~~December Dumpling Birth Stories~~

Carson Thomas was born on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 3:06 am. He weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces and was 19 inches long.

The whole story started the Monday before. You all probably read the news journal about me falling in the bathroom. Everything checked out fine at the doctor's office that day. That night, Drew and I had a good evening. We played a couple of board games and watched Elf. It was really nice. We went to bed that night, and I woke up at about 2:45 am to go to the bathroom. I layed back down, and at about 3:30 am, I woke up to this warm gush of fluid. I said to Drew, "Woah! I think my water just broke! Either that, or I just peed my pants." Drew loves to tell everyone how I told him. He thought it was hilarious! So I get up and go to the bathroom. I was soaked!! More fluid just kept coming out. Drew got up, and was all frazzled. I told him he better pack his bag, because we had to get to the hospital. He asked if he could take a shower first, and I told him to make it fast! So while Drew was in the shower, I came upstairs to update everyone on what just happend. We were so excited! We just knew this was it. So a little after 4:00 am, we headed out the door to go to the hospital. Drew wanted to stop and get gas, because he was almost empty, but we had enough to get to the hospital, so I told him no more delays! On our way to the hospital, we almost hit a deer! We were on the interstate, and a deer almost jumped out into the road. Drew swerved left and the deer turned and went back the other way. Thank God! That was something that we didn't need at all! Can you imagine?

So we get to the hospital, and they confirmed that it was my water that broke. They got me into a room at about 4:45 am. We had the nicest room in all of labor and delivery! We had the greatest view of the city and the river. The sunrise was gorgeous. We got a few pictures of it. Back to the story! I wasn't feeling any pain with my contractions at first. I was still having them, like I have been for the past 3 months, but no pain. My midwife, Nancy, wanted me up and walking around so I could get my labor going without any pitocin. So I got the lovely mesh panties on with the mondo pads so I wouldn't leak all over the floor. I was mighty uncomfortable! We took a few laps around the hallways, and then went back to the room. I loved rocking in the rocking chair. It sure was nice to have the movement. I started to feel my contractions now. I had a little bit of pain with them, but it wasn't anything that I couldn't handle. At about 10:00 am, I decided to take a walk around that hallways again. At this point, I was feeling the need to stop when I had a contraction. Still nothing that I couldn't handle though. A little while after that, I was checked and I hadn't changed since I got there. That was pretty discouraging. I was pretty bummed out after that. I swore that I had some change. I stayed in the bed for a while after that. A few hours later, I was checked again, and I was up to 4 cm dialated. I was a little more encouraged. At this point, I was starting to think about the epidural. The contractions were starting to get more painful, and I was sure I wasn't going to be able to make it all the way without one. So I talked to the nurse, and let her know what I was thinking. I didn't want the epidural right then, because I didn't want to stop my labor and have to get the pitocin. After a couple more hours, I was checked again, and I was up to a 6. Okay, it was time for the epidural. I was past the halfway mark. I told the nurse I wanted it, and she called Nancy. Nancy said no! I was really dissapointed. My contractions were really getting strong, and I was starting to suffer from exhaustion. I didn't get a full night's sleep, and hadn't had anything to eat since dinner the night before. I was running out of energy! Nancy told them to get out the birthing ball and have me labor on that for a while. The ball was nice, but it still didn't help me relax. I just kept asking for the epidural. I was starting to get pretty impatient. I climbed back into bed, and finally, Nancy agreed to give me the IV narcotics. That really helped me relax, and actually sleep in between the contractions, but, of course, it wasn't enough to stop the pain. It took the edge off a bit, but it was still pretty painful. Once the first dose started to wear off, I was asking for the epidural again. Still, Nancy said no, but let me have another dose of narcotics. Again, I was able to relax, but it didn't help as much as the first time. I was starting to get a little mad by this point. In my opinion, it was my body, and I should be able to go through my labor the way that I wanted. I told the nurse this, and she really pulled through for me. She talked Nancy into letting me get the epidural at that point. I was still only 6 cm dialated, but I really needed it. I was definately to that point where I was saying that I wanted to give up.

So I recieved the epidural, and I was all smiles after that! I couldn't feel any of the contractions, but I definately felt the pressure of the baby moving down. It really helped me relax a lot. I didn't realize just how much I was holding back, and not letting my labor progress as it should have. After I got the epidural, I went from a 6 to an 8 in a half hour! Things were picking up now! I was so glad that I got the epidural when it was finally time to push. I was feeling the pressure, and I couldn't even imagine what it would be like with the pain as well! At around 1:00 am on Wednesday, it was time for me to start pushing. They called Nancy, and had her come out to the hospital. The nurse and Drew got me started with the pushing phase. Drew was so involved with the birth. I am so proud of him. I couldn't feel my legs, so Drew had to hold the left and the nurse held the right while I was pushing. Things were going great at first. I was making quite a bit of progress. I got to a point though, where things kind of stalled. They had me in many different positions to get the baby to come down more. This was the only drawback to my epidural. I couldn't feel to really push him out quickly. Eventually, Nancy told them to turn off my epidural, and it really helped me out. After 2 1/2 hours of pushing, Carson made his way into the world almost 24 hours after it all began. He was crying before he even was all the way out! Such a healthy baby! I was able to hold him for a little while, while they examined me. I just stared at how beautiful he was. Drew was able to cut the cord, and they took him over the the warmers after a little bit to clean him off and assess him. They gave him back to me, and we attempted breastfeeding. He didn't latch on, but at least he was rooting around. I just couldn't believe what had just happend. I was in awe!

With all the hard times through this pregnancy, what I went through was totally worth it!

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...s/100_1286.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...s/100_1344.jpg http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...s/100_1422.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...s/100_1388.jpg http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...s/100_1319.jpg

Rafi’s sleeping so I thought I’d make a start on his birth story! I’m typing one-handed so ignore my spelling/grammar. This is about the 10<SUP>th</SUP> time I’ve tried to write this…!

