One of my favorite photos
Coming home from the hospital - 2 days old
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Welcome to the world
Lukas' Birth Story
It began around 6:30 am on Sunday, August 5, 2012. I was in bed when I felt and heard a pop. I had a vivid dream the night before that my water broke while I was laying in bed, so at first I thought I was just having that dream again. As I laid in bed, I realized this probably wasn't a dream. I could feel this. I gingerly got up and my suspicion was confirmed, I was one of the few women who have their water break before being in active labor!
I went to the bathroom and verified it. Such a weird feeling. I thought about what needed to be done and finally at 7:00 am, I woke up Matt. When he realized what I was trying to tell him, he jumped to action and was ready to go. I calmed him down and reminded him that we had hours, quite possibly a whole day before baby made an appearance. We took showers, packed the last minute items in the hospital bag, took some photos and even did some laundry. Matt and I exchanged anniversary cards and gifts - our 7th anniversary is August 6, 2012. I spent some time outside talking to Owen, praying and gathering my thoughts. I called the hospital and let them know we were on our way and finally we left our house for the last time as a family of two.
We arrived at the hospital around 10:30 am. I was having contractions, but no pain. I figured I was really early in labor and was prepared for a LONG day. Matt and I had both been up really late the night before and we were running on about 2.5 hours of sleep. I was hoping once we got registered and called my family to let them know the show was on the road, we would be able to rest before the major labor began. We got into the labor room and began the mountain of paperwork. They hooked me up right away and ordered an ultrasound since baby had been breech just one week before. Even though baby had flipped and was in the right position 6 days ago, baby could have flipped again. This greeted us in the labor room:
Around noon, I called my parents and brother and told them that baby would be making an appearance. The nurses had told me I was only about 2 cm dilated, so I knew that it would still be quite a while. I wasn't in any pain (from labor - my pelvis was another story), so I told my family to take it easy, no rushing, that we might not even have a baby until Monday.
I should have known better.
Right away there were a few indicators that something might not be right. Since I was hooked up to the contraction monitor, the nurses could see I was having major contractions. Still - no pain. I felt the pressure, but it didn't really hurt at all. However, every time I contracted, the baby's heart rate dropped. Each time it took longer and longer to recover to a healthy range.
The nurses tried flipping me from side to side to see if that would help - no go. They put me on oxygen and that seemed to help. Still, the baby's heart rate dropped lower and lower each time I contracted. They put me on an IV so they could make sure I was getting enough fluid - that was when they discovered that I wasn't joking when I said I was a hard stick. It took a while to find a good place for the IV and I was stuck a few times. After an hour, it seemed like maybe things had settled down. They even let me take the oxygen mask off and told me to get some rest - I would need it for active labor. I sent Matt to go have lunch and I dozed while alternating between watching Harry Potter and the Olympics. My rest didn't last long.
About 20 minutes later, the nurses were back in and looking concerned. Baby's heart rate was still dropping with my contractions. I was back on oxygen. My nurse told me that the doctor was on the way in to talk to me - I knew that wasn't a good sign. I asked the nurse her opinion and she said that given what we were seeing, she felt that my doctor was going to recommend a c-section. This is when I sent Matt an HURRY UP ASAP message.
The doctor got back before Matt did and sure enough, she recommended c-section. Due to the distress the baby was in, they were very concerned about my labor. I asked her to check to see how far along I was, I was only 3 cm dilated. I also wasn't contracting very consistently, so it was still a long road to go for me to get to 10 cm. She felt that giving me Pitocin to hurry along my labor would put the baby in further harm. So with all the options on the table, the only choice that I could make was surgery. I asked her to explain it all to Matt and I began to mentally prepare.
This began the scariest few hours of my life.
Matt arrived soon after and he had been briefed. We had a minute or two together to talk and then prep began. The anesthesiologist came in do to his thing, the surgical team prepped me, and the OR was prepared. At some point I told Matt to call my parents and let them know. No doubt about it, our baby was coming today.
I informed our doctor that I wanted our baby to have skin to skin time with Matt since I would not be able to hold the baby for about an hour after birth. Since we planned to breastfeed, I knew how important it was that the baby get this time. Our nurse, who was wonderful, was also very old school. She balked at first, but I insisted. Finally she agreed, as long as the baby didn't need any medical intervention. This was acceptable to me.
