On Easter Sunday, Eric and I went to my aunt's house for a little family time before I was due at the hospital at 4:00 pm. We got to Centennial right at 4, checked in, and they started getting me all set up in a labor and delivery room. They first needed to see if I had made any progress during the week to see what the next step would be. Of course, I hadn't. At the point, we knew it was most likely going to be a LONG night. They got the baby monitor and my monitor all hooked up, so we could see the fetal heart beat, as well as my contractions. To my surprise, I was actually having contractions when I got there, but I didn't know it. I was having one every 10-12 minutes or so, but couldn't really feel them too much. So the on call doctor, Dr. Harper, was called in to set me up and get me to start dilating. It was probably 8:00 or so before she got there, but she was in and out quick. The procedure was torturous, but it didn't last long, so I was thankful for that. They started giving me pitocin about 10:00 pm, but in very small doses so my labor wouldn't progress very quickly. As I tried to sleep through the night, I was pretty uncomfortable. My contractions were becoming more and more intense and closer together. Not to mention they were pumping so many fluids in me that I needed to get up and go to the bathroom every hour and a half. Eric had to help me every time because I was all hooked up to IVs, monitors, etc. It was quite a process each time, and I know poor Eric didn't get very much rest at all. Fortunately for me, I was on pain meds for the contractions, so I slept good when I wasn't having to get up. By the next morning at 7:00 I was dilated to a 3, and my labor had definitely progressed. I had been given my epidural by 8:00. Getting the epidural wasn't that bad. It was just a little uncomfortable for a minute, then I went numb pretty quick. It wasn't much later that our families started to arrive and gather down in the waiting room. It's all a little hazy from the drugs, but from 8:30 to 10:30 or so, our families were in and out of my room. Eric was visiting with them a little while I tried to sleep through the contractions. My epidural was doing something kind of weird. I was completely numb on the entire right side of my body, but I could still feel quite a bit on the left side, which meant I was feeling all my contractions. They weren't painful, but I just felt really crampy and a ton of pressure each time. By 10:00 I was dilated to a 5. They expected me to do about 1 cm per hour, so at that rate, it would've been at least 4:00 PM before anything exciting started to happen. Around 11:00, the anesthesiologist came back in to check on me since my epidural was acting up. He gave me another dose of medicine and was talking to me about how I was feeling. A few minutes before he came in, I started to feel A TON of pressure down really low, and I felt like something had changed. I told him this, and at first he didn't have much of a reaction. But when I made the comment that I felt like I needed to push, his demeanor changed. He went and got a nurse to check me, and sure enough, I was completely dilated and almost ready to push. All the sudden all these nurses were in and out of my room getting everything ready in a hurry. The doctor had been called, and Eric had let our family know what was going on. Pretty much everyone was shocked that it happened so quickly. Finally, a few minutes before noon we were ready to go, we were just waiting on Dr. Greenberg. When he got there, I started to push. I pushed about 5 times, for a total of about 20 minutes, and before we all knew it, he was out! Dr. Greenberg had to use forceps with him because his cord was wrapped around his neck. I think there was a real sense of urgency to get him out, but I didn't realize it at the time, thank goodness. That would have freaked me out. It wasn't until later that I knew that Dr. Greenberg was acting quickly for Carter's sake. But it all turned out fine. He was born at 12:36 PM. I caught a quick glimpse of my little miracle before the took him to the other side of the room to start working on him. Eric, the proudest daddy ever, followed and got a lot of great video right after he was born. I am thankful for that because, while I could hear the little guy crying, I wasn't able to see him. When they finally brought him to me, I just couldn't believe my eyes. It was an amazing moment that Eric and I will never forget. We are so blessed to have a beautiful, healthy baby boy. And I am so thankful that labor and delivery went as smooth as it did for both of us.
Carter was 6 pounds, 2 ounces and 19 3/4 inches long. When we left he hospital on Wednesday, he had dropped to 5 pounds, 12 ounces. Talk about a tiny little guy! But, by the time we took him for a weight check on Friday, he was back up to 5 pounds, 15 ounces. We are at home now, trying to adjust to life with a little one. Things are going good. We're getting more rest than we thought we would. He is such a good baby... he hardly fusses at all!! And Stormie doesn't know what to think of him yet. She is very curious sometimes, and then very jealous other times. I know she'll learn to love him!
Just a few minutes after he was born!
The happy family!!
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