Happy Birthday Carver!

June 30:  My labor with Carver started Saturday night (while we were playing dominoes with my family!)  I was definitely having regular contractions and they were getting stronger... however I had been wrong before!  I tried (unsuccessfully) not to get my hopes up.  When we were ready for bed I told my Mom that I thought we'd be going to the hospital during the night (and I really REALLY hoped I was right!)  After everyone went to bed, I spent some time cleaning up.  I decided to lay down--I fell asleep for about 2 hours.  When I woke up I was so bummed thinking I was wrong again but I quickly realized that I was still having contractions.
 


40 Weeks Pregnant--Ready to meet my Baby!

It was about 2am at this point.  I decided to finish getting things ready and try to let Marc sleep as much as possible.  I woke him up around 4 and said I thought we should try to head to the hospital.  Marc got up and took a shower while I finished pulling all of my things together.  We left for the hospital around 5:15.

 

 

When we walked in to the hospital--Marc had my suitcase and pillow and I had my bag with what I wanted during labor.  We could barely fit in the triage room.  I nurse walked by and commented "You must be pretty sure you're staying."  I was thinking--I better be staying!  She hooked me up to the monitor and confirmed that I was indeed contracting every 3 minutes regularly.  When she checked me I was 3 cm (disappointed by this--I was hoping to be further and wondering if that meant it could be awhile).  She assured me that I wasn't going home and that she could feel baby's head.  Around 6 we were finally in a real room.

 



I planned to walk and try to do things naturally as I did with the previous three... however with each passing minute I was less sure that I could actually accomplish that goal.  People tend to think that each delivery gets easier--in my opinion, each delivery gets faster, not really easier!  I decided to lay in bed while I got my first dose of penicillin (because I tested positive for group b strep).  The goal was to get 2 doses, 3 hours apart before baby was born.  When I was done with the iv I attempted to get up to walk but couldn't do it.  I was able to get some relief by sitting on the ball.  When the nurses changed shifts I met my new nurse Kathy and told her I wasn't so sure I could make it without the epidural--she was very encouraging.  She checked me around 7:30 and I was 5 cm.  She said "Baby will be here before 9--that's my guess."  I decided to try and make it with no epidural but opted for a dose of pain med in my iv. 
 

 

 

The pain medicine didn't make the contractions less painful but it helped me really relax.  I almost fell asleep between each contraction (still every 3 minutes).  Marc went for coffee and Kathy told me Dr. Eagen would be arriving around 8--she said as soon as he broke my water I should be ready to push.  

Around 8:15 the doctor came in--we talked for a few minutes and I was on board with having my water broken and pushing out a baby!  He broke my water around 8:30 and then came my least favorite (and hardest) part--pushing.  Marc was with me, 2 nurses, and the doctor.  It took about 15 minutes.  I truly felt like I couldn't do it but everyone was so encourages.  My nurses were amazing--telling me just how and when to push.  Having this little boy in my arms was the best feeling in the world!  I got to hold him before they took him to be cleaned and weighed.

Daddy's First Snuggle

 

 

He weighed 8 lbs., 15 oz. but the nurses told me that he pooped before he was weighed so I could have credit for a 9 lb. baby!  One nurse also said, "Wow, you have a 2 week old!"  After he was cleaned and swaddled I got to nurse him and he was a great eater right away.

 



My Labor Nurse--Kathy (She is also a mom of 4!)

Because I didn't make it long enough to get the 2nd dose of penicillin, he had to have blood drawn so they could monitor him for infection.  That was hard to watch--it took 2 ladies almost 45 minutes to get it done, my poor baby!  They finished in time for him to get his bath and stay in the warmer before his brother, sisters, grandparents, and aunts arrived to meet him.  Everything was done right in my room so I didn't have to be away from my sweet baby!

 

Carver's birth is another day (on a short list of dates) that I will remember vividly for years to come.  I loved being able to snuggle my sweet boy... he was worth the wait for sure!