Colby Roy Meador was born on November 2, 2015 at 10:22 am. He weighed in at 7 lbs 14.3 ounces, and was 20 inches long. Here is his story...
Kevin and I were told to arrive at Labor & Delivery at 3 am. I called a few days before and was told that we would enter through the Emergency entrance, then head up to L & D on the second floor. (We went through the wrong doors when I was in labor with Brooke, hence the reason for the call.)
We parked, then headed in. The whole experience was so different from when Brooke was born, and everything felt very surreal to me since my body wasn't giving me any indication that it was ready to have a baby. L&D was pretty quiet since it was 3 in the morning, and we quickly settled into our room. I dressed in my lovely gown (after one last pic in normal clothes), and got into bed as the nurse asked me a thousand admittance questions. At 3:30, a different nurse attempted to place the IV, which was a huge failure. She was having a hard time getting my vein, and was talking to the first nurse and wasn't sounding very confident. She made another attempt at placing it, before switching to the other hand. At this point, both hands were throbbing, but at least the stupid thing was done. I had to have antibiotics since I was Streb B positive early in the pregnancy. Due to the risk for the baby, the meds are administered during delivery. After that whole ordeal, I wasn't pleased when I found out that they also needed to draw blood. Again, the nurse struggled to get the vein in my arm. I have only had a problem with my vein ONCE in my life, and it was with a new phlebotomist, but this lady was struggling. She tried repeatedly to get my vein, and after failing to do so, had the other nurse come and try. I felt so stupid, but I was emotionally struggling at this point. The hard part wasn't even starting yet, but I was already in pain, I felt strapped to my bed, and my nurse had mentioned that she didn't understand why anyone would want to labor without an epidural. She made her opinion known after I had already told her that I was trying to go without one :(
They started the antibiotics (Penicillin) at 4, and they burned like crazy. I was at least warned that they would probably burn, but was told that they could dilute them if needed. I had them dilute it a few times, and I was just super frustrated. As soon as the nurses left the room, I started to cry. Kevin (poor guy), came over and asked what was wrong. I tried to express how discouraged I was that I thought I had geared myself up for the pain of not having an epidural, but I wasn't expecting all the IV drama and the burning medicine to upset me so much. How could I push a baby out unmedicated if I couldn't even handle an IV??
So, yes, I took a hand seflie, as Kevin later called it. I wanted to document what a pain that stupid thing was. We had to wait for two bags of the antibiotics to enter my system before getting the rest of the show on the road. So, I suffered for a while with that stupid thing.
While we waited, we wrote letters to Brooke. This was a recommendation from my good friend Danielle, and I am so glad she mentioned it. Not only did it give us something to do to pass the time, it was so helpful to put my thoughts down on paper about the love I have for my little girl as we embarked on this life-changing event. When Kevin finished his, I read it and cried. It was the most precious thing I have ever read. It made me so thankful that Brooke has a Daddy that loves and adores her so much.
They started the second bag of meds at 5. At 5:15, I was 2 cm dilated, and they started the Pitocin. Within 25 minutes, I was having mild contractions. I still didn't love being so chained to that bed, and every time I had to go to the bathroom we had to drag the whole set-up with me. By 5:55, the Penicillin was done, and I was so thankful! They continued pushing fluids through the IV, but at least the intense burning was gone.
Kevin was apparently cold, haha.
At 7, the nurse change occurred, and it couldn't have come at a better time. The first nurse was fine, but I didn't feel that she was really going to support and/or help me not have an epidural. The new nurse, Kacey, was amazing. Kevin told her that I felt pretty confined to that bed, and she said that she would get me up and walking around in no time. Her opinion was that the bed was the worst place for me to labor. I felt confident that she was the nurse for me!! She hooked me up to the wireless monitors for blood pressure and fetal monitoring. I still had the dumb IV, but at least I could move about as I wanted.
Dr. Northrop came in at 7:30 to break my water. By that time, the contractions were getting a little stronger, but still not too bad. Kevin had never met the doctor since I switched mid-pregnancy, but as soon as she saw Kevin she said, "Oh, Brooke looks exactly like her Daddy", haha. It was a pretty funny reaction. I really love my doctor, and I was happy to see her there. By 7:35, the bag was broken, and I could not believe how much "water" came out of me, haha. And it was crazy to me how much fluid continued to come out as I labored over the next few hours. Those huge pads are no joke! Dr Northrop also checked me, and I was 3 cm dilated, 80% effaced, and -1.
By 8:15, the contractions were getting stronger and I was ready to labor on that peanut ball. Kacey brought it over and we talked about a few different ways to use the ball to move through the contractions. I cannot say enough positive about Kacey. She was the perfect balance of being there when I needed her, and leaving us alone to move through the labor process. At first, I was able to just sit on the ball and rock back and forth during the contractions (while squeezing Kevin's hand), but soon I started making some noise, haha. That is probably when Kacey would come back into the room to check on me :) I probably wasn't as prepared as I should have been to not get the epidural, but I had read a lot about trying to just focus on opening up and allowing your body to prepare itself, so that's what I did. Seems pretty naive now, but I figured I would just give it my best shot.
