I now understand why people post their birth stories months after it occurs;
I am a mom and in love with my baby. No time for blogging these days.
Baby Lewis' due date was very confusing. His first technical due date was September 18th, 2012. Then, after being measured, his second due date was September 28th. Being ten days apart I felt like I should be ready for the first due date, but plan on the second one. Well, little guy had his own plan and decided to come on HIS special day.
Saturday night, September 15th, Ben and I were watching the BYU vs. Utah football game. I was feeling very uncomfortable and ended up going to bed at half time while Ben stayed up to watch. Crampy pains started to occur and made it tough to sleep. I was up for a couple hours and in the bathroom constantly. Around 5 a.m. I thought my water may have broken (it's more confusing than the movies make it seem). The doctors told me to come in to the hospital for a test to check if it had actually occurred.
Ben and I finished packing the bags just in case this was it, and we pleasantly walked out the door and headed to the hospital. I was admitted Sunday morning around 7 a.m. and we were there until about 10 a.m. It turns out my water had not broken but that I was having contractions but they didn't know how soon I would actually "go into labor".
We headed home disappointed, without a baby, and still in pain. The day played out pretty normal other than being tired and wondering when the real deal would actually occur. Sunday night came and my cramps/contractions started becoming more frequent. I began timing them and did this for a couple hours. We talked with family and asked for opinions and help. My sweet sister-in-law, Annie, said that she thought I would have my baby in about 24-48 hours. This gave me hope.
I tried to rest as the contractions got stronger. It was about 11 p.m at this point and I was getting nervous/excited. We ended up heading to the hospital at about 1 a.m., this time I was determined to come out of there WITH a baby :)
I was "dialated to a 4" when we arrived at 1:30 and I was a little disappointed that it wasn't more. I felt like I had done a good job of staying at home until the last minute, but I was wrong. We were back in the same room as that morning with a beautiful view of Cayuga Lake. Ben was trying to help me work through the contractions as I was determining how much pain I could handle. I got a "pre-IV" just in case I wanted an epidural later. At this point I was planning on getting one once the pain got unbearable later. The hospital had a tub to relax in during contractions but some lady was in there and I guess it was hers' until she delivered her baby.
I put off having the epidural because I wanted to get in the tub. I continued to ask if it was available and they kept saying no. I gave up on the tub and asked for the epidural. They told me the anesthesiologist was in surgery so I couldn't get one right away. Everything I wanted wasn't available and I was getting frustrated. The pain was getting stronger and I felt like I was going to pass out as my hands were shaking and I was feeling light-headed. I told them I needed something for pain and they offered me some other medicine that Ben didn't think I should do, but I was desperate at this point! Finally at 4:00 a.m. the doctors said that the anesthesiologist was on his way and I was so relieved. My doctor, Lisa, decided to check me before he got there to see my progress. She was surprised I was at a 7 and told me my "bag of waters" was about to break and asked if she could break it for me. I asked what that would entail and she said it would speed things up. Speeding up the pain sounded like a great idea so I told her to go ahead.
After my water was broken Lisa said that the baby's head moved right into position and that things were going to happen quickly, that he was coming soon. I was thrilled to hear that there was an end in sight. I was not so thrilled to hear that I could not receive the epidural at this point, that it was too late!? Oh, Ithaca... if only you had more than one tub and anesthesiologist I could have had my "ideal" labor.
I ended up started to push around 4:30 a.m. and the whole process seems like a blur now. Ben was holding my left leg, a nurse had my right, and I held both of my legs to help with the pushing. I ended up needing an oxygen mask the whole time during pushing to help me stay calm and get enough air. It was the longest hour ever, but little William was born at 5:30 on the dot! All of a sudden I was holding a baby. MY baby!?! He was here and he was perfect.
All of it was so worth it once I held him in my arms and knew he was here safe.
William John Lewis was born on September 17th and weighed in at 6 pounds 7 ounces.
Apparently his first due date was right, or he was 11 days early?! Who knows!
My mom arrived just a few hours later after taking a red-eye flight from Arizona over night.
We feel so blessed to have this sweet boy in our family.
Ben had to get a picture as we were leaving for the hospital (the 2nd time)
First time in my arms
A beautiful morning to be born
He loves Grammy
and dad of course
One thing I was glad I brought... peanut butter M&Ms :)
Notice the curtain pulled shut behind me? That is because I had a roommate come join me in my room for the last 24 hours of my stay in the hospital. Yes it was awkward and no I was not pleased, but looking back it was not a big deal.
Little Will is doing great. He is healthy and already up to 7 pounds 1 ounce! Ben and I are trying to adjust to being parents on our own, now that my mom has left. But William is so sweet and adorable we are so happy he is here!
