Baby Sparrow's Birth Story
Feb 2, 2015 13:39:55 GMT -5
Post by MoreThanSparrows on Feb 2, 2015 13:39:55 GMT -5
Short Story: Judah Thomas was born on Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at 0118. He weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and was 20 inches long. Labored in the hospital for less than 2 hours! His brothers are smitten, and DH and I are in love - exhausted, but in love!
Long Story:
I woke up on Monday, the 26th, and noticed my contractions felt different than the Braxton Hicks ones I had been having for a few months. I broke out my contraction timer, but they were not forming any sort of steady pattern. I went about my day - a little work (I work from home), a little cleaning - and kept an eye on the contractions. They weren't painful, but they were definitely stronger than the BH. Around 11 AM, I noticed they were on average 5 minutes apart, but again, not in a steady pattern - 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 4 minutes, etc. I texted DH to let him know, and he told me to make sure I was ready. I hopped in the shower, packed a bag for DH (something I told him to do for himself a number of weeks ago), and put all our bags together to make for a quick, easy exit. DH arrived a couple hours later, and DS1 and DS2 got home from school about an hour after that (around 3 pm).
Contractions were still strong and semi-regular, but every now and then I wouldn't have one for 10-15 minutes, so I wasn't ready to drive the hour to the hospital only to be turned away, so we waited it out. DH went to get some dinner since I hadn't really had an appetite all day and didn't feel like cooking. While we ate, I noticed the contractions were getting stronger, and I was starting to have to breathe through them. We finished dinner, and decided to head towards the hospital, dropping the boys off with my dad and step-mom along the way. While waiting by the front door to leave, the boys started talking about what day the baby's birthday would be - if he were born before or after midnight. DS1 said he would be here before midnight, DS2 said after.
We left the house around 8 pm. En route to the hospital, my contractions slowed and I worried we'd drive all that way for nothing. But by the time we got to the city where the hospital is, they had picked up a bit. We arrived at my dad's, and decided to let me walk around a bit to make sure they were steady and getting stronger. They were - I was breathing through every one, and they were about 3 minutes apart, lasting about a minute each. My step-mom texted one of the OB's at the hospital to see who was on call - it was her, but my doc was also there with another of her patients, so I was glad to know my doc would be there to deliver Judah.
We stayed there about 2 hours, and checked into the hospital at 11:30 pm. I told DH to park by the patient tower entrance, since that's the entrance you use to get to the maternity ward. However, that entrance is closed at 11:30 at night, so we walked to the Emergency entrance - about a football field's distance away. We checked in, and waited for someone from maternity to come get me. She brought a wheel chair, but I knew I needed gravity to work in my favor since LO had been so high just a few days prior. She brought the wheel chair along with her, just in case, but I walked back over the the maternity ward - another football field's distance - and got checked in there.
The on-call doc came to check my cervix, and was surprised that I was already 6 cm and 100% (compared to 3 and 50% the previous Thursday). She quickly broke my waters, and went to update my doc. I was breathing through each contraction by now, but was still in a very good mood, much to the surprise of my doc when she came to check on me. DH texted his mom to let her know this was it, and she headed to the hospital - she's been present for all my labors, and I was glad to have her there. The nurse began checking me into the computer, asking all those questions. I told her I wanted to try to go natural, but that I wasn't sure I could, so if I had time, I may decide to get an epi. DH made a snide comment from his chair about me trying to go natural, and I snapped at him, telling him he wasn't helping at all. He soon got up from his chair and asked how he could help. I told him to remind me to keep breathing and such.
An hour later, I was no longer in such a good mood - contractions were painful and right on top of each other, I was having difficulty breathing through them, and asked to be checked again. I was at nearly 8, and the nurse told me that the laboring mom next door had just called for an epi, so the anesthesiologist was on his way. I said something about probably not having time, and she said probably not. At some point, I remember crying and telling DH I didn't think I could do it. He was so supportive, told me I was doing a good job, and held my hand.
