In honor of his birthday, I thought I would share his birth story from my old blog/site (www.kellysbean.aboutmybaby.com):
Wow. What an incredible experience the last four days have been!
Thanks Mark, for posting for me... What you wrote brought tears to my eyes. Watching you with Matthew has made me fall even more deeply in love with you... if that's possible. I look at him and see a little version of you and my heart is just bursting with love and joy. I have never been happier.
Here's MY version of Matthew's birth story. I have to warn you... "lady" topics are following...
Major TMI! ;)
Like I said in my January 6th entry, I swear I lost my mucous plug the night before, and my contractions were getting stronger and closer together that night... at about 10:00 they were uncomfortable, if not painful, and about 7 minutes apart. We were having a snow storm that night, otherwise we might have made a trip to the hospital. However, around 11:00 I fell asleep and managed to get a pretty good night's sleep.
We woke up at six, and by the time we arrived at the hospital at 8:00, I was having contractions again. We checked in with the front desk at the maternity ward, and they showed me to our room and told me that it would be about 20 minutes until they got things "started" because my nurse hadn't arrived at work yet. So I changed into my johnny and got settled in bed. The "20 minutes" turned into an hour. In the meantime, I started having contractions that were 4, 5, 7 minutes apart and they started to get uncomfortable. Finally the nurse came in to get things going... she set me up with the contractions and fetal heart rate monitors, took some blood, gave me an IV... and had lots of trouble with the stupid computer (that's the only thing that really annoyed me that day - I was sitting there wimpering in paid and the nurse was complaining that she couldn't get the computer to work! LOL!). The nurse agreed that I was having rather strong contractions, but she said that they weren't regular enough, so they were still going to give me the petocin. Around 10:00, they introduced it into my IV, and by 10:30 or so, the contractions started to get really strong. My mom arrived at that time, and Mark and my mom were wonderful. Mark would rub my vack and shoulders and my mom would put her cool hand on my neck. I had one cranky moment - for one contraction, I asked Mark if on the next contraction, if he'd rub my lower back instead of my upper back. But when he did, I said "Don't do that, I changed my mind!"
By 11:00, I was literally in a fetal position (no pun intended) in the bed with my face stuffed in the pillow, holding on to the side of the bed for dear life and wimpering. So much for Bradley breathing
and relaxation techniques!! It was all I could do to breath at all! It felt like the worst menstrual cramps I'd ever had, combined with someone sticking a knife in my stomach and twisting. The nurse said that pitocin can make you go into hard labor very quickly. My mom agreed. Ich. I started asking for the epidural (up to that point, the nurse kept offering me one, and I kept turning it down). Mark asked me several times if I really wanted it, because I asked him to do that, and I said, yes, I was sure. So the nurse called down for the anesthiesiologist (no idea if I spelled that right), and by 11:30 the doctor
arrived to give me the epi. I have never been so happy to see anyone in my life!
He made Mark and my mom leave the room and it took about 1/2 hour to do. It was hard to stay still all hunched over sitting up on the bed, especially since the contractions were starting to get even stronger, and it was hard not having Mark or my mom there. First he gave me a local in my back, which felt like a bee sting, followed by a deeper local, and then gave me the epidural. While he was working, I thought I felt a trickle between my legs and thought that maybe my water broke. The relief on my left side was almost immediate. The right side took longer, and to be truthful, I never felt the full effect on my right side. But anyway, the relief was enough that by the time Mark and my mom came back in the room, I was smiling and joking again. Oh, also, before they came back in, the nurse checked me, and I had gone from 2 1/2 cm, 80% effaced to 7 cm, "thin". She also told me that my water had definitely broken. She said that I would probably be pushing soon. I didn't realize what she meant by "soon"!! That was around 12:00 or so.
Anywho, Mark came back in, and by that time my Dad had come, so my mom and dad went to the waiting room.
The nurse told me that she had called Dr. Lemonnier and she was on her way. To be honest, things were happening so fast that I didn't realize what was really happening! Around 12:15 the nurse checked me one more time and told me that I was 10 cm and 100% effaced and if I felt pressure, I could start pushing. The only thing I felt was some contractions in my right hip. That was the only way I knew I was having one. Everything else was blissfully numb. I must be the exception to the theory that an epidural slows down labor!
I started pushing with the contractions. Since I was numb, I had no idea what I was doing! Mark and the nurse kept saying "good, push harder!" But it was like they were telling me to push for someone else because I had no idea whether what I was doing was actually doing anything!! I just tried to visualize in my mind what it was SUPPOSED to feel like. LOL.
Dr. Lemonnier came in at around 12:45 and the real pushing started! It was really tiring and hard work because, again, I couldn't feel anything. At one point, the nurse put an oxygen mask on me, because Matt's heartrate was dropping into the 50's with every contraction (it would go back to the 140's in between). The doctor said that she bet the cord was around his neck, so she told me that they had to get him out. She told me that she was going to use the vacuum on the next push to help him along faster and that she was going to give me an episiotomy. At that point, I didn't even care. She only had to use the vacuum once, and two pushes later, his head came out, then his body. She put him on my stomach and he started wailing!! I was just laughing and bawling at the same time as I looked at him for the first time. I couldn't stop... I was just giddy!! I can't even describe the exhilaration I was feeling. It was so surreal!!! Mark cut the cord, and they brought the baby over to the warmer to assess him... he scored well on the apgars 8 and 9. I needed a few stitches (Mark still won't tell me how big the incision was or how many stitches I have, and I'm afraid to look!).
He was 6 lbs, 12 oz, 20 inches long at birth (he's probably a little smaller now - because of the vacuum, he had quite the conehead). I think he looks like his daddy... he definitely has Mark's mouth, but I think he has my nose... as well as the Laurencelle fingers and toes (finger toes! hehe!!).
All in all it was the best thing I've ever done. It's still so surreal, we came home yesterday and he is such a little angel. Breastfeeding is going really well, and he latches on like a champ! :) He doesn't like being changed (I think his circumcision is still a little tender), and when he does cry (which isn't often), he has quite the set of lungs on him!! :) Because he's so tiny, none of his clothes fit. LOL... but I think he's perfect just the way he is. :)
That's all for now... Matt beckons. :)
1 comment:
Have a Happy one, Little Guy!! Love you!!!
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