D day

Well I wanted to make write this all down but it is so much easier and faster for me to type it, so I figured I would just do it on here. On Thursday the 19th I started having a few contractions. They didn't hurt but I could tell that they were contractions and they were also regularly every five minutes. (I had a doctors apt. that previous Tuesday and while I was there Dr. Pass and I talked about what we could do to make make this big baby come a little early. So I had my membranes stretched.) Josh was at his dad's working. He thought he was only going to be there for a few minutes but it ended up taking a lot longer. He left around 7 and I called him a few times when I noticed my contractions coming regularly. I called my mom to fill her in as far as that I was having contractions and she told me that since at my doctors apt. I was already dilated to a good 4 centimeters that maybe I shouldn't wait too long before going to the hospital, even though the contractions didn't hurt much. Doesn't mean they aren't doing anything. So I called Josh again and he thought that we should go too. So I called Julie and she came right over to watch Brent while we went in. Josh got home shortly after his mom arrived around 11pm.

And so we took off to the hospital with our bag packed just in case. On the drive up the contractions still didn't hurt and they became less frequent. I just knew we were going up there for nothing. They were going to check me into triage I would sit there for an hour, they would notice that there was no change and then send me home. I told Josh what I thought about it and that maybe we should just go home and get some sleep since it was nearly midnight. But he thought it would still be a good idea to at least see how far along I was. To see if anything had changed since my last appt. on Tuesday. I agreed to go and so we made it there ( and got a pretty good spot!).

They checked me in, asked all of those routine questions, hooked me up to monitor the baby's heart and my contractions, and then checked to see how far I was dilated. It turned out I was 5.5 centimeters! I thought that was pretty cool, but my contractions still didn't really hurt. The nurse did a few more things on the computer then asked if I was ready for my epidural. I was shocked a bit. I told her that it didn't really hurt much yet, and she left the little curtain area. I turned to Josh and he said 'so I guess that means we're staying?'. The nurse came back in with another lady and an IV needle :( That is (in my opinion) the WORST part about the procedure of having a baby. The nurse then confirmed that yes, we were going to be admitted. The 5.5 centimeters is what got us in. I guess since I was a 4 only two days earlier. Once were were in though I knew that things weren't going to progress very fast, cause it really still wasn't very painful. With Brent it was excruciating! It took forever to dilate and it was the most pain I had ever experienced. I knew it just couldn't be real until I felt that kind of pain. Josh and I were really tired. He would have me try to do a sit up and when I did....it triggered a contraction. it was kind of wierd. So he kept trying to get me to do more. :)

They eventually gave me petocin around 4 am. They start out around 1 or 2 and increase it every thirty minutes. I got to like a six. Then around 7am they decided that maybe they should break my water. I knew I would probably have to have another apisiotomy since at my last ultrasound his head measured 41 weeks when I was only 37! So I got an epidural around 6 cm. I had alot of fluid with derrick the norm is 20 and I was at a 21 so when they broke my water they had to change the towels a few times (I was pretty embarassed, not that I could really control what happened.) When I had my epidural with Brent I couldn't feel a thing! I was totally numb. But this time I felt everything! It didnt' really hurt but I was totally aware of what was happening with my body. I really liked this time better. I could feel what was going on.

Things were progressing now that they had broke my water. I started to feel some pressure and no one was in the room. I figured maybe it would go away or something, but it got more and then I started to feel him decend. Then we called the nurse. She came in and was a little surprised (she could see the color of his hair) and went to go and get the doctor. She seemed to take her time, and I started feeling more and more and him getting lower and lower. I thought maybe we would make it until they got back but Josh wasn't so sure so we called the nurses station again and asked were everyone was! They finally got there and as soon as he came in and checked me he said what I had already figured....his head was right there. I pushed once or twice and then he confirmed what I thought would happen...I was going to have to have another episiotomy :( . Everything was happening so fast though. He told me not to push and I didn't push but I could feel my body pushing without me. I couldn't control it. I was having the baby when my body thought I should. He just kind of slipped out after that. They put him right on my chest and it was such a wonderful feeling. I love seeing the result of my own flesh and blood mixed with my one true love's. While he was laying on my chest though, he sneezed a few times. It was really cute. He had an apgar score of 9.5

We like to go home as soon as we can after having a baby. Its just nicer to be at home where we are comfortable and there aren't nurses coming in every few hours. But the pediatrician wouldn't release Derrick because they hadn't gotten the results back from the ultrasound that they did on his kidney. I didn't want to go home without him so I stayed. Josh came home and stayed with Brent the last night that we were there. I didn't mind. He was a little grumpy there anyway. This way I didn't have to worry about waking him up at night when I would go to the bathroom or feed Derrick. He came back the next morning and Julie (my sister) came to watch Brent. After he got there it was only about an hour until we got everything together and could leave!! Yay!