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Carter's birth story
- Jan 29, 2010 at 10:36 PM
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- Comments (15) Total Views (343) Everyone can see this journal post.
Thursday night, I started getting the strong urge to get the house clean. No big deal, it had been that way for a while. So everything looks nice, and we go to bed. Just before going, I started having a few mild contractions - like so mild that I barely noticed them. While reading for a bit, they started getting stronger. I turned off the light, but the contractions were just enough that I couldn't really sleep. I debated taking a shower, and finally just gave in and did it. It felt very nice! Alex woke up while I was showering and climbed into our bed as usual.
The rest of the night was much of the same...I don't think I got more than a 10-15 minutes of sleep between contractions. They weren't super bad, just bad enough I couldn't sleep through them.
I didn't worry too much, since I was able to talk
through them. It wasn't any special conversation, just "yep, I can
still talk" in a quiet voice to myself. The doctors had told me that
was the sign - contractions about 4 minutes apart for at least an hour,
and strong enough that I couldn't talk through them. I was induced
with Alex, so I had no idea what I was actually looking for, or how my
body reacted when in labor - I got the epi before they even started the
pitocin with him!)
When we finally got up this morning (Alex woke up bright and shiny around 8 am...I wasn't quite as happy!) I called MIL to see if she wouldn't mind coming to watch Alex; I was going to call the doctor to see if there was anything I could do to get some rest. By this time, the contractions were about 7 minutes apart, fairly regular, but not super painful.
Of course, within a few
minutes of them calling me back to tell me to go ahead and come in for
a check, they started getting stronger. Eric was on his way home, and
his mom was on her way up from North Augusta (an hour away). Once
everyone made it and Eric and I were on our way to the doctor's, I
started getting the urge to push. Not a good sign when you're in the
car and stopped by a train, right? Not to mention, I was pretty sure
my water had broken shortly before we left! We called the doctor just
to make sure they still wanted us there instead of straight to the
hospital (my main concern was pain killers at this point!), and they
said to still come to the office (right next to the hospital).
But, we made it to the doctor's. We walked in and they took one look at me, mid-contraction, and ran for a wheelchair. To quote the nurse, "She's got that 'about to have a baby' look!"
So we wheel over to the hospital. The poor girl pushing me had no idea where she was going (typically, they only take you to the front door of the office building, then an ambulance takes you the 100 or so yards to the hospital), so it was a bit of a mad dash and the three of us all trying to figure out where the heck we were going!
We got into a room and I got into the gown, contracting the whole time. Sorry, nurse, no urine sample for you! I get up on the table and am doing my damndest not to push since the doctor's not there yet. They check me and give me the bad news....I'm fully dilated and they can feel the baby's head, so no drugs for me! The doctor gets in and they tell me to start pushing. One push, two pushes, and there he was!
Unlike Alex, he started crying almost right away, which was such a relief! He weighed in at a healthy 7 lbs 14 oz, and 20" long. He has the most amazing chubby little cheeks (Alex was never chubby, so it's such a nice change!), and is perfect in just about every way!
And, on the bright side, I barely tore! They even mentioned several times that had I not torn so badly with Alex (3rd degree tears) that I most likely would not have torn at all this time (there were two very mild tears that needed a couple of stitches). Alas, I did tear then, so it happened again.
Eric went with Carter for him to be bathed and cleaned up while I got cleaned up and moved to our recovery room.
Carter's been such a good baby so far! He's eating, sleeping, and pooping like a pro, and is generally a happy little fella! They're concerned about jaundice since I'm O- and he's A+, so he'll be tested several times before we leave to make sure that he's okay. He's starting to look a little yellow at this point, but hopefully it's nothing too severe. We had the same issue with Alex when he was born and he pulled through just fine! Carter's pooping a ton more than Alex did, so hopefully that's a good sign.
Alex came by to visit, and just kept saying, "Wow, it's cute!" We asked if we could bring him home with us, and he said, "sure!" Little does he know that his opinion didn't really matter, but it's nice to know he does approve :)
Hopefully everything goes smoothly and we're able to go home tomorrow (he needs to be checked again at 2 pm, and we'll go from there). In the meantime, we're just excited to get a good night's sleep and are so happy that our little man is here and healthy!
The whole family!
Big brother meets baby brother <3
Comments:
Yay!!! Congrats!! He is a cute little chunker!!
wow that must have ben a shock but congrats he is adorable
beautiful, glad it went smooth:)
congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations!!! your family is beautiful! Good luck with the new little one!
Pam I'm so excited for u and ur family. If I must say ur birth story sounds like my experience with Bryce's birth. No meds two pushes and yeah craziness!!! I'm super proud of u. I can't wait to meet Carter!!!!
Pam, congratulations!!!
I just love the last 2 pictures,the whole family and big brother holding little brother who seems to be smiling at big brother!
Fantastic! Great pics!
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Aw. Congratulations!
- GaMomx3
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