guess i can handle having him around :)

16 comments:

Justin + kelly said...

So great! Im glad is was such a good experience. He seriously is soo adorable. It gets better to be a SAHM, they get way more fun. But they are so easy to tote around at this stage, just get back to life as usual! They nap anywhere, eat any where, and dont care about anything. Fabulous!

Lori and Matt said...

Congratulations! Big boy! Can't wait to meet him in the fall. Enjoy the rest of your time in Colorado.

Roxanne said...

what a fabluous story..and it seemed so easy...oh and i love the name Jack Parker! Can I call him JP? hehee!

That was rad said...

Awesome! Congratulations. We're stoked for you guys.

Now, !

Sarah Turpin said...

congrats!! He finally came I was starting to think it wasn't going to happen :) Happen happy birthday to both of you! He is so cute. Can't wait for more pics!

Paige Taylor Evans said...

I was seriously gonna email you and ask if "Parker" is because of your adventures in Colorado. It is a cute name and a great memento to a great state. So glad your labor and delivery went so smoothly - there's hope!

Jennifer Simmons said...

Thanks for sharing. I'm glad to hear you did well and the hospital lived up to the hype. Oh, and a Colorado-inspired middle name is so perfect.

Nicole said...

Sounds like it was fairly easy labor, which is great. I don't have any kids, but I can assume I would want an easy labor. :) I've really enjoyed reading your blog over the past year, even thought we've never met. I guess if you are a friend of Melyni's you must be pretty cool. Enjoy your new little baby. :)

Angela and Mike said...

oh, and I love your comment with the fact that you had no idea what SAHM did all day home with a newborn...isn't it amazing how you can't get anything done but feed your baby. haha.

Angela and Mike said...

haha " I was never a newborn-loving person"... but isn't it so different with your own? I love the birth story. You are a champ. I can't wait to see more pictures. Oh, and I am totally a fan of the epidural...I'm glad you won over your mom on that one :)

Love that little Jack, I want to meet him!!

The Facks of Life said...

ok, i got a little teary with that story!

so cute! i love your birth story. what an amazing mom you will be.

kiss him for me until i can on my own!

love you all!

Jean said...

Awww, what a great story!!! It sounds like everything went swimmingly, except for the pain of course, hahaha. I think it's funny that you said what you were watching (Seinfeld, Burbs) during labor, because it seems like EVERY new mom writes that in her birth story. It's forever ingrained in our brains for some reason. (Like, I distinctly remember that I watched an episode of Conan O'Brien while I was at the hospital... the one where he finally gets his wedding band to spin around for a really long time after meeting with a physicist. Hahaha!)

Anyway, CONGRATS AGAIN, MAMA!!!

Jamie Onken said...

I just cried. I am so happy for you guys!

Mollie said...

Yay! So excited for you. The whole crying at the end of pushing even with the epidural makes me nervous since I will be there in just a few months :) But I am so glad that you had such a good experience. I hope mine is the same.

Whitney V said...

Congratulations! He is so adorable. I can't wait to see more pictures.

dana said...

holy late to the party! Just checked your blog and Yippeeee! Jack's been here for a week!! So happy for you guys. Congrats!!!

Those first few months can be a real adjustment. And seriously, the hormones. I had major baby blues for a week or two (with both kids). I cried all the time, felt lonely, overwhelmed, jealous of people that had babies that were 4 months old and more predictable than my squirmy babe that kept me from sleeping. There were days I just wanted to walk away from my new life and go to work for the day, with adults. So, it can be rough at times. But he's so darling and around 6 weeks he'll start smiling and then you'll really feel like someone gave you a pat on the back.

Sorry to ramble. He's SOOOO cute! Really cute. Congrats!!