Maverick is here! My birth story

Whew! It has been a long week... Let me start on Sunday...

On Sunday November 14 I was a crazy person. I was emotional and I suddenly felt like everything had to be done RIGHT NOW! I feel so bad for Christopher because I know I was unreasonable... but looking back now, I'm glad we got everything done on Sunday.

I went to bed Sunday night just like any other night. At about 4 am, I woke up and thought I had to go to the bathroom. But I didn't quite make it to the bathroom. So, I was standing there wondering if I had peed myself or if my water had broken. As I am standing there trying to decide if I should wake up Christopher, it was running down my leg, so I knew it was time. Christopher was in a deep sleep and I was worried about waking him so suddenly. So I went and tapped him on the shoulder and said "are you asleep?" He said, "Are you having contractions." And I said, "No, but wake up." He said "YOUR WATER BROKE DIDN'T IT!" So much for waking him up calmly. I called my midwife and she told me to put a towel between my legs and go back to sleep. (Like that was really gonna happen) Christopher went back to sleep... the man likes his sleep. I watched a little tv, and took a shower. At 6 am, I woke Christopher up and told him it was time to get ready. He made me breakfast, which was yummy by the way. Then we left for the hospital. The bags had already been in the car for weeks, so we were both pretty calm.

We got to the office a little early, so we walked around the hospital a little, which was strange for me because my water had broken, but oh well. We went back Cecily was ready for us. She checked and indeed my water had broken, so she called over to Labor and Delivery and they admitted me. We got into the labor room, they started my IV and put Pitocin in it to make my contractions start.  At first they were fine, but soon they were getting stronger and stronger. I was 3 centimeters dilated...

I asked for the epidural pretty early, even though I was worried it would make the labor stall. But Cecily convinced me that if I was anxious it would stall anyway, so I went ahead and had it. The epidural wasn't as bad as I thought, it was over very fast. And I felt less pain almost immediately, which is always a good thing. It was a pretty light epidural, I could still move my legs, but I couldn't feel the contractions.

Cecily checked me again and I was still at a 3, so she mentioned the dreaded c word- c section- but we decided to give it 2 more hours on the medicine to see if I made any progress. Luckily, she stayed in there they whole time and talked with me and my family. I am so glad she was there, she made me feel so much better and more relaxed.

In 2 hours she checked me again and there was no change, so there was no use in waiting. My water had broken and Maverick had to come out, so c-section it was for me. I was remarkably calm. I really felt as if it wasn't real, it wasn't really happening. Nana and Christopher were both pretty nervous, but I was cool as a cucumber.

They took me back and Christopher had to wait in the room. I'm not really sure why he didn't get to come, but I really wish he had been there! When they opened the doors and I was in the operating room, I had a moment of panic- I guess I realized maybe it was happening after all. I needed a new epidural, so they had me sit up. The panic went away and I went right back to calm. I guess it was my defense mechanism because I really, really didn't want a c-section.

They let Christopher in the room while they were doing the second epidural. The second one was MUCH stronger than the first and I almost immediately couldn't move my lower half. The strange thing is, I could still feel things, just not pain. A nurse was standing next to me, and I could feel the pressure of her against my leg. I also felt when they took the baby out, but it was not painful at all.

When they took the baby out, Christopher got to go over and see him. He came back over to me and said "He is SO CUTE." He was so proud. He went back over to Maverick and got to put his first diaper on. When they weighed him, I heard people say "oh" and Christopher came over and said "10 pounds, 6 ounces." And that he was what they call sunny side up- meaning his face was up instead of down. That is why I needed the epidural so early, because he was putting a lot of pressure on my back. Thank GOD that I had a c-section because I would not have wanted to go thru hours of back labor to deliver a 10 and a half pound baby! God was looking out for me for sure!

They brought him over to me to see, but I wasn't really able to get a good look. Christopher held him next to me while they finished the surgery and they they wheeled me into the recovery room. I breastfed him for almost an hour before my family came in.

This is getting very long, so I will save my hospital stay for another blog :-)