Friday, February 13, 2015
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Taylor's Birth Story
Before Miss Taylor, all of my kids' birth stories were essentially the same: pass due date, go to the hospital, get Pitocin, get epidural, and 8-12 hours later... have a baby. I fully anticipated this baby being the same.
I knew she would be late - I told the doctor so the first time I met him. The pregnancy went really well. I was moderately sick at the beginning, and lost a few pounds, but the nausea was gone by the end of the first trimester. I never felt super uncomfortable - probably because I never got very big. The day she was born, I only weighed 2 pounds more than I did the day I got pregnant. Doctor visits were very routine, with everything looking good and healthy. This doctor did an ultrasound almost every visit, so it was fun to see her so often. I will confess that I was hoping for a boy, but ultrasound after ultrasound showed otherwise. I think I've come to terms with it. ;-)
The doctor started checking my cervix at 37 weeks. Nothing was happening. I wasn't surprised, but he was. I guess he expected different with a fourth pregnancy. At 38 weeks, he told me I was dilated to a 1, and 50% effaced. I was so excited!! That was the first time I have ever dilated AT ALL before my due date. So that whole week I was all anxious and antsy thinking that this time might actually be different. Every little twinge was suddenly me thinking I might be going into labor. I wasn't. At 39 weeks, I was exactly the same. The doctor had told me in the beginning that he wanted to induce me at 39 weeks. He wanted to avoid the same situation that happened with Deacon where his collar bone broke at delivery since he was so big. Well, Taylor wasn't measuring big at all, so he left it up to me whether or not I wanted to be induced. I told him we might as well let her grow a bit more. I didn't want to evict her before her time was even up. I was also still hopeful that I might go into labor on my own. At my 40 week appointment, the doctor was shocked to see me. I told him I would go late! He did an ultrasound and said that the fluid was getting lower and the baby was getting bigger and he didn't want to let her go another week. I was fine with that, and told him to go ahead and schedule an induction.
Jason and I had discussed it, and he really wanted the induction to be done on Thursday afternoon. That would give him the most time off while taking the least amount of sick days. (He was planning on taking 6.) It would also get us out of the hospital by Saturday morning. That was important to me because my parents would be watching my kids and they had to leave out of town for a choir festival on Saturday afternoon. I was worried about all the upheaval for Deacon already, and didn't want him to have to be bounced around from house to house. Well, I found out that that is not how induction works at Mercy SW. They call your doctor and tell him your appointment time, and then you have to call that morning and see if they will actually be able to honor the appointment. It usually takes several days of calling before you eventually get in. They do it first come, first served, no matter what your due date is. If I had known that, I would have had them start trying to schedule it the previous week! Anyway, that was annoying and was going to put a kink in our plans. My doctor's appointment was on Tuesday, and by Thursday morning (Oct 9), the hospital still hadn't even called with a tentative appointment. I was having a lot of pretty good contractions, but I knew I wasn't in labor. Jason wanted me to just go try to get in, but I felt guilty about "cutting in line" like that. But, I talked to my mom and Jason and a good friend of mine, and they convinced me I was legit. I also prayed about it and felt like it was what we should do. So we ended up at the hospital at about 12:30pm on Thursday, October 9th. They monitored me for a bit, but my contractions weren't in an active labor pattern, and they didn't have any open beds, so they were going to send me home. I was surprised, because I had felt really good about coming. I told Jason that I still thought I would be admitted. The nurse said that they had to have a medical reason to keep me and induce me, and there wasn't one. Being past your due date doesn't count until it's been 9 days, and it had only been 5. She called my doctor to let him know they were sending me home, and he ordered an ultrasound just to make sure everything was okay first. They did a very detailed ultrasound. After the doctor got the results, the nurse came back in to tell me I was staying. Apparently, there was nothing emergent, but a few things were borderline enough to warrant my admission.
I finally got out of that awful triage bed and into a delivery room at about 6:30pm on the 9th. At this point, I still thought there might be a chance that she'd be born on the 9th. Each of my kids had been a little bit faster than the last, and I had actually made some progress on my own this time, with way more contractions than ever before. However, they didn't come in to start Pitocin until 8:30. I had been there since 12:30, hadn't eaten too much before then, and was starving. So they let me eat a sandwich while they gave me fluids and didn't actually start Pitocin until 9:30. At this point, I was certain that she would be born the next day - 10/10. Cool birthday.