Several times over the next hour or so, I had to go to the bathroom, which was super awkward. Having to poop while having contractions is quite possibly the worst feeling. But at least it was better to get it out of my system, right? Kevin was so incredibly patient and was an even better coach than I anticipated. He was constantly telling me how great I was doing, giving me bits of encouragement, rubbing my back, feeding me ice chips, and helping me cool down without me even telling him that I was getting hot. When I would tell him to push on different areas of my back, he was right there doing it. I think I labored the longest in the position pictured below. Yes, I know it is not a flattering picture, but we were going for the real deal. As I would feel a contraction coming, I would sit on the ball and lean forward as Kevin pushed hard on my lower back. I also made some crazy noises, which progressively got louder as the contractions got stronger. At one point, Kacey came in and told us that the woman next door wanted her nurse to come check on me to make sure I was okay, haha.
Between 8:15 and 10:15, Kacey checked me a few times to gauge my progress, but she also said they didn't want to check me too often as to not introduce bacteria (or something like that). Around 9:30, I remember feeling like I might not be able to make it any longer. I kept asking Kevin if he thought I could do it, and he assured me that I could. When Kacey told me that I was a "strong 7", I asked her how much worse the contractions were going to get. I was told that they wouldn't get any stronger, but it was more a matter of how long I could endure the contractions coming at me one after the other. For some reason, when she told me that they wouldn't get stronger, I determined that I could do it. They had also eased up on the Pitocin because my body had taken over on its own shortly after starting the drug.
As my moaning got louder, someone entered my room to set up the delivery table. Kacey told me that she would get Dr Northrop because I would probably be ready to push soon. It was still all kind of surreal to me, even though I was having such strong contractions. I wasn't sure what was going to happen next. Kacey said that if I felt the need to push, just try to breath through it and wait for the doctor to get here. I wasn't sure how I would know when I even needed to push, haha. I was laying on the bed from getting checked, and I just felt like I couldn't get up again because the contractions were coming too quickly. All of a sudden, I just felt like I was pushing differently. That's not really the right word, but all of a sudden I knew he was coming and it was a moment of total terror. I remember looking up at the ceiling and screaming over and over this scream of sheer terror. I can only imagine what my face looked like. I felt like everything down there was totally ripping to shreds and the whole experience was honestly a little traumatizing.
I didn't even realize that all of this happened before Dr Northrop came into the room, but all I remember was that I knew his head was out, and there was a lot of tugging, somebody pushed my legs apart, and nobody was saying anything. I asked what was wrong, and Kevin just says, "It's going to be okay", and I kept saying "You're lying to me", and I panicked. Then I heard Dr Northrop tell me that I needed to give another big push to get his shoulders out and I told her that I didn't think I could. It sounds so stupid, but in the moment, I really didn't think I could. She said, "Well, we don't really have a choice" in a kind and somewhat funny way. I guess I pushed again, and he was out. Still nobody is saying anything for what feels like a minute or more, and I remember just saying that I needed to know what was going on. Somebody said that the cord was wrapped around his neck (twice), but that he was going to be fine. Dr Northrop said that she would need to quickly cut the cord (this comment was probably directed to Kevin since he was supposed to cut it), and the nurses warned me that they would need to rub him a little roughly to get him breathing.
It all happened so quickly, and I just remember being so scared as they rubbed on my little blue baby a few feet away. When they placed him on my chest, a wave of relief passed over me and I felt peace in that otherwise terrifying and traumatic moment. I kind of love this picture because even though I look so exhausted, I was so happy and proud of myself for making it through in one piece!
As Kevin took the pictures, she told him that one side was the "baby" side, the other was the outside. But he couldn't remember which was which :)
We had a good hour and a half cuddling our little guy before the nursery nurse came in to do the Vitamin K drops, footprints, etc. I loved that it was all done inside our room as well! The whole process was a lot more catered to giving Kevin and I some privacy as we met our new addition.
Once in post partum, we took a quick picture with Kacey. She really was amazing, and Kevin informed me that she was the one who began delivering our baby since Dr Northrop hadn't made it into the room yet. Kevin said that as Colby started coming out, everyone was kind of in a panic, and Kevin said he felt like he should reach over and catch his head. But in that moment, Kacey just took over and was amazing.
And that is how our little man entered this world! With the cord wrapped around his neck, his mama screaming at the top of her lungs, and his Daddy ready to take over the delivery, haha! Thankfully, he was healthy, and we were in love.
No comments:
Post a Comment