It all began at 5:15 on Monday morning, December 6<SUP>th</SUP>, 2007. I managed to sleep for about an hour, so I was already completely exhausted when I woke up. Not the ideal situation for an induction, but I had to soldier on anyway. I had intended on getting up early to shower, eat and do a few last minute things… well, that didn’t go as planned. I showered (but didn’t tidy up the bush! GAH! What would Sarah think??) and got dressed and managed to eat really quickly before I had to be out of the door by 6:15am. Phew!
<O:p</O:p
I got to triage with my entourage, they were expecting me which was good. Along with the fact that I had somehow managed to be first in line, tons of women came in after I did to check in. I wonder how long some of them had to wait; I was first in and was there for at least 30mins. I’d hate to have been 9cm and ready to go, would I have had to have him in the waiting area? Scary. I wasn’t taken into triage this time, I just waited in the waiting room until they found me a room. I think my doc had called and told them to admit me this time since I was “having contractions”. Ahem.
<O:p</O:p
Eventually they had a room for me and I was immediately put on IV fluids and penicillin for the GBS. Lovely. I hate that stuff. But at least I didn’t have a crappy reaction to it like I used to as a child. And the IV hurt baaaad. I almost passed out, it was a good job that I was lying down or I would’ve been on the floor. All the color drained from my face. I don’t take IVs too well.
<O:p</O:p
My OB came in to check on me around 9:20 and I was a good 4cm and 80% effaced with Rafi at -3 station. Not too much progress from when I was in the office, but good enough. She broke my water and the nurse started getting the pitocin ready. The water breaking was the strangest feeling, I had such an odd, confused look on my face that she asked if I was ok! I can’t imagine what it would have been like if it had broken on its own. At around 9:30, the pitocin was started and my OB mentioned it would take at least six or seven hours before I’d be ready and to be sure to tell the nurse when I wanted to get pain meds (I still wasn’t sure if I wanted them, but I’d already let them know that it was an option). TMI warning: Because of all the IV fluids I was getting, I really needed to go to the bathroom. When I got up and detangled myself, dragging my IV and monitors with me, I felt another big gush and left a trail of amniotic fluid and blood all the way to the bathroom. It looked like something out of a horror movie. I felt so bad that my poor nurse had to clean it up afterwards.
</O:p
The contractions weren’t bad at all to start with and I was beginning to wonder if I could make it through drug-free after all. But the pitocin was only at 2ml and they were going to increase it by 2ml every 15mins. The IV machine’s alarms kept going off and driving the nurses crazy, they had to change everything at least three times to make it stop. So I was at 2ml for a while. As son as it hit 4ml, Rafi’s heartbeat dropped off the charts and the nurse who was in the room started to look a little panicked. She grabbed the baby’s monitor and started frantically trying to get his tones and when she couldn’t, yelled out of the door for the other nurse (who was in a delivery) and a whole host of people streamed into the room. Of course, this all happened while my entourage had wandered out for something to eat before the action started. Little did they know, Rafi had other plans! I had a couple of docs, the anæsthesia team and both nurses in there, so needless to say, I was a little freaked out. The anæsthesiologist cheerily asked how I was doing as an oxygen mask was thrust round my head and I was pushed onto my side to try and find Rafi’s vitals. Umm… not doing too great! The pitocin was stopped, vitals came back up and I was ordered not to move in case something happened again, in which case I would have to have an emergency cesarean section. That was incentive enough. I still had to have the oxygen on (which tastes weird) for a while until Rafi stabilized, but at least he was doing okay. The nurses told me that he reacted badly to the pitocin and the strong contractions that I was getting from it and was likely squishing the cord.
<O:p</O:p
At about 11am, they decided to give the pitocin one more shot, I was still having contractions, but they were very bearable so far. They kept a close eye on me while they upped the pitocin, which felt like it was coming more than every 15mins. By 12:45, the contractions were getting bad and they were so close together that I was getting no reprieve in between. The nurse came back to up the pitocin again and let me know that if I wanted the epidural, it would have to be in the next few minutes since the anæsthesiologists were going to be very busy that afternoon and wouldn’t be able to give it to me. I still wasn’t sure, I really wanted to do this thing drug-free, but my body wasn’t able to relax and just let it happen because I was so tense. She said she could check me to see how far along I was and we’d decide from there. I got checked and I was at 7cm, the pitocin was really moving me along and the nurse made sure to let me know that the contractions were only going to get worse, so I gave in. After she checked me, I didn’t feel good at all and when my entourage returned to the room, I just had to throw up. But, since I hadn’t eaten for 6+hrs, there was nothing there. I hate that feeling! It was like morning sickness all over again.
<O:p</O:p
At 1pm, the anæsthesia team came in. Immediately, I got freaked out. It was nothing like the Discovery channel epidurals I’d seen. Maybe it’s just different when it’s you. They asked for only my next of kin to be in the room and then talked about what I’d have to do. The anæsthesiologist run through the risks and started to set out his equipment. I wish I’d never seen that. Ugh. Plus, I’m pretty sure he was only doing an <ST1:pOB</ST1:p rotation since he had to have the more experienced anæsthesiologist there while he did it. That wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t heard “No, not that one, the other one” the whole time. I didn’t have enough of the initial numbing medication, so I had to tell them that I was in pain, not from the contractions, but from the needle. At which point, the senior anæsthesiolgist started suiting up and my dad passed out. Great! Now I had an enormous needle in my back and my next of kin passes out. Good times. For a while there, everyone was focused on him while I was freaking out by myself. Oh yes, it was fun…!! It was a horrible feeling. After going through the experience of having the epidural, I can safely say that I will never put myself through that again.
<O:p</O:p
After that ordeal, my blood pressure plummeted and they pushed yet more drugs into me. I was feeling pretty bad at this point and didn’t get to ask what they put in me. After they’d been monitoring me for a while, I managed to ask what it was (ephedrine); partly out of curiosity, partly so I could google it afterwards. Throughout all of this, my pitocin was still going up and managed to reach 16ml before I was feeling a lot of pressure and started to wonder if this was it. The nurse came to crank up my pitocin (ugh) and I asked her if I’d know when it was time because I was feeling a lot of pressure. It didn’t feel like I expected it to, so it made me wonder. She called my <ST1:place OB</ST1:p in who checked me and said I was ready to go. Yikes! The epidural had only kicked in for 45mins, so I was a little surprised.
<O:p</O:p
The little wheely cabinet was rolled in and my <ST1:pOB</ST1:p hung her coat (I almost wrote “cat” haha) on my IV stand. This was really happening! She told me what to do when each contraction came and we pushed for a couple contractions. Then she said she had another patient delivering at the same time and asked how competitive I was! She said pushing for a first-timer can take an hour, so she’d go and check on her other patient and come back. In the meantime, her partner (who saw me the whole time I was in there for preterm labor) took over. I was put back on the oxygen since we both needed it, Rafi wasn’t coping with the contractions again and they thought he might have the cord around his neck. After 15mins, he’d descended pretty far down and by the time by <ST1:place OB</ST1:p came back, he was crowning and she suited up really fast to take over as her other patient had just delivered. I have to say, one of the things I really didn’t expect was the perineal massage part. I didn’t really know what it entailed and it was a very strange experience! I remember my friend Brenda (who helped me through every contraction) asking about it and the docs saying that they do it to avoid tearing and episiotomies which they don’t like to do. 5mins later, my baby boy was born, complete with the cord around his neck, which was why he’d freaked out on pitocin earlier. In the end I had a teeny tear and needed two stitches (which I was able to feel when she was doing it… ouch). I’m so glad it was my OB who delivered me, not because I don’t like her partner, but because she’d been so supportive the whole pregnancy and I’d come to really like and respect her. Ooh that was mushy.
<O:p</O:p
Rafael Steven arrived at 2:04pm, weighed 6lbs 7oz (below the lowest ultrasound estimates) and was just over 19ins long. Apgars were 9 and 9 and he passed all of his vision and hearing tests. I’m so proud of him!


