WARNING: Long winded.
So our little man arrived, a week ago now, and it was perfect. Brad and I were so thankful for how it went, it absolutely was better than I even expected..and in the end we had this perfect little man in our life.
Last Monday (Valentine's Day) I woke up at 6:30 ready to go for the day. I wanted to get all the last minute finishing touches completed before we went to the hospital that night to be induced. On Sunday I thought that I was starting contractions too, so I wanted to make sure everything was done..just in case.
Well I took my sweet time getting moving that morning, and at 7:30 I felt like my water broke. I figured there was no way that was true but I went to wake up Brad anyways. After that I called Sarah who said that I better get a move on calling the doctor. We did and they wanted us to come to the office right away. We headed that way and by 9:45 were told to head to the hospital. Thankfully we had brought everything with us since we were pretty certain it really was my water that broke.
Once at the hospital, I wasn't in active labor, so we had time to get settled and just relax together for a few minutes. Because my water had broken, they had me on the fetal monitor the whole time rather than intermittently. I was surprised by that, because I thought I would be able to walk around. At one point I asked if I could walk, but the nurse was concerned that Noah's heart rate had maybe dropped and didn't want me to walk until we were sure that wasn't real. So we watched a while, and while we were waiting Dr. Garza came in. He said Noah's heart rate was great but wanted to start pitocin if we were ok with that because the longer it took for Noah to come, the higher the risk for infection for both of us. I said we were all about anything to make this baby boy safe. They let me hop in the shower and walk around the room for a few minutes and then started the pitocin. At this point my contractions had just started to get more intense.
We continued along, with those contractions getting more and more intense until around 5:30 when I told the nurse I thought we would be heading towards an epidural. I had decided that despite my fear of an epidural and all that could go wrong with that, I was more frustrated that I had to go to the bathroom every two minutes and that alone was reason for me. Plus..the contractions were getting worse..and I was only 3cm dilated. We got the epidural at 7:15..and that was amazing. I was a little disappointed that I didn't make it all the way without the epidural, but it was definitely the best decision for us. When they checked me again at 9:30 I was still only 3 cm dilated..and I was SO thankful we had decided on the epidural because I thought that labor might keep going forever.
But then..at 12:30 our nurse came to check, and we were ready to push. I couldn't believe it at all. I had to wake Brad up again, this time to tell him we were about to push and welcome our child into the world. We started pushing at 1:15 and Noah entered the world at 3:05. So it took almost two hours but it was so awesome!
Our nurse was fantastic, we were so thankful for her. Our doctor was amazing. He was so calm and he made the experience so special. After Noah came and before the doctor left, he prayed with us over Noah. That was amazing.
I have to brag about Brad...he was so amazing. He knew exactly what to do and when to do it. He made the experience so special for us. When we were pushing at the end I was getting tired, and Brad took over the coaching. He was so encouraging and tough all at the same time and I just felt so protected with him there. He's such a natural daddy.
So Noah came, and we were so amazed. We both immediately cried like babies by the way. :)
The last week has been phenomenal. We are getting to know this little man. He is peaceful and sweet. He really is, thus far, an INCREDIBLY content baby. We are so blessed. We have actually been able to rest, not a lot, but more than expected at this point. Brad's parents were here with us until Sunday, and Mom has been here since the day he was born. Dad gets in on Saturday...we can't wait! We have been so very thankful for our parents and their help. It has been amazing to have their support. Mom stayed up with Noah one night while I slept. I woke up to nurse, but other than that I was able to rest. It was amazing. One night we did stay up most of the night, Noah and I, and Brad informed me he expected me to take a nap. Well pretty much as soon as Noah had eaten and Mom was awake I went and took a 3 hour nap. It was amazing. Mom then cleaned our whole house. She's so awesome.
Anyways..we're in L-O-V-E!!! Sorry for the long post...it had been quite awhile! We'll work on getting updates more frequently now! Pictures to follow!
So our little man arrived, a week ago now, and it was perfect. Brad and I were so thankful for how it went, it absolutely was better than I even expected..and in the end we had this perfect little man in our life.
