the birth of my baby boy
Today is my baby boy's 2nd birthday (sniff sniff). I've decided to share the story of his birth and later will post pictures of the birthday boy from his party...
So how does a 10 lb, 6 oz, 23" long baby come into the world? I actually know from first hand experience and I can tell you I do not recommend it.
I had been feeling labor pains for two weeks before hand but nothing else was happening. The doctor said we would have to induce soon and scheduled it for the following Sunday. That Thursday I started walking laps around our neighborhood. I had been induced before and did not want to be induced again. It worked because Friday morning I was sure I was in labor. I went to the doctor to get checked but they said no, still nothing happening. So my husband and I went to lunch together, during which I couldn't sit still. I went out and walked laps around the parking lot while he finished up. We went back home and then I said, it's time to go to the hospital, I don't care if the doctor said nothing is happening. It is.
So we headed out on the thirty minute drive to the hospital. We checked in and the nurse said I was maybe 1 cm. HA. I said, with the way I was feeling it should be more like 10. I had had my second son with no drugs and I remembered what it felt like at the end, the worst part. That is what it already felt like. 1 cm? No Way. "Give me an epidural," I said. They paged the doctor who did the epidurals himself, but he said he couldn't be there for 40 more minutes. I remember looking at the clock. 5:40. I tried to calm down and brace myself. He showed up sooner than he had said and checked me. He said I was now at 8 cm. No way, I said. The nurse told me 20 minutes ago I was at 1 cm. Once I realized I was nearing the end and not looking at 9 hours of excruciating pain, I got a grip. It was too late for an epidural anyway. I still remember it was all in slow motion from there.
The doctor barely had time to get into his scrubs. He pulled out the cart with the tools on it and lifted the cover off very dramatically, or so it seemed. Then it was already time to push. The nurse yelled at me to push as if I wasn't trying. I remember saying, "I AM pushing!" and she actually said, "No you aren't! You're breathing!" Well excuuuuse me! I still can't believe I kept from cussing her out.
Then his head was out. Usually, it's a piece of cake from there. But not this time. I remember the doctor spoke for the first time since the beginning. He sounded very serious. "Nicole, you have to push." And my husband sounded so scared, "You have to push harder." I didn't know he was turning blue. I didn't know how big he was. But I could sense the tension in the room. I couldn't speak but I remember my heart was crying out a prayer for my baby. And I remember distinctly, I have never in my life felt the absolute presence of God as strongly as I felt it there in the delivery room.
The nurse started to chatter on about how I would need to give my husband my wedding ring to keep if we went into surgery. I was thinking, "Surgery, what the hell is she talking about?" I kept pushing. I remember hearing the other nurse from somewhere deep inside my head. "Isn't she awesome?" she whispered to my husband. She seemed to know the power of positive re-enforcement in a time like that, unlike the other nurse.
At 6:16 I gave the final push and out he came. He was quiet. The doctor took him over to the table to do something but I couldn't see. Finally, he cried. They handed him to me and he was perfect. And giant. "He's a keeper," the doctor said. My husband went down the hall after they took him to be weighed. He heard them say, "10 pounds, 6 ounces!" He said, "Is that mine you're talking about???" They did not have diapers big enough for him in the nursery.
Since his birth I've learned that often with babies that big the doctor has to break their collar bones to get them out. But he didn't have to do that to our son. There could have been so many complications I don't even want to think about. If I had had the epidural, there would have been no way I could have pushed as hard as I needed to. The timing was perfect. My baby and I were unharmed and healthy. It was a miracle. And today we get to celebrate my enormous baby boy. He's worth his weight in gold and more.
So how does a 10 lb, 6 oz, 23" long baby come into the world? I actually know from first hand experience and I can tell you I do not recommend it.
I had been feeling labor pains for two weeks before hand but nothing else was happening. The doctor said we would have to induce soon and scheduled it for the following Sunday. That Thursday I started walking laps around our neighborhood. I had been induced before and did not want to be induced again. It worked because Friday morning I was sure I was in labor. I went to the doctor to get checked but they said no, still nothing happening. So my husband and I went to lunch together, during which I couldn't sit still. I went out and walked laps around the parking lot while he finished up. We went back home and then I said, it's time to go to the hospital, I don't care if the doctor said nothing is happening. It is.
So we headed out on the thirty minute drive to the hospital. We checked in and the nurse said I was maybe 1 cm. HA. I said, with the way I was feeling it should be more like 10. I had had my second son with no drugs and I remembered what it felt like at the end, the worst part. That is what it already felt like. 1 cm? No Way. "Give me an epidural," I said. They paged the doctor who did the epidurals himself, but he said he couldn't be there for 40 more minutes. I remember looking at the clock. 5:40. I tried to calm down and brace myself. He showed up sooner than he had said and checked me. He said I was now at 8 cm. No way, I said. The nurse told me 20 minutes ago I was at 1 cm. Once I realized I was nearing the end and not looking at 9 hours of excruciating pain, I got a grip. It was too late for an epidural anyway. I still remember it was all in slow motion from there.
The doctor barely had time to get into his scrubs. He pulled out the cart with the tools on it and lifted the cover off very dramatically, or so it seemed. Then it was already time to push. The nurse yelled at me to push as if I wasn't trying. I remember saying, "I AM pushing!" and she actually said, "No you aren't! You're breathing!" Well excuuuuse me! I still can't believe I kept from cussing her out.
Then his head was out. Usually, it's a piece of cake from there. But not this time. I remember the doctor spoke for the first time since the beginning. He sounded very serious. "Nicole, you have to push." And my husband sounded so scared, "You have to push harder." I didn't know he was turning blue. I didn't know how big he was. But I could sense the tension in the room. I couldn't speak but I remember my heart was crying out a prayer for my baby. And I remember distinctly, I have never in my life felt the absolute presence of God as strongly as I felt it there in the delivery room.
The nurse started to chatter on about how I would need to give my husband my wedding ring to keep if we went into surgery. I was thinking, "Surgery, what the hell is she talking about?" I kept pushing. I remember hearing the other nurse from somewhere deep inside my head. "Isn't she awesome?" she whispered to my husband. She seemed to know the power of positive re-enforcement in a time like that, unlike the other nurse.
At 6:16 I gave the final push and out he came. He was quiet. The doctor took him over to the table to do something but I couldn't see. Finally, he cried. They handed him to me and he was perfect. And giant. "He's a keeper," the doctor said. My husband went down the hall after they took him to be weighed. He heard them say, "10 pounds, 6 ounces!" He said, "Is that mine you're talking about???" They did not have diapers big enough for him in the nursery.
Since his birth I've learned that often with babies that big the doctor has to break their collar bones to get them out. But he didn't have to do that to our son. There could have been so many complications I don't even want to think about. If I had had the epidural, there would have been no way I could have pushed as hard as I needed to. The timing was perfect. My baby and I were unharmed and healthy. It was a miracle. And today we get to celebrate my enormous baby boy. He's worth his weight in gold and more.
posted by Nicole | 8:29 AM
3 Comments:
omg, I don't think you should plan to have a 4th... cuz what if he/she turns out to be even bigger?! ;) hope ya'll have fun celebrating!
AHH!! My boy was 10 lbs. 8 oz. and not a c-section either, if you know what I am sayin'! All the nurses kept coming by to gawk at him, we were like a sideshow circus exibition. Wow. And he was not breathing at first, unbeknownst to me. I am so glad I didn't know about the broken collarbone thing, I would have freaked out! Kind of a weird thing to have in common, but there are not too many of us out there :)
Sorry, I was so excited I spazzed out before I linked. Voila!
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