Not too long after that, the nurse told me that the anesthesiologist had finally arrived, and was getting ready to do the epi for the mom next door. She checked me, and said there was just a small lip left, so I assumed I wouldn't be getting any pain relief - which at this point really didn't matter, I just wanted baby out! A few minutes later, the anesthesiologist strolls in and says he doesn't have time to give me an epi, but will give me a spinal. I don't remember asking for it, but I was in too much pain that I didn't argue. When I sat up on the edge of the bed, my body began pushing for me - during contractions, I would try to breath through them, but my body was pushing and I couldn't stop it. I kept apologizing because the nurse had told me not to push, but DH was sitting in front of me tell me it was ok. The anesthesiologist apparently didn't have the meds or needles he needed, so my nurse apparently had to run to get them. I was told later she was very pissed off at the anesthesiologist for his tardiness and leisurely pace... In retrospect, had I known my body was going to move so quickly, and the spinal was going to last as long as it did (about 6 hours), I would have spoken up and just said no, but it is what it is.
By the time he got the spinal in, they had the room full of people ready to deliver, and my MIL had made a quick, silent exit to the waiting room. They put me back in the bed, put my feet up in stirrups and told me to push. Maybe 5 minutes later - I think I pushed through 2 or 3 contractions - baby Judah was born at 0118 - less than 2 hours after checking in. They placed warm towels on my chest and wrapped him in them to keep him warm. I don't remember crying when my first 2 were born, but I cried when he was born. Maybe it was that I'd gone most of the distance without pain meds, maybe it was that he was my rainbow after our loss of twins in Dec. '13, maybe it was just hormones. Either way, I was so happy to have him here. I asked my doc if I had torn at all, and she said just a little. I'm not sure how many stitched, but I doubt it was more than 2.
They took Judah for a short period to wipe him down and put a diaper on him, since he'd had his first BM on the towel on my chest, then gave him back to me for skin-to skin. He latched on fairly quickly, and nursed for a good 30-40 minutes.
Eventually we were moved to a recovery room, where DH spent the night with us. The next day, we had lots of visitors, but thankfully, no one overstayed their welcome. Judah was nursing quite a bit, but in short spurts - 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there, etc. The pediatrician - a good friend of ours - did his circumcision, and stopped by to let me know it went well, and that he was such a beautiful baby. DH left around 3 to pick up the boys from my dad, and take them home so they could get to school on Wednesday. I was told I would likely be discharged first thing in the morning, as would Judah, so the plan was for DH to get the boys off to school, and then come get me and take me home. I was discharged during morning rounds from my doc, but the pedi didn't make her rounds until 5 pm on Wednesday, so I was stuck at the hospital all day all alone. Eventually, they released Judah, and the nurse brought all the discharge paperwork. DH came with the boys to pick me up, but Judah was hungry, so I fed him. DH dressed Judah while I got dressed, and we buckled him into his carseat and were ready to go. As we are exiting the maternity ward, an alarm goes off, and the nurse escorting me out realized they hadn't taken off Judah's alarm bracelet. I apologized because I didn't even notice since DH got him dressed. She said it was no biggie and that she usually asks, but didn't this time. They disarmed the bracelet and removed it so we could leave.
Judah slept all the way back to our city, and we stopped at a little Italian restaurant for dinner - DH had decided earlier in the day that since I had been stuck at the hospital all day, he was going to take me out to dinner when I was released. The food was really good, and Judah slept up until the last 20 minutes or so, and I nursed him before we left.
The first night home was rough - Judah was constantly hungry, but would fall asleep while nursing, and then would wake up as soon as I put him in his bassinet. Since then, we've made an effort to keep him awake just a bit longer during the day so he'll sleep better at night. So far we've gone 3 hours of him sleeping in his bassinet, and 4 hours if I lay him next to me in bed. All in all, he's just a wonderful baby - he's content when he's awake, and only cries when he's cold or hungry. We are so blessed to have him, and DS1 and DS2 are both smitten - wanting to hold him or watch me change his diaper, etc.
