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Mark had his first check-up today. Everything went fine. He had no signs of jaundice so they didn’t have to stick him at all. Thank goodness. Having to strip him down to get his weight was traumatic enough for the little guy. He HATES being cold and naked and isn’t afraid to let you know it.

We didn’t give many details on how the delivery went since we just wanted to get some pictures up, so here’s the run-down (If you don’t care, skip to the bottom of the post for more baby pictures). Two weeks before I actually delivered I went to my OB (Dr. S) for a check-up and based on my progress, she said she’d be surprised if I made it to my due date. Great. I was already planning on working from home that week, so it would be fine if I went into labor. The next week I went in and I had progressed some more and she (still Dr. S) said she’d be really surprised to see me in the office the next week (which would put me past my due date). Even better. The next week I go in (this is Thursday and I still haven’t gone into labor) and the doctor (Dr. Z this time) checked me and with a perplexed look on her face says, “You’re sure you’re not having contractions? I’d be surprised if you weren’t in early labor.” She then advised me to go home, take a walk, and see if things didn’t get moving. We also scheduled a fetal non-stress test and fluid check for Friday and an induction for Monday. At least the end was in sight as I was skeptical that my body would actually go into labor. So, Bryce and I went for a three-mile walk at the park by my house. I had some mild contractions during the walk and throughout the rest of the day, but I didn’t feel like they were all that strong. Dr. Z called me that afternoon to see if things were progressing and I didn’t have much to report. By Thursday night the mild contractions had all but stopped and I had resigned myself to the fact that I would probably have to wait until Monday assuming the tests turned out okay on Friday.

So, Friday morning at 4:25am I woke up after having slept fitfully for maybe three hours to what was finally a real contraction. Wow. Now these were different. I started timing them and they were anywhere from 6-11 minutes apart so I laid in bed waiting for the next one to start for about an hour and a half. Bryce’s alarm went off at 6:00am and I told him that I thought I was in labor. We both took showers (it sounds crazy, but warm water is wonderful when you’re aching so bad and I almost got through the whole thing without a contraction. I wasn’t feeling that great so I didn’t eat anything for fear it would come right back up. As the contractions neared 5 minutes apart I decided I would call the doctor’s office. I spoke with Dr. M and since I was already 4-5 cm dilated from the day before, he said to head on into the hospital. Yay! At my baby shower with some of the girls in the ward I had heard stories about how many of them had been sent home when they went into the hospital the first time. I really didn’t want to come home and I figured that with how far progressed I was I wouldn’t be, but you can’t believe how relieved I was when they said they would be admitting me.

We got to the hospital around 7:30, registered, and went to triage so they could monitor me. I was super dehydrated (since I hadn’t felt well so I hadn’t eaten or drank anything that morning) so they started an IV once they decided I was going to be admitted and would need at least ¾ liter of fluids before I could even consider an epidural. Apparently the night before had been very busy so they were still cleaning delivery rooms and mine wouldn’t be ready for at least 30 minutes. Some of you know this, and others don’t, but I have two herniated discs in my lower back. By the end of the pregnancy and the added weight stresses, my back was in pretty bad shape. The contractions were painful—very much so—but the worst for me was that even between contractions there was no way for me to lie on the hospital bed and be comfortable. So, when they asked me if I wanted an epidural, I willingly obliged (I had already planned on it, but realizing how much my back was going to be a factor made it even more appealing). The anesthesia team came in for a consult and when they found out I had the back problems they said they would need to consult the attending physician. I was a little nervous that I wouldn’t be able to get one, but still optimistic. The anesthesiologist came down, we chatted, and he decided to try one—they would just place it a space above where my discs are herniated. He then said he would be back at 12:30 (mind you that was at least four hours in the future). I knew he had to be joking, but also that they don’t generally place epidurals in the triage room so I wasn’t sure if they would wait until I got moved to my own space. He decided they could do it there (the triage nurse said that was the first time she’s ever seen one done triage) so they prepped the room. The CRNA (Nurse Anesthetist) got me ready and placed the epidural without any problem. There are a few exciting things about epidurals that I didn’t know happened—like the electric shock down your leg when it’s placed (it only lasts a second) and the shaking from the medicine that lasts for about 20-30 minutes afterwards. I had already been shaking some from being cold, in labor, dehydrated, and nervous, so I didn’t think it was that bad, but Bryce thought it was funny. Good thing I wasn’t in any pain anymore.

Anyway, that was probably the most exciting part of my labor. The epidural worked like a charm. I could still move my feet and even use them to lift up my back and rollover some (to the nurses’ delight). But, I couldn’t feel any contractions more than a little pressure, and even that came and went. I would have to check the monitor to see if I was having them.

My OB group has about 6-7 doctors that work together so whoever is working at the hospital that day delivers you. Luckily for me, it was Dr. Z so she was already well-aware of what was going on with me, having seen me in the office the morning before. She checked me and broke my water around 9am. After that, Bryce and I pretty much hung out. He actually got kind of bored sitting around and I even took some short naps. We had a nursing student from Hopkins that was observing so we chatted with her and our other nurse when they were in the room.

They both were leaving around 3pm so we were hopeful I would have the baby before then. At noon Dr. Z came to do another check (she had come in every hour) and since was still only around a 7, she decided to start me on a low drip of Pitocin. After that the contractions picked up (although I didn’t feel it) and by 1:26 I was ready to push. So, despite not really feeling more than some pressure, I did my best to get that kid moving. Apparently I did fine as it only took about 15 minutes. Everyone was impressed and I was just glad that MY labor wasn’t as bad as I had feared. I do realize that not everyone has such an experience as mine, but I would prefer all of my future children to be delivered in a like manner.

Despite only Bryce being the only family at the delivery, we actually had quite the crowd of medical personnel. I think we counted six other people—Dr. Z, my nurse, the nursing student, the student’s supervisor, and two midwives. After the baby came out we gained another person or two for him, but they were in the baby area. Its sounds like a crowd, but I hardly even noticed and wasn’t bothered by it at all.

Well, by 4:30 we were transferred to the Mother-Baby unit. Let’s just say that the experience there wasn’t quite as wonderful as in Labor and Delivery, and we are very happy to be home.
As much as I would have preferred to have had him a few weeks earlier, things worked out very well for a few reasons. 1) If I had gone into labor Thursday night, I, or some other poor woman, would have had to give birth in triage. 2) Bryce had just had a test on Monday so he didn’t have to miss much school and wasn’t stressed about having an exam right away. 3) Since I delivered on Friday, he was able to stay with me until we were discharged on Sunday without having to miss any more class. 4) Monday it decided to snow six inches so Bryce didn’t have school and was able to stay home another day. In short, we feel very blessed and are happy to have such a cute addition to our family.

Night of Delivery

I think this one is so cute--he looks so annoyed with all the pictures

Drowning in one of his sleeping outfits