And some more pics for your viewing pleasure:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b.../rafid1smi.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...i/rafiday1.jpghttp://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...fiday1ismi.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...rafid1iism.jpghttp://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...afid1iiism.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...afiday6smi.jpghttp://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...fiday6iism.jpg

I woke up Friday morning (November 30<SUP>th</SUP>) with an inkling that something was going to happen that day. I had been feeling sick off and on the day before and was very tired. I stayed home from work and just took it easy. When Matt got home, I told him that we should go to dinner as I thought that the walking around and just being out might help move things along. We got home about ffice:smarttags" /><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comhttp://www.pregnancy.org/bulletinboa...st1:time Hour=8pm</st1:time> and watched TV until about 10 when we decided to go to bed. As I got up from the couch I felt this small gush of fluid…..I said to Matt, “Ummm, I think my water just broke!” I went to the bathroom and as I sat there, more fluid just kept coming out. I remember telling Matt to listen and with a smile on my face I said, “I am not peeing”. We called the <ST1:place>OB</ST1:place>’s office and spoke to the doctor on call who told me that the only way to really know if my water had broken was to go into Labor and Delivery but she was pretty sure that it had in fact broken. I was excited yet kind of nervous, I was happy that we would be meeting our little man soon. Matt took a shower and I finished packing the bags. We checked into L&D around <st1:time Hour="23" Minute="0">11pm</st1:time> and they did confirm that my water had broken and I had 24 hours to deliver before the risk of infection increased. I still had not had any real contractions so I was not sure how the night would go. When they checked me at the hospital I was still only 1cm dilated (had been for about 3weeks!)…my doc gave me 2 hours to make some progress or else we would have to start the Pitocin. I knew that walking was my best bet so Matt and I started our many trips around the L&D floor. After the two hours I had only progressed to 2cm and about 70% effaced, not a lot of progress but it was progress. I now had 2 more hours. I had hoped to deliver little Jack without any pain medication but by the time I was only 4cm my contractions were really painful and coming about every 2-3min and lasting about a min…the really hard part was that during each contraction I had this horrible nauseous feeling. It made it really hard to breathe through each one and I was so tired since I had not had any chance to rest. I looked at Matt and said to him, I think I am going to have to get the Epidural…this is really hard and I still have so far to go. Not to mention I knew that I would need the Pitocin soon since I really wasn’t making enough progress on my own. So by <st1:time Hour="5" Minute="0">5am</st1:time> I had the epidural and I was resting in bed…not very comfortably but at least I was able to get some rest. The Pitocin came not long after that as my labor had stalled from the epidural. My mom arrived about <st1:time Hour="9" Minute="45">9:45am</st1:time> and I was still only about 5cm though I started to feel some of the contractions so the Pitocin had started working. Not long after that the monitors were showing that Jacks heart rate had dropped. Our nurse Linda came in and we tried moving the monitor around to see if that was the problem. They had me move from side to side but that didn’t help. Finally they had me go on all fours which when you have an IV, an epidural and a blood pressure cuff hooked up to you is not the easiest thing to do. It helped though and Jack’s heart rate came back up. My doctor came in and checked to make sure that he was ok and we found that I went from 5 to 8cm in about 30 min and he had dropped to a +3 station…it must have freaked him out a little which is why his heart rate had dropped. After that they turned off the Pitocin and my contractions started to get pretty painful. I had heard that transition was bad but I thought that since I had the epidural, it wouldn’t be that bad….boy was I wrong about that! By the time I was 9 ½ cm I was in so much pain that I just wanted him out…I felt the urge to push but since I still had a lip of cervix left I had to breathe through each contraction. Boy that was hard! What made it even harder was that he was so low. I even asked the nurse at one point if they had turned off the epidural, when she said no I said “Jesus Christ, are you kidding?” I was really thankful when I was finally able to really start pushing…I felt like I was finally able to do something and since you push during a contraction I wasn’t in so much pain. My mom, Matt and all the nurses where there keeping me going and pushing hard. I just remember them saying, come on Jamie, he is so close…one more push and he will be here. My Dr. was down there trying to prevent me from tearing and helping little Jack out. Not long after that I remember them saying, he is out…look Jamie, look at him. I looked down and saw his head and then the rest of his body come out...it was the most amazing and beautiful thing I had ever seen. He had the umbilical cord wrapped around his body a few times but other than that he was just perfect. They put him on my lap and Matt went to cut the cord. I was so happy to have him in my arms finally. Little Jack Owen was born at <st1:time Hour="12" Minute="56">12:56pm</st1:time> on Saturday December 1<SUP>st</SUP>, weighing 8lbs 1oz and was 19 in long, I was 39 weeks and 4 days. His Apgars were 8 and 9. I made it through the delivery with a second degree tear but that is nothing compared to what we got out of it….our precious little boy, Jack.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...abyjack001.jpghttp://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...abyjack002.jpghttp://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...abyjack009.jpg
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...k/IMG_0817.jpghttp://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...abyjack012.jpg

