Well, its official, Baby Chase is finally here and finally HOME! WHOO HOO! We went in a week ago Monday (actually 12 am Tuesday) to the hospital for our induction and found out I was actually 1 cm dialated already. The whole process started when the nurse put a pill inside my nether region at 1 am Tuesday then gave me a sleeping pill to get some rest. Of course with all the anticipation and nerves there was NO WAY I was getting any sleep. I tried, believe me. Everyone warned me about getting the rest before because labor is not an easy task. I was asking right away for the epidural because pain is not something I was looking forward to after all the labor shows I watched. Unfortunately, either my doctor or the hospital does not give epidurals until you are at least 3 cm dialated because it could hinder dialating anymore supposedly. I think this is just their funny way of watching people suffer to be honest!!
At 5 am the nurse came back in and checked how far along I was and I had dialated to a 2 and put another pill inside (basically repeated the process). Then she asked if I would like some mild pain relief because I was having contractions (at this point they just felt like minor and some major cramps but pretty constant). I, of course, said yes thinking the pain would get worse. She filled a small thing and injected it into my IV. This time it made me drowsy and I got some sleep (maybe an hour). Meanwhile, poor Cory is cramped on a recliner sleeping off and on and waiting for the show to start.
A couple of hours passed and then my doctor came in to check me, at this point he finds that I am at a 5 (for those that have not gone through labor or had kids, supposedly once you get past 4 or 5 everything is supposed to fly by). And unbeknownst to me, while the doctor is checking me (painful as this was already) he decides to break my water and not even give me warning. Well, this really sped up the process. Immediately I started feeling strong contractions and they were even a minute apart and some 30 seconds apart. Now, I cannot really describe the pain. It was like something I have never ever felt before and it was strong and there seemed to be no end in site. I begged and pleaded for my epidural but because the baby was sleeping from the minor pain relief I had earlier we had to wait. This was so hard and I was not happy about this. At one point, I wanted to forget the whole thing and just go home. I really thought I wasn't going to make it. THE AGONY! Finally, the baby decided to wake up and they called for the epidural. Aparently, the guy did not think it was that urgent because he took his sweet time getting there (Cory said it was 10 minutes, but it felt like hours to me!!). So he FINALLY gets there and the nurses and Cory hold me in place while my water is still flowing out and my pains are 30 seconds apart. They lay me down and get me situated but the pain is still coming. The nurse checks me and I am at an eight. AN EIGHT?!! I was so irritated that I had to wait until then but it was all worth it! They put warm blankets on me and all of a sudden I was so relaxed that I just wanted to sleep so I decided I would close my eyes and nap. It was night and day from what I was feeling before. At one point, the nurse woke me up to put an oxygen mask on me and I barely opened my eyes. Also, they had two girls training to be nurses sitting in and helping on my delivery so the room was filled with people but at that point all my prudeness went out the door!
At noon, it was time to push. When you have a contraction coming, that's when you push. You take a deep breath, then push as hard as you can, then repeat that quickly 2 more times. We did a couple pushes like this. Then we switched things up a bit. Cory and I learned this pulling technique with a baby blanket with ties on both ends in our 2 day labor and delivery class we previously took. So I had one nurse holding one leg and another holding the other with Cory at the end of the bed pulling one end of the blanket while I pulled the other. The whole goal of this is to help contract the stomach muscles easier than me just pushing. It actually was very helpful and moved things along pretty fast. During this time, my doctor was performing a C-Section so we had to sit tight and wait for him to arrive. For about 15-20 minutes I had this HUGE urge to push but had to keep breathing a certain way and stop the baby that was knocking on my door to come out. This was no easy task. I could see off along the wall a table set up with forceps, needles and all kinds of shiney things and quickly looked away so that I did not freak myself out.
After 15-20 minutes of waiting my doctor arrived and it was time. Cory and I did a couple more of the tug of war and then he moved to the side and my doctor was in place. I pushed and all of a sudden felt a tremendous feeling of relief, the baby's head was out...ahhhhh! Shortly after that, Cory noticed something was not right because they were talking about how the baby's shoulder was stuck. I heard someone say something about a shoulder along with some medical mumbo jumbo but didn't think they were talking about my baby. I don't know what I thought because I was waiting to hear the baby cry and didn't hear anything right away. Then they got the baby out and put him on the warmer while they cleaned him up. And let me tell ya, this kid has some pipes!!! The nurse was commenting on how long his fingers are and how he will be a basketball player as my doctor was stitching me up. Then the nurse took Baby Chase over to the scale in the room to weigh him. Everyone in the room was waiting because they were all commenting on how big he was.."8 lbs 7 oz" she announced. Everyone was in shock! They couldn't believe it and I couldn't believe it. But now I know why I was having such a difficult time the last month of the pregnancy...he was TOO BIG for me! The doctor even said he never thought he was that big and if he did think that, he would have probably suggested a C Section.
All in all, everything turned out well and we are extremely happy that our little boy has entered our lives! He is so alert and such a good baby!! We absolutely adore him and can't wait to watch him grow and learn everyday! Oh and also, I heard somewhere that your second child is normally born bigger than your first...if thats the case, I am totally terrified!!!!!!!! lol
