James Michael's Birth Story

My poor blog has taken such a backseat in my life the last...like..year that I didn't even blog about my pregnancy with Baby J!! Basically:

•  I got huge and everyone always said I looked like I was having twins or about to pop (which, you know, feels awesome). 
• I worked out until the third trimester and couldn't anymore. 
• I was more sick in the beginning this time than I was when I was pregnant with Emily. 
• He kicked less and stretched more than Emily. 
• Not as much heartburn until the very end. 
• I get really bad pelvic bone pain that makes it hard to walk or move or do anything while pregnant and it was worse this time than when I was pregnant with Emily. Therefore, I was MORE THAN READY to have him whenever he felt like coming.

 Luckily, he did decide to be nice to me and came ten days early!! Here is my labor story!

My due date was May 11th. That's today- Mother's Day! But we've been blessed enough to have had James since May 1st. What started out as a normal "I'm so uncomfortable, get this baby out of me now" day turned into an exciting day we didn't expect! I had an appointment on Wednesday, June 30th to go to my weekly OBGYN appointment to see how baby was measuring, hear the heartbeat, etc. Before I left for my appointment I took this belly picture. It was my 38 week picture.

At my 11:15 am appointment, I basically had a mini meltdown and was crying to my nurse practitioner about how miserable I felt physically and how the waiting was killing me. She was very nice and understanding. I told her that I didn't want to have her check to see how dilated I was this time because it hurts and doesn't even mean anything as far as when the baby would come. Then I told her that there was a slight chance my water might have been leaking (it wasn't obvious) since the night before and so she took two samples, tested one that was positive, then left the room to check the other one (leaving me freaking out and getting excited because if they were both positive for water leakage I knew they would send me to L&D to have the baby). She came back in the room and said "It's your water leaking, you're going to head to L&D now!" I was shocked and so thrilled. I left the appointment with a huge smile on my face. I had just, that morning, run this scenario with Michael as a "what if" because I had our one car with me.

So anyway, I called Michael and said "Remember that scenario we talked about this morning? Well...it's happening. We're having the baby!" And he didn't believe me at first. Then he started freaking out. I called my mom to tell her so she could start heading out because she was going to watch Emily for us. Then I called my friend Heather and she was nice enough to drive Michael and Emily to the hospital, drop off Michael, then turn around and take Emily back to our house because by then my mom got there. Crazy!! During all that, I was checking into L&D and getting my hospital gown on (my nurse called it my Victorias Secret gown and undies or something haha). I snapped this picture in the bathroom.

I look happy here because I was! I was so thrilled to be finally having him and that it was early! Emily was five days late. Also, my contractions hadn't started so I wasn't in any pain as far as labor goes.

Michael got to the hospital just after I was checked to see how dilated I was. I was only 2.5 cm dilated so they had me walk the halls of L&D for an hour to try to get my contractions going and I only felt a couple in that hour. During my walk I was sneaking bites of a sandwich I made Michael get from the hospital downstairs because I was starving and labor hadn't even really started yet but I wasn't "allowed" to eat since I was admitted already. I hadn't had lunch yet.

When they checked me again I was somewhere around 4.5 cm so the walking moved things along but as soon as I layed down again I didn't progress much at all for several hours.

I was on a constant penicillin IV and then they started talking about giving me pitocin since my water had leaked the night before and they were worried about infection if I didn't have the baby soon. I had already been thinking I would probably get the epidural this time around (I did it naturally with Emily) but when they said that about giving me pitocin I knew I wanted it. I had heard how much more intense contractions are with pitocin and I wanted nothing to do with that!!

So they hooked up some liquids to my IV before I could get the epidural, then when I was getting the epidural I was shaking so bad. I am sure it was nerves, not cold. I got the shakes several different times in the hospital. Anyway, the pressure of the epidural actually did hurt but once I was hooked up I was fine. The nurse who put my catheter in was in serious danger of getting punched in the face. I hated her. She had no bedside manner, didn't wait until I was numb enough, then had to check it again to see if she put it in right. I was cranking up my epidural so I wouldn't feel it. I used that as my numbing guide. If I could feel my catheter, I cranked it up. I LOVED the epidural. I didn't mind one bit being numb down to my feet. After being in pain and so uncomfortable for nine months, I welcomed this break. It was awesome to see my contractions on the chart get closer together and more intense, feel the pressure in my belly, but not be in any pain. I was watching House on my phone and Michael was watching The Godfather on his lol. We couldn't sleep (sleep is near impossible in hospitals because of the constant coming and going, questions, etc.) but we rested well into the night in our dim hospital room.