December 12, 2007, 3:29 PM
7 lbs, 7 oz - 18.5 inches
37 weeks, 4 days

Well, I really still can't even believe that I'm writing my birth story, I'm still pretty shocked. I was working from home on Wednesday (December 12), and I was getting my normal irregular contractions that I figured were BHs. They were not regular at all, and I could talk through them, etc... But then I posted here... when I would get the contractions (about 4 in an hour), the pain would be near my c-section scar and would linger there for a minute or so after the contraction. I posted here about it and then called my doctor. They called back about 20 minutes later and wanted me to go the hospital. I made it clear to the nurse on the phone that I did not feel I was in labor, etc... didn't want to waste their time... but she insisted I go in.

I got to the hospital about 45 minutes later (1:15 pm-ish), my MIL drove me because DH was at work. He agreed with me that I would probably just get sent home, so he stayed at work. I did not bring my bag, camera... anything really. They hooked me up and I was having the contractions, still irregular. Well the nurse checked me and I was 3 cm and 80% effaced... I was pretty surprised since I had been 0 cm and only 50% effaced less than a week before. I told the nurse that was definitely a change... she left to call my dr. My doc came in approximately 30 minutes later to check me... I was 5 - 6 cm and almost all the way thinned out. :eek: He asked where my DH was and how quick he could get there. I said, 30 minutes... and he was like, we're going back in 30 minutes then.. he said- you're going fast. I was in amazement... my MIL rushed to get a disposable camera at the gift shop, I also gave her list of what I needed at home plus the location of my bag. Luckily my DH made good time (I'll save you the story of telling him... he was in shock, like me).. they got all the paper work in order, I spoke to anesthesia and they got me back to the OR. The spinal was crazy, it took effect so quickly (I had an epidural last time)... Matthew William was born at 3:29 PM (a little more than 2 hours since we arrived at hospital)... 7 lbs, 7 oz... apgars of 8 and 9, he was at 37 weeks, 4 days. He is beautiful... of course we are in love with him so much.. and his sisters can't get enough of him... :grin:

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...Picture010.jpghttp://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...cture007-1.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...dMommap3-1.jpghttp://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...sSistersp1.jpg

I was supposed to go into the hospital on Tuesday afternoon (Decemeber 11th) for cervidil. I was told when we got there that I was dilated enough (3 cm) to skip the cervidil and just come back the following morning to start the pitocin.

So, we went into the hospital at 7 am on Wednesday December 12th. Even though my contractions were coming every 2-4 minutes on the monitor the night before, I was still only 3 cm dilated and 60% effaced. The pitocin was started at 8:10 am. I adore the woman who got my IV started...she got it on the first try!

I started to really feel the contractions at about 11 a.m. I was checked and was still only 3 cm dilated...but 90% effaced. At least something was happening. They kept upping the pitocin all afternoon. By about 4 pm, the contractions were really painful and coming one right on top of the other. At that point, I asked for some drugs. They checked me...STILL only 3 cm dilated!!! They wouldn't give me an epidural until I was 4 cm. So, they offered me Nubane, but I declined. At a little after 5 pm, my OB came in and checked me. I was at 4 cm and she told me I could get my epidural after she broke my water. This is where I lost all control...breaking the water was the most painful thing I have ever experienced! It took about 5 minutes of digging around. She said I had one of the toughest bags of waters she has ever seen. No wonder stripping my membranes never worked. She said it never would have broken on it's own. Anyway, she finally got it broken. I actually cried and screamed while she was doing it. It hurt so much worse than the contractions. She also put in an internal monitor after she broke the water...that hurt too.

After that, I finally got my epidural. The epidural didn't hurt at all. It took a while to work on my right side though and after she broke my water, the contractions got really intense and I could feel them on the right side. They cathed me, and as soon as they did that, the epidural started working on the right side. Phew! I was in heaven then! I was a regular little miss sunshine after that.

Well, they checked me at 7:30 and I was at 5-6 cm and totally effaced. At 8 pm, I sent my husband home to let the dog out to use the bathroom and check on the cats, thinking I still had a few hours until the baby would be born. Ha! The nurse came in again at 8:45 and checked me and got this incredulous look on her face. She said I was completely dilated and the baby's head was in the birth canal! I felt none of this! No pressure or anything. So, I called my DH to tell him to get his butt back to the hospital. They called my OB and she said that she would be there soon and to have me start pushing in 15 minutes (9 pm). My husband made it back just in time for me to start pushing. I pushed through the 1st two contractions and the baby's head started crowning. They told me not to push through the next two, to give my OB time to get there. She got in, and I started pushing again. Two contractions later, Landon was born! I never felt a thing except a strange sensation when she pulled him out.

