Monday, February 27, 2006
Andrew's Arrival
Thanks, girls, for all the sweet comments! Y'all are so wonderful and supportive...I don't know what I would have done without your support these past nine months!Now, here's the story of Andrew's arrival!
After weeks of being told when the doctors might induce and deliver this little guy, it seems Andrew got sick of all the talk and decided no one was going to tell him when his birthday would be…HE was going to make that decision! :) Thursday, Feb. 23, I spent the whole day sick as a dog…nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, cramping like crazy…I even went in to see the doctor because I just KNEW these cramps were really contractions. Nope. He checked me out and I was closed up tight, and no contractions were showing up on the monitors. He sent me home with very specific instructions on when to call or go to the hospital if/when labor did start.
I went home, took a bath, then went straight to bed. I went to sleep at about 10 pm and was sleeping pretty well, when I woke up suddenly at 2:30 am with the urge to go to the bathroom. As soon as I stood up, water gushed down my legs. I gasped and ran to the bathroom to make sure it was what I thought it was (and not just pee), and when I was sure, I hollered at Chris to wake him up. We frantically searched through our pregnancy books and decided that, if contractions didn’t start within a couple of hours, we’d head to the hospital. Otherwise, we’d wait it out a rest as much as we could at home. In the meantime, we were rushing around packing, straightening the house, doing laundry, etc. Finally, at 6:30 am, the contractions were about 6 minutes apart, so I called the doctor. He told me to head to L&D, so we got showers and got ready to go. We called our parents since they all live out-of-state and would want as much time as possible to get here in time to see us before the birth. We finally arrived at the hospital at 8 am, and at 8:30 Dr. Elliott came in to check me. I was already 1-2 cm dilated and 80% effaced, after being told I was all closed up less than 24 hrs before. They started me on Pitocin to regulate the contractions, and we were off.
By 11:30 am I was MISERABLE and screaming for an epidural. The contractions were coming one on top of the other and VERY intense due to the Pitocin. They checked me and I was only 3 cm dilated, but figured by the time the anesthesiologist got there I’d be at least 4 cm, so they called him in. I got the epi at 12:30 and by 12:45 I was LOVING life. Thank God for modern medicine!!! The family started to arrive between 12 and 2 pm, so most everybody got to see me in a good mood. :) By 2:30 pm, I was 7-8 cm dilated, and at 4:15 pm we were ready for me to start pushing. This is when it got intense.
First of all, Andrew has a big head. Secondly, he was turned face up, not face down like he should have been. Thirdly, I apparently have a “prominent pubic bone.” All of this combined led to his getting stuck for about an hour behind my pubic bone. I was tired and stressed, but I finally remembered some words of wisdom someone shared with me. She told me to push on my left side if it looks like his head is too big to come through the birth canal. I asked my nurse about this, and after 5-10 minutes of trying this technique, his head slipped under my pubic bone just enough to allow them to use the vacuum suction to help me the rest of the way. Thank God! Andrew came into the world at 6:47 pm on Friday, Feb. 24, 2006. He was itty-bitty. 5 lbs, 10 oz and 19 inches long. His APGARs were 5 and 9. He was a little unresponsive at first due to the major stress during delivery, but after a little oxygen he was very alert and ready to go! He is a beautiful baby, and so sweet. He only cries when he’s getting his diaper changed…I guess he doesn’t like being exposed. :) Chris and I are so very much in love with him and are convinced he’s the most perfect baby in the whole world, of course. So far, we've been VERY busy but having my mom here to help has been GREAT. We're so blessed!
| posted by Anna at 12:05 PM
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laura had this to say:
oh, anna, i'm so happy for you!
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Amber had this to say:
Congratulations! Just enjoy loving him. He's beautiful and such a little miracle of life!
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Jillian had this to say:
Thank Goodness you remembered that piece of advice - talk about keeping a cool head in a situation where everyone around you would have been thinking 'surgery'.
He really is lovely. I can't stop looking at him! It seems so bizarre that one moment you were pregnant and the next you have a fully finished person sitting on your lap!
Rest well and enjoy him ((hugs))-
Kathy McC had this to say:
Oh, I am SO glad that you remembered the left side pushing thing! Sounds like the same exact situation I had with Aaron and it works wonders, doesn't it!?
I am so happy that he's here safe and sound and that you're all doing so well. (((hugs)))-
lorem ipsum had this to say:
Yay! And no caesarean!
So which one of you does he look like more?-
Roxanne had this to say:
Wow! It sounds as dramatic as in the movies!!!!