I was on Pitocin for about 15 hours. It was so strange!! Nothing happened for several hours at first. Then I started having painful contractions every 2-5 minutes, but they weren't crazy painful and they never developed a regular pattern. They were painful enough that I couldn't really relax. I asked for an epidural a couple of times, but they explained that they can't give it to you until you are actually in labor because it's not good to have an epidural for too long. They offered me some IV pain medication. I remembered getting some when I was in labor with Deacon and it did NOTHING. But, I went ahead and said yes anyway. It took the pain away completely for about 2.5 hours. Then I got another dose and it lasted another 2.5 hours. I guess it worked so much better because I still wasn't in labor. Anyway, I was able to get a little bit of rest, but those delivery beds are SO uncomfortable, and I was so nervous and anxious about why the Pitocin wasn't working. They nurses were really confused too. They did explain that inductions don't always work, but it was strange that I had had 3 previous successful inductions. My body should know what to do by now! After 15 hours on Pitocin, I was only dilated to a 2.
At about 2:30pm, a nurse came in and told me that they needed to stop the Pitocin. It wasn't working. They were going to try something else. There is something called Cervidil that they insert vaginally and it is supposed to help ripen the cervix for induction. It needed to be in for 12 hours. I was so exhausted, stressed out, hungry, and uncomfortable at this point that I about cried thinking about being there for another 12 hours. The alternative, however, was a C-section and I really didn't want that. One plus was that while I was on Cervidil I could eat real food. Also, the nurse said that many times the Cervidil itself will start labor - particularly for women who have given birth before. They put it in and the wait started at 3:30pm. I barely slept that night. I kept waiting to go into labor.... nothing. Not even any cramps. I just hoped it was doing something. I was so over being in the hospital. I was counting the minutes til 3:30am. It FINALLY arrived. The nurse came in and took it out and checked me. Still a 2!!! She didn't seem phased by it and just said I needed another 12 hour dose, put a new one in, and left. Oh my goodness, I about had a breakdown.
I finally was able to doze off for a little bit, and then a new nurse came at the 7am shift change. Her name was Danielle, and I truly believe that God sent her to me. The first thing she asked me was how I would feel about taking a shower. Was she serious?? I had been chained by monitors to that crazy uncomfortable bed for 2 days, and a shower sounded like the best thing in the world. She explained that Cervidil wasn't nearly as potent a medication as Pitocin, and they didn't need the constant monitoring. She just wanted me to be willing to be monitored for 30 minutes on, 2 hours off. On my two hours off, I could shower, walk around, stretch, etc. The baby had been looking really good on the monitors the whole time, which is why they hadn't insisted on a C-section yet. It was also why she felt comfortable letting me be off the monitors. I was so, so grateful to her. She was chipper and funny and she really cared. It was more work for her to come in and hook/unhook me so often. The previous nurse hadn't been willing to do it. She seriously saved my sanity that day. I felt so much love for her.
What would have been a miserable, long day, was actually somewhat enjoyable. At this point, we knew we were in it for the long haul, so Jason went and got some Redbox movies. We ate, talked, watched movies, walked around... I got my shower!!! The time passed much quicker than it otherwise would have.
At 3:30pm on 10/11, I was dilated to a 4 and somewhat more thinned out. They felt comfortable starting the Pitocin. This time, it went much more like I was used to. Contractions started getting painful much more quickly. They still had to get special permission to give me more than the "maximum" dose, though. Before her shift changed at 7pm, Danielle made sure I finally got the epidural. The anesthesiologist was really cranky and kinda rude. He kept saying "Don't jump. Don't jump." We discussed later that that just makes you more anxious waiting for it to hurt bad enough that you're going to want to jump! Danielle was great and held my hands and talked me through it. Again, so grateful for her.
It was the worst epidural I've had. It mostly just settled in my right leg. I couldn't move it at all. I've never been that numb before. I could still feel quite a bit in my left leg, although it was much better than nothing. I was able to get a little sleep that night. At one point during the night, my new nurse came in and checked me. I was still only to a 5. She took the time to strip my membranes several times. When she checked me again at about 6:30 the next morning, I was to a 7 and almost completely effaced. She was so excited! :) At 7:30, the doctor FINALLY showed up. (I had only seen him once for about a minute on the first night.) He broke my water and things really started moving. It was SOOOO painful!! The most pain I have ever, ever had. That dumb half-epidural... Anyway, things moved quickly from there and after about 7 pushes, Miss Taylor Lynn was born at 8:30 am on Sunday, October 12th. Brooklyn's birthday!! We tried to avoid that, but she had other plans. 10/12/14 is a pretty cool date to be born, though.
