Holden Is Here!

I kept wondering if this baby would come early and surprise us simply because I was much more uncomfortable this time around and he was sitting so low to begin with for so long. Also, since my body had been through this previously, I thought it might get into gear earlier. At the same time, I kept thinking of things going the same way as they had with my first pregnancy, because that is all I had known for myself in this situation. I heard something different from anyone I asked because it’s just something you can’t predict accurately every single time.

So, when I started wondering if I’d go into labor the night of March 4, 2012, I thought it was just the same round of questions crossing my mind that had so often during this pregnancy. And, to be honest, they probably were. There was no real reason why I would have gone into labor, other than just a hunch and the same discomfort I’d been having up to that point.

Jesse was sleeping out on the couch because neither of us was sleeping well during the later part of the pregnancy. He would get up early each morning to go to work, so when I woke up at 4:15am, I thought I possibly woke up because I had heard him. However, I was having a contraction. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for awhile, so I figured this was one of them. I fell back asleep and woke up periodically to more pains and went through different cycles of thought. Is this the real thing? Is this the same as the false labor pains I had been feeling? Do I have to go to the bathroom? When was the last pain? Will I be able to sleep until Fletcher has to get up? I also wandered around the bedroom to see if walking changed anything. (It didn’t.)

By 6am I was awake and looking at the clock, trying my best to time things out. They seemed to be long enough to fit the 40-60 second window and they were about 10 minutes apart. Once Fletcher woke up, I was distracted tending to him, but kept glancing at the clock to see how often the contractions were coming. I was moving quite slowly, unable to accomplish our typical morning routine in a timely manner.

While eating breakfast with Fletcher, I gave Jesse a call at work to warn him that I might be calling him after I went to my scheduled doctor appointment that was at 9am. I also had to ask him what he wanted me to put in the hospital bag. (I had asked him for a month or so to put his items in there, but it hadn’t happened yet.) I was very slow moving around trying to gather things and Mom was helping me get Fletcher ready for school. I wound up having her take him there while I stretched and got dressed for my appointment.

On the way to the doctor’s office, I was still having contractions. The wait wasn’t long before I was called back. The nurse could tell that I was contracting and went through the routine faster than normal. She spoke with the midwife, letting her know that she may want to check me before other patients. When she came into the examination room, I was crying with nerves. I felt a bit nervous about the entire thing. I told her that I felt like a wimp, but these were pretty painful.

When she checked me, she told me, “Well, you are going to have to go straight to the hospital. You are dilated 6cm and your water is bulging.”

“Really? So I’m not a wimp?”

“No. You’re not a wimp. I could tell you were probably in labor when I came into the room.”

Then, she asked if anyone was with me and proceeded to go outside and get my mom to bring her back to the exam room. She called the hospital to let them know I was coming. Then, we gathered my belongings and made our way to the car. I called Jesse at work to let him know to go to the hospital. When I told him I was 6cm, he said he was heading straight to the door.

I directed Mom to the hospital parking lot and we asked for directions to the parking garage. She was very nervous that I might have the baby in the car or on the walk into the hospital. We found our way to Labor and Delivery, where I checked in. I had already pre-registered, but there was still some paperwork to be handled. I contracted so bad sitting there that I started crying. The receptionist decided she could finish the paperwork with me in the delivery room and had me go straight back.

Within minutes I was in a room and in a gown, answering so many questions that were rapidly fired at me. At the same time they were prepping my body for the monitors and delivery. Jesse arrived in no time. We discussed with my mom what we should try and do for Fletcher. In the end, the school said they would keep him so she could stay at the hospital. In fact, she stayed in the delivery room and was able to witness her first delivery! (She had delivered four children herself, but never witnessed a delivery.)

The doctor came in to check me and confirmed my status. Soon after that I was getting the epidural. This was the part that took the longest. The medicine was not going to the correct spot. They had to try three times before it would take correctly. The first two times my heart rate went from 80 to 111 and then 80 to 112. The third time, it remained steady. Epidurals are not fun, but typically worth it! While Jesse and Mom were waiting outside for the epidural to be completed, Jesse spotted the nurse that assisted me during labor with Fletcher. She ended up being in the room when Holden was born too!