Finally, for pictures - if you made it all the way through that, you deserve an award! I didn't mean for it to be so long!!!
Long Story:
I woke up on Monday, the 26th, and noticed my contractions felt different than the Braxton Hicks ones I had been having for a few months. I broke out my contraction timer, but they were not forming any sort of steady pattern. I went about my day - a little work (I work from home), a little cleaning - and kept an eye on the contractions. They weren't painful, but they were definitely stronger than the BH. Around 11 AM, I noticed they were on average 5 minutes apart, but again, not in a steady pattern - 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 4 minutes, etc. I texted DH to let him know, and he told me to make sure I was ready. I hopped in the shower, packed a bag for DH (something I told him to do for himself a number of weeks ago), and put all our bags together to make for a quick, easy exit. DH arrived a couple hours later, and DS1 and DS2 got home from school about an hour after that (around 3 pm).
Contractions were still strong and semi-regular, but every now and then I wouldn't have one for 10-15 minutes, so I wasn't ready to drive the hour to the hospital only to be turned away, so we waited it out. DH went to get some dinner since I hadn't really had an appetite all day and didn't feel like cooking. While we ate, I noticed the contractions were getting stronger, and I was starting to have to breathe through them. We finished dinner, and decided to head towards the hospital, dropping the boys off with my dad and step-mom along the way. While waiting by the front door to leave, the boys started talking about what day the baby's birthday would be - if he were born before or after midnight. DS1 said he would be here before midnight, DS2 said after.
We left the house around 8 pm. En route to the hospital, my contractions slowed and I worried we'd drive all that way for nothing. But by the time we got to the city where the hospital is, they had picked up a bit. We arrived at my dad's, and decided to let me walk around a bit to make sure they were steady and getting stronger. They were - I was breathing through every one, and they were about 3 minutes apart, lasting about a minute each. My step-mom texted one of the OB's at the hospital to see who was on call - it was her, but my doc was also there with another of her patients, so I was glad to know my doc would be there to deliver Judah.
We stayed there about 2 hours, and checked into the hospital at 11:30 pm. I told DH to park by the patient tower entrance, since that's the entrance you use to get to the maternity ward. However, that entrance is closed at 11:30 at night, so we walked to the Emergency entrance - about a football field's distance away. We checked in, and waited for someone from maternity to come get me. She brought a wheel chair, but I knew I needed gravity to work in my favor since LO had been so high just a few days prior. She brought the wheel chair along with her, just in case, but I walked back over the the maternity ward - another football field's distance - and got checked in there.
The on-call doc came to check my cervix, and was surprised that I was already 6 cm and 100% (compared to 3 and 50% the previous Thursday). She quickly broke my waters, and went to update my doc. I was breathing through each contraction by now, but was still in a very good mood, much to the surprise of my doc when she came to check on me. DH texted his mom to let her know this was it, and she headed to the hospital - she's been present for all my labors, and I was glad to have her there. The nurse began checking me into the computer, asking all those questions. I told her I wanted to try to go natural, but that I wasn't sure I could, so if I had time, I may decide to get an epi. DH made a snide comment from his chair about me trying to go natural, and I snapped at him, telling him he wasn't helping at all. He soon got up from his chair and asked how he could help. I told him to remind me to keep breathing and such.
An hour later, I was no longer in such a good mood - contractions were painful and right on top of each other, I was having difficulty breathing through them, and asked to be checked again. I was at nearly 8, and the nurse told me that the laboring mom next door had just called for an epi, so the anesthesiologist was on his way. I said something about probably not having time, and she said probably not. At some point, I remember crying and telling DH I didn't think I could do it. He was so supportive, told me I was doing a good job, and held my hand.