I only had a minor 1st degree tear. The placenta came out right after Landon did. I never felt my OB stitch me up or anything. When my OB pulled Landon out, she tossed him onto my stomach and all I remember saying is "Why isn't he crying? He should be crying!" A little suctioning took care of that. The nurse took him and he scored an 8 an 9 on his apgars. He weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. and was 21 inches long. From the start of the pitocin, it took 11 hours for him to be born. I can't believe I went from 5 cm to 10 cm in an hour though!

Overall, it was a GREAT experience and I will not be afraid to go through it again in the future!

Here's the pics...there are LOTS!!!

Me before the contrax got bad...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...h/000_2072.jpg

Me during a pretty intense contraction...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...h/000_2079.jpg

Me after the water breaking ordeal and feeling some horrible contractions...and after the epidural started working. I was a happy camper!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...h/000_2080.jpg

He's here!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...h/000_2085.jpg

Getting assessed...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...h/000_2088.jpg

Daddy holding Landon for the first time...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...h/100_3447.jpg

Mommy, Daddy, and Landon. I was so tired and swollen...but ecstatic!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...h/100_3454.jpg

He told me I did a good job!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...h/100_3459.jpg

I was so thrilled to finally have my little boy!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...h/100_3464.jpg

Daddy changing the first poopie diaper!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...h/100_3468.jpg

So cute in his knit cap!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...h/100_3477.jpg

His NC outfit...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...h/100_3482.jpg

Landon and his great-great grandma Gerri
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...h/100_3486.jpg

Closeup!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...h/100_3487.jpg

Big yawn!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...h/100_3490.jpg

All ready to go home!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...h/100_3492.jpg

Alison Regan's birthstory -

Tuesday morning I called my OB's office and asked them if they had ever had a chance to review the ultrasound from Thursday. I also told them that my pain and discomfort level were getting larger. Not to mention I had caught my husband's head cold. So after I called the doc's office, I ate breakfast and laid back down. I also took some tylenol to help me get a little more sleep. I managed to get some rest, and woke up about 1230.

I got up and started to make myself a sandwhich for lunch. As I was doing this, the phone rang - It was the OB's office. They told me that I would need to be induced that day. I told them that I would have to try to find my husband at work. My OB asked if I could get to the hospital without waiting for my husband. I was forceful about that, and said that I needed him there. DH has a way of keeping me calm in times of stress. I managed to track him down, and then shortly after the panic started setting in. DH told me to relax and to go finish my lunch and take my shower. By the time he got home, I was ready to go. Not to mention had the fact that my wiggle worm would be in my arms in a few hours had firmly set in.

So on the way to the hospital we stopped to get the DH something to eat. I decided to pick up some more for me, as who knows when I would be able to eat again. We arrived at the hospital at almost 3pm on the dot. We had to wait a little in registration. The ladies kept trying to get me to sit down. I told them that I knew I would be tied to a bed soon, so I was taking pleasure in a last few moments of standing and moving around. By 330 they had us up in labor and delivery.

The nurse got me hooked up to the monitors. The wiggle worm re-affirmed her hatred of all monitoring devices, so the nurse kept having to play chase the baby. They also started my IV. The poor nurse managed to find a REALLY good vein, and according to my husband, I squirted blood. Needless to say, no re-sticking on that vein. She taped it down, and started me on basic fluid IV drip. About four or a little after, my OB came in and checked me. I was at 2 cm and 75 percent already just by myself, so I was surprised. She ordered that the pitocin be started, and off we went.

Around this time, the nurses changed shifts. Bless her heart, but my new nurse had tiny fingers and at that point in labor my cervix was just too high for her to feel. GOOD LORD that hurt. I wanted to smack her. Shortly after they started the pitocin drip, DH ran home to finish installing the car seat, grab his pillow, and finish up a few things. Some how I managed to keep my cool while he was gone. I was glad that he made it back before the contractions got too bad.

I did start panicing some when the contractions started picking up. Thankfully my husband got me on a good pattern of breathing thru them, not to mention letting me squeeze the crap out of his hand. He also made me giggle and laugh during some of them to keep my mind off of the pain. I had MAJOR back labor, which the nurses and OB attributed to my scoliosis in my lower back. The pitocin was upped who knows how many times, I lost count. I was in serious pain, and pleaded for the epidural. The nurse wasn't able to pin point how far along I was, so she fudged and said I was ready. She called the OB, and then asked me if I wanted to start of with just pain meds first. I said, "No...epidural. Straight to the good stuff." I got started on the IV drip of fluids for that, and was in tears from the contractions at this point. God Bless my DH and his ability to tolerate me squeezing his hand to death.

By the time the epidural guy got there, I was half out of it due to the pain. I informed him of my scoliosis and he gave me the look. He said we could try, and it would be up to me if the trying got to be too much. He said I could have the epidural, but it would really just depend on how it went. I told him I was game for anything that would make the pain stop. I have to say the next part was probably one the hardest parts of labor I went thru. I was having such strong contractions and back labor, that the only way I was able to stay still was to forceable burry my head in DH's chest, while he kept his other hand on my shoulders to stabilize me. The doc had me keep telling him if I felt anything weird. I felt some stabbing pains, but then VIOLA - epidural space FOUND! He hooked me up to the test dose and had me lay down to see how my blood pressure handled it. I did just fine, so he hooked me up to THE GOOD LOVELY PAIN PUMP! *hugs pain pump* Epidural doc was informed by me that he was my new best friend. He laughed and said he'd be in to check on me later.

