His arrival was quick! I went to the doctor Friday morning and she confirmed that I was 3 cm and told me that I could go at any time, but went ahead and set me up for induction for Friday, 6/19...just in case. She did a pretty aggressive exam and told me that I would have some cramping that day so when they started later that afternoon...no big deal, right? Well as the evening progressed the 'cramping' continued and then....ashamed to say it...while I was outside filling up the dogs' water bowl I ended up not making it to the bathroom and ended up having to take a quick shower. Oooops!!
I went to bed after that darn Stanley Cup Final game with the cramps still going. At about midnight, I woke up still 'cramping' so I decided that I would soak in the bath. To be honest folks, I really thought at this point that this was residual from my exam at the appointment and some Freebirds gas....boy, was I wrong. Just goes to prove that you can read all the darn books they have out there and still get it wrong. Everything I had read and heard about identifying true contractions was 'back to front'....my contractions were all up front. Go figure.
Once I got out of the bathroom, they were about 4 minutes apart and becoming more and more serious. It hit me at this point that I was probably in labor and I decided it was time for dad to wake up from the couch. It was 1:20 and Brandon got up and started packing his go bag....he had plans to do it the next day, so it took awhile to get everything out the door. It was a tough wait because the contractions were coming harder and faster and I was starting to get nervous...very nervous! We rolled into labor and delivery around 2:30 and it was clear that we were staying by 2:45. I was almost 5 cm and things were rolling so we called our folks to hit the highways and meet us at the hospital.
Between 2:45 and 4:15, I dilated to 8 cm and found myself losing control over the contractions. Man! I really underestimated the power in them. I had been committed to doing it without and epidural and had been pretty adamant about it...stubborn, some would say....but our delivery nurse sealed the deal for me when she said that either way you go the outcome is still a beautiful baby. So I told them to bring order it up. I was ready for some relief. It was happening so fast!
I got the epidural about 4:45, and within the next 45 minutes I was at 10 cm and it was time to push. I pushed for about an hour...the good thing was that I could still feel when to push even with the epidural which made my delivery nurse VERY happy. She and Brandon were awesome in getting me through it. I couldn't have asked for better support.
Our handsome Samuel arrived at 6:28 weighing 6.2 lbs and measuring 18 in. He was a smaller guy than any of us expected, but I'm not complaining one bit...he's absolutely perfect and we are so excited to have him here and HOME!!! Don't get me wrong...we had the best medical care at St. David's. The nursing staff there is top notch and we are so grateful for their care and concern. We feel extremely lucky in meeting them. We have plans to go back and deliver goodies and show off Sam a little. ; )
So, we're home now and I actually had a window of opportunity to sit down and make an update and start taking some pictures. We don't have tons of pics right now b/c we've been so busy, but don't you worry...more will come. In fact, here are a few I took before I sat down to post this. Enjoy!
I'll post again tomorrow or Thursday with more news and pics. Have a great Tuesday, folks.
PS. BTW...today was my official due date.
1 comment:
Still as beautiful and as perfectly proportioned as he was on Saturday! I can't get over how fair he is. Let me know if/when you need anything and I'm there!
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