I had a doctor appointment at 1:20 (which was the day after my due date) and was finally dilated to 2 cm! About time! Up to this point, I was not dilated at all. He had wanted to do an induction the week prior, but with not being dilated at all, it put the baby and me at risk for complications. So, we scheduled an induction for Thurs at 7 am. Crazy to think in 36 hours we would meet our baby! We went home and got Elsa down for a nap and just when I started to rest, I started to have contractions. I didn't think anything of it because for the previous 3 weeks I was having them anywhere from 7-12 minutes apart. The contractions started at 3:45 pm and were 4-5 min apart. I called my OB at 5:15 and he said to come in. Our friend Gretchen across the street came to get Elsa for her first sleep over! I was still only 2cm upon arrival to hospital with contractions every 2-3 minutes. My fear was that they would send me home, but thank goodness I was admitted. I got my epidural at 6:30 and he broke my water at 7pm. We got all settled in and were watching Michigan play Virginia Tech in the Sugar bowl. With Elsa, I dilated about 1 cm an hour, so I figured sometime in the middle of the night we would have the baby. I was still stuck at 2cm by 8:30 so they started pitocin. They slowly increased it over the next hour and a half due to labor still not progressing fast. Just before 10pm I noticed several decelarations in the baby's heart beat (down into the 50-60s). The nurse checked me at 10pm and I was 5 cms. She had me switch positions to maybe prevent the heart beat from dropping. But, it didn't help. There were more frequent decelerations accompanied by increased pressure and pain. I told her I didn't think the epidural was working, so she checked me at 10:15 and the nurse said "well, that was record fast! You are fully dilated and the baby is coming down". Due to his decelarations and everybody running into the room, them putting oxygen on me...I got a bit emotional due to concern about the baby not being okay. Doctor came in at 10:20 and I pushed for one contraction and we met our new son, Chet. He weighed 10 lb 2 oz and was 22 1/2 inches long. I think everyone was amazed that I delivered that size of a baby that quickly without any problems!
Like his sister, he nursed like a champ! I was fortunate to have him nursing by 10:40!
It was fun texting family and calling them through out the process. Having Elsa in England, made that a bit difficult! And, with having the induction previously scheduled, my mom and sister, Hilary, were driving the next day to help with Elsa and see the new baby! I love being so much closer to home!
Probably the scariest part of the entire hospital stay happened 2 hours after delivery. Once my epidural had worn off, the nurse helped me up to use the bathroom. With Elsa I became very hypotensive with the epidural and was VERY light headed afterwards. However, this time, I felt great. She helped clean me up a bit and I had requested to have my IV removed because it was very painful in my wrist. Since I was feeling fine, she removed it. She then asked if I wanted to take a shower and that sounded like heaven! So, I stood up and she grabbed a towel to catch bleeding. Within 2 seconds the room started spinning and the next thing I knew I was laying in a pool of blood on the bathroom floor with 6 nurses standing over me. Apparently, I passed out and fell backwards on my elbow and then hit my head on the tile. This is where ignorance is bliss. I was so freaked out about an epi- or subdural hematoma and dying in the middle of the night. I made Aaron do mental status exams every 15 minutes...LOL. I spent the next two hours with severe nausea and cold compresses on my forehead, ice on my elbow...fun times!
But, after that, the rest of my hospital stay was unremarkable. The super cool thing about delivering in a non-miltary hospital...massage therapists!!! Aurora has massage therapists that provide complimentary massages to women post partum! This was amazing! And, I have to say the food was much better!
Elsa was so excited about having a little brother! We had really worked a lot with her prior to his arrival in regards to her role as a big sister. She loved reading her Big Sister books and taking care of her baby. When she came to the hospital we introduced her and asked if it was okay if he came home with us. Fortunately, she said yes. I am still not sure how we would have handled it had she said no.
She even covered him in stickers that the nurses gave her! Hopefully this sharing continues!
Not enjoying his car seat for the trip home!
The day we came home was nice because Elsa was at school until noon. We were able to be home for an hour prior to her coming home just to relax a little. Then, it was so much fun to see her interactions with him. She contantly gives him kisses and will lay down next to him and just stare at him. So cute! My heart is full!
Then, no birth day is complete without a cake! Elsa decided he needed three candles.
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