After that, the pitocin was upped again I think. The pressure soon got really bad. The nurse said my membranes were bulging. She said that if they hadn't broken naturally by the time my OB got back there, that the OB would break them. OMG weird feeling having your waters broke. Talk about gush. The gush proved the therory that the baby's head was still really high. The water breaking soon fixed that problem. I started to feel the contractions soon again. I never could tell at that point if it was strong pressure or some pain. Just knew I felt SOMETHING.

Then fast foward a good bit and I start feeling like I need to push. They check me and I'm at 9cm. YAY! Almost there....yeah right, this kiddo had other plans. After a bit more, they re-check me when I talk about the pressure and pushing feeling getting worse. Still 9cm. WTF??!?! I kindly inform the little one that it's time to come out. The nurse told me if I felt like pushing, I could start sneaking small pushes to help things along. This plan worked. I was at 10cm and ready to go. By this point my body was pushing for me, that's how strong the urges were.

The epidural affected my pushing some. Not to mention I had to get the hang of just HOW to push this kid out. Her feet were still in my rib cage, so that made trying to hold my breath during pushes HELL. Not to mention I was so tired by this point that my body was exhausted. I remember around this point noticing the time on DH's name badge from the last time he went out to the car. It was 108 am. Holy cow, I didn't realize how long we'd been there. After some good pushing, the OB said that the baby's head kept going back some after each push. I tell them all that I'm trying my best to make this work. I was also getting sick at my stomach too. After some more pushing, me snapping at people, and the DH taking over coaching, we got into a good swing of things. (Nurses kept trying to couch, but DH's voice was REALLY easy to pick up over their's and I focused on that.)

They wanted to turn me on my side at one point. I had to snap at the nurse because turning on my right side HURT REALLY BAD. They decided to trust this fact based on my reaction, and let me stay on my back. They did end up letting me use the handle bars. OMG...that made pushing a lot easier than trying to get myself to hold my legs up. By this point, the pressure, burning, tingling and pain were getting bad. Oh, not to mention by this point, the epidural drip had been off for awhile. Then I felt it - her head starting to crown. DH looked at me and told me to not stop. I was there, and that I could do it. My DH is the main reason I could to it. I did almost have a panic attack at that point and he got me refocused. He told me to get mad at it and push her out. Next thing I know, I hear the OB asking for the bulb. It barely clicks in my head that the little one's head is out. The next push I feel the rest of her slide out. She screamed right away. God, that was the best sound. Not to mention the look on my DH's face. He cut the cord, and they put her on my chest. She was a slimey little warm thing. Man I loved feeling her on my chest. DH looked so happy too. After a little bit, they took her for her initial tests.

DH went over to watch over that. LO picked up on his voice and kept re-acting to it. The nurse kept commenting on that, and how Alison kept kicking her. LOL. DH came back over to me, and held my hand during the rest of delivery. He also kept me focused during the stitching up. Even with the local anistetic, that HURT and felt weird. After this, DH went to get Alison's foot prints in our baby book. Then we get "the measurement." My OB commented on how Alison didn't even look like a newborn. lol. Then she heard the 9lbs and 4ozs, 22 inches long report, and said she hadn't seen a baby that long in awhile. After that, they gave her to DH who passed her to me. We started in on some breast feeding. She took to it nicely. I finally get to ask what time she was born, and they tell me at 356am. So from start to finish, it was twelve hours.

Her APGAR scores were 9 and 9, which made me so happy to hear. They took her off to the nursery for her initial tests, bathe, ect. I get my shower, and soon tell the DH to go home to get some sleep. By that point it was past 6 am, and he'd been up for 24+ hours. He makes sure I'm safe in bed, and heads home. My body was still running on adrenaline, so I didn't settled down till about 9am after I ate breakfast. I asked a nurse when they might bring Alison back, and they said she was asleep, so they would bring her back when she woke up so that I could get some rest.

When I woke up, I was informed that her blood sugars had dropped, so she was being supplemented with formula to try to get her sugars up and avoid the IV. Breastfeeding was hard during that because she was so tired and out of it. Thankfully by 3pm she passed one of the blood sugar tests, and she passed another at 6pm, so she was home free. She was up ALL NIGHT last night due to it though, but we got some good practice breast feeding in.

Right now, I'm waiting on her to get back from the nursery. She is getting some of her tests done while the nurse has time. So I'm taking this moment to write this up. Alison is up to about an hour on the boob when she is hungry and awake. I'm thinking we can slowly get into a pattern with this once we get home where it will be lots easier to find comfortable positionings. I'm healing up well, I think. I'm still sore and achey and swollen. My back and muscles are killing me, but thankfully they are letting me take motrin now, so it's helping.

Well that's about all I can think of. Sorry for the length. =)

I'm a little late in getting this in here, and it's really not complete, but I wanted to get it in here while I still remembered lol. There is some missing info, and I will edit it when I have more time, but for now, this is the copy and paste from when I got home.

Around 2:30am I woke up as usual to go pee Tuesday, and felt "wet" as if I were leaking something. So, as they say to do online, feel it and do a sniff test. If you smell nothing, it's most likely amniotic fluid. So, I smelt nothing, but thought, well I am kinda hot, maybe I'm just really sweaty. So, went back to bed. Got up at 10:30ish I think, and again, felt all wet. Sat up on the bed and when I got up, I left a puddle behind. So, after pondering if I should go in or not, we finally decided to go in and see, which is when you all got my first post.

Got there, and they stuck the q-tip thingy in to test to see if it had broke, yep. It turned black, so yay for me, I'm admitted! The dr wanted me to walk around and see if I could go on my own, and at this point I was 2cms dilated, and 50% effaced. So, I walked around, drank lots of liquids, got annoyed by Bruce who insisted on playing with the buttons on my bed and making me laugh even though it hurt lol.

