E's Birth Story

[estrellita]

Figured I might as well type this up before I forget the details and while he's sleeping! It's a little long of course. If anyone has birth/labor/recovery related questions let me know while it's all still fresh in my mind!

I started having BH contractions around 36 weeks and they gradually got stronger and more frequent. They weren't really painful at all until Wed night (the 18th). They weren't super painful, but enough to bother me a little. I went to bed and they pretty much went away until Thu morning around 9am while I was at work. I kept on working since I have a desk job, so it was easy to kinda "hide" that I was having contractions. Finally I started noticing there was a pattern to them and it was getting a little difficult to concentrate at work, so I ended up leaving at 3. Of course I couldn't get out without a coworker loudly asking where I was going, haha. So pretty much everyone knew I might be in labor!

I came home and relaxed as much as possible. They were getting more painful and only a couple minutes apart, so we went into the hospital around 6pm. They hooked me up to the monitor and checked me. I was still only about a cm dilated (I had been for about 2 weeks), but baby's head seemed to have moved down a bit. They said I was in "early labor" and could either walk the halls for a while and recheck, or go home. So we decided to go home. We ordered a pizza (and breadsticks and cinnastix - with GD I couldn't have had this meal but I knew baby was coming soon, so who cares!). We walked the apartment hallways for a while, I bounced/rocked on an exercise ball, and took a bath. Then I went to bed for a bit to get some rest. Woke up around 2 and couldn't get back to sleep. The contractions were getting much stronger and I couldn't lay in bed. Finally around 4am I decided we should go back in.

We got to the hospital around 5am Friday. They got me into a room, hooked me up, and checked me. I was 3.5cm and 80% effaced! I was then admitted. The contractions got stronger and stronger and I got some pain meds around 7. They weren't kidding when they said it would make me feel like I was drunk. Right down to feeling a little sick though because I hadn't eaten much. They helped take the edge off, but not as much as I would have liked. I was having a rough time with the contractions!

My doctor came in around 10 and broke my water at 4cm. The contractions were getting unbearable after that. I asked for the epidural at that point. I was getting a contraction as they were getting it put in and it took everything I had to keep as still as possible! But once it kicked in, it was AMAZING. I think I had a couple more contractions and then I couldn't feel a thing. I ended up sleeping off and on for a while. I am SO happy I got the epidural! I got rest, plus I was able to hold conversations throughout the rest of labor.

Finally around 4 it was time to start pushing. It took a bit to figure out exactly where to push, and I could only barely feel the contractions, so I had to rely on H and the nurse to help me figure out when to push. I was shocked that H ended up watching the entire thing! He can be a little squeamish and I didn't think he would, but he did I also didn't plan on using a mirror to see anything, but I did want to see his head after H was describing what he was seeing. It was weird but cool to see his head just hanging out there! Finally I could tell he was right there. The doctor came in (she had another patient pushing at the same time) and I started pushing again and she told me to stop because he was ready but she wasn't! They rushed to get the last few things set up and we were ready to push again. A couple more pushes and Everett Blake was born at 6:17pm! H and I were both crying! Pushing him out was the coolest and weirdest feeling since I had the epidural. I could feel it, but I couldn't feel any of the pain. Which is good, because I ended up with a 3rd degree tear

They stitched me up while I held him. Then they got him a little cleaned up, weighed him, etc and had H hold him. Our parents were in the waiting room all day so H went to tell them and show them the little footprints. We ended up letting them into the room after things were mostly cleaned up so they didn't have to wait any longer. Then they moved us to the recovery room.

Afterwards kinda sucked. The nurse helped me go to the bathroom and get into the bath. You really have no shame after having a baby, haha. Overall though, the recovery hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. The bleeding was bad the first day or two, but has since just been like a period. I do have a lot of pain walking and getting up/down still though because of my tear. I'm taking Tylenol 3 and ibuprofen but it doesn't help that much really, haha. Hopefully it will get better. Baths and Tucks pads help a bit.

That ended up longer than I expected, haha. Oh well! Here are a few pictures for your time!

Right after birth



In his going home outfit complete with a hat made by his great great aunt in MD!



Little family ready to go home!

[achi]

He is so adorable! Thanks for sharing.

[dearprudence]

Congratulations (again!) I'm way too squeamish to watch the head coming out, but I think it's very cool you did.

[cheeseandcrackers]

So, did you have him close to 37 weeks?How much did he weigh?
Super cute though. Love your little family.

[travelbug]

He is so adorable. I love your first family photo. So precious! Thanks for sharing your story

[imimahoney]

Aw, he is so cute. Thanks for sharing!

[pooh8402]

Sounds like you had a great labor and delivery! Congratulations again, and he is so cute!

[estrellita]

Feb 25, 2015 19:56:29 GMT -5 cheeseandcrackers said:

So, did you have him close to 37 weeks?How much did he weigh?
Super cute though. Love your little family.

39 weeks 4 days. I had him Fri and I was due Mon. He was 7 pounds 5 ounces, 18.5 inches

[ewall]

Congrats! Love the family pic! He looks like you

[mcfelix]

Congrats! Love how you ordered pizza and cinnastix because screw gd, baby is almost here!

[brandienee]

Congrats! He is perfect. :-)

[estrellita]

Feb 25, 2015 21:14:32 GMT -5 mcfelix said:

Congrats! Love how you ordered pizza and cinnastix because screw gd, baby is almost here!

My numbers had been good the whole time anyways so I wasn't too concerned, lol. His blood sugar numbers were fine too

[miamigirl]

Thanks for sharing. He's so cute!

[liverandonions]

Congrats! Having the mirror helped me finally get my daughter out after an hour of pushing. I needed to see what progress my pushes were making.

[kams]

He is a beautiful baby!! Congratulations!

[yourmother]

What a sweetie! I love his name! Thanks for sharing your story!

[lillaguma]

Oh he's darling. Thanks for sharing all of this!

[nmosrob]

Congratulations!!! He is such a cutie.

I've been curious about the mirror, I might want to try that. Dh says he wants to part in it, lol.

[Deleted]

Congratulations!

They didn't bring up a mirror when I was actually pushing--it was just as well, as I am super blind and had my glasses off. I wouldn't have been able to see anyway, ha!

I agree that epidurals are awesome.

[estrellita]

nmosrob I didn't have it while pushing him out or anything. It was just a small mirror like the ones at the hair salon when they show you the back of your hair. It was hard for them to get the right angle and it was actually pretty distracting trying to tell them where to move it while I was pushing. But in between contractions it was cool to see his head right there!

@kcpokergal I'm blind too but kept my glasses on, haha.

[coda]

Congrats! It sounds like you had a great experience.

[smiledamnit]

Wonderful, just wonderful! Congrats on your handsome little fellow!

[Kit]

He is adorable! Congrats :-)

[Koala]

Beautiful family! Congratulations!

[sparkythelawyer]

What an adorable little man! Congrats!

[tarotchamber]

Congratulations! What a cutie and I hope your tear recovery goes as fast / painless as possible.

[aprilsails]

Congrats on your little guy! He's so adorable. Best wishes for a smooth recovery for you and a good transition to life at home with baby.