So I thought that I would start blogging to give our families the chance to stay up to date with what’s going on in our lives.
As you all well know, we have gone from being a family of two with 2 dogs to a family of three with 2 dogs. Noah Robert graced us with his presence 2 weeks earlier than expected. After all of the joking around that Ray and I did, he actually arrived on 08/08/08 at 5:34 am. He weighed 6lbs 1.5oz and was 20.5″ long. In other words a long skinny boy.
It all began at my 38 week appointment on 08/07/08 which started out normal, pee in the cup, get on the scale and check for the heartbeat. When the Dr went to measure the belly though that’s when things changed. She looked concerned and said that she wanted to do an ultrasound because my measurements had not changed in the past 3 weeks. She said that it could be because he had dropped, but she just wanted to be sure. I was concerned, but also excited, because it meant that I got to see our little guy again. Well, the following 2 ultrasounds confirmed that he had in fact stopped growing at 35 weeks. My ob couldn’t say why that was, but suggested that we induce labor the following day. Of course I agreed, I didn’t want to jeopardize our little ones health. So out of the office and into the car to call Ray and let him know that we would be parents the next day. He naturally didn’t believe me as we had been joking about an 08/08/08 baby for the past 2 weeks. He realized that I wasn’t joking though and helped get everything ready so that we could get to the hospital. I hadn’t even packed my bag yet!!! That was still on the list of things to do!!!
Fast forward two hours and a quick trip to McDonald’s later… I’m all checked into the hospital and waiting for one of my other Dr’s. She gets to the room around 8:20 pm and puts the cervidil in to soften and ripen my cervix so that we’re good to go the next morning when I’m supposed to start the pitocin. I have to have the cervidil in for 10 to 12 hours and am bed ridden for the first 2 hours (not fun at all). So we watch the Sox lose to the Red Sox and try to relax for the long hours ahead. The nurse comes in around 12 for another check of vitals and asks if I want a sleeping pill. At this point I’m so tired I don’t think that I need it, so I decline – later on I wished I hadn’t. I’m a little crampy, but I figured that was the medication doing its thing. She asked if I was in pain and to rate it – I think I gave it a 1 out of 10. Ray and I try to sleep and he actually manages to get about an hour of sleep. My cramps we starting to get progressively more uncomfortable and my back started hurting. I assumed that was one of the lovely side affects of trying to sleep in a rock hard hospital bed. I couldn’t sleep.
Around 3:30am I started to feel sick – I had Ray get me a bucket and he called the nurse. She gave me something that was supposed to stop it, but that also just came up a few minutes later. By 4:30am I had been given my first dose of antibiotics – I was to have 2 doses for the group B strep. Audree our nurse went to take out the cervidil and check me, because now not only was I sick to my stomach, but I was also shaking uncontrollably (once again I thought I was cold from puking and laying there with just a sheet over me). She told me that those were signs of labor, and when she checked I was already 7-8 cm dilated!!! I was going to have this baby soon and I hadn’t even realized that I was in labor because the pain had been bearable!!
It all went fast from there. By 5 am I was completely dilated and my body was telling me I needed to push. The only problem was that because it all went so fast, my Dr wasn’t there yet. The nurses had me breath through about 20 minutes of contractions – and with each one I hated them a little more for it!! 🙂 Finally, they got another Dr to come and check me. He watched 2 contractions and then said lets do it. Noah’s heart rate was dropping very low and then skyrocketing (from waiting to come out maybe???). They called for a neonatalogist to be there for him. 10 minutes and 4 contractions later – my Dr (who had arrived just in the nick of time) delivered him with a push that brought out not just his head, but his whole body as well. It was the best feeling ever!!
He’s a little peanut with chubby cheeks that make him look bigger than he really is in pictures. Here I thought that we would get little to no use out of the newborn clothes he had gotten, and as it turns out we needed to go out and buy preemie clothes to fit him!! He is perfect, but then again I’m very biased!
With Daddy at the hospital
The next great White Sox Player!!!
I’m happy I’m a week old now!!
I know its just gas, but it’s still a smile. 🙂