8pm rolls around, and I'm sitting at 3cms, and still half way effaced. Dr tells the nurse to leave me till 9pm, at which point they'll start me on Pitocin. Ohhhh, lucky me I thought lol.

After that, it actually went rather quickly. 9:20pm the drip was started. By about 10:30 or so I had gone to about 5cms, and the dr ordered a shot of Demerol, to help for pain and to help the dilation go a bit faster. By 11, the contractions were coming about 5 mins apart, and getting stronger each time. By about 11:45pm, I told Bruce I think this baby will be here by about 12:30. The contractions had started coming 2 minutes apart, and getting even stronger. I was offered the mask, but didn't take it. While the contractions were stronger, I was able (probably through the help of the Demerol) to tolerate them. Sometime after 12, I was 8cms, and still no real need to push, but she called the dr in. Close to 12:30, I was in tears cause of the pain, and once the dr got there, that was it, the contractions seemed to take off and there was no need/time for the mask, it was time to get this baby out!

I think I pushed for 5 minutes, and only about 4 really big pushes and a couple small ones and out the baby came!

So, in reality, I was only in real labor for about 4 hours, since nothing really started till 9pm when I got the drip. I had a few contractions off and on till then, but nothing to really say "THIS IS IT" over.

Now. Isn't there something else I need to post. Oh yes. What did I have?

Am I a member of Team Blue or Team Pink?

Welllllllllllllll................

I"M A MEMBER OF TEAM PINK!!!!

We had our girl!! As soon as she came out, Bruce sorta knew, but didn't wanna say anything in case he was wrong. They had immediately took her to the warming bed, and they hadn't said anything. The look on his face said "IT"S A GIRL" and I had to ask him, "What is it?" Then I heard the dr say "Congrats, it's a girl!" Well, that was it. I started crying and smiling, and sorta laughing, but more so crying. I still can't believe it!

Rachel, she very much doesnt have anything on her that looks like a giant set of balls LMAO!

Baby Stats:

Name: Heather Anne Hansen
DOB: December 12, 2007
Time: 12:45am
Weight: 9lbs, 2 1/4 ozs
Length: 20 inches
APGAR - 7 and 10

As soon as she was born:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...l/heather2.jpg


1 Hour later:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...l/heather3.jpg

First Family Pic:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...l/heather7.jpg

Heather at 1am after a feeding (1 day old, still in hospital)
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...l/heather9.jpg

**Timing and small details are approximate, I can’t find the piece of paper with more accurate times written on it but will edit when I go – need to get this done while baby is sleeping!**

I was scheduled for an induction on Thursday 20th December but received a call on Tuesday morning asking whether I wanted to be induced that day instead. I was 41 weeks and 1 day – 8 days overdue but was hoping to go into labor on my own so I told the nurse that I wasn’t ready for that and would wait until Thursday. I got to thinking while sitting on the couch and called Joel (DH) to tell him about the call, he said it was up to me and left it at that… after an hour of humming and hawing I decided to go for it. I would get to meet my little guy two days earlier and be home in time for Christmas.

So I called L&D and told them we were coming in. I had something light to eat and got in the shower after packing my hospital bag (how slack!!). Joel came home from work and we arrived at the hospital at around 1pm – much better than the 5:30am we had planned for Thursday. They showed us to our room and handed me my gown. Joel pulled out the video camera and we did a bit of a guided tour of the room to pass the time and ease our nerves. We took ‘bets’ on how big we thought he would be, I really didn’t have an estimate but Joel said 9lb 5oz I think – he said he really didn’t know what it meant but sounded like a good number! I didn’t think so…

My nurse finally came in to put in my IV and I told her I was terrified of the thing. She explained what everything was, how it worked and taped it up really well when she was done. It wasn’t half as bad as I thought it was going to be. She got the fluids going and the doctor came in to check me – barely 1cm and about 50% effaced – he said we had a long night ahead of us and the nurse got the pitocin started about an hour after we had checked in. It didn’t really do much until it got up to 14-16 on the drip (not sure of the units of measurement) – I spent the time up going backwards and forwards to the bathroom, eating lime popsicles and watching movies. Then all of a sudden those contractions that were showing up on the monitor, but I wasn’t feeling got REALLY painful.

When the drip was at 18 I was having contractions 2 minutes apart and when checked I was still only around 2.5/3cm. While being checked my water broke on it’s own! What a weird feeling! But good because I wasn’t looking forward to the doctor doing it. I couldn’t handle the pain anymore so asked for some pain medication. Because I really wanted to avoid the epidural I got some stadol and it didn’t do much at first. After making it through a few more contractions I was sobbing and asked for the epidural. The anesthesiologist was awesome! He had come in earlier and I had told him I wasn’t interested at that point but he sure did get to my room quick when I needed him! He explained everything really well and told me what he was doing during each step and what to expect. He and the nurses really helped, it wasn’t nearly as scary/painful as I thought it would be. I wish Joel hadn’t been kicked out of the room though! It kicked in nearly straight away. I could still feel my legs – they were tingly but I could still move them fairly well. I couldn’t feel a thing below my chest other than my legs – HEAVENLY! And then the stadol really kicked in and I was off. The room was spinning and I couldn’t talk really well so Joel was laughing at me. I would rather be out of it than in pain honestly!

I was checked a while later and had made it to 4cm, ~75% effaced and (?) station. Between now and the next time I was checked my blood pressure kept getting lower – 79/43 at one point and Parker’s heart rate was showing ‘early decelerations’. I changed position frequently and had the oxygen mask on to try to help him out – eventually they gave me a shot of ephedrine and that seemed to help my blood pressure and his heart rate.

