March 14, 2016--Birth Story

**Warning--if you don't want to see too much--don't read this post!**

Monday, March 14, 2016. Induction day! We had to be at Scott and White Hospital by 5:30 am and we got there pretty tired. We didn't sleep super well the night before because of nerves and excitement so yeah, pretty tired but ready to meet baby boy!

I remember having such mixed emotions. I love being pregnant so much. The positive things outweigh the negative. I loved every second of feeling this babe move, even though some times were pretty painful. He has been so fun to carry throughout this pregnancy. So it was extremely exciting to be able to meet this little guy i've been getting to know for the last 10 months, but I did feel a little sadness to have to let go of that.

Finally all hooked up and ready to go!

My doctor, Dr. Thomas Davis, came in to break my water first thing in the morning at 7:30. Always a fun feeling haha! After he broke my water I laid in bed for a while but after a while I got a little more antsy. I was feeling somewhat anxious and there really wasn't a ton that I could do about it. I remember with Kaiser, my nurses let me get up and walk around the halls of the hospital (before I got my epidural) just so I could get some fresh air, but this wasn't the case this time. I stayed in my room and would just occasionally get up to go to the bathroom if I got bored or tired of laying down haha.

Before anything got too exciting, Scott drove the car home so my mom and Kaiser wouldn't be stranded at the apartment and he rode his motorcycle back. I remember trying to take a nap and rest while he was gone but it wasn't working so great so I just got up and started walking around the room. This was a very common thing for me. I was probably up standing or walking around the room  (with a towel between my legs haha) more than I was in the bed. 

This labor went a lot quicker than my labor with Kaiser. I know it is normal for that to happen but there were almost times that I wished Scott and I could have had some more relaxation time to be able to talk more about what we were gonna call this sweet babe we would soon meet.

I decided that I wanted to wait a little bit longer than I did with Kaiser to get my epidural. In no way shape or form did I want to go natural, but I did want to feel what harder contractions felt like a little bit. Dr. Davis came in and checked me at about 12:30 and while I was progressing it wasn't like I was close or anything so he said if he hadn't heard from my nurse he would come by after clinic. I remember telling him to expect me to go slow since I did with Kaiser but I'm kinda thinking he disregarded that a little bit...

We started watching a movie but quit because people kept coming in and out of the room checking in on us. Which we were fine with as we knew that would happen. At about 1:00 I decided to get the epidural. It was getting a little more painful and very much out of my comfort zone. And the contractions were getting closer and closer together which was not fun. So I had enough and was ready to feel comfortable again. I got my epidural at about 1:25 pm. It was again, such a weird feeling. Such a zinger in my spine. And I remember the anesthesiologist's hands were freezing haha. But boy did it feel SO good! I was happy to feel relief.

Prepping for the epidural

A while after I got the epidural, my nurse brought in this huge peanut looking ball for me to put in between my legs. She would come in every 20 minutes or so to turn me from side to side and reposition the peanut ball. I remember thinking it wasn't the most comfortable but per doctor's orders :)

The doctor came in again a little before 5 to check me again. I was a 6 when he checked me so I was making good progress in my mind because it was quicker than Kaiser had been. He came back in a little while later and checked me and I was a 7. He then wanted me to try the most absurd thing to see if it would help me progress a little quicker--he wanted me to get on all fours and after a little while to see if that would help. I felt so awkward trying to get up on all fours with an epidural. This is the part where people say if you have any dignity left, then it's lost here haha. 

After what seemed like a long time of being on all fours, I hadn't changed from a 7, so the doctor wanted me to try a few trial run pushes to see if baby would come down easier. This was the worst part of labor for me. I was trying to push but I was just was not in a natural position to be pushing. Not to mention, I kind of felt like a cow because the doctor would check me and help stretch me while I was on my hands and knees. I got to the point where I had to say that I needed to change positions because I couldn't physically do it anymore. 

At this point, I realized that we weren't necessarily just doing "trial pushes" anymore, but I was full on going to push this baby out and soon! I think the nurses seemed a little surprised as well because I remember one of them specifically asking if they should set up for delivery. I was surprised but just kept doing what was asked of me.

Once I was laying back down on my back with my legs up pushing, it didn't take very long for baby to arrive.

I pushed probably around 5-10 times and baby was here! 6:20 pm. My labor was just shy of 13 hours! Much better than the first if I do say so myself! My first thought was "Holy cow he is so tiny!" And oh my goodness. I can't ever explain the feeling I felt when he was put on my chest. It is such a surreal moment that I forever cherish. Obviously, I cried a little bit but not too much. He was beautiful! I also remember thinking that he looked like a Perkes. Definitely had his daddy's ears.

One thing that we loved about my nurse was the moment when she took the camera from Scott and took pictures of him cutting our beautiful baby boy's cord. I know these pictures can be a little graphic for some but I personally think they are incredibly special and touching.

The aftermath

He latched right on and was nursing like a champ!

First time being held by his daddy!

I love this picture!

One thing that I loved so much about delivering at Scott and White, was that since he was healthy and had good APGAR scores, they let me do skin to skin and breastfeed him first before doing his shots and drops and checking his statistics. It was perfect!

Kaiser and my mom were able to come up before it got too late and meet our newest addition. Kaiser was pretty quiet--I could tell he was questioning the environment but I think it was just because I was in this weird bed with things in my arm. He was so excited to meet baby brother. Scott mostly remembers him being dirty. My mom was so awesome to take him to play at a park before coming. But he didn't let that stop him from meeting his baby brother. I had him hop onto my bed with me and he was not hesitant at all to hold his new baby brother.

Melt. My. Heart.

First "official" family photo of 4!

I remember my heart being so full at this moment. We brought another perfect, healthy baby boy into the world. My mom was so amazing to help us out so much by taking care of us and making sure Kaiser was taken care of. This was such an exciting and special moment for our family. Welcome to the world baby boy Perkes! You have so many people who love you!