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| Perfection |
My due date is here, and I sit here staring at my beautiful, perfect boy. I cannot believe that he came early, but I wouldn't want it any other way.
Labor & Delivery!
My husband and I were pretty behind on getting the nursery ready....mostly because we know he won't be sleeping in there anytime soon, especially since his room is upstairs & ours is downstairs. We finally went to Target & bought a crib and a dresser and my father came over to help get everything put together. It was a completely normal day, I'd had no signs of labor and other than a little more back pain than usual, I felt fine! We got the furniture together, had dinner, watched some basketball, my dad left and finally, around 11 or 11:30, we laid down to go to sleep. I was 36 weeks pregnant so obviously, falling asleep wasn't coming easy anymore! It took me about 30 minutes to get nice & comfortable, and then I felt a "pop" and thought I needed to pee. I got up, went to the bathroom, and headed back to bed. As soon as my head hit the pillow I felt another "pop" and felt my underwear get wet. There isn't a good way to sugar coat that...I was sure I'd peed my pants! However, since I'd just been to the bathroom, I was fairly certain that couldn't be the case. I ran to the bathroom and more came out. It took a second before I was yelling for my husband (who was ALMOST asleep) and telling him that I thought my water had broken. I knew that we would need to go to the hospital sooner than if I'd just started feeling contractions, but since I hadn't felt a single contraction, I didn't want to rush to the hospital. I even laid back down thinking that I could sleep. But as soon as I laid down I felt what I can only describe as period cramps and we chose to go ahead and get ready to go to the hospital. I had no idea if those were contractions but we wanted to be safe.
We got to the hospital around 2 am (I was officially 37 weeks at this point) and were immediately admitted. I was told that I wouldn't be able to get up & move around because my water had broken. When I was admitted I was 2 cm dilated, so we were prepared for a LONG day. I just knew it would take all day (though I should've known better, I also just knew I was going to go past my due date!). We sat in the labor & delivery room with my contractions being pretty mild for about 2 hours before I started feeling some pretty intense pain. The nurse was telling me about my pain management options, and I told her that while I wanted the epidural, I really wanted to be farther along in labor before I got it. So I was given meds to dull the pain a little. When these didn't work (at this point I was making Chris watch the monitor to tell me when my contractions were ending so I could have a moment of relief), the nurse came back in and asked if I wanted the epidural, I told her "well I really don't want to look like a wuss". I seriously was avoiding feeling relief because I didn't want to look weak. The nurse reminded me I don't have to be a hero if it is hurting, and the pain was getting VERY intense, so I told her to go ahead, I was ready for some relief. While the epidural was being placed, the nurse & anesthesiologist were discussing whether or not I was going to be one of "those" women. Of course, I was thinking they meant that the epidural wasn't going to take, or something worse, but they meant one of those women who comes in and has a baby within a few hours. They asked about my contractions & I told the nurse that I'd felt at one point like my body was about to start pushing...whether I was ready or not. She told me that if I felt like that again, to tell her, because my body may be telling me it's time to push. I obviously freaked out just a little. I was so thankful to have gotten the epidural and needed it to start ASAP because I was afraid he was coming quickly! The nurse came back in and checked me, with my contractions feeling the way they did she figured I had progressed pretty rapidly. By 6 am, I'd gone from 2 to 9 centimeters...the nurse actually checked me and said "I can't feel your cervix...." I was getting pretty nervous. The delivery process had always been the scariest part...but at least the epidural was magic and I wasn't in pain.
At around 7 or 7:30 there was a shift change and a new nurse came in, however the first nurse decided to stay and help out as well. They informed me that the doctor would be there in about an hour. I was going to be a mom soon! Around 8:30 they told me I was 10 centimeters...they had me push a few times before the doctor arrived, I started around 8:40 and my perfect little man entered the world at 9:15 AM! It was the most magical experience, I cannot believe that I was so worried!
I will say that the most challenging thing that we have dealt with thus far has been bilirubin/jaundice. Because he was born 3 weeks early, he was more likely to develop jaundice. His levels got to a dangerous place, so we were admitted to the NICU. He was placed under the lights, and on a "bili-blanket" to get his numbers back down. I was an absolute mess, I couldn't believe that we had to take our little boy back to the hospital within 2 days of going home. Now that we are home and he's healthy, I'm so incredibly thankful that they had us take him in. The nurses & doctors were so amazing with us.
The past few weeks have been the hardest but most rewarding of my life. I wanted to be a mother for so long, it's an absolute dream! Being a mom is so special...every time my little man looks at me & smiles I am so incredibly proud of what my husband & I made! :)
Well....this was a particularly long one...but I wanted to make sure I got it all down so that I always have something to look back at!
Hopefully I'll be able to post again soon, but life with a newborn is always an adventure! Ha!
XOXO.