I still get shaky when I think about how I was feeling during this time. I was terrified for the baby. I was worried that something would happen to me during surgery. I was scared for Matt - having to handle all of this without anyone to lean on. I was on the verge of tears the whole time. I was able to get a moment alone with Matt to hug him and tell him I loved him, then it was time.
I was wheeled in to the OR for the spinal. It took a while and Matt had to wait outside alone during that time. When he finally was allowed to come in, wearing his surgical hat, scrubs and booties, I was immobilized and strapped to the table. He stayed by my face and spoke to me. I asked him to talk about anything except what the doctors were doing. I was already having a bad reaction to the meds and my eyes were having a hard time focusing. He recited stories to me and we talked about names. This is when we decided what the baby's name would be if he were a boy, we already knew her name if she was a girl.
Finally - we heard it. The most amazing sound in the world. Our baby's LOUD and healthy cry.
There are no words to describe that moment.
The nurses (who were all very impressed that we didn't know the gender), decided not to tell us. They wanted us to SEE for ourselves. So they kept saying "Your baby is healthy, your baby is fine". Then finally they held up the baby and we could see for ourselves that we had a very healthy son. They took him to be weighed, measured, and have his vitals checked - Matt stood right by them the whole time. Here are the first pictures of our son.
As soon as he was cleared and determined to be absolutely perfect in every way - they brought him to meet me for the first time. Since I was still be worked on, my arms were still taped down. I couldn't touch him with my hands, but I could kiss him.
It took another hour to finish working on me. During that time, Matt got to be one of the first daddies at our hospital to have skin to skin time with a newborn. He and Lukas sat together and he kept Lukas warm and safe for me. This was just the beginning of him becoming an amazing dad.
As soon as I was in recovery, I was able to hold my son for the first time. I was still very out of it and while we nursed, my memories of that time are sketchy as best. Eventually Matt and Lukas went to let him have a bath and do the official clean up.
Soon, I joined Matt and Lukas in our room. My mom arrived a couple of hours later and my dad about 45 minutes behind her. I finally came to and stayed with it by the time he arrived. Seeing my parents with my son was unbelievable.
It began around 6:30 am on Sunday, August 5, 2012. I was in bed when I felt and heard a pop. I had a vivid dream the night before that my water broke while I was laying in bed, so at first I thought I was just having that dream again. As I laid in bed, I realized this probably wasn't a dream. I could feel this. I gingerly got up and my suspicion was confirmed, I was one of the few women who have their water break before being in active labor!
I went to the bathroom and verified it. Such a weird feeling. I thought about what needed to be done and finally at 7:00 am, I woke up Matt. When he realized what I was trying to tell him, he jumped to action and was ready to go. I calmed him down and reminded him that we had hours, quite possibly a whole day before baby made an appearance. We took showers, packed the last minute items in the hospital bag, took some photos and even did some laundry. Matt and I exchanged anniversary cards and gifts - our 7th anniversary is August 6, 2012. I spent some time outside talking to Owen, praying and gathering my thoughts. I called the hospital and let them know we were on our way and finally we left our house for the last time as a family of two.
We arrived at the hospital around 10:30 am. I was having contractions, but no pain. I figured I was really early in labor and was prepared for a LONG day. Matt and I had both been up really late the night before and we were running on about 2.5 hours of sleep. I was hoping once we got registered and called my family to let them know the show was on the road, we would be able to rest before the major labor began. We got into the labor room and began the mountain of paperwork. They hooked me up right away and ordered an ultrasound since baby had been breech just one week before. Even though baby had flipped and was in the right position 6 days ago, baby could have flipped again. This greeted us in the labor room:
Around noon, I called my parents and brother and told them that baby would be making an appearance. The nurses had told me I was only about 2 cm dilated, so I knew that it would still be quite a while. I wasn't in any pain (from labor - my pelvis was another story), so I told my family to take it easy, no rushing, that we might not even have a baby until Monday.
I should have known better.
Right away there were a few indicators that something might not be right. Since I was hooked up to the contraction monitor, the nurses could see I was having major contractions. Still - no pain. I felt the pressure, but it didn't really hurt at all. However, every time I contracted, the baby's heart rate dropped. Each time it took longer and longer to recover to a healthy range.
