Welcome, Baby!!

I'm proud to announce the arrival of my newest little man to my blog family!! Baby came supposedly 5 wks early on June 30th, and I'm so excited that I was able to have the VBAC I longed for.

Here's my birth story... it may have bodily-related details you aren't interested in, just warning!

I'd begun noticing my Braxton-Hicks contractions picking up over the last couple of weeks, but they were so irregular they never caught me off guard or anything. I do remember feeling impatient with the pregnancy in general, all the diabetes complications, and just the huge feeling of discomfort I'd been having. I began asking Hunny and my doctors if I could have been any further along, but the simple answer was "who knows." I didn't share all the issues that had surfaced with my maternal-fetal appointments and the huge disappointment that I felt when told I'd no longer be able to try for VBAC due to the large size of the baby, and I'll admit to feeling frustrated that I'd have to endure another surgery and still be Mama to the two at home. I even asked at my latest appointment, "What if I go into labor before the 13th (my scheduled amniocentesis date); will I be able to labor then?" with the answer being "no." Needless to say, I was crushed and trying hard to deal with the disappointment.

On Sunday the 28th I began noticing a pattern to my Braxton-Hicks, but while they were still "weak," they were very noticeable. I contracted from 6:30 pm to about midnight, and remember getting very excited and telling Hunny, "This could be it!" However, they completely stopped after midnight, and I went to bed and woke the next morning with no new changes. I assumed I'd just experienced "false labor," and Hunny was golden in gently reminding me that all contractions are practice and thus a "forward" motion, not backwards as I was making them out to be! :)

On Monday, my back was hurting all day, which I just chalked up to sleeping fitfully (wondering if I was in labor or not), and the contractions came back, but they were on again/off again so I didn't think much of them. I asked Hunny what he thought of me trying some of the so-called "natural induction methods" out there, and he admitted some skepticism but was willing to do whatever I wanted to do. We'd already eaten a spicy curry on Sunday, I'd increased some of my physical activities, and I was getting so ready to be unpregnant, so I asked him to pick up a bottle of castor oil. (DISCLAIMER: this was not sanctioned by my OB (I didn't ask her opinion) and thus I in no way offer this as medical advice!!) I took a tablespoon in some juice right after dinner, and proceeded to clean the house a little more vigorously (vacuumed and swept, etc), and waited for the horrible bowel symptoms that are supposed to result from the castor oil. They never showed up! I was tired and decided to lie down, and when I did I realized my contractions increased. Seeing if they would help, I started to manually stimulate my nipples, and sure enough, the contractions both increased in intensity and regularity. I wanted to stay lying down in case it was the real deal and in case it would be a really long night, but I found that my anxiety and excitement kept me from sleeping at all! I called Hunny to pack some things (because as of this point, I'd only made a to-do/to-pack list, not actually packed anything for the hospital!), and this is when the light clicked on in his mind/heart and he just KNEW this was when we'd deliver! Unable to sleep, we traded places so I'd be out in the living room and he'd try to sleep as long as he could. I spent the next few hours surfing the Internet for first stage labor symptoms (!), and my water broke at 3 am on Tuesday the 30th. When this happens, I go wake Hunny up to tell him, and we spend the next bit of time trying to figure out what the best course of action was regarding the boys and me getting to the hospital: do we wake them up or me drive myself? We chose the latter, much to Hunny's chagrin. So, around 4 am I drove myself to the hospital, and it's funny the things I thought! I remember being happy there wasn't any traffic, being happy it was June and not July (Bear's birthday is in 2 weeks), and just happy that driving was a pretty decent distraction from the definitely increased contractions (they got much worse after my water broke).

I get to the hospital and check in, and of course am immediately subjected to all the IVs, and monitors. I was literally tethered to the bed, and even though I knew (and remembered from Bunkin's birth) this would make labor more difficult, I was still attempting a natural labor. I kept asking the nurse if it was okay if I continued to try to VBAC, and that's when she was like, "oh, there was an issue with this?" DOH! keep your mouth shut, Misty!! :)

After 7 am I began doubting my ability to keep going med-free. I hadn't heard from Hunny and I was beginning to panic if he'd even make it to the hospital since I had the car. My nurse was awesome at encouraging me to do whatever I needed; she helped me breathe and low-moan through the contractions, but I began to lose control because all I could focus on was Hunny not being there for the birth! I finally got a hold of him and he let me know that my sister B was coming home from work to pick him up, take the boys to her house and drive them to the hospital. At this point I gave in and asked for medicine because I just didn't feel I could do it without help anymore. I am actually really happy I got the epidural; it helped me relax, and I went from a 3 to 9 within an hour!! (I'd arrived 80% effaced and 3cm dilated) When my OB showed up she said it would be okay to just let my body keep working and see if we could wait for Hunny to show up, but I got to a point where I couldn't resist the urge to push any longer, so the nurse directed me to push a few times, and in walks Hunny and B, just in time to actually see me deliver Baby!! I was so glad they got to be there! I didn't tear and the delivery itself was mostly uncomplicated (I had a little extra bleeding than they normally hope for, but it was well-controlled quickly).

Baby was allowed to nurse pretty soon, but when they checked his sugars (required because of my diabetes), they were way too low: 22 out of minimum 45. They took him to the NICU, and he's been there ever since, but I'm so glad the hospital has been so supportive of my desire to breastfeed. I've been on a strict schedule (every 3 hrs) to attempt to feed him at the breast, but we've supplemented every feeding to maintain his sugars, which he now has (PTL). We are getting him weaned off the glucose IV, and while I'll go home tomorrow, he'll prayerfully join us this Saturday!

I'm so blessed and happy that despite all my fears and obsessing over the "worst case scenario" that God saw and met the desires of my heart and allowed me to deliver this little boy with a normal vaginal birth with no complications other than Baby's sugars. He is a beauty and so sweet, and we are so in love with him!! Welcome to the world, sweetheart!