I enjoyed writing about my pregnancy, and the therapeutic way it helped keep my mind at ease, I've decided to continue on with the first year of being Nicholas' Mommy.
Thanks for Tuning in! I'll try to keep it light and fluffy :)
July 8, 2012 was the big day! I was nervous for sure. I had imagined all the ways my water would break, the panic Phil would experience while racing to get our go bags together and get to the hospital on time. It was very "9 Months" (terrible Hugh Grant movie). I was scared to go to restaurants thinking that in that moment I'd feel the "Pop!" and be immediately drenched from the waist down. Movies are soooooooooo dramatic. At my 38 week check up, my Dr did the necessary checks and determined that 1) Baby was too big and needed to come out now while we still could do it naturally and 2) My cervix was no where near ready. He made a call and I was scheduled to be induced on Sunday July 8.
For the next several days I experienced excitement, nausea, nervousness, panic, insomnia (that's nothing new) and a myriad of other pleasant and unpleasant emotions. He was coming! WE made it! After all these months I was finally going to meet my womb hijacker, as the books call him. By the time 3 pm rolled around I was a bundle of nerves. I had heard several pleasant stories about being induced, and even more terrible ones that usually ended with baby in distress, emergency c section. I was prepared to do go through it all and to be as graceful as possible.
By 4 I had the Cervidil inserted, that was painful! I was warned not to remove it or they'd have to re-insert it. I cried the first time so I was not going through that again. By 2 am my contractions were coming frequenty and painfully. Finally at the urging of Phil, I asked for pain meds. The nurse checked me and found I was only dilated 1cm. She also accidentally removed the insert. And my water broke. Before I could get any relief for pain, she jammed the strip back up, in between constant, painful contractions. At that point I was crying and begging her to stop. I'd just keep the baby in forever. As long as she stopped with the stupid strip. After about 10 minutes of unrelenting determination, she finally got the insert back behind my cervix (my very high, and difficult to get to cervix they kept complaining about) and was able to give me the shot of morphine. Finally I felt a bit comfortable and slept for about 45 minutes.
Soon after my contractions were coming about 4-6 minutes apart, and lasting up to 10 minutes at a time. Phil enjoyed watching the monitor and seeing all the other Mamas in labor, while commenting that mine were as bad as the woman who was in the Pushing phase. By 4 am they took the insert out, and gave me another shot of pain meds. I was still dilated at 1.
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| Moments After Being Born <3 |
The rest of the morning went about the same, occasional pain meds, almost no opening. By noon, I was at 2 and a half. By 3:30 I was at 3, but the baby's head was swelling because he was pushing to come out and I was not dilating fast enough. My dr gave me an epidural for the pain, hoping it might help the process along. I could tell that he was already preparing for a c section by the end of the night. By 5 pm I was at 3 and a half. (although my dr did mention that there is no such thing as "Halves" lol). At 6 pm, my dr came in and said I was just pushing 4, but there was no point prolonging it anymore. Time for the c section! The upped my epidural to take away feelings in my legs (I have no legs!) gave my hubby fancy scrubs and we headed into the OR. From there, everything was a blur. I felt pressure, felt a pop and heard a cry. Looking over the curtain at me was a plump baby with big, blue eyes and a bit of blood. He was taken away and I was stitched back together. After about 15 minutes I was wheeled into my recovery room, Phil and the baby coming in shortly after. Finally I got to hold my baby. His eyes were alert and he was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my entire life.
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| Holding Nicholas the First Time |
That was 2 weeks ago. We've been home getting used to the sleep patterns of Nicholas. Sometimes I just love to lean forward and stare at him. It's crazy to believe I made this perfect little guy. Phil and I are so blessed with the little miracle that we have been given. Our family is complete now, and it's amazing what having Nicholas has done for everyone else. My mom, who had been very depressed since my grandfather passed, is glowing and dancing. She comes over daily for her kisses. My in laws flew down this weekend and spent a few days getting to know him, and of course fell immediately in love.
For now, Phil and I are learning about being Mommy and Daddy. I've been recovering well from my surgery, so I'm more mobile, although sometimes I'm sore and just need to sit. I have the normal fears, SIDs of course being the big one. At night I lie him in the bassinet beside me just so that I can make sure he's breathing. So far though, we're all doing pretty good.
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| Nicholas Hospital Shoot |
