Birth Story
(lots of details for me to remember....you may skip straight to the pics)!
Thursday (5th) I had an appointment with my doctor...and when he walked into the room he said "I'm surprised to see you here!" Yeah....my thoughts exactly! So at the appointment we discussed options. I wasn't a fan of being induced, yet the thought of knowing that the weekend was coming and Brett would be off work seemed like a convenient time to schedule for an induction. So, we scheduled for Saturday afternoon... my doctor dropped the bomb on me at my appt that he had to take the scouts on an overnight camp Friday afternoon til Saturday afternoon. Ok so all week I've been trying to get baby OUT...now I just need to keep him IN another day and a half, then we're good?! Dr stripped my membranes again. That afternoon I had some pretty regular contractions for about 2 hours, then they completely stopped.
Late Friday (6th) afternoon my lower back started aching....and within about an hour it was bad enough that I assumed it was the beginning stages of labor. Dang you back labor!! I was having contractions on the under side of my belly...some strong, some painful, nothing regular till about 9pm. I timed them for 2 hours....and then they completely stopped. AGAIN! But oh my aching back!! Man, I thought I was going to go crazy! I had called my mom to come up just in case...and it was a good thing. We went to bed around midnight and I woke up around 1:45am (now Saturday) to some pretty strong/regular contractions again. I laid in bed and timed them for about 40 minutes before waking Brett up. I told him that I thought it was for real this time, but i wanted to make sure they lasted a couple hours at least without stopping before we went anywhere....
So I got out of bed, took a shower (to which Brett laughed at me and said "You're showering? It's 2:30 am!)...I had to do something to pass the time. Those buggers were starting to hurt! Then he came in the bathroom and I was putting on makeup! ha! YES, I'm vain! Due to timing of day with Emri and Jet's deliveries I had no makeup on and I hate all the hospital pictures I'm in after they were born! I felt/looked like a train wreck after Emri's. Looked ghostly in Jet's pics....so yeah, I was counting contractions while putting on makeup in the middle of the night. Don't judge. I told Brett it was the real deal...this baby wasn't waiting for my doctor or his induction appointment. So then Brett says, "maybe I'll shower before we go." HAHA! WHAT?!
----------A small sidestory---------
Brett is Emri's soccer coach. He missed their first game when he was out of town on his boy's weekend for their family fantasy football draft. Of course, this particular Saturday she had soccer pictures scheduled for 8:30 am and an early game at 9:30. I'm thinking as we head to the hospital that Brett is gonna need to call another parent to fill in again, cuz I don't know that baby boy will arrive in time for Brett to go be coach......
Ok, back to the birth story....We woke my mom and told her we were headed in to the hospital. On our way we called Brett's parents to let them know. We arrived at Ogden Regional around 3:30 am. The admitting nurse recognized my name and said, "Aren't you my 6pm induction for tonight?" Um, yep that's me....baby has a plan of his own! Well I already knew at this point my doctor wouldn't be the one to deliver this baby since he was going to be out of town till the afternoon. I was so bummed, because I really really like him! Not much I could do about it though! We got all checked in...I peed in a cup, donned a lovely backless gown and plopped onto the bed so the nurses could start their torture! First (4:10am) the nurse checked me....5 centimeters dilated and completely effaced. Nice!
I've said it before...the IV is the worst part of the whole birth experience for me! And this time didn't prove to be any different. The nurse tried in my right arm, couldn't find a vein (I have good veins). She's telling me what's going wrong. Bad idea. My music isn't helping. Brett talking to me isn't helping. I was starting to feel faint, so they put the oxygen on. Then a different nurse comes in and gets the IV started in my left arm. She found a vein right off, but it "wasn't bleeding" enough to get blood for lab work. Just quit telling me what's going wrong and get the job done!! So she started my fluid drip in her IV spot, then went BACK to my right arm for a blood draw. SERIOUSLY PEOPLE?! All of this was happening around 4:30 am. I had to wait for the drip bag to empty before I could get the epidural. Contractions were getting stronger.
At 5:30 am my epidural was in place. And I had a new nurse (Becky), who I LOVED!!! I bet she could have found a vein and drew my blood all in the first try! ha! I always worry about the epidural not working due to my "feeling half of everything" with Emri experience. My nurse anesthetist did a good job and really listened to my concerns. At 6 am the lovely catheter was in place and i was dilated to 6 centimeters and the nurse said she was calling the dr to come break my water, that she was sure I'd be ready as soon as that happened. Around 6:30 while we were waiting for the dr, I was still feeling contractions on the left side in my lower back. So the nurse anesthetist came back in and gave me a "heavier" med that would drop lower. It took care of it. Holy cow my legs were COMPLETELY gone now! I told Brett he better just call another soccer parent to take care of pictures and the game, but he didn't (Weird to be worried about that other stuff at a time like this, i know).
The doc (finally) showed up at 7:15...she went to break my water and said it must have already ruptured on it's own and that I was ready! The nurses finished setting things up, doctor gowned up, and Brett told me to "push fast!" WHAT THE?! All I can say is Brett owes me big time....1 1/2 pushes (through 1 contraction) and Baby Ike was here and crying on my chest! My nurse hadn't even turned around from the computer yet before he was delivered and she rolled her eyes (jokingly) at me and was like "Are you for real?!" I think the doctor was happy/impressed....at least I didn't keep her too long on her Saturday morning! Brett was in shock, I think! He barely had time to snap any pics. I think I was in shock...but completely ok with a quick delivery! The charge nurse walked in after all was said and done and the doctor was giving her a hard time, "thanks for joining us!" It was all so fast!
Here's the story in pictures....
Not happy w/ the IV experience (I have to put my arm under the blanket so I can't see it stuck in my skin)....probably in the middle of a contraction by the look on my face?!
Ahh, epidural in. Feeling better about things.
"pushing fast"...as brett requested
healthy boy, straight from heaven!
Ike D. Anderton, born 09-07-2013
8 lbs. 20 1/2 inches long (scored 9.9 on APGAR test)
the Dr. J on the left
Brett got the honors of cutting the cord, and putting on his first diaper (remembering how awkward it is to diaper a newborn)!
And he was the first to snuggle him too... then he was off to soccer! And he made it with time to spare! haha!
I got in some quality snuggle time with just me and the little guy when Brett left. He nursed like a champ and zonked back out!
A family of 5?!?!
Emri was BEYOND thrilled to meet him!
Jet calls him "gut-gus"...because he wanted his name to be Gus.
The kids brought him toys...
...and Ike had some surprises for them as well.
Smitten already! What an angel.
We had lots of visitors....so fun to have a baby around family this time! Uncles, aunts, gmas, gpas, friends....
I am humbled each time a new member of our family joins us. It's crazy to know that they were just in the presence of our Heavenly Father. They bring such an amazing spirit with them. I'm beyond grateful to be a mother....to be trusted to raise HIS children. We are loving having sweet baby Ike in our home....it seems like he's been part of our family forever!
