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It's a BOY!!!!
After 13+ hours of labor, our newest blessing arrived on Wednesday, January 7, at 4:14pm. He was 8lbs 5 oz and is 21 inches tall.
I had a tough time sleeping on Tues night. At 3am I was awakened by a cx so strong that I thought my water might break right there in the bed. I got up, feeling like it might be time. I waited about 45 mins and the cx were coming every 5 mins, but only every other cx was a 'good' one. At 4am I called dh, who was at work. He told me to time them for another 30 mins and call him back if things didn't slow down. See, he remembers the 2 false alarms from baby #4 and wanted to be sure it was really time. Well, they did not slow down, they picked up. I called him at 4:30am to tell him that cx were 4 mins apart and each one was STRONG! He headed home. I got into the shower hoping to get some relief and test to see if things would slow down or if it was the real thing. The shower did not slow things down but it definitely helped the pain. When dh got home, I was still in the shower. He sat with me for a few minutes, watching me like I was gonna explode or something and then he left to make arrangements for childcare and call the grandparents. At 5am, I finally emerged from the shower as the water turned cold and told dh that we needed to go very soon. This was it, for sure!! He called a friend over to stay with the dc until the IL arrived to pick them up. MrsH arrived within minutes. Dh woke L to tell her we were leaving. She was too excited to go back to sleep so she stayed up and saw us off.
We left for the hospital at 6am. It was a LONG car ride and dh tried to keep the mood light by singing along with the radio. I was NOT amused. We arrived just befor 7am and apparently the L&D floor had been closed the day/night before due to staffing shortages. What a blessing that we hadn't been there the day before as I would have had to go to the other hospital where VBACs are not permitted. It was the very begining of the shift so the nurses were busy getting situated. We were shown to a room and left for about 30 mins. The cx were still coming every 5 mins but I was still able to work through them with the swaying and humming routine. Finally a nurse came in and got us all set up. She hooked up the monitors but let me stay on my feet, as I was NOT comfortable in bed. She said that DrL was on his way and she'd let him check me when he got there. He showed up a few minutes later and did a pelvic check. He said I was 4cm but baby was still pretty high. He wanted me up on my feet and walking. Fine with me!
I paced, I swayed, I moaned and hummed. I was having back labor and had dh pusing on my spine through the cx. He's a pro at that since our first delivery was posterior.
By 9am, my legs were getting tired and the cx were getting almost unbearable. I was ready for my epidural but I didn't want to slow things down. I was torn by the decision. The nurse said that the anesthesiologist was on his way to L&D and if I was ready, he would be right in. I decided to let her check me and I was 6cm. I knew I'd never make it all the way without meds and I was exhausted from no sleep and laboring on my feet so, I opted for the epi and a nap. I got my epi at 10am. Ahhhh sweet relief.
Dh and I both napped for several hours. I woke around 1pm, when the nurse came to check me again. 8cm! WooHoo The Epi had not slowed things down and had given me the rest I needed. PTL! With a slight increace in the Epi dosage, I was quite comfortable, just feeling pressure but not too much pain.
At 4pm, the nurse checked again and I was complete. Since the epi was still working (mostly), we waited for DrL to come from his office across the street. He arrived and confirmed that we were a go. Baby was still a little high and I had a slight cervical lip, but we were gonna go anyways.
After 2 good cx and 4 pushes, our boy arrived. I think I pushed harder for this one than any of the others. The epi was wearing off and we had started a little high, so I really pushed with all I had and IT BURNED!!! When he emerged, he had the cord around his neck, which I sorta feared after seeing the U/S weeks before, but Dr was able to remove it right away. As they lifted baby onto my tummy, he was quite purple and not crying. I looked up at dh who was almost in tears with joy as he kept repeating, "It's a boy, a boy." I didn't care what it was. I just wanted it to cry and breathe!! I rubbed him, the nurse rubbed him, finally after what seemed like forever but was likely just moments, he screamed. AHH the sweet sound I'd been waiting for.
No tearing, but Dr did a little tugging to get the placenta out. I think he may have tugged a little too hard because I am having a really tough time healing. It's much more painful and taking much longer than any of the others. I know, I'm older and this was my 5th delivery, but still. I consider myself a quick healer and this time has NOT been quick. Here I sit 10 days later feeling like I just delivered 2 days ago. Even after my c-section I was off the pain meds and up and around 4-5 days later. Not this time. I'm still out of commision and popping pills every 4-6 hours for pain.
Praise God that dh is off work for a few weeks. He's been wonderful. He lets me sleep when I can and helps with schooling the kids. He even went tothe market today! He hates the market, so that is HUGE!
We have been blessed by our friends and church family with meals for dinner. The first few days, MIL ws here and she cooked for us. Then a friend from church organized a week's worth of meals from ladies at our new church. MrsY has this coming week set up for us with meals from old friends. We are blessed and OH SO thankful!!
We've got a bit of drama with baby boy's health. But, that's a whole nother post for another time. Took me long enough to get this one done. lol
Here's a pic of my handsome boy at 5 days old:
FTR- It took me 5 sessions to get this one post typed.
Newborns keep ya busy! ;)
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