It’s hard to believe our little Davis has FINALLY come and we are officially a family of five! Could it really be possible that I have 3 kids now?
Of course prior to his coming out, I was beginning to wonder if it would ever happen and had gotten quite discouraged and a bit dramatic about it all, I’m afraid. I wasn’t supposed to have another appointment until Wednesday, the 22nd, but I got a call on my due date, Monday, the 20th, that I would need to reschedule. I was able to get an appointment that afternoon, and I was really excited to be able to be doing something!
Feeling as I did I decided to go ahead with inducing. I felt good about waiting until after I was 40 weeks, and really it wouldn’t even have happened when it did if I didn’t have to reschedule. My doctor’s only upcoming days on call at the hospital were Wednesday, the 22nd {which is probably why I had to reschedule} and Monday, the 27th. So since I was able to see him on Monday, we were able to schedule the induction for Wednesday.
Soooo, anyway, with the knowledge that the baby was, in fact, coming and coming shortly, I bustled around getting all our last minute things in order and ready to go. I did miss the spontaneity, thrill, and excitement of actually going into labor, but it was also nice to be able to have all the details taken care of and feel that things were really ready when the time came to head out for the big moment.
The big day was in fact Wednesday, the 22nd at 8 am making me 40 wks 2 days.
{
ready to leave for the big day…}My orders from the drs office said no food or drink after midnight Tuesday which I was not happy about. I even read online that eating before an induction is something drs and hospitals all have different policies on. Some women were told nothing after midnight. Some were told eat a light breakfast before coming, and some were even fed breakfast at the hospital. Supposedly the reasoning is in case you will need a c-section and will need to be put under general anesthesia, though I also read some had nausea from the pitocin too. I debated just eating anyway since I didn’t know how long labor would take and I wanted to have some energy! But in the end my rule following self bit the bullet and went in on an empty stomach. My nurse’s response when I told her I was hungry and hadn’t eaten… “Mmmm, that’s a shame. I always say to eat before you come. Once you’re here we can’t give you anything.” Fortunately “orders” have changed recently and I was able to eat things like jello and broth and drink juice, even after the epidural so that was better than nothing or than the once standard “ice chips only.”
It took forever to get in my room and get all the paperwork and questions answered. My nurse seemed new or inexperienced or something which is always so comforting isn’t it? She was unable to get my IV in, and she tried twice {painfully} before calling someone else to do it for her, and then, of course, we had to wait forever for them to get there.
Finally at 10:40 am my IV was in, and the evil pitocin was started. At 11:00 I was still only 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced {I was 2 cm at my appointment} . I was already having some contractions before the pitocin was started, but started having more painful contractions around 11:45 am. I decided to go ahead and have the epidural, so really only ended up with about an hour of painful contractions which was nice!
By 2:20 pm I was only 3 cm and was 70% effaced, and my doctor broke my water. Around 4:00 pm I started feeling some pressure, but when the nurse finally came in so I could tell her she seemed reluctant to check me and gave the “excuse” that as soon as she did the doctor would probably come in and we really want to avoid too many checks because of infection, yada, yada, yada. She basically said we’ll change your position so you’ll feel more of that pressure. What? As fast as Wade came out, I really don’t want to risk this one sliding out without anyone there to help me!
Dr. Peach came in at 4:40 pm and surprise… I was fully dilated. They quickly set up the room and I tried to have Chris type out a facebook status update that I was about to push, but before he could finish, they said for Dad to come over and hold my leg. :) I definitely pushed more than I did with Wade, but it wasn’t bad at all. After just a few pushes he was born at 4:51 pm! Dr. Peach was great as usual and much more of an encourager than the other two doctors I’ve had deliver me. He was all, “You’re doing great, Renee!” and “That’s the way to push… Good job!” :)
I also sat up more in bed I think, and seemed to be able to see more of the action right after he came out which was pretty neato.
Chris did a fabulous job cutting the cord again. I was able to hold him right away {even before they wiped off most of the grody stuff} and then they took him away to weigh before I could nurse.
He did great with the initial nursing, and then it was time for the family to come in and see our new addition. :)
Robin and the kids had been on their way to come and visit when we called and told them I was about to start pushing, so they found something to do in the meantime before coming in to see us. The kids were so excited of course and I loved seeing them with their new little brother. So far Wade seems to be handling it okay and instead of being jealous of me, he just wants me to let him hold Davis. :)
As a side note… in regards to Chris’s reluctance about naming him Davis because he wanted a more “normal” name…. on the same day Dr. Peach delivered our Davis, he delivered another baby named Davis just down the hall. Is that not crazy or what?
I had a great nurse that night that I really think was instrumental in my early success with nursing. She came in every three hours all night long and helped me feed him. She was just the right mixture of helpful and patient but not all up in my bizness if you know what I mean. My nurses the next day and night were much less attentive and if things had been switched I don’t know if I could have done it. I didn’t get much attention from the lactation consultant either…
Thursday night, we got some more rest as he nursed at 11 pm and then not again until 4 am. I woke him up around 7:30 am to eat since I knew they would coming to get him early for the dreaded circumcision. I’m really thankful I did, since after they brought him back, he was out of it for several hours. We kept trying to wake him up to eat but he was having none of it. He didn’t eat again until around 3:30 that afternoon.
Definitely a very not cool part of having a boy! :(
However, I am so in love with our new little man and so thankful that he is here and he is healthy!
{ready to leave for the big day…}
Congratulations!!! He is precious, and you look fabulous!!! I am so impressed!