Introducing......
Thomas Harrison!
Born Sunday, August 7, 2011 at 9:10 am
7 pounds 10 ounces
20.5 inches long
Thomas Harrison!
Born Sunday, August 7, 2011 at 9:10 am
7 pounds 10 ounces
20.5 inches long
So here's the story, on Saturday I felt crampy and just plain blah all day. I couldn't sit still and just wanted more and more things to do. I swept, dusted, arranged, rearranged, and basically drove Bill nuts all day. Finally I looked at Bill and said, "you know, we haven't put the car seat bases in yet, the baby won't come until we do that." Bill laughed and reminded me that if I gave birth without the car seat bases in, he could always come home and do it before we were released but he humored me anyway and we went out in the rain and put a base in my car.
At around 7:00, Bill went over to our friends' house to watch the Mets game and I snuggled in on the couch to watch some TV. At 10:30 I went in to bed to watch TV in there. At 11:00 I felt this very strange POP in my belly. I waited to see what was going to happen but nothing did. About 5 minutes later I decided to get up and go to the bathroom. As I stood up, fluid started running down my legs. Not a lot, about as much as peeing yourself. I made it to the bathroom and realized that I had lost my mucus plug as well. I went and laid down to see what would happen and sure enough, more came pouring out. I called Bill and told him to come home, that my water had broken. He rushed home and we called the doctor who told me to go to L&D to get checked out.
We got to the hospital around 12:15 and by that point, the contractions had started and were about 8 minutes apart. They did an internal and I was about 3-4 centimeters dilated and 100% effaced. They admitted me and offered to let me get in the tub. It was about 2 am by that point and the hot water felt great. The contractions were painful in my hips and legs and the hot water really helped me to relax. However, it only felt good for about 20 minutes then I just felt restricted since it was a standard sized tub and I couldn't really move around.
At that point, my contractions were really close together and very strong. I was having a hard time concentrating on breathing and was in a whole lot of pain. The nurse offered to give me Nubain but I didn't want to get it because it's in the same family as Morphine and when I've had that in the past, it has caused me to become extremely loopy and fall asleep even in a small dosage. I was afraid that I'd take it and not be able to push. I was open to an epidural and asked for it at 3:00. The anesthesiologist was in an emergency cesarean and wasn't able to come to me right away so I tried to labor through the contractions but they were coming so fast and so strong that I was crying and shaking.
At 3:30 the nurse told me that the anesthesiologist was finishing up in the OR and that he'd be coming by soon but told me that I'd have to be able to sit still while he gave me the epidural. She asked if I thought I could do it and I just cried harder. She left so Bill and I could discuss what to do. I told him I didn't think I could sit still. He told me he thought we should try some sort of meds and I gave in to the Nubain. The doctor checked me and I was 5 centimeters dilated so they approved both the Nubain and the epidural. The nurse gave the Nubain to me and I instantly felt limp. I didn't feel any contractions, in fact, I didn't feel anything. She had me sit up so that the anesthesiologist could start the epidural and I just slumped on her. I remember her talking to me but not being able to respond, as if I was asleep. Bill told me later that she kept checking to make sure I was breathing because I was so unresponsive.
After the epidural was in, the nurse had me lay on my side and go to sleep. She came in to have me roll over a couple of times but the relief I got from sleeping was amazing. It wasn't good, deep sleep, but it was something. I was glad because Bill got to get some sleep too.
At 6:00 they inserted a catheter and I was 8.5 - 9 centimeters dilated. They had me sit more upright so that gravity would cause the baby's head to get me to 10 centimeters.
At 7:00 I started to feel discomfort on my left side. It quickly turned into being able to feel all of the contractions on my left side. The epidural had worn off on that side. This was also the time that the nurses changed. The nurse I had all night was nice but the nurse that came on for my delivery was AMAZING. Thank you Nurse Deb!
At 7:50 they checked me and I was at 10 centimeters and ready to start pushing. The first few pushes felt amazing. It was such a relief. However, this was short lived. Soon the pushes started to hurt. I could feel the contractions and pushing was hurting my hips. They had me roll to my side and push that way. That felt better for a little bit. Then they had me switch to the other side. The nurse kept telling me I was doing a good job but I just didn't feel like my pushes were that productive. I'd start pushing and I'd finally feel like I got it right and I'd run out of breath. The nurse grabbed a blanket and tied a knot in it. She had me grab hold of one end and she held the other. Bill had one leg and a nursing student had the other (oh yeah, forgot to mention, my brother in-law's girlfriend is a nursing student on the L&D floor where I delivered and I agreed to let two of her classmates participate in the birth). When I pushed, we kind of did a tug-o-war and my pushes became MUCH more productive.
After an hour and 20 minutes of pushing, at 9:10am, Tommy was pushed out and placed on my chest. He cried almost instantly and was absolutely perfect. They cleaned him up and let me hold him and nurse him for an hour before they took him to the warmer.
