Lets back things up and talk about our little Halloween baby. On October 30, 2012 I went to the hospital with contractions. While at home they were 5 minutes apart but as soon as we were on our way and arrived they were more infrequent and not increasing in strength. When we arrived at the hospital we were put in a triage room to be monitored. Immediately the nurses said I was far too calm to be having our baby that night. We hoped they might just induce that night since I was scheduled for an induction the next day at 8 pm. However, since things didn't seem to be naturally progressing and there were no open delivery rooms they sent us home to come back the next day for our scheduled induction.
When we left the hospital we were on high alert just in case my body decided to start making changes fast. The contractions were present the rest of the night and the next day but very mild. We were excited when it was time to actually head to the hospital and loaded up the car and made sure to eat dinner since I knew I wouldnt be eating until the baby was here. On our way to the hospital at 7:30 pm on October 30th we got a call from the hospital and they had no available beds so they asked me to call back around 9 pm to see if the situation had changed. We called at 9 pm and we expected for them to say come on down but instead they said to come at 11 pm. Now, after being prego for so long, at this point I was a week over due, I was ready to meet my little one. The nursing staff was very nice and remembered us from us coming in with contractions the night before. When we arrived one nurse was so appreciative that we were patient and calm through the induction time being moved around she gave us a very large labor room which she said was good luck since she delivered her son in that room years ago.
After getting checked in and settled into our room the Pitocin started to flow. They told us just to relax and try to sleep because the contractions were going to start coming and they didn't want to give me any medication until I was further along in labor. The lights were turned down and I tried to sleep but had to keep getting up to pee every hour or so. (This was mostly annoying since I had monitors attached to my belly to monitor both baby and my heartbeat and they kept falling out of place since I had to get up and down so often.) Chris on the other hand slept like a log but was super uncomfortable because he is so tall and couldn't fit. The nurse even made fun of the little chair he had to sleep in.
As the night quickly faded to morning the medicine started to kick in more and more. Mostly this happened when the nurses switched and one decided to up the dosage I was receiving. Finally I was starting to feel strong contractions that were not pleasant and since I was starting to dilate I was able to get medicine. Since Chris & I took all our labor classes Sutter offered we already had met the Anesthesiologist. (He taught our Anesthesia class) I would like to say he remembered us and he may have since he loved that we asked so many questions during the class and actually noticed Chris was gone after a break during the class and waited for him but I am not sure he remembered us at the point and I am guessing he probably didn't. Either way I was happy I had someone I had met before and was comfortable with. I of course didn't look at anything that was being done and made sure to breath through the needle pokes and got the walking epidural as I had wanted. Through out the next few hours he came back to check in and would give me higher doses when needed. I did eventually get the full blown epidural while laboring.
The labor process as you read began with the indiction at 11pm on Oct 30th and continued Oct 31st. As soon as I was fully dilated I had to labor down before I was allowed to push. This was only supposed to last half an hour but actually lasted an hour and fifteen minutes before the nurses finally came back in. During this time I was told to wait by laying on my side. This resulted in a very sore hip :( We pushed for two and a half hours with the nurses and finally they got the doctor. By the time the doctor arrived the baby was already down in the birthing canal but his nose was turned slightly resulting in one stuck baby. We tried the Vacuum extraction and has 4 sets of pushes to see if it would work. Since the baby was in the birthing canal for so long his head had already become cone shaped and the vacuum couldn't get proper suction so it didn't work resulting in a c-section. I was very sad to hear that was the only option. Baby's heart rate was low and wasn't coming out the way he should so it was our only option. A fear tears were shed but I knew I tried everything I could and this was the last step in getting baby out. I was then given more drugs and wheeled down the hall for the c-section.
My mom and Chris got suited up and joined me in the operating room. The medication I was given was very strong and had be very sleepy and shaky. I just made sure I stayed awake enough for the birth and knew the endorphins post birth would help me stay awake since I would be so excited to see our new baby. The surgery seemed to go very fast and before we knew it baby was pulled out Peeing, Pooping, & Crying! Next thing I heard was Chris shout out it's a boy and seeing the baby held up over the blue sheet so I could see him. He was then taken to get cleaned up and my mom and Chris joined him. We had asked my mom to take photos of the birth so she documented a lot of this. We were weary since she isn't a pro at technology but she did a fantastic job. I looked over at them all as I got stitched up. They were so silly and came over to showed me that they had the nurse who took baby foot print for the birth record stamp them with baby's foot.  |
| Daddy Cutting the cord |
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| 1st picture of baby |
As soon as I was good to go Chris and Mom were asked to leave and I moved beds and they gave me baby to hold for the very first time. I was beyond thrilled but nervous because I was still shaking like crazy and they wanted me to hold baby from the operating room to the recovery room. I held tight and stayed in the recovery room for 2 hrs before being brought up to our actually room. (We only had a few of our closest family members visit us in here and we had to sneak them in.)
We lucked out and were given a single room! I am so very grateful and feel blessed because it was nice to have the privacy especially after a c-section. As soon as we got in the room we had family come in and see the little one and spend some time with us. It was great to have family there and the kids were beyond cute in wanting to see the baby. We stayed in the hospital for 4 days and had a wonderful set of nurses who took amazing care of us and the baby. (Love Sutter Memorial)
We are so happy to have our little Christopher James Boyd III in our life!!!
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| Baby being weighed 8 lbs 6 ounces |
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| Mommy being wheeled down the hall w/ baby to recover |
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| Mommy holding baby in the recovery room just minutes after surgery w/ daddy not too far behind |
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| Baby Christopher in the hospital doing skin to skin bonding w/ mommy |
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| Going home outfit |
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| Leaving the hospital |