About an hour later, at 11:07pm (as per txt records) I was 8cm, 100% effaced and 0 station! I was like ‘huh, I didn’t do anything!’, the nurse was surprised too and said that was why his heart rate was going down – what they thought were early decelerations were actually somewhat to be expected as he got squished into the birth canal with each contraction. Within the next hour I started feeling pain/pressure in my bum and called the nurse. She checked me again and said I was almost complete. With each contraction I did a sneaky little push, both to relieve the pressure/pain and to move Parker down. I was checked again and my nurses couldn’t reach my cervix because his head was right there! The doctor came in, the bed was broken apart and I started pushing. What a strange feeling!! With each contraction I would push 3 or 4 times and seemed to be making good progress (I kept asking, because I wasn’t sure anything was happening – Joel assured me something was, he could see his head wiggling around everytime I pushed!)

After around 10 hours of labor and 35-45 minutes of pushing Parker Rhodes was born at 12:51am on December 19th! He was immediately put on my stomach and Joel and I just stared at him crying. It was a pretty amazing moment.

Boy were we surprised when he was weighed – 9lbs 3.3 oz and 19 inches long!! Joel was pretty close!! No wonder I was sore… I had two 2nd degree tears, one to the perineal area and one on the inside right wall of the birth canal. It took a while for the doctor to stitch me up and it hurt but with a little lidocaine and watching my little guy get cleaned up I made it through. He was a little gurgly so they suctioned him out really well and handed him back to me. The nurse helped me start breastfeeding and we did pretty well.

We snuggled with our little guy for a while and then Joel went to call family and I rested while a nurse cleaned Parker up a little more. I watched quietly just in awe of how small he was (yet so big apparently!!)
------
We left the hospital about 36 hours after he was born. I was feeling pretty good, Parker was doing well having only lost a little weight (down to 8lb 13oz) and we just wanted to go home and start life with our little family… it’s been an adventure so far!!

Cole's Birth Story:

December 6, 2007 at 7:40 am
8 lbs 4oz
20 inches long

Cole was a scheduled c-section because he was breech. We arrived at the hospital at 5:00sm on December 6th for a 7:30am c-section. They did all their routine prep. The hooked me up to the monitor and I was having some pretty good sized contractions. The nurses said that I would probably have gone into labor on my own within 24 hours so it was our time. They had a lot of students around. One of my nurses who was prepping me was an intern who was on her last day of her internship. She goofed up giving me my IV. Shortly after she put the IV in and they started me on some fluids, my hand started to feel numb. The head nurse just discounted it, but thank god my DH had figured it out- the intern had left the trinket (sp?) on my arm!

Once in the operating room, everything happened very quickly. It sucked not having DH in the room the whole time. He was just brought in about 2 minutes before Cole was born. There were about 4 medical students in the room observing. My doctor was talking them through the whole procedure while she was doing it. I really didn’t need to hear all of that. She was quizzing them on all my anatomy like what layer of tissue was this. What do you call it when you see that, sort of thing? I just tried to block all of that out. I did hear her tell them that he was the kind of breech that they never move out of- his feet were down and crossed at the ankle, like he was sitting Indian style.

When Cole was delivered, I only got a quick glimpse of him as they brought him over to another area to clean up. He looked so big and had such a loud cry. DH immediately went over to him and stayed with him the entire time. They headed off to recovery pretty quick while they were finishing putting me back together. It seemed like forever, but finally they brought me into recovery and I could finally get a good look at my son and got to hold him. He was so big and cute. It felt perfect in my arms. I could already see his legs, arms and head moving around like crazy. That is the one sight I was dying to see. Despite having the genetic testing, we always wondered in the back of our minds, if the test results were accurate. Our DD had very little arm movement and could barely move her legs and head, so to see him moving around was the best feeling possible.

While in recovery, I started bleeding quite a bit. They ended up giving me some medicine and it worked quickly to slow the bleeding down and all was good. The pain meds they gave me were great. They gave me some pills; I called happy pills that I got to take home from the hospital. Even though, they assured me that it was fine for the baby, I know some of that was passed down to the baby. He was way too calm those first days while on the meds. As soon as I stopped taking them, he “woke up”.

I think I have healed up pretty fast. I am just a little tender around my incision area and can feel it when I try and use my stomach muscles too much. I was pleasantly surprised by my scar. It is sooooo low, no one will ever see it. It’s also so thin. I had seen my SIL’s scar and her’s was so much higher and bigger. My doctor did a great job.

All and all, we have been very lucky. Cole has been a wonderful baby and I have been recovering pretty well. I am so excited and looking forward to the future. It’s so fun to think of him reaching all of his milestones. It’s the smallest little things that mean the most. So far, my absolutely favorite is putting him up on my shoulder and having him hold on to me. That feeling is priceless.

Thursday, December 13 I went to my 40 doctor appointment. I was to have a NST and an ultra-sound to check everything. Everything seemed relativly ok. However, with all the contractions I was having the past couple of weeks, I was still at 1 cm. Also, when I was having a contraction, baby's heartrate would remain the same (it didn't go up and it didn't go down). So the doctor shoved her hand up me and tried to "tickle" her head to see if LO would respond but she didn't. The doctor decided to try to induce me. I was to go over to L&D at 8 and have cervidel put inside me. Having the IV placed was horrible. The nurse first tried my left hand and the vein collapsed. When the nurse was putting it in my right hand I felt like I was going to pass out. DH said I turned really pale. Friday morning, Pitocin was started. It was the worst pain I've ever felt. I moved from 1 cm to 4 in a couple of hours. When the doctor checked me at 4 she decided to break my water. As soon as my water broke I went to 5cm. At this point I was practically begging for my epidural. I started shaking I was in so much pain. It took the anastesiologist (sp?) about 10 minutes to get up to me and it was the longest 10 minutes of my life. Once I got the epidural I passed out. About 10:40/10:45 I started to push. After about 20 pushes or so Samantha Rose was born at 11:05 a.m. December 14th. She was 8 pounds 2 ounces and 21 inches long.