I was so happy and relieved that Taylor was finally here!! They had a NICU team in the room in case there was a problem with her shoulders getting stuck like with Deacon. They took her right away instead of giving her to me like usual. She took a couple of minutes before giving a good cry like they like, but her APGAR scores were good and she looked just great. Little peanut was only 19.5 inches long and weight 7lbs 10 ounces - my smallest by far! You would think that my due date was off, but I know for a fact that it wasn't. She just wanted to be different I guess.
The new nurse cleaned her up some, put a hat on her, and wrapped her up like a burrito before finally handing her to me. I thought that was REALLY weird, because there were signs all over the place talking about how and why the hospital practices skin to skin right after birth. That's the way it has always been with my others. Oh well, I just unwrapped her and put her on my chest and nursed her right away. I had been a little indifferent about the pregnancy the whole time. I didn't really feel pregnant because there weren't many symptoms, and I was always hoping that the ultrasounds were wrong about the baby being a girl. Once she was born, though, I felt instant love and confirmation that she was exactly the little one who needed to come to our family. She's a beautiful, perfect baby, and I am so, so grateful for her!
I knew she would be late - I told the doctor so the first time I met him. The pregnancy went really well. I was moderately sick at the beginning, and lost a few pounds, but the nausea was gone by the end of the first trimester. I never felt super uncomfortable - probably because I never got very big. The day she was born, I only weighed 2 pounds more than I did the day I got pregnant. Doctor visits were very routine, with everything looking good and healthy. This doctor did an ultrasound almost every visit, so it was fun to see her so often. I will confess that I was hoping for a boy, but ultrasound after ultrasound showed otherwise. I think I've come to terms with it. ;-)
The doctor started checking my cervix at 37 weeks. Nothing was happening. I wasn't surprised, but he was. I guess he expected different with a fourth pregnancy. At 38 weeks, he told me I was dilated to a 1, and 50% effaced. I was so excited!! That was the first time I have ever dilated AT ALL before my due date. So that whole week I was all anxious and antsy thinking that this time might actually be different. Every little twinge was suddenly me thinking I might be going into labor. I wasn't. At 39 weeks, I was exactly the same. The doctor had told me in the beginning that he wanted to induce me at 39 weeks. He wanted to avoid the same situation that happened with Deacon where his collar bone broke at delivery since he was so big. Well, Taylor wasn't measuring big at all, so he left it up to me whether or not I wanted to be induced. I told him we might as well let her grow a bit more. I didn't want to evict her before her time was even up. I was also still hopeful that I might go into labor on my own. At my 40 week appointment, the doctor was shocked to see me. I told him I would go late! He did an ultrasound and said that the fluid was getting lower and the baby was getting bigger and he didn't want to let her go another week. I was fine with that, and told him to go ahead and schedule an induction.
Jason and I had discussed it, and he really wanted the induction to be done on Thursday afternoon. That would give him the most time off while taking the least amount of sick days. (He was planning on taking 6.) It would also get us out of the hospital by Saturday morning. That was important to me because my parents would be watching my kids and they had to leave out of town for a choir festival on Saturday afternoon. I was worried about all the upheaval for Deacon already, and didn't want him to have to be bounced around from house to house. Well, I found out that that is not how induction works at Mercy SW. They call your doctor and tell him your appointment time, and then you have to call that morning and see if they will actually be able to honor the appointment. It usually takes several days of calling before you eventually get in. They do it first come, first served, no matter what your due date is. If I had known that, I would have had them start trying to schedule it the previous week! Anyway, that was annoying and was going to put a kink in our plans. My doctor's appointment was on Tuesday, and by Thursday morning (Oct 9), the hospital still hadn't even called with a tentative appointment. I was having a lot of pretty good contractions, but I knew I wasn't in labor. Jason wanted me to just go try to get in, but I felt guilty about "cutting in line" like that. But, I talked to my mom and Jason and a good friend of mine, and they convinced me I was legit. I also prayed about it and felt like it was what we should do. So we ended up at the hospital at about 12:30pm on Thursday, October 9th. They monitored me for a bit, but my contractions weren't in an active labor pattern, and they didn't have any open beds, so they were going to send me home. I was surprised, because I had felt really good about coming. I told Jason that I still thought I would be admitted. The nurse said that they had to have a medical reason to keep me and induce me, and there wasn't one. Being past your due date doesn't count until it's been 9 days, and it had only been 5. She called my doctor to let him know they were sending me home, and he ordered an ultrasound just to make sure everything was okay first. They did a very detailed ultrasound. After the doctor got the results, the nurse came back in to tell me I was staying. Apparently, there was nothing emergent, but a few things were borderline enough to warrant my admission.