Not too long after that, the nurse told me that the anesthesiologist had finally arrived, and was getting ready to do the epi for the mom next door. She checked me, and said there was just a small lip left, so I assumed I wouldn't be getting any pain relief - which at this point really didn't matter, I just wanted baby out! A few minutes later, the anesthesiologist strolls in and says he doesn't have time to give me an epi, but will give me a spinal. I don't remember asking for it, but I was in too much pain that I didn't argue. When I sat up on the edge of the bed, my body began pushing for me - during contractions, I would try to breath through them, but my body was pushing and I couldn't stop it. I kept apologizing because the nurse had told me not to push, but DH was sitting in front of me tell me it was ok. The anesthesiologist apparently didn't have the meds or needles he needed, so my nurse apparently had to run to get them. I was told later she was very pissed off at the anesthesiologist for his tardiness and leisurely pace... In retrospect, had I known my body was going to move so quickly, and the spinal was going to last as long as it did (about 6 hours), I would have spoken up and just said no, but it is what it is.
By the time he got the spinal in, they had the room full of people ready to deliver, and my MIL had made a quick, silent exit to the waiting room. They put me back in the bed, put my feet up in stirrups and told me to push. Maybe 5 minutes later - I think I pushed through 2 or 3 contractions - baby Judah was born at 0118 - less than 2 hours after checking in. They placed warm towels on my chest and wrapped him in them to keep him warm. I don't remember crying when my first 2 were born, but I cried when he was born. Maybe it was that I'd gone most of the distance without pain meds, maybe it was that he was my rainbow after our loss of twins in Dec. '13, maybe it was just hormones. Either way, I was so happy to have him here. I asked my doc if I had torn at all, and she said just a little. I'm not sure how many stitched, but I doubt it was more than 2.
They took Judah for a short period to wipe him down and put a diaper on him, since he'd had his first BM on the towel on my chest, then gave him back to me for skin-to skin. He latched on fairly quickly, and nursed for a good 30-40 minutes.
Eventually we were moved to a recovery room, where DH spent the night with us. The next day, we had lots of visitors, but thankfully, no one overstayed their welcome. Judah was nursing quite a bit, but in short spurts - 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there, etc. The pediatrician - a good friend of ours - did his circumcision, and stopped by to let me know it went well, and that he was such a beautiful baby. DH left around 3 to pick up the boys from my dad, and take them home so they could get to school on Wednesday. I was told I would likely be discharged first thing in the morning, as would Judah, so the plan was for DH to get the boys off to school, and then come get me and take me home. I was discharged during morning rounds from my doc, but the pedi didn't make her rounds until 5 pm on Wednesday, so I was stuck at the hospital all day all alone. Eventually, they released Judah, and the nurse brought all the discharge paperwork. DH came with the boys to pick me up, but Judah was hungry, so I fed him. DH dressed Judah while I got dressed, and we buckled him into his carseat and were ready to go. As we are exiting the maternity ward, an alarm goes off, and the nurse escorting me out realized they hadn't taken off Judah's alarm bracelet. I apologized because I didn't even notice since DH got him dressed. She said it was no biggie and that she usually asks, but didn't this time. They disarmed the bracelet and removed it so we could leave.
Judah slept all the way back to our city, and we stopped at a little Italian restaurant for dinner - DH had decided earlier in the day that since I had been stuck at the hospital all day, he was going to take me out to dinner when I was released. The food was really good, and Judah slept up until the last 20 minutes or so, and I nursed him before we left.
The first night home was rough - Judah was constantly hungry, but would fall asleep while nursing, and then would wake up as soon as I put him in his bassinet. Since then, we've made an effort to keep him awake just a bit longer during the day so he'll sleep better at night. So far we've gone 3 hours of him sleeping in his bassinet, and 4 hours if I lay him next to me in bed. All in all, he's just a wonderful baby - he's content when he's awake, and only cries when he's cold or hungry. We are so blessed to have him, and DS1 and DS2 are both smitten - wanting to hold him or watch me change his diaper, etc.
Finally, for pictures - if you made it all the way through that, you deserve an award! I didn't mean for it to be so long!!!