At some point, probably around 3:00 am, they checked me again and felt that I had more water that needed to break so that the baby's head would come down more and then I would dilate quickly. They popped the water (another reason to be grateful I had the epidural) and then left this thing in me that better tracked my contractions. The pressure of THAT was weird. Every time I had a contraction it moved. So weird. The pressure of that got more and more intense but it didn't hurt so I didn't think much of it. When they checked me again (probably around 3:50 am) they freaked out because apparently the pressure was THE BABY'S HEAD. I was crowning!! They started frantically telling me not to push, I told them I wasn't but he was coming anyway. They were waiting for the midwife to come in who was delivering another baby next door. She came running in a few seconds later, they put my feet up in the stirrup things (ouch...), told me to push..I gave half a push and he came FLYING OUT. I didn't even really need to push! I couldn't believe it. They exclaimed, "he's huge!!" and the midwife said "it's a girl!"...we had a second of panic until they double checked and said "no, it's a boy" hahaha! They put him on my chest for a couple of minutes, then they asked if I wanted to see how much he weighs. I said yes and they took him for his measurements.

James Michael was born at 3:53 am on May 1st (my brother Brian's birthday too!) weighing 9 lbs and 21" long. I kept saying I couldn't believe I had a nine pound baby!!! And he was early!

We love our little boy so much. He's seriously the sweetest, most mellow baby ever. He barely ever cries and he is totally fine with cuddling, sitting in his swing, or laying in his bassinet. He's just such an angel and a total blessing. He's the perfect addition to our little family.

Happy 1st Birthday, Emily!!

One year ago today...

Words can not express how in love we are with you, Emily. You had us wrapped around your finger from the moment we held you in our arms (if not before then) and kissed your perfect head. We love you more than we can tell you and you have made us so very happy. With one little girl, our worlds shifted and our lives filled with joy. You continue to make our lives complete every day with the sweet spirit you bring into our home. We love you so much.

Happy First Birthday, Emily!!

Love,

Your Mommy and Daddy

Emily's Birth Story

**I'm not really going to filter what I say in this, so if you don't like the details which can be TMI, feel free not to read it.**

On Saturday, Sept. 24th, my parents were at our house visiting for a while. Michael had just left to go to the gym and I was (of course) whining to my parents about still being pregnant at 40 weeks and 4 days. I hated that I couldn't do anything but wait for my little girl to enter the world on her own time. I had to continue to try and be patient and in the meantime deal with the discomforts of being so far along. My mom recommended that I take a nice, long, hot shower to relax. I took her advice and got in the shower.

When I got out of the shower at about 4:45 pm and put my underwear on, I noticed...wetness. I was pretty sure my water broke. I had my mom come in my room and I showed her. She was pretty sure it was my water too. I called the Labor and Delivery line and asked them what I should do. They told me it sounded like my water broke and that I should come in to be safe. I called Michael to let him know he needed to come home because my water broke and we needed to go to the hospital. I went to the bathroom and lost my plug. Soon after that, my contractions started. I hurried and got dressed (in my moms dress- the only thing that fit me since my clothes were in the dryer) and my mom insisted on taking one last belly bump picture as well as a picture of how many inches around I was. As if I could ever forget. Ha! I grew a lot in the last 4 days of pregnancy.

I remember being sweaty from my nerves. This is pretty much what was going through my head. "I'm finally in labor! Why wasn't Michael home yet? Am I going to be able to do this? How long will my labor last? Am I really in labor or is this another false alarm? Why is Michael still not here?! Did I remember to pack everything? Poor Jexi. She is going to worry and I'm going to miss her while I'm gone. What is taking Michael so long?!"

Meanwhile, I was having consistent contractions at about 5 minutes apart. Finally, about an hour after I had first called him to come home, Michael walked in the door. He was surprised that it was the real deal, not another false alarm. He hurried and got in the shower, we packed the car, and headed to the hospital. The contractions were now 3-4 minutes apart as we were driving the 20 minutes to the hospital. I felt the pain in my lower belly and in my back. I wasn't expecting that. I thought it would be just in my belly. It hurt so bad to sit there in the car! Longest drive ever. Michael was driving like a maniac to try and get me there faster. Don't worry, he was being careful. Careful but fast and efficient.