I finally got out of that awful triage bed and into a delivery room at about 6:30pm on the 9th. At this point, I still thought there might be a chance that she'd be born on the 9th. Each of my kids had been a little bit faster than the last, and I had actually made some progress on my own this time, with way more contractions than ever before. However, they didn't come in to start Pitocin until 8:30. I had been there since 12:30, hadn't eaten too much before then, and was starving. So they let me eat a sandwich while they gave me fluids and didn't actually start Pitocin until 9:30. At this point, I was certain that she would be born the next day - 10/10. Cool birthday.
I was on Pitocin for about 15 hours. It was so strange!! Nothing happened for several hours at first. Then I started having painful contractions every 2-5 minutes, but they weren't crazy painful and they never developed a regular pattern. They were painful enough that I couldn't really relax. I asked for an epidural a couple of times, but they explained that they can't give it to you until you are actually in labor because it's not good to have an epidural for too long. They offered me some IV pain medication. I remembered getting some when I was in labor with Deacon and it did NOTHING. But, I went ahead and said yes anyway. It took the pain away completely for about 2.5 hours. Then I got another dose and it lasted another 2.5 hours. I guess it worked so much better because I still wasn't in labor. Anyway, I was able to get a little bit of rest, but those delivery beds are SO uncomfortable, and I was so nervous and anxious about why the Pitocin wasn't working. They nurses were really confused too. They did explain that inductions don't always work, but it was strange that I had had 3 previous successful inductions. My body should know what to do by now! After 15 hours on Pitocin, I was only dilated to a 2.
At about 2:30pm, a nurse came in and told me that they needed to stop the Pitocin. It wasn't working. They were going to try something else. There is something called Cervidil that they insert vaginally and it is supposed to help ripen the cervix for induction. It needed to be in for 12 hours. I was so exhausted, stressed out, hungry, and uncomfortable at this point that I about cried thinking about being there for another 12 hours. The alternative, however, was a C-section and I really didn't want that. One plus was that while I was on Cervidil I could eat real food. Also, the nurse said that many times the Cervidil itself will start labor - particularly for women who have given birth before. They put it in and the wait started at 3:30pm. I barely slept that night. I kept waiting to go into labor.... nothing. Not even any cramps. I just hoped it was doing something. I was so over being in the hospital. I was counting the minutes til 3:30am. It FINALLY arrived. The nurse came in and took it out and checked me. Still a 2!!! She didn't seem phased by it and just said I needed another 12 hour dose, put a new one in, and left. Oh my goodness, I about had a breakdown.
I finally was able to doze off for a little bit, and then a new nurse came at the 7am shift change. Her name was Danielle, and I truly believe that God sent her to me. The first thing she asked me was how I would feel about taking a shower. Was she serious?? I had been chained by monitors to that crazy uncomfortable bed for 2 days, and a shower sounded like the best thing in the world. She explained that Cervidil wasn't nearly as potent a medication as Pitocin, and they didn't need the constant monitoring. She just wanted me to be willing to be monitored for 30 minutes on, 2 hours off. On my two hours off, I could shower, walk around, stretch, etc. The baby had been looking really good on the monitors the whole time, which is why they hadn't insisted on a C-section yet. It was also why she felt comfortable letting me be off the monitors. I was so, so grateful to her. She was chipper and funny and she really cared. It was more work for her to come in and hook/unhook me so often. The previous nurse hadn't been willing to do it. She seriously saved my sanity that day. I felt so much love for her.
What would have been a miserable, long day, was actually somewhat enjoyable. At this point, we knew we were in it for the long haul, so Jason went and got some Redbox movies. We ate, talked, watched movies, walked around... I got my shower!!! The time passed much quicker than it otherwise would have.
At 3:30pm on 10/11, I was dilated to a 4 and somewhat more thinned out. They felt comfortable starting the Pitocin. This time, it went much more like I was used to. Contractions started getting painful much more quickly. They still had to get special permission to give me more than the "maximum" dose, though. Before her shift changed at 7pm, Danielle made sure I finally got the epidural. The anesthesiologist was really cranky and kinda rude. He kept saying "Don't jump. Don't jump." We discussed later that that just makes you more anxious waiting for it to hurt bad enough that you're going to want to jump! Danielle was great and held my hands and talked me through it. Again, so grateful for her.
