Things have been absolutely crazy. I've been meaning to sit down and write about the arrival of the most perfect little human ever. I wanted to write before I went to the hospital and then after.. but I ended up freaking out before we even left for the hospital.. and couldn't really think about anything other than the fact that I was about to walk into the hospital for them to basically put me in pain. It's easier to take when it just happens suddenly.. but when you have an appointment to have a baby, it's much more nerve racking.
My parents came up before we went to the hospital and so did Travis' Mom and sisters. We visited with them the night before and they wanted to come to the hospital with us and visit us at home prior to going to the hospital. I ended up having Travis tell them not to come over.. ended up crying and freaking out. I was scared. My parents ended up coming over since they had to watch our dogs while we went to the hospital.. little Oliver has anxiety and likes to eat up the carpet, so they had to be supervised. They helped to calm me down and then we got on the road at 7PM to head to the hospital. I was terrified the entire way. "I'm about to have a baby".. that's nerve racking! Not to mention, all the horror stories I had heard about pitocin and how it intensifies contractions. Then, I was worried about the IV, the epidural, MY VAGINA! and the fact that my doctor said that my pelvic bones looked small and that I may not even be able to deliver vaginally - which would mean C-Section. I had no idea what to expect. Once we got there, we went up to labor and delivery.. checked in at the desk and were told that our pre-registration paper work was lost and that we'd have to go down stairs and re-fill everything out. While talking to the nurse, a woman comes in 10 centimeters dilated SCREAMING bloody murder. O.M.G. THAT DIDN'T HELP! lol. We head downstairs and end up waiting for at least 30-45 minutes. Head back upstairs and get put into my laboring room.
I get into my gown and the nurse checks me, tells me that I'm 80% effaced and 3 centimeters dilated. She leaves to go call my doctor to see how he wanted to proceed. At that point, they generally put something up into your vagina to get your cervix to start dilating naturally and they would have given it to me that night (it was around 8:30ish at this point) and then most likely induce me at 6AM. Which, I wasn't looking forward to. So, before she leaves she hooks me up to all these monitors to monitor the baby and gives me an IV. (Which by the way, wasn't as terrible as I had thought it was going to be) I tell Travis that I need to go to the restroom.. so I get up out of bed and he's trying to unhook the monitors and we couldn't figure it out.. so we hang out trying to figure it out for like 10 minutes or so until another nurse comes in and helps us to unhook it. We get in the bathroom (yes, he's helping me) I get ready to go pee and my water breaks.. now, I had no idea how much comes out when your water breaks.. it was a TON.. and it didn't stop.. once the large amount of 'water' came out, it continued to come out. I looked at Travis with a huge grin on my face and say to him "ummmmmmm..... I think my water broke" and we both laughed. I stood in there until my nurse came back.. and within 10 minutes I was having contractions.
Oh. my. gosh. contractions. OUCH!!!!!!! After my water broke, I was dilating pretty fast.. and she ordered to get my epidural. The anesthesiologist was in a surgery so I had to wait for him. Which meant, really feeling my contractions. Getting worse and worse.. and then... AND THEN... they say "DONT PUSH" WHAT THE FUCK! My body is just pushing! It hurts so bad, I was crying.. telling Travis I felt like I was dying. When you're lying in that bed with contractions, all you're thinking is "I dont want to do this anymore". It's like a knife going into your abdomen and radiating all throughout your back. A minute is a long fucking time when you're in pain. Travis was amazing, he held my hand and told me to breathe and was just completely supportive. I don't know how I could have done it if he weren't there.
After what felt like hours of agony, the anesthesiologist finally showed up. I was freaking out about having a contraction when he did it.. and he was kind of a dick.. he says "well, if you don't want it, then I'll leave" man shut the fuck up. I'm in pain, not you! Surprisingly the epidural felt like nothing.. just a small pinch. Sitting up to get the epidural, did cause my water to gush more.. and that wasn't fun. Within minutes of getting the epidural, the contraction pain started to subside and my legs started to get numb. That feeling, is not so fun. I could move them, but just barely. I kept having Travis come and lift my leg up.. I don't know why, but it helped. Anything that doesn't allow me to move my own limbs, or fingers.. freaks me out.
I'm not even sure how much time had gone by. At around 3:30-4:00, the nurse checks me again and tells me I'm at 9 and has me push to get the baby into position.. 2 pushes through the contractions and he was ready to go. My nurse calls the doctor and has him come in. Then.. we wait. I started feeling my contractions again and him being so far into my pelvic canal was AWFUL. The doctor arrived (FINALLY) at around 5:00 AM.. I was SO ready to push. I pushed through 2 contractions and he was out. The cord was wrapped somewhat around his neck.. they explained it like he was wearing a scarf. it was around his arms in a way and around him. But, he was fine.. and he screamed.. a good screaming cry. In that moment, every thing I had just went through.. was nothing.
I cried, I was in so much disbelief that I just gave life to this amazing little person. They put him on my chest and he was looking at me and I was so overwhelmed. They took him away while I was being stitched up and I was just in awe with everything that was happening. My Mom was in the room because I wanted her to take pictures.. as uncomfortable as I was with the idea of seeing that, I'm so happy she was there. My Mom was so frantic, seeing me in pain and then seeing her grandchild.. I could just tell she was shocked. The baby was crying and Travis was by me.. I told him to go see his son.. I think he was not sure what to do either. My Mom says to him "Travis talk to him, calm him down" and immediately, Travis was a daddy. Seeing him talk to his son and the happiness on his face was the most perfect thing I could have ever imagined. You have this idea of how your husband will act or how things will play out. I was so incredibly happy and overwhelmed just watching him with our son.. in that moment, I knew there was a reason that he was put into my life. The most amazing, perfect husband.. and now father of my son. I don't think I could have asked for anyone better. As cheesy as it sounds, my heart was completely swollen with love. I didn't know how I would feel to be a mother, I felt like I may not feel like he was mine.. that I was be scared. But as soon as you hear that cry, you love that little person with all of your heart.. and you would do anything to keep him safe.
On August 18th, 2012 at 5:10 AM, Dustin James Reid was born at 6 lbs 8 oz and 19.5'' long and healthy.
The next 24 hours, was a complete blur. My bottom area was swollen and in quite a bit of pain from my episiotomy.. oh and having a baby. LOL. Travis was again, perfect.. he took care of me and he took care of the baby. I could barely get out of bed, so he was taking over feedings and such.. as well as helping me to the bathroom and everything else you could think of.
Flash forward to now, and everything has been absolutely wonderful. Sure, a little lack of sleep.. but as soon as I have to wake up to feed my baby and I see him looking in my eyes, it makes every bit worth it. I don't really know anything about kids, but my baby rarely cries.. we have been waking him up on a schedule every 3-4 hours to feed him.. and then he only cries when he's having a diaper change.. and occasionally when his paci falls out of his mouth. Nothing that isn't solved within a minute. :) Maybe I'm not lucky and that's just how new babies are. BUT, I hope I'm lucky and I hope he stays this way. :)
This is insanely long - I'll leave off with some photos. Hope you enjoyed my little story :D
Getting ready to have a baby!
The first time holding his son. :)
My Mom holding him for the first time :)
