I had been hoping to have a natural child birth since before we knew I was pregnant. We had taken the classes and I felt confident in what we had learned. I had concerns about being able to do it if I were to be induced, having my own contractions on top of pitocin contractions just seemed like a bit much to handle. My teacher said that the pitocin could make things more intense so I worried if we would be able to stick with the birth plan we had in mind. We got to the hospital and they got the pitocin started. The doctor arrived shortly after and broke my water. Things began to move quickly. I turned on the tv so I would have something to zone out to and began my relaxation techniques. Frequently the nurses came in to up the pitocin to keep things going. We went from 4 to 8 to 12 to 16 in just a couple of hours. I asked what they maxed out at and they said 20 so we were just one jump away. I was still feeling good at this point and thought maybe I would be able to deliver this baby on the way I had planned. Then the back labor began... the baby had decided to change positions and was starting to cause some serious, non stop pain. Before this point I was doing good. A contraction would come, it would be intense but then I would get a break before another began. But at this point there were no breaks the contractions were one on top of the other. It may have been that my body had began the labor process on its own and I was now having contractions of my own on top of the pitocin contractions or just the babies position. Whatever it was it was intense. I lasted another hour maybe, the nurses turned down the pitocin but at this point my whole body ached and I knew I needed to save my energy for the rest of the laboring that was still yet to come. We called in the anesthesiologist and he got the epidural in place. He had misplaced a needle on the table and was fussing around looking for that. (here I am sitting indian style with a continuous contraction and he is worried about a capped needle on a table). Lucky for him I had no energy to get upset ;) He finally decided to get another needle out and then look for the other one once I was done thanks to the nicest nurse on the planet that suggested that to him.
Once the epidural was in place it wasn't long before I felt like a human marshmallow. I don't know how epidurals feel like for others but it was the weirdest feeling. I can't say I was comfortable but I was no longer in pain. My brain would tell my legs to move and they would move but I could not feel them. It was so strange. I would touch them but not feel the touch. We went into the hospital around 12:30 and by 11pm I was almost ready to push... or so we thought. My Mom arrived and to my surprise my Dad was also with her. Since it was a weekend he was able to spend a few days with us. I was at 9cm dilated for hours. The baby was positioned just right that things were not progressing any further. The doctor stayed at the hospital and just kept checking in to see if anything had changed. By 1am they decided we were ready to push.
The doctor told me that 1st time moms usually average an hour and a half when it comes to pushing. That sounded like way to long to me, so I was ready to do everything I could to speed that up. Brian was a little nervous about the whole situation still so he stayed up by my head and my mom and a nurse supported my legs. Pushing was nothing like I imagined. Earlier on in labor my body was really achy. All my muscles were spasming and my left shoulder was in extreme pain by this time. I had been trying to stretch it through out the laboring process but nothing helped. Apparently when you push you have to sit up and boy did I not have the energy or strength in my shoulder to hold myself up. My Dad and Brian tried to help support my shoulders so I could focus on pushing and not holding myself up, and it helped but the pain in my shoulder was more intense then the contractions I had felt earlier that had made me decide to get an epidural. An hour and a half passed and Liam was born.There were a few concerns so they whisked him away quickly. I had a temperature just before pushing so they had given me some antibiotics and then because of his position he just needed a little more attention. Brian was nervous about Liam being perfect so he asked the nurse if her had 5 fingers and toes, to which she responded "no, he has 10" ha ha that lightened up the mood quick and was the perfect response since Brian is usually the sarcastic one. Once the nurses were done I got to hold our little guy. What an amazing moment. Since we were dating I had imagined this moment and it was even better than those dreams. Even from those first moments Liam was letting us know his sweet personality.
Our stay at the hospital was wonderful. We had great nurses that cared to our every need. I had an abundance of energy that they said was from hormones so I just stayed awake and stared at our little one for hours. Things were going well so I decided we could leave the night of 2/15. My dad had to return home so we said our goodbyes and my mom took him to the airport. Brian and I checked out of the hospital and headed home. If I were to do it again I would check out earlier in the day. We had unpacking to do and by the time we were settled it was time for bed. I wish we had had a little more time to rest before the night began.
Liam has been a great sleeper. He typically sleeps between 3-4 hours. The first night home I slept on the floor next to his swing where he slept. He isn't much of a crier so I was nervous that if I wasn't close I wouldn't know when he was hungry. The first night passed and we began our first day at home. Brian was back to school and my mom and I were home. Liam had an appointment to return to the hospital to check his jaundice levels. They were high enough when we left the hospital that they wanted to check them again. Liam had also developed a pretty intense rash on his back so we called the doctors office to have them take a look. The hospital had said it was likely from the harsh detergent they use. The doctor agreed and said that it would resolve on its own. The results came back and Liam's jaundice levels were higher. They ordered a billie blanket and had it delivered to our house that afternoon. The nurse said feeding him enough would be just as important as the blanket to flush out the jaundice. So I focused on feeding him and keeping him on the light as much as possible. The first week was filled with doctors appointments, visitors and lab tests. Finally after a few days his levels had decreased enough that we were able to take him off the light.
Having my mom here for that first week was a blessing. She did our laundry and fed us and kept the house in good order. She ran errands for us and took care of Liam so that I could rest. She made the transition to being parents so smooth for us. As first time parents we had lots of questions about what was normal so it was nice to have her close by so that she could reassure us of things.
I went into the doctors yesterday to check in on Liam and since his last appointment 8 days ago where he was 6 lbs 13 ounces he was now weighing in at 7 pounds 13 ounces. That is an increase of a lb in a week! This skinny boy is not going to be skinny much longer if he keeps that up. The doctors like for them to be back at their birth weight at the 2 week point and with a few days still to go we can safely say he has exceeded that expectation.
I love that in just this short of a time how normal everything feels. Waking up at night seems ordinary, feeding him seems like something we have been doing forever. He looks at me and my heart just melts. When the receptionists call to remind us of appointments and ask if I am Liam's mom I just get the happiest feeling in my heart and feel so proud to say yes. Its so amazing how much I love him already. I love to watch Brian with him. A dad with his son is a special thing. I know that Liam will look up to his Dad in so many ways and am happy that he has such and incredible dad to look up to.
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