It was the worst epidural I've had. It mostly just settled in my right leg. I couldn't move it at all. I've never been that numb before. I could still feel quite a bit in my left leg, although it was much better than nothing. I was able to get a little sleep that night. At one point during the night, my new nurse came in and checked me. I was still only to a 5. She took the time to strip my membranes several times. When she checked me again at about 6:30 the next morning, I was to a 7 and almost completely effaced. She was so excited! :) At 7:30, the doctor FINALLY showed up. (I had only seen him once for about a minute on the first night.) He broke my water and things really started moving. It was SOOOO painful!! The most pain I have ever, ever had. That dumb half-epidural... Anyway, things moved quickly from there and after about 7 pushes, Miss Taylor Lynn was born at 8:30 am on Sunday, October 12th. Brooklyn's birthday!! We tried to avoid that, but she had other plans. 10/12/14 is a pretty cool date to be born, though.
I was so happy and relieved that Taylor was finally here!! They had a NICU team in the room in case there was a problem with her shoulders getting stuck like with Deacon. They took her right away instead of giving her to me like usual. She took a couple of minutes before giving a good cry like they like, but her APGAR scores were good and she looked just great. Little peanut was only 19.5 inches long and weight 7lbs 10 ounces - my smallest by far! You would think that my due date was off, but I know for a fact that it wasn't. She just wanted to be different I guess.
The new nurse cleaned her up some, put a hat on her, and wrapped her up like a burrito before finally handing her to me. I thought that was REALLY weird, because there were signs all over the place talking about how and why the hospital practices skin to skin right after birth. That's the way it has always been with my others. Oh well, I just unwrapped her and put her on my chest and nursed her right away. I had been a little indifferent about the pregnancy the whole time. I didn't really feel pregnant because there weren't many symptoms, and I was always hoping that the ultrasounds were wrong about the baby being a girl. Once she was born, though, I felt instant love and confirmation that she was exactly the little one who needed to come to our family. She's a beautiful, perfect baby, and I am so, so grateful for her!
Thursday, February 7, 2013
The Boy
OH, this BOY!! I can't even begin to describe how in LOVE with him I am! It's crazy how different it is having a boy than a girl and there really aren't even many differences yet. He has hit a few milestones earlier than the girls did, and others much later. For example, he was rolling over (like over and over to get around) at 3 months and sitting steadily on his own at 6 months. However, he still hasn't slept through the night, and he has no sign at all of getting a tooth. I think both girls were sleeping through the night before 2 months. I'm pretty much exhausted all the time. Good thing he is totally adorable and I'm completely wrapped around his perfect little finger. The girls are pretty nuts over him too. I often have to break up fights over who gets to give him his toy or feed him his bottle. Sometimes Brooklyn cries before school because she doesn't want to leave Deacon. (She's never said that about any of the rest of us... *sniff sniff*) Here are a few pictures of my handsome little Deeker boy!
First picture I took with my new iPhone - 9/14/12
2.5 months old
My little LOVE!
Brooklyn & Deacon 10/18/12
Deacon's blessing day - 10/14/12 - So nice to have both sets of grandparents there!
He started giving me vague smiles at 3 weeks. They just got more and more pronounced. This is around 8 weeks old.
I was shocked that he started rolling over at 3 months and 1 day old! Broke my heart a little. :-(
10/24/12
He got my eyes. :-) 10/6/12
Starting to like toys! 11/14/12
With Nana at Grandma Great's house in St. George for Thanksgiving 2012
Loves sitting up like a big boy! 12/6/12
ADORABLE!!! 12/8/12
Starting to eat big boy food - 5 months old
Little goofball :-)
12/22/12
He got bronchiolitis and had breathing treatments with the nebulizer for a month!
12/23/12
Peekaboo under the bed.
1/1/13
Loved his new toy he got for Christmas.
1/3/13
Twinners!
1/3/13
Being sick is no fun.
1/14/13
AAAHH!! That little face gets me every time!!
His sisters decorated him. He was not amused.
1/18/13
My two favorite guys.
1/15/13
Loves playing with big sis.
First time the 2 boy cousins played together! Carter (4) and Deacon (6 months)
1/26/13
Rub a dub dub, THREE kids in a tub! They all loved it.
1/27/13
Finding his voice
11/16/12
He wants to crawl so bad, but can only move in circles and get frustrated!
1/25/12
Deacon's reaction to the news of Obama's reelection.