When we got there, Michael wheeled me in in a wheelchair. I was so emberassed. I hated how people stared at us as Michael ran through the doors of the hospital. I was hoping and praying I could make it to L&D before I got another contraction so I wouldn't have to have one while people watched. I can't remember now if I did or not. I do remember how long it seemed to take to get situated in our room. Do you know how hard it is to try and pee in a cup for the nurse while having contractions? Ugh. Finally I was able to lay down and relax a bit in between contractions while answering their annoying questions like "Do you smoke? Drink? Have any allergies? Any complications?" The list of questions was endless. Another problem? I was already hungry and labor had just started. It was going to be a long night since they don't let you have anything but ice chips while you are in labor. I was able to convince Michael to let me have a bite of his granola bar though.

When they checked me to see how dilated and effaced I was, I was told I was practically at 5 cm and "paper thin", which I assume means fully effaced. I was already halfway done! Nice! The pain in my hand and arm from my IV with the penicillin hurt worse than the contractions, even though they tried to dilute it for me. It literally felt like my arm was on fire. I had to have it though because I tested positive for Strep B. They asked me if I wanted an epidural and I told them that so far the contractions were manageable but I might change my mind later on. I met the anesthesiologist when he came in the room to say "hi". I tried to be as pleasant as possible with him, just in case I needed him later. :)

The contractions at that point felt like the really bad cramps I get the first day or two of my periods. Do they hurt really bad? Oh, yes. But could I handle it? Yep. My nurse was awesome. She fully supported me the whole time. They were impressed with how tough I was and how well I handled labor. Thank you, thank you. It was awesome feeling like I could do it without the epidural. I might get some bragging rights after all! It's an empowering feeling.

When I reached the point in my labor (probably around 7 or 8 cm and about 4 hours into it) that the contractions were about 2 minutes apart and excruciatingly painful, I told Michael I might need the epidural after all. Then after each contraction I would say, "Maybe I don't need it, I don't know. I don't know what to do!" Then I would change my mind again. And again. And again. My nurse said she could put some pain meds in my IV to help me relax and be able to handle labor better. I was in so much pain I was starting to hyperventilate, which was bad because baby and I both needed more oxygen and when you get that worked up, it kind of stalls labor. She would make me look her in the eye and breath through it. When I would scream at her that I was trying, she stayed calm. Michael was also an amazing, supportive labor couch. He was right there next to me the entire time. When I wanted silence, he would be quiet. When I didn't want to be touched, he left me alone. Whatever I wanted, he did.

After I got some pain meds through my IV, they turned down the lights and put a wet paper towel over my eyes to help me calm down. I still felt the awfulness of the contractions, but I was able to kind of moan through the pain instead of scream, haha. I was able to handle it better, like she promised. The best part was the minute or two break in between contractions when I felt like I was high. I was so relaxed I could almost sleep. It felt good to have my mom, Michael, and the nurse, all talking gently and lightly stroking my legs and stuff to soothe me.

After a while, it was time to push. My mom left the room, my midwife (who was really great, too) came in, and we got started. It took a long time. I think maybe an hour and a half to two hours of pushing. I kept pushing my legs against them so they made me hold my own and pull them toward me so I wouldn't waste all my energy on the wrong thing. It was so hard to focus and do it right. I also had to keep trying to figure out how to not gasp for air after running out of it at the end of each contraction because when you gasp, the baby goes back in a bit. They kept telling me to breath slowly. It was near impossible to get it together enough to breath right, push right, and hold my own legs. I was thoroughly exhausted. They brought a mirror to show me Emily's head to help motivate me. They even put my hand on it once. I was too tired to fully grasp what was going on. All I could focus on was getting her out.

I don't really remember this, but my mom said that there were a lot of nurses in the room that were pretty much my own personal cheer squad. I do remember hearing about another girl in labor who had been there since midnight the night before and she was finally pushing too. The race was on. A little spark of competition was enough for me to give a few last pushes and out she came! Oh, the stinging pain! But who cares?! It's over and she was finally here!

While it did hurt to get stitched up and have to do all the other afterbirth things, I was able to overlook it because in my arms, I held my beautiful daughter for the first time. Michael cut the umbilical cord, which surprised me. He isn't normally one to even be able to talk about things like that without the blood draining from his face. But he was able to flip a switch and watch labor with ease and then cut the cord. He stepped up into his role of fatherhood immediately.

Emily was born on Sunday, September 25th at 1:14 am. She weighed 7lbs. 3 oz. and measured 19 3/4" long. She was the perfect size and had a beautiful round head and minimal bruising and swelling. It was amazing to see how beautiful she was from the start.