We are so lucky to have you, little boy. He had a dramatic entrance to this world, just like his brother did😅.
I wanted to share his birth story, just like I did for Sean. This time was way different, but no less hectic and scary. I guess all births are that way on their own, but it seems I am doomed to have some gnarly ones.
On September 4, I began having what felt like a mixture of braxton hicks contractions and 'real' contractions all day. They weren't timeable until around 12pm. They began to get more intense and were coming every 5-7 minutes. Still inconsistent but getting stronger, I called Erin and told him he should probably come home and start getting ready for the hospital. As soon as Erin got home about 30 minutes later, the contractions completely stopped. He decided to rest up in case they started up again. By 7pm that evening, I hadn't had any more contractions at all. Our induction was scheduled for 7am the next morning, so I gave up and we went to bed around 9pm.
At 4am on September 5 (3 hours before my induction), I woke up to really strong contractions, happening pretty consistently. I decided to time them and they were every 3 minutes. They were becoming more intense as I decided if I should go back to sleep or not, and they then started to be every 2.5 minutes. I woke Erin and told him it was go time!
We rushed to the hospital, and got a call while on our way asking if we could reschedule our induction that morning. The nurse informed me there were a lot of women coming in, in labor that night,and they wouldn't be able to do my induction. I told her sorry, I'm in labor too - cancel the induction! 😂
We got checked into the hospital and settled into our room. I was still having contractions every 2.5 minutes, so they hooked me up to antibiotics due to my positive Group B Strep. Because I was sitting in the hospital bed while my antibiotics kicked in, my contractions started to slow to every 5 minutes or so. Once I was able to get back up and walking, they ramped up. The nurse checked me, and I was at 4.5cm. So I did a lot of walking and pacing to get things moving. Hours went by, and Dr. Beller came in at 12:30pm to break my water. I had only gotten to 5cm, which was a little frustrating. After having my water broken, my contractions quickly became unmanageable and I asked for an epidural. I had been open to an epidural this time around, since I knew back labor was a possibility again, and I just didn't want to do that again.
After getting an epidural, it took about 15 minutes for the meds to fully kick in. I imagined immediate relief as portrayed in movies, but the anesthesiologist explained it does take a few minutes. She also explained that the epidural does not take away ALL pain, but does take away the 'stabbing' feeling. I'd say that was the best explanation and made my expectation much more realistic. Before the meds kicked in, I had some very gnarly contractions. I did not regret my decision! 30 minutes after breaking my water, Dr. checked me again, and I was at a 9. I was on my side and could feel the sensation to push, but it wasn't consistent enough to begin pushing yet. Another 5 minutes later, and they said I could push.
Dr. came in and I began pushing with all of my strength. It became apparent really quickly that something was wrong. Another push and they told me that baby is stuck, and called it Shoulder Dystocia. His shoulder was stuck in my pelvis and that I would need to try my hardest to get him out. One nurse laid on my stomach to add pressure to his bottom, and Dr. literally reached inside of me and pulled baby out. I will tell you that is the worst pain I've ever felt. WAY worse than the 'ring of fire' experienced with Sean's birth. I'm so damn happy I got that epidural. I probably would have passed out from the pain, had it been unmedicated.
Baby was taken away from me, and taken into the next room to help him wake up a bit. Erin went with him, and was able to tell me that he was okay. They described him as 'stunned'. In about a minute, I heard him start to wail. That noise never gets old, especially after such a traumatic experience!
The nurse came in carrying Connor, swaddled up tight. He was alert and very calm, thank goodness. She said 'He's a big boy, I would guess over 10lbs!'. I didn't believe her at first, but when he was in my arms, I was surprised by his size. He was beautiful and perfectly squishy. He began nursing almost immediately, which was so nice, since Sean didn't nurse for nearly a day. We enjoyed that moment for a while. I noticed his face and ears were quite bruised, which is apparently normal when they get stuck like that. Two days later the bruising would be much better!
An hour or so later, they weighed and measured Connor. The nurse said 'any guesses?' and Erin guessed 10lbs 2oz. To everyone's surprise, he weighed 10lbs 12oz. Far from the 8.5lbs guess made based on my size. I didn't care, as long as he was healthy! He was a perfect 21.5", .5" shorter than his brother.
While in the hospital, we needed to have Connor's blood sugars checked before eating, to rule out diabetes. This is customary for babies over 10lbs. Unfortunately, that meant he had his tiny foot pricked every 2 hours for over 24 hours. They needed sugar readings over 45 for 3 blood draws in a row. Finally, the next day he would pass, and we were discharged to go home!
Sean got to come meet Connor in the hospital before we went home. He didn't quite get it, but he was excited and we got a cute picture 😀
I'll post another update in a few days about life at home!
Xo,
Kelsey
No comments :
Post a Comment