As the day went on, I noticed I was having Braxton Hicks contractions, almost constantly. I didn't think much of it, because they weren't painful at all. Plus, at my most recent doctor's visit, there hadn't been any progress from the previous week so I assumed Baby O was going to stay put until his due date or even after. I emailed Nate about the contractions, but added that nothing would likely come of it. Labor contractions are supposed to hurt, right? Famous last words.
As we were having dinner on Monday night, the contractions started to become uncomfortable, but still not painful. I laid down on the couch and started counting the time between each one. It was about 4 minutes...then an hour later, 3 minutes. The doctor said to call once they were less than 5 minutes apart and at least 45 seconds to a minute in length. Mine were close enough together, but only lasting about 20 seconds. I called the doctor at about 8:30 and he said to wait and see if they became stronger and more frequent, and if so, to call back again.
I continued tracking the contractions, and had to laugh when I looked at the sheet of paper I was using. Earlier in the night, the entries were neatly organized and labeled with pain levels. As time wore on, they became more sporradic and desperate looking. All the while, Nate was getting everything organized. He was much more convinced than I was that this was it. He even turned his truck around in the garage so it was facing out and ready to go, haha!
By 10:00, the pain was bad. I was doubled over and unable to talk through the contractions. They were also becoming longer (30-45 seconds) and only about 2 minutes apart. I called the doctor back and he told me to go to the hospital to be evaluated. At this point I started feeling a little teary because I was excited to meet Baby O, overwhelmed at the thought of what was happening, and emotional... knowing this would be the last time Nate and I would be a little family of two.
We arrived at the hospital around 10:30 and they hooked me up to the fetal monitor, and another monitor for the contractions. The nurse noticed that Baby O's heartrate was "decelerating," meaning it was staying at a basline rate most of the time, but every once in a while it would dip down and pop back up. What they want to see is the opposite, accelerations, where the rate pops up occasionally, then back down to baseline.
They hooked me up to IV fluids and started oxygen to see if that would perk the baby up, and moved me into a labor and delivery room. Baby O's heartrate continued with the same pattern, and around 1:00, they told me I was far enough along for an epidural. Queue the singing angels right here. The epidural helped so much. I could talk, breathe and think again. It was wonderful, but we were still worried about Baby O and wanting to make sure he was okay.
At 2:30 my water broke and the nurse explained that there was a fair amount of mecomium, meaning Baby O had pooped in the amniotic fluid. This, along with the decelerations, meant that he was getting stressed out by the labor process. The nurse called my doctor at home, and he told her that he was on his way into the hospital so that we could figure out our next steps.
Dr. Shibley arrived and told us exactly what we were expecting: that a c-section would be the best way to make sure Baby O came out healthy and thriving. He was concerned that the baby wouldn't tolerate 8-10 more hours of labor well, and taking him via c-section was our safest bet. They started getting me ready for surgery and Nate and I snapped these pictures of eachother...the last ones before we became parents! Nate looks happy and excited, and I look...well, like I'd been in labor for a while (but also happy and excited!)
They wheeled me into the operating room at about 3:30 and started working to get Baby O out. The anesthesia took away any pain I would have felt, but I could still feel all of the pulling and tugging. This actually didn't bother me, because it helped me understand what was going on since I couldn't see anything through the sheet they hung in front of me. As soon as they pulled him out, I felt a big release of pressure and the nurse anesthetist sitting up next to Nate and me yelled, "A baby boy!"
They took Baby O away for a couple of minutes to suction out his lungs, weigh him and assess him. Everyone kept repeating that he looked great, and then came the sweetest sound...his little cry eachoed over to me and before I knew it, Nate was holding him up to my face. Words can't even describe what that felt like. He was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
Baby O was born 1.31.2012 at 3:57 AM, weighed 6 pounds even and was 19 inches long. Most importantly, he was perfectly healthy! Next it was time for us to decide on his name. We had picked out two boy names and only one girl name, so we had to decide between the two boy options. He looked like a Maxwell to us. Max for short.
We stayed in the hospital until Friday, February 3 which was our original due date. Our days were filled with visits from nurses, OBGYN doctors, pediatricians, and many friends and family. Max also had lots of tests done and passed them all with flying colors. I hear a lot of new parents say they couldn't wait to get out of the hospital, and I can understand why because it is exhausting. I slept 30 minutes the first day we were there. However, Nate and I didn't mind it all that much. Being a first-time mom and dad, it was reassuring to have someone there 24 hours a day to answer questions, to make sure Max was doing okay, and to have time to recover from the c-section.
Boy, c-sections are no joke. The first time I got up to walk, it felt like I hadn't been out of bed in weeks (when really, it had been less than a day). But every day gets easier, epsecially since I've been at home and moving around a lot more. Plus, I am so excited and happy to have my little man at home and so busy taking care of him that I haven't had time to focus on my own discomfort. And of course Nate has been a huge help and has taken great care of both of us. All three of us are a little sad that today is Daddy's last day at home with us before he goes back to work tomorrow.
Today is Max's 2 week check-up. We're excited to see how much weight he has gained. When we left the hospital, he was down 8 ounces from his birth weight (which is typical) and at his first check-up the following Monday he had already gained 5 ounces back. That was a week ago today so we're hoping he is nearing the seven pound mark! I'll update again soon with more details about his first couple of weeks at home and how this new life of ours is going. We both feel like totally different people now, in a good way. So far, I would say that having Max is the most rewarding, humbling, exhausting and wonderful thing we have ever done. We are in love...
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