Thursday, July 14, 2016

Teddy's Birth Story

Where to begin with such a monumental day?!

It was looking more and more likely that little Teddy Bear was going to come late (and be very big!) so we rebooked my mom's flights to come out a couple of days later and stay a few more days too. Man did that turn out to be a life saver!

My mom flew in the night of Teddy's due date, June 17. We hit up Pupatella and Dairy Godmother and talked nonstop about this little guy's eminent arrival. I had a midwife appointment earlier that day and had set an induction date for Tuesday June 21 at 8 am. But I was (overly) optimistic I would go into labor on my own that weekend *eyeroll*

We spent the weekend eating my mom's delicious food and relaxing. We celebrated our 4 year anniversary on Sunday June 19 and I went to church very large and in charge. Seeing as it was Father's Day, I really really hoped to go into labor that day and officially make Blake a dad. No such luck. So mom and I spent one great last day of freedom on Monday getting manicures and pedicures with an epic Target run thrown in for good measure. Monday night we had the Leavitts and Molly over to watch the Bachelorette. It didn't seem real that we would have a baby the next time we saw them!

Tuesday morning we all woke up bright and early. I had the same feeling you get right before a big exam- lots of nerves and butterflies. Blake and my mom were really reassuring and positive.

We got through all the paperwork and were admitted into Labor and Delivery at Alexandria Inova Hospital. We had an awesome nurse Anne who got things rolling. I was still only dilated to a 1 so I was given cervadil. We knew it would be at least 12 hours until anything happened so we just hung out and relaxed in our room during a big summer storm. I walked around the halls a little and slept on and off throughout the day. I had contractions the whole time, some 30-60 seconds apart. Around 6:00 pm I was given nubain for the pain. It felt awesome and put me right to sleep :) Apparently I talked a little in my sleep and told Blake, "I think Target should sponsor us."
Blake headed home to sleep for a few hours since we knew nothing would happen for a while....still! A new midwife came on shift, Elise, and a new nurse, Dani. I loved both of them and really wanted to have the baby during their shifts. I finally got an epidural around 11pm after about 10 hours of contractions. As soon as I laid back down after getting the shot, I threw up all over my mom. Like allllll over. It was so bad and I felt terrible. But my mom didn't even bat an eye and just changed into some clean scrubs. #saintstatus

I slept until 1:00 am and then Elise broke my water and cranked up the pitocin to a 12 to really get things going. I was finally dilated to a 4 by 5:00 am I was thrilled. But sadly at 10:30 am I was still only at a 4 so they turned off the pitocin to see what my body would do on its own. I also got turbutaline and oxygen. We tried to do some internal monitoring to see how strong my contractions were but it made the baby's heart rate go up so they immediately took the monitor out. The new midwife Shannon turned the pitocin back on. At this point I had been in labor for 24 hours, had worked with 3 different midwifes and nurses, and was just READY to have this baby!  Shannon told me that when they checked me later in the afternoon I needed to be dilated past a 4 or else we would need to consider a C-section. I was really disappointed to hear this but tried to stay hopeful that I would dilate more in the next few hours. Blake and my mom were great cheerleaders and stayed really positive the whole time, even when I got discouraged and tired.

When Shannon came to check me at 3 pm, I was unfortunately still only dilated to a 4 and was starting to get swollen which is a bad sign. When I checked into the hospital Tuesday morning, my blood pressure was a little high and I was pretty swollen so the midwives worried that I had developed preeclampsia during the last few days of pregnancy and labor.

Shannon told me we had no other choice but to do a c-section. My body had been in labor for almost 30 hours and this baby was simply too big to fit. My body was starting to shut down and couldn't deliver this baby on its own. At first I was really sad and scared about a C-section but Blake reassured me that everything would be okay and we just wanted our baby here safe and sound no matter the method. In a rush, they prepped me for the C-section. Blake changed into a hospital gown to do skin to skin and we left my mom in the recovery room. They wheeled me down the hall to surgery and I couldn't believe the moment was actually here!

The C-section went great and thankfully I didn't feel any pain. Blake held my hand the whole time while we anxiously waited to see our baby. Finally the doctor brought around this big, beautiful, alert baby boy with a head full of dark hair! Blake and I watched in awe as he got whisked to the warmer to be suctioned and cleaned up. HE WAS HERE! It was such a surreal beautiful moment. We both got emotional and Blake just kept brushing my hair telling me, "you did it!", "he's here!" "he's perfect", "I'm so proud of you!" Teddy was born at 4:10 pm, weighing 9 lb 2 oz and 22 inches long. He was perfect.



Blake got to do skin to skin in the operating room for a few minutes and it was really special to watch him hold our baby for the first time. As we prepared to wheel back to the recovery room, they offered to let me hold him, but I was still shaky from the medicine so they placed Teddy in between my legs and took us back down the hall.

My mom held him right away and we all just gushed over him for the next few hours. He was so alert right from the beginning. I was so happy that he had a head full of dark hair, it was just adorable. We took pictures and called/texted family and friends to share the news. We were thrilled that our Teddy bear was here!

It's hard to describe the feeling of seeing and holding your child for the first time. After dreaming about, worrying over, praying for and loving your baby for 9 months to finally see him in person was simply incredible. Truly the best day ever!


Next up, recovery! That was a doozy... 


4 comments:

  1. You are beautiful! Congrats! He's darling.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love all the pics (including a few here that I haven't seen) and the narrative of this special time. Such a pleasure to have spent a few days with you, Blake, and Teddy! He's dreamy, and I miss him so much. Time to figure out my next trip, so I can begin a countdown!

    ReplyDelete
  3. A positive relationship with a teddy bear is more important than you might think. Millions of children around the world have had a beloved toys of this sort. These toys have been a great source of comfort and security for many children, keeping them safe at night and accompanying them on their daytime adventures. most famous teddy bears

    ReplyDelete
  4. A positive relationship with a teddy bear is more important than you might think. Millions of children around the world have had a beloved toys of this sort. These toys have been a great source of comfort and security for many children, keeping them safe at night and accompanying them on their daytime adventures. most famous teddy bears

    ReplyDelete

 
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