*Warning this post contains TMI*
This post to remember every detail of my grand arrival. Mom is making a first year book for me and intend to include my birth story. Here is our story:
Mom was scheduled to go into Baylor Medical Center at Frisco for an induction on the morning of March 5th, 2014. Dr. Vu was scheduled to leave town the week I was due and Mom was dead set on having her as the doctor (she is amazing after all). But I was nice and cozy in there and not ready to come out at all. Mom had not started to dilate nor was her cervix completely thinned so Dr. Vu sent us into the hospital the night before, at 10:00pm, to help start the process.
Naturally, on the way in Dad was hungry so he had to stop for Taco Bell (his favorite) even though Mom and I couldn't eat anything. Our last meal was a chicken salad sandwich (Mom's favorite) at 6:00pm. That would be the last thing we would eat until the next night. Mom says it was okay though because it was Ash Wednesday and it helped to force us to fast. Always looking on the bright side!
We arrived at the hospital at 9:45pm but had to wait in the lobby while we waited for the nurse to come get us. The minutes ticked by and 10:00pm came and went. Mom was getting more and more nervous with each passing minute. Finally nurse Jennifer came to get us at 10:30pm. Nurse Jennifer was really great and took good care of us all night. She got Mom and Dad set up in our room that we would be in for the next 21 hours.
Dad had to "sleep" on a very uncomfortable couch. He says with Nurse Jennifer coming in and out so often and the couch being so uncomfortable, he really didn't sleep. Nurse Jennifer gave Mom and Ambien (doctor's orders) so she would get some rest for the big day. Dad wished she would have given him some too! Mom doesn't remember much about the night except when my heart rate dropped after a few non-painful contractions and she had to wear oxygen. The oxygen helped out in no time and she was able to take it off.
Bright and early at 6:30am Dr. Vu came in to break Mom's water. Some meconium (pooh) was found in the water. They think it happened when I got stressed from my heart rate dropping. Dr. Vu assured mom that it was probably okay. NICU would be at my grand arrival, just in case.
Nurse Jennifer was off shift at 7:00am. We got a new nurse named Christi. She was amazing too! She started Mom on Pitocin around 8:00am. The contractions began getting very painful throughout the next hour. I was probably facing up because Mom was experiencing intense back contractions. Nurse Christi tried helping Mom get into different positions to help ease the pain and get me to turn, very strange uncomfortable positions... but I'm a stinker and I still didn't turn. Mom stuck out the pain for a little longer.
For breakfast we had cherry popsicles- YUM! We couldn't eat any solids just in case we had to go in for a C-Section. They delivered Dad some breakfast of sausage, eggs, and waffles. The smells made Mom a little hungry (nothing compared to how hungry she would be later). We also have popsicles for lunch, dinner, and a snack. We were so over popsicles after that. Dad continued to get delcious meals throughout the day.
Grandpa J showed up at 8:40am. He likes to pester Mom, even though he says he is always well-behaved. Around that time Mom was ready for the epidural. She threatened to punch Grandpa in the face at one point, even though he says he did nothing wrong. I don't believe it one bit! It was definitely time for the epidural if everyone wanted to make it through the day without being physically abused by Mom.
The anesthesiologist arrived at about 10:00am. Mom was so happy to see him but Dad had to leave because needless and blood make him woozy. The anesthesiologist said the needle may hurt but Mom didn't feel a thing because the back contractions overshadowed that pain. Almost instantly Mom felt great. She wasn't allowed to get up and walk anymore, even though she could still feel and move her legs. Nurse Christi said it wasn't safe. From then on, Mom was in a GREAT mood.
Nurse Christi wouldn't let Mom lay on her back, even though that was the ONLY comfortable position for Mom. She put her in what Nurse Christi called the "go-fast position" where she laid on her side with one leg in the stirrup. Mom said it was pretty awkward. But at 2:30pm she was 6cm dilated so it was well worth it. Mom says the craziest part was watching her belly get hollow in certain spots as I started to move down.
We had lots of visitors during the day- MeeMaw, Grandpa, and CiCi stayed all day long. Aunt Emily came to visit before her appointment with Dr. Vu! Baby Graham (my friend) had the same doctor as me! Pop came and took pictures around the hospital on Mom's orders. Aunt Jessica came after she got off work. She was a comic relief for everyone, as usual. Everyone was placing bets on what time I would show up. Mom stayed steady at guessing 7:00pm all day. Everyone else had to keep pushing their guess back because I wasn't showing up when they thought. Dad's guess was 7:11pm and Mom's was 7:00pm.
Around 5:00pm a deacon from a local church came to give Mom and Dad their ashes since they weren't able to go to Mass and get their own. He seemed so happy to be apart of such a special occasion. All day long he had been deivering ashes to sick people, so this was a good change for him.
After awhile Mom and Dad were exhausted and asked everyone to leave around 6:15pm so they could nap. Dr. Vu came around 6:45pm to check on us. Mom was dilated to 8cm! We were getting closer. Nurse Christi was off at 7:00pm. Dr. Vu didn't think I would show up any time soon, so she sent her home even though she volunteered to stay and help Mom through the delivery. Mom's contractions were starting to get uncomfortable again, she chalked it up to getting closer to delivery.
The next few minutes were very surreal for everyone. Dr. Vu was convinced that I wouldn't be making my grand arrival anytime soon, but had Mom do a few pushes to see what would happen. Dad was on his couch watching TV. It didn't take long for everyone to realize I was ready to come! No one was prepared for that. Luckily, Dad realized what was going on and came to support Mom!
Mom laughed the first couple of pushes. Dr. Vu jokingly told her she wasn't supposed to be laughing during labor. She wasn't laughing for long though. After a couple of contractions and pushes, Dad realized Mom's epidural had come unhooked! There was liquid soaking her bed, it had been unhooked for awhile. This explains why the pain was getting more intense for Mom. Dr. Vu an the new nurse looked slightly panicked and asked for someone to call the anesthesiologist... but it was too late, I was on my way. Mom said she was glad the epidural had started to wear off because she was able to feel where to push and it made things much easier.
After 5 contractions and 15 minutes, I finally made my way into the world! I was born at 7:10pm (Dad won that bet) weighing 8lbs 1oz and was 21 inches long. I was immediately lifting my head looking around... but I was pretty cranky to be in a new, bright place. Mom, Dad, and I spent the next 2 hours getting to know each other before we went to meet the rest of my fan club. I shocked everyone when Dad told them I was already here. Everyone kept telling me how beautiful I was. I am pretty cute.
To Be Continued...