11/6/12
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Deacon Ray
This postpartum time has been really hard for me. I've had lots of anxiety and have pretty much just wanted to be left alone in my house with my baby. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the fact that I've been afraid that people will expect me to go back to my RS President responsibilities before I'm ready. People have been really good about that, though, and really helpful. I'm still not feeling back to normal, but I'm not as freaked out about communicating with people via email, texts, etc. as I was. So, I'm going to try to write the birth story blog.
I was induced with both girls. Brooklyn was born 11 days past her due date and Adalyn was born on her actual due date (because my sis was in town to watch Brooklyn and I needed her help!). This time, I really wanted to see if my body would go into labor on its own. I was due on July 11th. By July 23rd, I had tried every labor induction wives tale on the internet! Well, almost. I didn't do the castor oil. But I did everything else! Including walking around the neighborhood with one foot on the curb and one in the street. I'm sure that was a fun sight for the neighbors. Anyway, still nothing.
So I went in to see my doctor the morning of July 23rd and he did an ultrasound to make sure the baby was still okay. He said the baby was getting big - about 9.5 lbs - but that didn't scare me. I didn't have any problems delivering the girls and they were both almost 9 lbs. Plus, those ultrasound weight estimates are notoriously inaccurate. He did say that the fluid was borderline low and he wanted me to go to the hospital to have the baby monitored. So Jason and I headed to the hospital. When they got me all hooked up, they found that I was having contractions every 12 minutes. Something about being in the hospital, I guess, because I wasn't having them before. The baby's heart rate was decelerating after some of my contractions, which meant that the baby wasn't getting enough oxygen during those times. They decided they were going to keep me there. They wanted to "augment" my labor with Pitocin. (I really liked that word - "augment" - instead of "induce" because it meant that my body sort of knew how to go in to labor on its own after all. :) ) We had to wait until the baby's heart rate didn't have any post-contraction decelerations for at least 30 minutes before they could start the Pitocin. (If it didn't stop decelerating, they were talking about an emergency C-section - yikes!)
They had me turn on all the way on my left side to see if that would help the baby get more oxygen. The doctor had a C-section scheduled so he went and did that then checked on me when he got back. By then, the baby's heart rate was looking good so they finally started me on the Pitocin around 2:30pm. We had been there since around 9:30 that morning. After they started the Pitocin, things started picking up. They were checking on me every now and then and upping the dosage. About an hour into it, the nurse came in and said that she was going to up the Pitocin and I said, "But it hurts!!" They really were pretty bad by that point, but I hadn't dilated any further (I started the day at a 3) so instead of offering me an epidural she offered me some narcotics. I had never had them before and they were AMAZING and made me feel sooo good and completely relieved... for about 45 seconds. Just long enough for the nurse to leave the room. Seriously, I don't know what the point of that was. It did nothing!!
After that, I didn't want to ask for the epidural again because she had kind of made it seem like I should wait a while and I didn't want to seem like a big baby by asking too soon. The contractions got really painful. I think it was the most pain I have ever had. I got the epidural a lot earlier in the process with the girls. I'm not sure why you would ever purposefully wait if you were planning on getting the epidural eventually. It just seems like unnecessary pain. I finally got the epidural at about 5:30pm and it was AMAZING. I say that every time, but this was the best yet. I've always had really good ones where they eliminated most of the pain, but I could still move my legs and feel when to push. This one eliminated ALL of the pain and I could still move my legs and feel when to push. It was incredible. So after I got comfortable I dozed for a little while and then Jason and I watched a movie we had brought. Very soon after the movie was over, the nurse came in and said I was fully dilated. She hadn't called the doctor yet (I guess he lives really close to the hospital), but she wanted to get everything prepped and have me do some "practice pushes." Jason and I warned her that once I started pushing, the baby would be born. We wanted to wait for the doctor but she said she wanted to get started just so we'd be all ready for him. So I pushed twice and on the second push she said "Wait, wait, stop!" The baby was right there and the doctor hadn't arrived yet. She seemed a little sheepish cuz we had warned her and she was literally trying to push his head back in.
When the doctor finally got there and got all dressed and ready, the baby had been sitting all the way down in the birth canal for quite a while. It was then two more sets of pushes before the doctor told me to stop. He and the nurse got kind of nervous and Jason and I didn't know what was going on and then the baby was out. The nurse took him away kind of panicky and Jason and I both kind of looked at each other in shock. The first thing I thought was that he had a HUGE cone head. Like an alien head. It makes sense for how long he was squished down there. I seriously had to remind myself to just love him anyway. :) And the second thing I thought was that he was kind of scarily dark purple. Jason asked the doctor what had happened and he said that the baby's shoulder got stuck behind the pelvic bone - so his face was only like halfway out and then he couldn't come any further because his shoulder was stuck farther in. The doctor said that sometimes they have to break a bone to get them unstuck in that situation, but that he was able to do a little maneuver and get him out. (We found out 4 days later that his collarbone DID break at delivery.)
