6lbs, 11oz; 19 inches
5 days early, and we're so happy to have him!
Dan, the proud new father.
"KhunYai" with her second grandsonI checked into Orem Community Hospital around 2:00pm. At 4pm, the nurse inserted cervidil into my cervix to help get me dilated. I was only 1cm at the time, and the assumption was that I would leave the cervidil in for the next 12 hours, at which point they hoped I'd be 2 or 3 cms dilated. THEN they would give me pitocin to begin the contractions, sometime around 5am the following day. I was surprised it was gonna take that long, so we got comfortable and planned for the long haul.
I started cramping pretty quickly from the cervidil - uncomfortable for sure, but not painful. Four hours later, I started crying because I felt so awful, and it was only 8:30pm. Based on the nurse's timeline, I couldn't imagine it was supposed to be 9 more hours of this and be so much worse before I could get my epidural and the pitocin. At nine pm, I asked if I could at least have Tylenol pm or something to get some rest because the cramping-contractions were getting more intense. I felt silly complaining about my pain and discomfort because I knew the nurse just figured I was an inexperienced first-time mom who "just needs to go through the process", and she kept reminding me it would get much worse.
At ten pm, I was in visible pain and the contractions were coming quicker and stronger. The nurse checked me and was surprised to see I was 5cms dilated! She and Dan cheered, while I begged her to please finish getting the IV in me so I could be given the prescribed pain meds. In the meantime, I was feeling nauseous and battling hot flashes and chills. Twenty minutes later, she checked my cervix again, and I could sense her panic when she said, "Oh, you are completely dilated. And there's the head!" It was a mad scramble to contact the anesthesiologist and the Dr.
Dan immediately sat by my side, letting me squeeze his hand and shoulder when I wasn't clinging to the bed-rail. The contractions were so intense by this point and coming more quickly by the minute. All I wanted to do was push - in fact, it felt so involuntary and even when the nurse said, "Stop pushing, stop pushing", I literally COULDN'T help it! Dan worked with me to stare into his eyes and focus on my breathing, which helped calm me down sometimes. But towards the end of the fifteen minutes (what seemed like a lifetime!), I was losing control and could feel the baby coming out. There was no time for an epidural, and I was panicking inside. Ok, and probably on the outside,too, since I was gasping and wild-eyed when I felt the contractions.
At last, both my mom and Dr. Judd arrived. It was another ten minutes of controlled, smaller pushes - and with the Dr. guiding the baby’s head and some painful cries from me, baby Ty fell right out.
I immediately was crying in shock and relief, with Dan crying by my side, and filled with so much love for the little one held in front of me. Dan cut the umbilical cord and the baby was swept away for tests and cleaning. I kept saying, "I can't believe I did it." Never in my life had I intended to go "natural" - and I’d been told in my prenatal class, "if you're not whole-heartedly set and prepared to go natural, don't bother!" But I did it, whether I wanted to or not and there is a great sense of pride in that. Now - will I do it again? Not intentionally! But it's comforting to know that I can.
Dan and I are both thrilled to be parents. We're working on breast-feeding, but the little guy sleeps constantly and so far hasn't put in a lot of effort! We’ll get there...
I started cramping pretty quickly from the cervidil - uncomfortable for sure, but not painful. Four hours later, I started crying because I felt so awful, and it was only 8:30pm. Based on the nurse's timeline, I couldn't imagine it was supposed to be 9 more hours of this and be so much worse before I could get my epidural and the pitocin. At nine pm, I asked if I could at least have Tylenol pm or something to get some rest because the cramping-contractions were getting more intense. I felt silly complaining about my pain and discomfort because I knew the nurse just figured I was an inexperienced first-time mom who "just needs to go through the process", and she kept reminding me it would get much worse.
At ten pm, I was in visible pain and the contractions were coming quicker and stronger. The nurse checked me and was surprised to see I was 5cms dilated! She and Dan cheered, while I begged her to please finish getting the IV in me so I could be given the prescribed pain meds. In the meantime, I was feeling nauseous and battling hot flashes and chills. Twenty minutes later, she checked my cervix again, and I could sense her panic when she said, "Oh, you are completely dilated. And there's the head!" It was a mad scramble to contact the anesthesiologist and the Dr.
Dan immediately sat by my side, letting me squeeze his hand and shoulder when I wasn't clinging to the bed-rail. The contractions were so intense by this point and coming more quickly by the minute. All I wanted to do was push - in fact, it felt so involuntary and even when the nurse said, "Stop pushing, stop pushing", I literally COULDN'T help it! Dan worked with me to stare into his eyes and focus on my breathing, which helped calm me down sometimes. But towards the end of the fifteen minutes (what seemed like a lifetime!), I was losing control and could feel the baby coming out. There was no time for an epidural, and I was panicking inside. Ok, and probably on the outside,too, since I was gasping and wild-eyed when I felt the contractions.
At last, both my mom and Dr. Judd arrived. It was another ten minutes of controlled, smaller pushes - and with the Dr. guiding the baby’s head and some painful cries from me, baby Ty fell right out.
I immediately was crying in shock and relief, with Dan crying by my side, and filled with so much love for the little one held in front of me. Dan cut the umbilical cord and the baby was swept away for tests and cleaning. I kept saying, "I can't believe I did it." Never in my life had I intended to go "natural" - and I’d been told in my prenatal class, "if you're not whole-heartedly set and prepared to go natural, don't bother!" But I did it, whether I wanted to or not and there is a great sense of pride in that. Now - will I do it again? Not intentionally! But it's comforting to know that I can.
Dan and I are both thrilled to be parents. We're working on breast-feeding, but the little guy sleeps constantly and so far hasn't put in a lot of effort! We’ll get there...
Thanks for the love and congrats!
Erica, Dan, and Ty
1 comment:
You made me get teary eyed! Thanks for sharing your story.
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