I did end up needing some stitches for a third degree tear but I honestly didn't care. It was the worst pain with the best result ever. I'm totally in love with my new little guy and watching Bill with him makes me fall farther and farther in love with him.
***It took me a few days to write this out. I'll add more information about the following days in a later post.***
At around 7:00, Bill went over to our friends' house to watch the Mets game and I snuggled in on the couch to watch some TV. At 10:30 I went in to bed to watch TV in there. At 11:00 I felt this very strange POP in my belly. I waited to see what was going to happen but nothing did. About 5 minutes later I decided to get up and go to the bathroom. As I stood up, fluid started running down my legs. Not a lot, about as much as peeing yourself. I made it to the bathroom and realized that I had lost my mucus plug as well. I went and laid down to see what would happen and sure enough, more came pouring out. I called Bill and told him to come home, that my water had broken. He rushed home and we called the doctor who told me to go to L&D to get checked out.
We got to the hospital around 12:15 and by that point, the contractions had started and were about 8 minutes apart. They did an internal and I was about 3-4 centimeters dilated and 100% effaced. They admitted me and offered to let me get in the tub. It was about 2 am by that point and the hot water felt great. The contractions were painful in my hips and legs and the hot water really helped me to relax. However, it only felt good for about 20 minutes then I just felt restricted since it was a standard sized tub and I couldn't really move around.
At that point, my contractions were really close together and very strong. I was having a hard time concentrating on breathing and was in a whole lot of pain. The nurse offered to give me Nubain but I didn't want to get it because it's in the same family as Morphine and when I've had that in the past, it has caused me to become extremely loopy and fall asleep even in a small dosage. I was afraid that I'd take it and not be able to push. I was open to an epidural and asked for it at 3:00. The anesthesiologist was in an emergency cesarean and wasn't able to come to me right away so I tried to labor through the contractions but they were coming so fast and so strong that I was crying and shaking.
At 3:30 the nurse told me that the anesthesiologist was finishing up in the OR and that he'd be coming by soon but told me that I'd have to be able to sit still while he gave me the epidural. She asked if I thought I could do it and I just cried harder. She left so Bill and I could discuss what to do. I told him I didn't think I could sit still. He told me he thought we should try some sort of meds and I gave in to the Nubain. The doctor checked me and I was 5 centimeters dilated so they approved both the Nubain and the epidural. The nurse gave the Nubain to me and I instantly felt limp. I didn't feel any contractions, in fact, I didn't feel anything. She had me sit up so that the anesthesiologist could start the epidural and I just slumped on her. I remember her talking to me but not being able to respond, as if I was asleep. Bill told me later that she kept checking to make sure I was breathing because I was so unresponsive.
After the epidural was in, the nurse had me lay on my side and go to sleep. She came in to have me roll over a couple of times but the relief I got from sleeping was amazing. It wasn't good, deep sleep, but it was something. I was glad because Bill got to get some sleep too.
At 6:00 they inserted a catheter and I was 8.5 - 9 centimeters dilated. They had me sit more upright so that gravity would cause the baby's head to get me to 10 centimeters.
At 7:00 I started to feel discomfort on my left side. It quickly turned into being able to feel all of the contractions on my left side. The epidural had worn off on that side. This was also the time that the nurses changed. The nurse I had all night was nice but the nurse that came on for my delivery was AMAZING. Thank you Nurse Deb!
At 7:50 they checked me and I was at 10 centimeters and ready to start pushing. The first few pushes felt amazing. It was such a relief. However, this was short lived. Soon the pushes started to hurt. I could feel the contractions and pushing was hurting my hips. They had me roll to my side and push that way. That felt better for a little bit. Then they had me switch to the other side. The nurse kept telling me I was doing a good job but I just didn't feel like my pushes were that productive. I'd start pushing and I'd finally feel like I got it right and I'd run out of breath. The nurse grabbed a blanket and tied a knot in it. She had me grab hold of one end and she held the other. Bill had one leg and a nursing student had the other (oh yeah, forgot to mention, my brother in-law's girlfriend is a nursing student on the L&D floor where I delivered and I agreed to let two of her classmates participate in the birth). When I pushed, we kind of did a tug-o-war and my pushes became MUCH more productive.
After an hour and 20 minutes of pushing, at 9:10am, Tommy was pushed out and placed on my chest. He cried almost instantly and was absolutely perfect. They cleaned him up and let me hold him and nurse him for an hour before they took him to the warmer.
I did end up needing some stitches for a third degree tear but I honestly didn't care. It was the worst pain with the best result ever. I'm totally in love with my new little guy and watching Bill with him makes me fall farther and farther in love with him.
***It took me a few days to write this out. I'll add more information about the following days in a later post.***