The nurse brought him to me a couple minutes later and laid him on my chest right under my chin and left him there for quite a while. I don't like when they do that because I can't see what the baby looks like and get to know him and nurse him and love him, etc. It's kind of just awkward with this little baby body under my chin and me not being able to move because the doctor is still working on me and everyone is looking at me like I should be ecstatic. Anyway, I was able to actually hold him soon enough. I was surprised how quickly his head went back to a semi-normal shape! Thank goodness! :) And he pinked up real quick. I loved holding him tight and looking at his little hands and lips and head and rubbing his back. He's a very cute boy and looks so much like Brooklyn as a baby. He was a big boy - 9lbs 2oz, 21.5 inches - and, besides the collarbone, perfectly healthy.
I was hoping we would know what his name was after meeting him, but we didn't. We really had no clue for the first two days or so. We had decided that if he was born on Pioneer Day, we would name him Brigham. But, he was born an hour and a half too soon at 10:24pm on 7/23/12. Deacon was the name we had discussed the most, but we weren't 100% sold on it. We finally just said Deacon because the Birth Certificate girl was annoyingly persistent. It was kind of the same way with Addy, though, and we eventually got used to it and now her name fits her and I can't imagine calling her anything else. I think it will become that way with Deacon too. Anyway, enough rambling! Here he is!
I was induced with both girls. Brooklyn was born 11 days past her due date and Adalyn was born on her actual due date (because my sis was in town to watch Brooklyn and I needed her help!). This time, I really wanted to see if my body would go into labor on its own. I was due on July 11th. By July 23rd, I had tried every labor induction wives tale on the internet! Well, almost. I didn't do the castor oil. But I did everything else! Including walking around the neighborhood with one foot on the curb and one in the street. I'm sure that was a fun sight for the neighbors. Anyway, still nothing.
So I went in to see my doctor the morning of July 23rd and he did an ultrasound to make sure the baby was still okay. He said the baby was getting big - about 9.5 lbs - but that didn't scare me. I didn't have any problems delivering the girls and they were both almost 9 lbs. Plus, those ultrasound weight estimates are notoriously inaccurate. He did say that the fluid was borderline low and he wanted me to go to the hospital to have the baby monitored. So Jason and I headed to the hospital. When they got me all hooked up, they found that I was having contractions every 12 minutes. Something about being in the hospital, I guess, because I wasn't having them before. The baby's heart rate was decelerating after some of my contractions, which meant that the baby wasn't getting enough oxygen during those times. They decided they were going to keep me there. They wanted to "augment" my labor with Pitocin. (I really liked that word - "augment" - instead of "induce" because it meant that my body sort of knew how to go in to labor on its own after all. :) ) We had to wait until the baby's heart rate didn't have any post-contraction decelerations for at least 30 minutes before they could start the Pitocin. (If it didn't stop decelerating, they were talking about an emergency C-section - yikes!)
They had me turn on all the way on my left side to see if that would help the baby get more oxygen. The doctor had a C-section scheduled so he went and did that then checked on me when he got back. By then, the baby's heart rate was looking good so they finally started me on the Pitocin around 2:30pm. We had been there since around 9:30 that morning. After they started the Pitocin, things started picking up. They were checking on me every now and then and upping the dosage. About an hour into it, the nurse came in and said that she was going to up the Pitocin and I said, "But it hurts!!" They really were pretty bad by that point, but I hadn't dilated any further (I started the day at a 3) so instead of offering me an epidural she offered me some narcotics. I had never had them before and they were AMAZING and made me feel sooo good and completely relieved... for about 45 seconds. Just long enough for the nurse to leave the room. Seriously, I don't know what the point of that was. It did nothing!!
