I have a lot of other things that need to get done right now, but I wanted to get Bo's birth story recorded before I forgot the little bit that I still remember.
It was Thursday, Jan. 5th, that it all started...a day packed full of activities. The girls and I got up and out the door early to go on our monthly grocery shopping trip to the commissary. I got a lot of food that I was planning on preparing the next day (like three bags of potatoes to chop and freeze). I even had a turkey thawing out so that I could cook it on my big cooking day I was planning for Friday. After the grocery trip, we got home and I put away all the food that needed frozen or refrigerated and left the rest (many bags) on the table. Then we headed off to our friend's house for a play date and lunch. Naps at home were short so that I could get to my doctor's appointment that afternoon to check out what turned out to be thrush. Nice, huh? While we were at the doctor, I noticed that I was starting to have an increasing number of contractions.
After the doctor's appointment, we decided to stop by a park because it was super nice out for January. My contractions were becoming regular at about 12 to 15 minutes apart by the time we left. When we got home, I quickly fed the girls dinner so that we could go to a meeting for the Southeast Good Neighbor Center at 6:00. Justin had a late night at work, so he stopped by the church to pick up the girls on his way home. My contractions were still regular, getting closer to 1o minutes apart. They weren't very painful at this point.
I got home around 7:45 and we prepared to possibly go into the hospital that night. We got the girls ready for bed, I took a shower, and we called my brother to warn him that we might be bringing the girls over to their house (and would he rather have them now, or in the middle of the night?) We decided to go ahead and put them to bed and wait it out. For the 8:00 hour, my contractions stayed at about 8 to 10 minutes apart. I can't remember exactly what time it was, but the contractions started getting painful and lasting longer, so we decided to go to the hospital (I think it was around 11:00?) It was actually the same scenario as with Rylie, so I was expecting him to be born in the early morning hours like she was.
So, we drop the girls off at Rick and Kendra's on the way to the hospital. We get there, get checked in and I'm only dilated to 3.5. While I'm laying there, my contractions become more irregular...some are very painful, while others are not at all (great, I'm thinking, we shouldn't have come this early). I'm sure since I was 2 weeks early, the resident doctor thought it wasn't the real thing yet and decided to send me home since I only dilated to a 4 while I was there. So, we went home around 2:00 or 3:00(?...can't quite remember).
Well, as soon as I got up and moving, the contractions started coming every 3-5 minutes and were very painful. We were at home for about an hour when Justin must not have wanted to deliver his baby at home, because he said, that's it-we're going back! I replied that I wasn't going back! I'm not getting sent home again! But, I listened to my husband and we headed back to the hospital just a short hour after leaving.
We got checked in--again--and this time I was crying (quite loudly!) with every contraction. (Later, the same resident doctor said I was more believable this time. I didn't know I was trying to convince them that I was in labor!) So, I'm in a new room with no one coming to check me or get me "admitted". It was a long time before the same nurse and resident doctor (ugh!) came in...and I was only dilated to a 5! Like I said, same scenario as with Rylie, but she was out and in my arms by this time! It was going so slow this time around!
Finally, I was admitted and things got moving a little bit. I was able to get an epidural, during which I cried and screamed the whole time...my second least favorite part of the whole thing. It didn't cover the left side of my belly, but it still was so much better than feeling the full effect of all those contractions. I seemed to stay dilated at a six forever, though.
Eventually, all the changes started happening and the new nurse and new doctor (yay!) started to prepare for delivery. They called my doctor to get him in. He got me all set up and I only had to push once. They put our new baby on my chest at 11:30 am and Justin and I were both glowing with joy...
...then I started screaming!!!! What in the heck were they doing!!! I don't remember it hurting this bad! I was screaming and crying so hard, the nurses took the baby (who was supposed to have some skin-to-skin contact with me at first) and did their thing with him, like measurements and such. Justin went with the baby, while I was being tortured, or so it felt like. It turns out that my placenta was stuck and the cord was not attached to it anymore. The resident doctor had to stick her hand up into my uterus to pull on the placenta. On top of that, they were pushing so hard on the top of my belly (my absolute least favorite part of the whole thing!). The doctor asked the nurses, "Isn't she blocked?!" Well, not on the left side, the side my placenta was on! So, they quickly put more "stuff" in the epidural, and some kind of drugs into my IV. Anything after that is a bit fuzzy in my memory...I was pretty drugged up and out of it.
For a long time afterwards, I couldn't open my eyes, but I could hear some of the stuff going on around me. I heard Bo crying a lot. They had to stick a tube down his throat to get fluid out of his lungs. From looking back at pictures Justin took, he even got a bath during this time. My first time moving from getting the drugs, I threw up. I threw up a couple more times that day. Eventually, I was awake enough to hold Bo as they took me to another room. I had some visitors, but I was still really tired and out of it. It was hard for me to concentrate and stay awake.
But the next day at 5:30 am, I was wide awake and refreshed! I took a shower and was ready to go. Bo stayed in the nursery the whole night, and I got a lot of much needed rest! I recovered pretty quickly and finally got to love on my new baby and actually remember it!
Getting measured.
8 lbs, 1 oz
Fluid-filled lungs
First bath
Holding Bo while I get wheeled to another room. This is the ONLY descent picture taken of me while I was so drugged up. I don't even have one of my first moment holding him like I have with the girls because I was crying so hard and they took him from me so quickly. Oh, well, I can at least remember it...for now!