The nurses tried flipping me from side to side to see if that would help - no go. They put me on oxygen and that seemed to help. Still, the baby's heart rate dropped lower and lower each time I contracted. They put me on an IV so they could make sure I was getting enough fluid - that was when they discovered that I wasn't joking when I said I was a hard stick. It took a while to find a good place for the IV and I was stuck a few times. After an hour, it seemed like maybe things had settled down. They even let me take the oxygen mask off and told me to get some rest - I would need it for active labor. I sent Matt to go have lunch and I dozed while alternating between watching Harry Potter and the Olympics. My rest didn't last long.
About 20 minutes later, the nurses were back in and looking concerned. Baby's heart rate was still dropping with my contractions. I was back on oxygen. My nurse told me that the doctor was on the way in to talk to me - I knew that wasn't a good sign. I asked the nurse her opinion and she said that given what we were seeing, she felt that my doctor was going to recommend a c-section. This is when I sent Matt an HURRY UP ASAP message.
The doctor got back before Matt did and sure enough, she recommended c-section. Due to the distress the baby was in, they were very concerned about my labor. I asked her to check to see how far along I was, I was only 3 cm dilated. I also wasn't contracting very consistently, so it was still a long road to go for me to get to 10 cm. She felt that giving me Pitocin to hurry along my labor would put the baby in further harm. So with all the options on the table, the only choice that I could make was surgery. I asked her to explain it all to Matt and I began to mentally prepare.
This began the scariest few hours of my life.
Matt arrived soon after and he had been briefed. We had a minute or two together to talk and then prep began. The anesthesiologist came in do to his thing, the surgical team prepped me, and the OR was prepared. At some point I told Matt to call my parents and let them know. No doubt about it, our baby was coming today.
I informed our doctor that I wanted our baby to have skin to skin time with Matt since I would not be able to hold the baby for about an hour after birth. Since we planned to breastfeed, I knew how important it was that the baby get this time. Our nurse, who was wonderful, was also very old school. She balked at first, but I insisted. Finally she agreed, as long as the baby didn't need any medical intervention. This was acceptable to me.
I still get shaky when I think about how I was feeling during this time. I was terrified for the baby. I was worried that something would happen to me during surgery. I was scared for Matt - having to handle all of this without anyone to lean on. I was on the verge of tears the whole time. I was able to get a moment alone with Matt to hug him and tell him I loved him, then it was time.
I was wheeled in to the OR for the spinal. It took a while and Matt had to wait outside alone during that time. When he finally was allowed to come in, wearing his surgical hat, scrubs and booties, I was immobilized and strapped to the table. He stayed by my face and spoke to me. I asked him to talk about anything except what the doctors were doing. I was already having a bad reaction to the meds and my eyes were having a hard time focusing. He recited stories to me and we talked about names. This is when we decided what the baby's name would be if he were a boy, we already knew her name if she was a girl.
Finally - we heard it. The most amazing sound in the world. Our baby's LOUD and healthy cry.
There are no words to describe that moment.
The nurses (who were all very impressed that we didn't know the gender), decided not to tell us. They wanted us to SEE for ourselves. So they kept saying "Your baby is healthy, your baby is fine". Then finally they held up the baby and we could see for ourselves that we had a very healthy son. They took him to be weighed, measured, and have his vitals checked - Matt stood right by them the whole time. Here are the first pictures of our son.
As soon as he was cleared and determined to be absolutely perfect in every way - they brought him to meet me for the first time. Since I was still be worked on, my arms were still taped down. I couldn't touch him with my hands, but I could kiss him.
Our first family photo
As soon as I was in recovery, I was able to hold my son for the first time. I was still very out of it and while we nursed, my memories of that time are sketchy as best. Eventually Matt and Lukas went to let him have a bath and do the official clean up.
Soon, I joined Matt and Lukas in our room. My mom arrived a couple of hours later and my dad about 45 minutes behind her. I finally came to and stayed with it by the time he arrived. Seeing my parents with my son was unbelievable.
That night was amazing. Holding Lukas, snuggling him, being a family - I will never forget how complete I felt. I was also feeling pretty good since I was still on the good pain meds. The next night is another story :)