Last Monday (Valentine's Day) I woke up at 6:30 ready to go for the day. I wanted to get all the last minute finishing touches completed before we went to the hospital that night to be induced. On Sunday I thought that I was starting contractions too, so I wanted to make sure everything was done..just in case.
Well I took my sweet time getting moving that morning, and at 7:30 I felt like my water broke. I figured there was no way that was true but I went to wake up Brad anyways. After that I called Sarah who said that I better get a move on calling the doctor. We did and they wanted us to come to the office right away. We headed that way and by 9:45 were told to head to the hospital. Thankfully we had brought everything with us since we were pretty certain it really was my water that broke.
Once at the hospital, I wasn't in active labor, so we had time to get settled and just relax together for a few minutes. Because my water had broken, they had me on the fetal monitor the whole time rather than intermittently. I was surprised by that, because I thought I would be able to walk around. At one point I asked if I could walk, but the nurse was concerned that Noah's heart rate had maybe dropped and didn't want me to walk until we were sure that wasn't real. So we watched a while, and while we were waiting Dr. Garza came in. He said Noah's heart rate was great but wanted to start pitocin if we were ok with that because the longer it took for Noah to come, the higher the risk for infection for both of us. I said we were all about anything to make this baby boy safe. They let me hop in the shower and walk around the room for a few minutes and then started the pitocin. At this point my contractions had just started to get more intense.
We continued along, with those contractions getting more and more intense until around 5:30 when I told the nurse I thought we would be heading towards an epidural. I had decided that despite my fear of an epidural and all that could go wrong with that, I was more frustrated that I had to go to the bathroom every two minutes and that alone was reason for me. Plus..the contractions were getting worse..and I was only 3cm dilated. We got the epidural at 7:15..and that was amazing. I was a little disappointed that I didn't make it all the way without the epidural, but it was definitely the best decision for us. When they checked me again at 9:30 I was still only 3 cm dilated..and I was SO thankful we had decided on the epidural because I thought that labor might keep going forever.
But then..at 12:30 our nurse came to check, and we were ready to push. I couldn't believe it at all. I had to wake Brad up again, this time to tell him we were about to push and welcome our child into the world. We started pushing at 1:15 and Noah entered the world at 3:05. So it took almost two hours but it was so awesome!
Our nurse was fantastic, we were so thankful for her. Our doctor was amazing. He was so calm and he made the experience so special. After Noah came and before the doctor left, he prayed with us over Noah. That was amazing.
I have to brag about Brad...he was so amazing. He knew exactly what to do and when to do it. He made the experience so special for us. When we were pushing at the end I was getting tired, and Brad took over the coaching. He was so encouraging and tough all at the same time and I just felt so protected with him there. He's such a natural daddy.
So Noah came, and we were so amazed. We both immediately cried like babies by the way. :)
The last week has been phenomenal. We are getting to know this little man. He is peaceful and sweet. He really is, thus far, an INCREDIBLY content baby. We are so blessed. We have actually been able to rest, not a lot, but more than expected at this point. Brad's parents were here with us until Sunday, and Mom has been here since the day he was born. Dad gets in on Saturday...we can't wait! We have been so very thankful for our parents and their help. It has been amazing to have their support. Mom stayed up with Noah one night while I slept. I woke up to nurse, but other than that I was able to rest. It was amazing. One night we did stay up most of the night, Noah and I, and Brad informed me he expected me to take a nap. Well pretty much as soon as Noah had eaten and Mom was awake I went and took a 3 hour nap. It was amazing. Mom then cleaned our whole house. She's so awesome.
Anyways..we're in L-O-V-E!!! Sorry for the long post...it had been quite awhile! We'll work on getting updates more frequently now! Pictures to follow!
1 comment:
I love it, Rachael! Congratulations!
You know something cool about having an epidural vs. not, is that how aware you are when the baby comes instead of being so tired and out of it from all the pain. After my labor with Anna I couldn't even lift my head to see her. I was just laying flat on my back feeling her with my hand. If I ever do get an epidural, that's what I'm most looking forward too. Is being all there for the big moment.
Congrats again!!!
Post a Comment