He's Here!

After being over a week late; our son's story begins on February 18th. Brandon and I drove to the hospital that morning and checked in around 6:30. When we arrived in our labor and delivery room we met our nurse for the day and the doctor from my OB office who would be on call.

I changed out of my street clothes and into the fetching hospital gown provided. Once we were settled the process of induction began. Our nurse got me started on my IV of pitocin and saline. She also hooked me up to the fetal monitor (an elastic band with a round disk stretched around my stomach) and contraction monitor (same concept different color). Apparently I had been having regular contractions the whole time and had no idea...who knew!

Once the pitocin kicked in I started feeling these contractions I'd been hearing so much about. I'm not gonna lie; they definitely weren't comfortable but I felt pretty good none the less. As Brandon says I weathered them one at a time. I wasn't shy about letting my nurse know that I wanted an epidural as soon as the anesthesiologist was available.

The feeling of the epidural being inserted was a completely different sensation, but I'd do it again. When people say the pain goes away, they're being truthful, but I still felt every contraction and when it came time-the urge to push.

I started pushing around 3:00 pm and made really good headway (no pun intended). Brandon was an EXCELLENT coach and kept me motivated and calm the entire time. We ran into a snag when baby boy's head got caught on my pelvic bone. He was close enough for our nurse to comment on the amount of hair on his head, but after two hours of pushing and no progression our doctor decided to call it a day in the pushing department and began the prep work for a c-section. I was very nervous but took it in stride as it was the best option for our baby and me. As I waited to be taken into the operating room, Brandon donned his "disposable scrubs", hair net and shoe guards.

Around 5:30 pm I was wheeled to the OR; during which the anesthesiologist administered my spinal block. To be honest, I really can't remember much of the preparation for my surgery as my mind was elsewhere, but I do remember Brandon coming in about 10 minutes afterward and the screen at my shoulders going up. I felt absolutely nothing during the c-section aside from a pulling feeling and some pressure. But after an hour our son was born at 6:32 pm! The sound of his cry made my eyes tear...we were now parents.

It took another hour to be stitched up and go to the recovery room. While I recovered Brandon got to see our son's first bath. Around two hours later (9:30 or 10 o'clock) our baby was wheeled into our room and as they say, the rest is (our) history.