My pregnancy with little William was an easy one. I never experienced serious morning sickness, and the majority of the time, I felt really great (I loved being pregnant!). I kept my regular work schedule and planned to do so until his due date. My big "birth plan" included the following: 1) get an epidural, and 2) no c-section. Pretty simple.
I experienced some signs of preterm labor starting at 31 weeks (this involved a brief hospital stay). I was told to "take it easy" and that this baby was most likely going to arrive EARLY. An early baby, wow! He could be here any day!!! So, Dave and I prepared for an early delivery and hoped we would make it past 36 weeks.
Fast forward to 40+ weeks and I was still pregnant.
very pregnant
As my due date of September 14th came and went, I acted like any normal pregnant girl at 40+ weeks: I complained a lot. Everything hurt. My belly was enormous, I felt like a freak show, and I had been having contractions for about 3 months. Dave and I had done everything we could to prepare for baby's arrival, and we were ready to meet him. So, my doctor scheduled an induction for September 23rd.
Then, around 2pm on September 18th, I began to feel strong lower back pain along with more painful contractions. The pain increased throughout the day and by 3am the next morning, I told Dave "this is it!" FINALLY. I was so excited!! We grabbed our bags (which I had packed weeks ago with every necessary provision the internet told me to bring-- camera? Yes. Multiple bags of candy? Check. Twenty pairs of socks? Packed! Obviously, I was prepared.) and we made our way to the hospital. We arrived at 4am on September 19th, and I was admitted to labor & delivery.
happy and smiling, in the early stages of labor (clearly)
I labored naturally until 8:30 that morning, and my contractions were about 3 minutes apart. But, my labor wasn't progressing fast enough. So, I was put on a pitocin drip to get things moving. Have any of you mommies out there experienced the wonders of pitocin?? OH BOY. That drug is serious. They tell you pitocin is tough stuff, but I never had a clue just how tough it was. By 12noon, I was experiencing some pretty intense back labor and I felt like my body was ripping in half. Like, I was dying. Actually, I think the only way you would feel pain that serious is IF YOU WERE REALLY DYING. I'll spare you the details, but I have a new found respect for mothers everywhere. Child birth is serious business.
My water broke at 1pm and somehow, the pain got even worse (so much worse). Time for an epidural. The anesthesiologist arrived in my room around 1:45pm and within minutes I felt relief. Sweet relief. My nurse helped me get comfortable, and we thought the drama of labor was over. The anesthesiologist left the room. Then, fifteen minutes later, I began to feel a little odd. My arms felt extremely cold, and my blood pressure dropped. I felt so sleepy, I could barely keep my eyes open. The baby's heart rate had also dropped. It was scary. I remember the nurse calling for help and I thought they were going to order a c-section (which at this point sounded great to me-- silly "birth plan" gone out the window). My doctor and a group of nurses hurried into our room and after about ten minutes, they were able to stabilize my bizarre reaction to the epidural. No c-section needed. They took me off the pitocin, and managed my epidural drip. Then, I rested. Two hours later, I began to feel "normal" again (and Dave and I were able to recover from the stress of the situation). Around 4pm, my pitocin drip kicked back on and things were back on track. And, most importantly, my epidural was working. :)
At 6:45pm, I was fully dilated. And, at 7:07pm it was time to push. THIS WAS IT. I wish I could say that I was mentally present during this major life moment, but I really wasn't. The whole experience felt like a flash. I pushed for almost an hour. And just when I was thinking "this isn't going to work-- you guys are going to have to cut this baby out of me," little William was born. At 7:58pm. It was the most paralyzing experience of my life. We heard him cry and I couldn't focus on anything else. The love I had for this little creature was all consuming. How could he be mine? It was a phenomenal moment.
William weighed 8lbs 8 oz (the exact weight I was when I was born) and he looks just like my husband.
{ on his first morning of life }
Dave and I are your typical new parents-- fawning over every little face expression and trying not to freak out over every little problem (is he too hot? is that a rash? is he eating enough?). But, we're slowly getting the hang of it. And smiles from this little face make it all worth it.
{ cuddling with Dad }
I promise not to flood this blog with mommy & baby related topics (although, I will post a few things here and there). But, I can't make any promises for Instagram, where I shamelessly post pictures of my baby on a regular basis (follow me @kellyrobson). I can't help it. I'm a mom now. :)
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