Around 10:45am the doctor checked me again and my water broke. My first question was whether there was meconium or not in it and this time, there wasn’t so NICU was not called in. I told the group that my water broke around the same time the morning my son was born. They asked when he was delivered and I told them 3:31pm. One nurse said, “Well, you’ll be having this one much earlier.”

As I lay there, I felt nauseous, but I never did vomit. The meds made my right leg dead weight again. It didn’t feel equal on the left side. So, they said gravity sometimes helps and had me lay on my left. I continued to have excruciating pain in my lower left abdomen area. It came and went with the contractions. So, they called in more medicine, which didn’t make a difference. I finally moved to my back to try and alleviate it. They were telling me that it must be a “hot spot,” that sometimes happens if the epidural doesn’t reach certain spots. I could feel everything in that one area.

At that time, the doctor came to check me again and said, “Well, this explains the pain. His head is right here. You need to get ready to push.” I was so excited to hear those words! I just wanted the pain to end. The end of the delivery bed dropped down and the lights dropped from the ceiling. They asked if I wanted to see in the mirror. “Umm…no. I’m not that kind of patient.” (I don’t think I could handle watching all of that.)

I pushed through four sets of contractions, taking a break here and there. During one of the breaks, the nurse asked if I’d like to feel the head. I thought it was weird, but how often do you get that chance? So I did. It was strange, but she reminded me how cool it was that I was about to bring that life into this world. And that truly is a miraculous thought!

A couple seconds later, Holden was out of me and on my tummy! It was so strange! They cleaned him up and Jesse got to cut the umbilical cord. (With Fletcher, the doctor cut the cord and NICU took him right away. He wasn’t just plopped on my tummy and Jesse just cut more of the cord off on the other side of the room.) We had gotten to the hospital after 9:30am and had a baby at 11:54am! He was 8 pounds and 20.5 inches long with a head circumference of 13 and 3/4 inches. His Apgar Scores were 9 and then 10! The nurse said he looked like a movie baby because his color was so good.

We took lots of pictures after the doctor stitched me up and cleaned me up. (I tore along my episiotomy line while pushing.) Mom left to get Fletcher. Jesse started spreading the good news. I held my baby boy. I was so happy and relieved that everything went well. He latched on really well, so the nursing process had already begun.

While I was resting and the everyone was finishing up their work, one nurse hugged the other and told her he was happy to see that she was happier than she was earlier in the morning. She started telling me how the doctor and she were just talking about how special this delivery was to them and how much they needed it today. She went on to share that she had a sick patient just before me and her baby had died, but they had to deliver it. Of course I started to cry. She said that they were all just really down. That wasn’t the way they wanted to start their Monday morning, and she was upset when she was told that she had a woman coming in that was 6cm already. However, her spirits were lifted when she met me and my family and saw the excitement in my mom and Jesse and how it was so comforting to help a couple get a little healthy bundle of joy to add to their family. I was very moved by this conversation.

Shortly, we found ourselves in the recovery room. We tried to sleep while the baby was in the nursery for a couple hours. But you know how sleep and hospitals don’t mix. After we were all settled, it was time to have the never-ending vital checks and recovery checks and try to nurse and try to sleep and get something to eat and take endless pictures and spread the news via text, email, and Facebook. (When Fletcher was born, we just sent a text and I emailed later when we were home.)

That night, I found myself thinking of the patient before me that was also somewhere nearby, recovering her body from labor and delivery, but grieving the loss of life for her baby. I was so thankful for my precious baby boy that seemed to make all the pain and recovery so much easier to deal with.

The next day, he got to see Grandma again and got to meet Oma and Opa. He also got a special visit from our friend and neighbor, Jenn. After one more night (not as peaceful as the first…because he wouldn’t sleep), we were sent home.

The only health issues we had to deal with in the hospital were Jaundice and trouble latching on, but they were both taken care of quite quickly.