After that, I didn't want to ask for the epidural again because she had kind of made it seem like I should wait a while and I didn't want to seem like a big baby by asking too soon. The contractions got really painful. I think it was the most pain I have ever had. I got the epidural a lot earlier in the process with the girls. I'm not sure why you would ever purposefully wait if you were planning on getting the epidural eventually. It just seems like unnecessary pain. I finally got the epidural at about 5:30pm and it was AMAZING. I say that every time, but this was the best yet. I've always had really good ones where they eliminated most of the pain, but I could still move my legs and feel when to push. This one eliminated ALL of the pain and I could still move my legs and feel when to push. It was incredible. So after I got comfortable I dozed for a little while and then Jason and I watched a movie we had brought. Very soon after the movie was over, the nurse came in and said I was fully dilated. She hadn't called the doctor yet (I guess he lives really close to the hospital), but she wanted to get everything prepped and have me do some "practice pushes." Jason and I warned her that once I started pushing, the baby would be born. We wanted to wait for the doctor but she said she wanted to get started just so we'd be all ready for him. So I pushed twice and on the second push she said "Wait, wait, stop!" The baby was right there and the doctor hadn't arrived yet. She seemed a little sheepish cuz we had warned her and she was literally trying to push his head back in.
When the doctor finally got there and got all dressed and ready, the baby had been sitting all the way down in the birth canal for quite a while. It was then two more sets of pushes before the doctor told me to stop. He and the nurse got kind of nervous and Jason and I didn't know what was going on and then the baby was out. The nurse took him away kind of panicky and Jason and I both kind of looked at each other in shock. The first thing I thought was that he had a HUGE cone head. Like an alien head. It makes sense for how long he was squished down there. I seriously had to remind myself to just love him anyway. :) And the second thing I thought was that he was kind of scarily dark purple. Jason asked the doctor what had happened and he said that the baby's shoulder got stuck behind the pelvic bone - so his face was only like halfway out and then he couldn't come any further because his shoulder was stuck farther in. The doctor said that sometimes they have to break a bone to get them unstuck in that situation, but that he was able to do a little maneuver and get him out. (We found out 4 days later that his collarbone DID break at delivery.)
The nurse brought him to me a couple minutes later and laid him on my chest right under my chin and left him there for quite a while. I don't like when they do that because I can't see what the baby looks like and get to know him and nurse him and love him, etc. It's kind of just awkward with this little baby body under my chin and me not being able to move because the doctor is still working on me and everyone is looking at me like I should be ecstatic. Anyway, I was able to actually hold him soon enough. I was surprised how quickly his head went back to a semi-normal shape! Thank goodness! :) And he pinked up real quick. I loved holding him tight and looking at his little hands and lips and head and rubbing his back. He's a very cute boy and looks so much like Brooklyn as a baby. He was a big boy - 9lbs 2oz, 21.5 inches - and, besides the collarbone, perfectly healthy.
I was hoping we would know what his name was after meeting him, but we didn't. We really had no clue for the first two days or so. We had decided that if he was born on Pioneer Day, we would name him Brigham. But, he was born an hour and a half too soon at 10:24pm on 7/23/12. Deacon was the name we had discussed the most, but we weren't 100% sold on it. We finally just said Deacon because the Birth Certificate girl was annoyingly persistent. It was kind of the same way with Addy, though, and we eventually got used to it and now her name fits her and I can't imagine calling her anything else. I think it will become that way with Deacon too. Anyway, enough rambling! Here he is!
Straining to see the little cone-head baby under my chin. :)
Yes, he DOES have a dimple in his left cheek! So adorable.
First clothes. The nurse put an upside down t-shirt on his legs to keep him warm. You'd think they would just buy some pants???
Deacon Ray Maner
9lbs 2oz, 21.5 inches
7/23/12
Looking at Daddy
First video of the newborn
Nana brought the sisters!
And a balloon!
Brooklyn holding him for the first time
Almost as big as cousin Molly already! (She's 2 months older.)
So about his name - We may or may not have heard it for the first time on Jason's favorite TV show, The King of Queens. That will not be confirmed or denied. We like the way it sounds (although I think I will like it on an older child better), and what it means. I have found several different definitions for the word Deacon (most of them having to do with the Catholic church), but my favorite is that it means "servant of God." That is exactly what we hope he will strive to be. His middle name, Ray, is special for a few reasons. Jason's dad's name is Jimmie Ray after his two grandpas, Jimmie and Ray. Jason's oldest brother is also Jimmie Ray, as well as Jimmie's oldest son (J.R.). Jason's other brother, Justin, also chose to use Ray as a middle name for his oldest son. So it was kind of the Maner boy thing to do, I guess. I love that it has so much heritage. I also love the name because my very best friend in college (actually probably in my life) was named Jana Ray. The entire Ray family is still very dear to me. They have helped me and loved me and supported me unconditionally since I met them when I was 12. Coincidentally, the delivery nurse that helped deliver Deacon was also named Rae. :)
Sunday, November 6, 2011
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