Okay, Mommy Bloggers out there. Seriously? How you have time to blog is beyond me. For the first few weeks, I was lucky to get a shower and two square meals a day. Lucky for me, Matthew stopped working about the time we had baby; he did SO much (and still does, now that he's started working), but it was a huge help. How you mommy bloggers do it is beyond me. I have a feeling my already sparse updates are going to become even sparser.
Lucky for you, this is doubling as my journal entry about Anthon's birth, which is why this entry is happening at all. This fact is also unlucky for that same reason; it's going to be jam packed with details I doubt most of you will find worth your time. That's what the scroll button is for. Or, your ability to skim. I'll never know the difference :)
Our due date was November 16th. Here is a picture of me that day, just for kicks:
However, I hadn't even starting having contractions (or what I thought might have been contractions) until the day before that. Even then, I wasn't sure they were contractions. So, as of the 16th, I decided that baby was going to come in his own time, and that I might as well just wait for my water to break, rather than expecting something every day; that just makes time tick insanely slowly.
The morning of November 17th, I woke up mid-dream. In the dream, Matthew and I were at a store and I was trying on a red tank top. All of the sudden, I hunched over and said, "oh my gosh, I am having horrible cramps; we have to go home!" I woke up in our bed with the same cramps from the dream. That was at about 7AM. The cramps felt about the equivalent of what have typically accompany my periods so I still didn't know if they were contractions.
Those continued throughout the morning, but were fairly sporadic. And, to be honest, I couldn't really remember what the time stipulations were to go in to the hospital. They also varied in intensity, so I wasn't really sure how to count them. Either way, I didn't really think that was necessary. Despite this, I had told Matthew that I thought I was having contractions, so that was exciting. (Especially since, for the last month, we've been half expecting an excited phone call to his work that I'd gone into labor and for him to rush home, but we hadn't seen the slightest sign of labor...besides, well, being dilated to a four...haha)
9:30
My mister made me some toast and I went into the kitchen to eat it. As I stood in front of the toaster, I felt a tiny little "pop", release of pressure, and what COULD have been my water breaking. It wasn't anywhere near as like a full-sized water balloon popping as the movies make it seem. Actually, I wasn't sure at all if it HAD even broken. We'd heard tons of stories about people going to the hospital only to find they'd actually just wet themselves. . . .
Needless to say, I didn't want to be one of those people. So, I suggested we just go ahead and go to our doctors appointment instead (which was scheduled for 10). That being said, we put our hospital bag in the car, just in case we changed our mind. When we got in the car, we still weren't sure whether we were going to drive to the doctor or the hospital. I kept saying we should just go to the doctor, and Matthew kept asking if I was really sure, or if we should go to the hospital; it was clear he thought the latter would be better. But I still hadn't had what I'd heard about as contractions....so I remained unsure.
When it came time for the turn-off to our doctor's office, Matthew asked again. I responded that we might as well just go to the hospital.
10:00
We pull up to the hospital (Matthew was disappointed I wasn't having insane contractions, because he'd really been looking forward to some race-car like speed driving and maneuvering to get us to the hospital) Ha. Anywho, we pull up to the hospital to the building I had been told we needed to go. Just to be sure, I hopped out of the car to ask if we were in the right place. As luck would have it, we weren't. As I walked back to the car I had a MASSIVE "cramp"--yep--my first cahoonah of a contraction. I walk back to the car hunched over and about dying and sit in the passenger seat next to Matthew. He looks at me and jokingly says, "you sure you don't want to go back and just go to the doctor?"
Needless to say, it didn't take long for him to realize that this was NOT the time. ha, especially considering I used just those words to tell him so.
We drove around to the other building (the one we had originally needed) and Matthew dropped me off at the front doors so he could park the car.
10:10
We checked in where there is a desk of nurses. There was one nurse mid-conversation on the phone, and I will just tell you what that conversation consisted of:
Nurse: "Yeah, she pushes for one or two seconds and then just collapses in tears saying she can't do it"
Matthew looks at me, wondering if I had caught the conversation. I sigh and laugh, saying "Whelp this will be fun!"
We then here screaming and banging on walls in one of the hospital rooms nearby.
I smile at one of the other nurses and tell her,"I'm just going to tell myself we're right next to the psych ward. Is that alright?"
10:20
At this point, we've checked in and I've changed into an extremely flattering hospital gown. The nurse does a little stick test thing and informs us, that it is, in fact, amniotic fluid and that they're clear to take us back to a room!
I would say things started to feel real...but, then again, it's almost like it wasn't real until we were leaving the hospital. . .
10:40
They wheel me to the hospital room we'll be in and put me in another bed. The nurse says that the anesthesiologist will be going into surgery at 12:30 and asks if I want the epidural before then. At this point, I still hadn't had another big cahoonah contraction. Also, she had just finished saying how having an epidural too early can be harmful to the baby. What does she think I'm going to say after that? "Um. Yes please! I'd love to harm my baby; I'm not having contractions but...send doctor man in!"? haha. I told her I would wait.
She then proceeded to misplace my IV twice. The second stab was still not producing any blood for a blood test, so she thought it would help to move the needle back and forth repeatedly.
Now, keep in mind, I've been on accutane, which involved monthly blood draws; I have no beef with needles. But, Matthew looked at me from the end of the bed and saw tears in my eyes. He asked (via mouthing words and motions) if I wanted him to get another nurse. I can't read lips when I'm focused and in a happy place, let alone when I'm getting jabbed with a needle. I figured that was what he was asking, but still wasn't sure what to say. I finally just said yes, and Matthew took to the hallway.
My husband is a saint.
