And then there were 2

My last post was written when I had 8 weeks until my due date. Now, I have an 8 week old baby boy! It's been too long, my friends. I've been wanting to write for a while but I just haven't been able to find the time since Finn was born. And speaking of Finn, I want to share his birth story while it's fresh in my mind. So here it is.....

On Thursday May 29 around 5 p.m. I felt some wetness. I stood up and felt more. I ran to the bathroom and felt more leaking. This is it, I thought, it's time. We went to the hospital and after several checks and an ultrasound to check my fluid level, I was told that I was not leaking amniotic fluid. What the heck! What is it then?? "See that right there? That's baby's head right on your bladder," the young doctor told me with a smile, "it's just urine." I was less than amused. How embarrassing. So glad that my parents, sister, sister-in-law, and mother-in-law had made the hour to hour and a half drive over just to be told that I peed my pants. Super!

Friday May 30: I had my 39 week check up. I was told I would not be induced unless I went past my due date (June 6). The earliest I would be induced was Monday June 9. I really wanted to go into labor on my own BUT at this point, I was just ready for him to be here so I agreed to that. My doctor offered to do a "membrane sweep" which means she used her fingers to detach the amniotic sac from the uterine wall. "If it's going to work, you will go into labor within 24-48 hours," she told me. YES! I thought. Good. He should come this weekend.

Nope.

Thursday June 5: I woke up with an aching back. At 9:30 a.m. I felt a contraction. Not a painful one, just another Braxton Hicks contraction which I had been having daily for the past 8 weeks. At 9:37, another one. For the next couple of hours they came 7-8 minutes apart. Still not painful, but steady. Then they started to come 6 minutes apart for a couple hours. I called my mother in law to head over to stay with Max. "Something is happening" I told her. The next couple of hours they came 4-5 minutes apart. Mike came home from work. "Just tell me when you want to go to the hospital" he said. I wanted to wait at home as long as possible because I did NOT want to get sent home. I told my parents that we would be going to the hospital soon so they hopped in their car. At 4:45 p.m. with contractions coming 3-5 minutes apart, I decided we should go. I was getting more uncomfortable but I wasn't in actual PAIN yet.

We got to the hospital and I was checked. 2 centimeters. WHAT?! I had been at 1-2 cm for 2 weeks!! Why aren't these contractions doing something yet?! "They're gonna send me home if I don't progress soon," I told Mike, "and if they do, we will be back in the middle of the night because I know it's happening soon." An hour later, I was still dilated to just a "maybe 2". My nurse, Becky, left to speak with a doctor. I was holding back tears. Please don't send me home I thought, I know I'll just be back later if you do...

The sweet resident doctor who I had been mad at the week prior when he told me about my leaky bladder came into my room. "Okay, here's the deal," he said, "you are in early labor. Very early. You're 40 weeks tomorrow and would be induced Monday anyway so I want to keep you... But I need to speak with my attending doctor." He left the room. "Let's go for a walk," I told Mike. As we entered the hallway, I literally ran into my doctor. "MALLORY!!!! You just made my day! I was SO EXCITED when they told me you were here!!!!" She exclaimed. Side note: my doctor is also a resident. She is a captain in the Air Force and stands at about 5 feet tall and can't possibly be much older than I am, if she is older at all. She hugged me. "We are keeping you." Mike hugged me and I cried. WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!! They insert some medicine into my cervix to help with dilation. My parents arrive and I do some walking. We wait.... And wait.... And wait some more.

"We don't want you to be in too much pain. You need your energy when it's time to push later so tell me when you're ready for some medicine," the anesthesiologist tells me. Yes, I will be having an epidural. I have ZERO DESIRE to have a "natural birth". ZILCH.

We wait.

At 3:00 a.m. I have finally reached 5cm and I'm feeling pretty uncomfortable. Not in HORRIBLE pain yet, but we are getting there. I agree to the epidural. At 3:30, I'm feeling good and I tell my nurse, now Robin after a shift change, that I'm going to try to sleep. And sleep I do....

7:30 a.m. Dr. Cadle (my doc) and Becky (back after another shift change) enter my room and I wake up. Whoa, I just slept for 4 hours!! They check me. Still at a 5. WHAT?! I stalled at 8 with Max and now I'm stalled at 5. Grrrrr. Here comes some pitocin. Mike helps me brush my teeth HAHA since I can't get out of bed and we wait...

9:30 a.m. I feel a gush of fluid. Oh geez, I freaking peed myself AGAIN. Wait.... I have a catheter.. That's amniotic fluid! Yay!!! My water broke! Becky enters and checks. "Yes, it definitely broke and there's some meconium which means baby might've gotten a little stressed and pooped." Yikes. That makes me nervous :-/ they turn down the pitocin and clean me and my bed. We wait....

3:15 p.m. Dr. Cadle and Becky enter again. My mom and Mike have dozed off. "I'm feeling aching in my butt," I tell them. Dr. Cadle checks me. "Oh! He's right here. You want to try to push?" Push?! What?? I wasn't expecting that yet. "Okay... Yeah let's push!" I say. I push once. "Okay, he's coming! Let me get changed!" She tells me. My mom and Mike jump up. Dr. Cadle slips on some scrubs. Mike runs out of the room LOL I think he was in a panic. "Go get dad," Becky tells my mom. Mike walks into the room covering his eyes haha! Poor guy is squeamish and a nervous wreck. This is his first birthing experience since he was gone for Max's. Mike walks to the head of my bed and Becky teases him about passing out. Everyone is so laid back! "We are going to do this slow to try and avoid a tear," Dr. Cadle says. I push for 10 seconds then rest. I push for 5 then rest. I push for 8. "Okay. Mallory, push towards my hand." I do what she says.

3:34 p.m. Finn Michael is born. He weighs 8 pounds 1 ounce and is 20 inches long. Becky wraps him in a towel and gives him to me. I snuggle my boy- who has a little hair! Dr. Cadle tells me that she doesn't have any work to do. What?! No stitches???? Nope! What?!?!?!? After a traumatic delivery with Max, this was an absolute BREEZE. I don't even feel like I had a baby!! They tell me it's bonding time and to call when he's ready for a bath. Dr. Cadle and Becky leave the room. I pass Finn to Mike. Then he passes him to my mom. Then back to me and I nurse him for 25 minutes! What a champ!! We snuggle our baby, who is still naked except for a towel. I will never forget these moments. When I had Max they put him on my chest for all of 15 seconds before whisking him off to the warmer and cleaning him up. This was so different. It was such a beautiful time.

Finn was a couple hours old before Becky came back in and cleaned him up so I could eat dinner. We had a few visitors: my dad, sister, sister in law, and my mother in law who brought big brother Max! He didn't know what to think at first. I think he was overwhelmed. He warmed up after about an hour and was ready to touch him. I showered and we headed to our postpartum room. Our visitors left and Mike and I spent our first night with Finn in the hospital. 25 hours after he was born, we were discharged and headed home!

Finn will be 2 months old tomorrow. He has his 2 month check up later this week so I'm not sure how big he is now but he has grown A LOT! He is outgrowing his size 1 diapers and his 0-3 month clothes. He smiles all the time :-) he LOVES to cuddle, he loves his brother, he loves to eat. Nursing is going well for the both of us. Most nights he wakes every 2.5-3 hours. I'm exhausted but wouldn't change anything. It's hard to believe that I now have TWO boys. Two beautiful, healthy boys. My heart is so full!