A "Great" Birth Story

Wednesday, February 13th was my last day of work. I decided on the date because I was going to finish up with the chemistry section of the book and figured it would be a good transition point for the sub. Apparently, the baby liked my idea!

On Wednesday night I was thinking "lets get this baby out," so we went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner and I loaded on a lot of spicy salsa. I was hopping to get a little action but both husby and I were pretty tired. Went to bed around 9:30 thinking about Valentine's day and how I really had nothing planned.

Around 1:30am I woke up feeling a little wompty but nothing too crazy. I used the bathroom and then went back to bed. At 2:00 am I woke up again and this time I felt a little worse so I figured, instead of waking up Husby I would go out to the living room and suffer through my discomfort. At this point I was completely unaware that I would be having a baby in about 5 hours. By 2:30 I started feeling like the discomfort, which felt like mild menstrual cramps, was getting more consistent. I called the hospital reported my situation and was told to see where it led.

By 4:15, the cramps were very intense and occurring every 3 - 5 minutes. The only thing that made me feel better was pacing around the house. At 4:20, I woke up Husby and told him he probably shouldn't go to work because I think I am in labor. I also called Auntie Bree who was going to help coach me along during the labor and delivery. I let her know that it might be happening today. At 5:30, Husby called the hospital and they said to give them a call in a few hours. Most first time moms have a long drawn out labor so it wasn't imperative that I get to the hospital right away. Husby told me they said to wait another hour and I figured they knew what they were talking about.

For the next forty-five minutes I paced around the house and Husby started packing up the car. Since the baby wasn't due for another 9 days we hadn't taken care of a few details like the car seat installation of packing Husby's bad. At 6:15, I started feeling a new sensation - the need to push. I told Husby "get the car started we are going to the hospital." The car ride was the worst. I couldn't pace. I suffered through 7 or 8 contractions on the car ride over. After arriving we were put in a room so the midwife could check my progress. I could hear Auntie Bree waiting outside the room until they confirmed I was going to be admitted. At this point, I was so exhausted and was just hoping I was at 8 cm dialated. I had been planning on going au natural with this birth, but was worried if I wasn't past 8 cm that I couldn't handle anymore pain. My fears were unnecessary. The midwife did her check and exclaimed "there is no cervix; you are completed." Well, I had no idea what that meant so I asked "how many centimeters am I?" She said "10 cm!" Before I could process anything another contraction hit me and I needed to get out of the bed. I was told to sit in the wheel chair but I declined, asking to be shown the room so I could walk there. Walking was my only solace at this point.

It was 7:15 am when I laid down in the labor and delivery room bed. They were having a very difficult time finding his heart rate, which caused me incredible worry. I was told that I was going to need to start pushing with my next contraction. I didn't actually know what this meant. Apparently, the technique is to take a big deep breath and hold the push for 10 seconds. It would have been nice to be informed of this beforehand. After my second push, you could see his little head. I pushed about 6 more times before the midwife said she needed to cut me. Both Husby and I said "no." She replied back with "then push this baby out." I tried two more times but it wasn't working. She made the cut and after two pushes his head was out followed immediately by his body. He grunted a little and was placed on my chest. The whole experience was so surreal. It happened so fast and so efficiently that I still can't believe it. Besides the episiotomy, I had the most ideal birthing experience.

The end result was the most beautiful child I have ever laid eyes on: Great Prescott Sandoval. He weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and was 19.5 in long. My best Valentine's Day present.

Pillows and Pregnancy

Still crafting and still pregnant. Now making a concerted effort to start blogging again.

Pillows:

I love making pillow cases and I cannot wait to make some for own bed. My mother-in-law bought me a super cute pillowcase kit. I have never made one before so I looked up a pattern on a very cool blog, http://patches.typepad.com/notes_from_the_patch/2010/07/tutorial-tuesday-24-pillowcases.html. This occurred at 5:00 am on a Saturday due to "a big baby in belly" insomnia.

As a crafter the pattern made no sense, but as I followed directions everything fell into place. It was so fun, easy and the finished product was professional looking. Husby was totally impressed with my skill and I learned how to do french seams. I am not one for branching out on new projects but I have realized that is a bad attitude. I loved completing this new project and the pillow looks so cute in the baby's room.

After I showed the pillowcase to Husby, he got that familiar gleam in his eye when he is plotting and planning on how to make more money. In the end, I was sent to fabric store and by the Sunday afternoon I had made 8 different pillowcases that can be customized and added to our Etsy site, http://www.etsy.com/shop/SoftAsABabysButt


Pregnancy:
At 8 1/4 months pregnant, I am ready to bring this little life in the world. It seems as though my childless time is slipping by so fast and I cannot get ready for him fast enough. So many things to do and I feel I don't know the half of it. At this point, I have had a fairly uneventful gestation. I have only gained 20 lbs and the little man is measuring at what is expected.

What have I enjoyed about this experience:

• Feeling his movements all the time. His little hiccups and squirming. He is not a kicker but he loves to squirm around. 
• The way you feel as though you are special because of this little life you are growing inside you.
• The body changes, but this one is double sided. I am amazed at how quickly my body has adapted. 
• Not shedding all the time. My hair doesn't fall out.
• Knowing he is half of me and half of husby. I cannot wait to see what this little guy looks like.
• Creating his nursery. It is so fun to make a new room and fill it with things you love for the child you love.

• Seeing your husband get more and more excited about the baby. And seeing it dawn on him how quickly the time is approaching. Watching him wheel the stroller/car seat around the house after he assembled it.

What I could do without:

• The heartburn! Oh my goodness, I have never had heartburn and I don't want to feel it again. 
• The gas. I don't not like the feeling of my abdomen filling up with air.
• The hip pains. In the last couple weeks, this boy has been spreading my pelvis and it is uncomfortable. 
• The lack of strength and stamina. I cannot keep up with much for long these days, which is a far cry from how it was before I was pregnant.