The head nurse said they would reassign someone else. I couldn't have been more relieved. I know for a fact that I would have had unhappy thoughts everytime that first nurse walked into the room if she were going to be the one with us throughout the whole process.
10:50-1:30
The new nurse (who I loved, already, after talking with her for five seconds), told me they would put me on pitocin, just to help move things along. The next two hours involved me redefining what I called a "big cahoonah contraction". It also involved me establishing absolutely no understanding WHATSOEVER of why anyone would choose to have labor without an epidural.
The cramps came every ten minutes for awhile, and then about every 3-5 minutes. During this time, Matthew tried to hold my hand and be as helpful as possible. Why everyone says squeezing someone's hand is so helpful, I don't really get. For me, it wasn't. If anything, I wanted him to squeeze mine when a contraction hit. But, more than that, I wanted to get out of bed. Each time one would hit, I would sit up on the opposite side of the bed and either stay seated, or get up and walk to the bathroom. This got harder to do the more cords I got hooked up to, and the stronger the contractions got. However, sitting and standing gave me the feeling that I had some control over SOMETHING, which was nice.
After about an hour of this, I told Matthew thank you, but that there really wasn't much he could do. So, he turned on the TV and asked what I wanted to watch. I was a slightlyyyy distracted and told him he could watch whatever. He chose ESPN. He continued to ask me how I was doing everytime a contraction hit.
I've got to hand it to husbands, it has got to be really hard seeing your one and only in such pain and not being able to do anything about it.
1:30
I asked the nurse if we had passed the point where an epidural was harmful to the baby. She looked at me and said, surprised: "oh, yeah! You can have an epidural whenever you want" (***insert confused, angry thoughts towards first nurse). I smiled and told her, "um. Yes. That would be lovely." You want one now? "Yes, yes mam I do" :)
Epidurals really are no big deal. You feel the needle that goes into numb the area, but that's all. I've heard it would really freak me out to see an epidural administered; this, my friends, is why I chose never to watch. I had my epidural administered in blissful ignorance :) I have no regrets.
2:00-6:30 (I would break up the times more...but it's kind of a blur)
Pause to tell you about a little machine that was next to my hospital bed. It told us how far apart and how strong my contractions were.
I watched that machine for 2 1/2 hours of contractions--the line spiking everytime I had a particularly big contraction.
Let me tell you, there was nothing more magical than seeing that line spike after my epidural, and not feeling a dang thing. I tell you, I got a kick out of it. I actually would laugh every few and mention to Matthew how wonderful epidurals are.
These hours consisted of contractions, (which I felt little of), movies, and Matthew leaving to grab food for himself. The only movie I remember watching is Confessions of a Shopoholic; ha, Matthew had brought back a slew of movies from the nurses desk and was, I'm sure, thrilled with my choice ;)
I wasn't allowed to eat after being admitted to the hospital, so I had ice chips and ice slushies. The ice slushies came in two colors--green and blue. This means tons of patients get a blue, frozen, creepy dead looking lip look to them. Some hospital flavor chooser must have quite a sense of humor.
6:30 or 7
Based on my contractions, the nurse said it was likely our mister baby was turned backwards, so she had me turn from my right side to left in thirty minute intervals to try to help him turn.
7:30
Our doctor, whom we LOVE showed up. Matthew went to get himself some dinner and was told he'd have plenty of time.
8:00
Matthew came back, only to find that we were just about ready to start pushing. He finished eating, and the fun began.
I say fun, not in a sarcastic way, but in a, "my doctor, nurse, and husband quoted rat race and cracked jokes with me" kind of way. haha. It, honestly, was tons of fun. Our doctor found out that the room next door was at a similar stage of labor and determined we have a race with them. So, whenever the nurse from the next room would come in, he would ask where we stood. In the end, we won :)
At one point, Doctor Empey told me that, a lot of the time, women give their best pushes when they're angry. So, he told me to get angry. ha, I just looked at him and said, "but...I'm not angry..."
Labor was fun. That sounds weird. But, it's thanks to modern medicine and some really fun people in the delivery room. (Choose your husbands wisely, people) Oh, and your OBGYN, too :)
I had never taken birthing classes, which a lot of people said I was crazy for. But, pretty sure it turned out just great. They tell you everything you need to know, and you just got for it! It's interesting, because you use your whole body to push, but, with the epidural, can't feel a whole lot, at the same time.
You hear your husband telling you he can see baby's head, and your doctor and nurse (who, did I mention, I LOVED), with him, telling you how awesome you're doing and cheering you on.
Really, I loved it. They had me push in sets of three for ten seconds each. The first two sets worked better if I only went to about eight, and then the last I would usually go for twelve or thirteen seconds, knowing I could collapse back on the bed for a good minute or two before the next spout of pushes.
9:05
Anthon Glen Hutchinson was born! People talk about how spiritual experience it is when a baby is born. I'll never really be able to describe the feelings I had when they first handed me our baby boy. It was still surreal, that's for sure. But, suffice it to say there were tears. I'd sum it up as something like this: joy, awe, exhaustion, and disbelief. (I don't think disbelief is the right word...but I'm also not sure what is...)
Here are some pictures of his first few minutes of life:
And a few more from our stay in the hospital:
To this day, our little guy loves to sleep with his hands up by his face; he always had an arm up by his face in his ultrasounds as well. It's so fun to have reminders that this is the same little guy who spent 9 months inside/with me
Our little man has grown up a lot since that first week. We love him more and more every day. I cherish the day he joined our family and wouldn't trade it for the world. This picture was taken the day he came home with us from the hospital. It's one of my favorites.
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