Born October 21, 2008 at 9:32am. He weighed in at 9lbs and was 21 inches long.
Our baby boy has arrived. We're home and getting settled.
So now, the scoop - how it all went down.
Here's the nitty-gritty details.
So people aren't kidding when they say the second labor can go quicker. From the very first contraction to that last final push, it took 6 hours. Compared to the 18 hours it took with Grace, I would say I improved my birthing performance.
I woke up at 3:30am with contractions - I stayed in bed timing them out to see if they were real and regular. They were - already about 6-7 minutes apart. I figured sleep was no longer an option, so I got up around 4:30am and went downstairs. I decided to use this time to finish up my ironing and write some thank-you cards for baby gifts. I found I could write a card, get up, have a contraction, and then write another. How much sense they made, I can't guarantee. Fortunately, I only had about 7 to write. I called my mom to let her know that today was the day, and then realized that I should probably get Mr. D going and get ready myself.
6am - I wake up Mr. D. He gets moving. Contractions are starting to come closer - about 5 minutes apart. Starting to get more serious too. The back labor starts. I sigh. Not a good sign - Grace was a posterior baby, and the back labor was insane, as was the pushing. Every contraction after that, I tried to lean forward and roll on my ball or bed as my midwife instructed, and I prayed that the baby would turn if he needed to.
7am - My mom shows up to pick up Grace. I am finishing getting my bag ready, combing my hair, and of course putting on some make-up. Can't go into delivery without a little mascara. Starting to struggle a little more through contractions. Definitely in "laborland" - rather spacey and having trouble concentrating. I'm still rambling through the house getting Grace ready and throwing random things in her bag and my hospital bag.
8am - We are finally getting on the road. I dread the car ride. Fortunately its not too bad and thank God we didn't hit too much traffic. We arrive and check in at the hospital at 8:30am.
8:30am - We arrive to check-in. They send us to the first room to get an initial check. I know, to make sure I am truly in labor and ready to head to delivery. I could have told them that was the case, but we wait. And wait. A nurse comes in to take vitals and asks me way too many questions. I try to be chatty, but its hard. I do remember actually apologizing for not being more chatty. The nurse leaves to get the midwife. Finally. We wait a while longer, and I start feeling pressure. I tell Mr. D - he goes out and tells one of the nurses. All of a sudden the midwife is in my room and finds that I'm 9 cm and my water is ready to break. I then got to ride up to delivery on a gurney - first time rider. Wheee.
In delivery, they check me again. My water breaks and they find that little Paul made early bowel movement - there was meconium in the water. They had to call Newborn Intensive Care staff to be on site for the delivery to clean him out after birth to make sure he didn't get sick from swallowing any of the polluted water. The staff arrives - I'm ready to push. It took about 5 pushes and baby was out in the world. To say I was a bit dazed at the speed of everything is an understatement.
So that's the birth part of it all. I couldn't have asked for a smoother delivery. Recovery, however, was a different story.
In brief - as if I'm making any of this brief, I experienced post-partum hemorrhaging about 4 hours after delivery. When I got up to use the facilities in my room, I experience some intense bleeding and blood clots. As I remember it all, I sat there sweating from head to toe, staring at a blood splattered wall, as the nurse asked me somewhere faintly in the background if I was okay. All I could answer was No. No, not at all. I can't get up. The room started to blur. Then there were all these hands and voices telling me to keep my eyes open, to smell this, to sit here. Then over it all, I would hear Mr. D's voice repeating the instructions. He told me later that I was only responding to his voice.
So I was rushed back to bed, hooked up to an IV, and pumped full of pitocin to start uterine contractions. Really? Again? I remember telling the doctor that this was all supposed to be over already. I had contracted, pushed, and been stitched up again. I wasn't supposed to have a doctor all up there again. I think I got a chuckle. Or maybe I thought I did.
Well by this point, my hair and make-up I did that morning were shot.
I spent the night being pumped full of pitocin and saline, but I did stop bleeding. It was quite the experience. By the next morning, I felt much better. I was able to stand and not feel faint. Mr. D said he knew I was back to myself when I got up to comb my hair, put on a little mascara and straighten up the hospital room.
We left that afternoon to come home. Since being home, we've been relaxing and adjusting to our new family. Paul is doing fantastic. Right now I just need to switch his nights and days. He thinks its party time at 1am. I am blessed beyond words by my husband. He's been great - helping out with Grace and getting me to lay down and relax. That alone is a tough challenge.
So that's the story of how Paul arrived. He's such a sweet baby, but of course aren't all babies sweet miracles.
