Birth Story

Oh, I am in love! I'm so happy Colin is finally here, after a long wait and a lot of buildup! He is exceptionally wonderful and I'm definately feeling the newborn love over here (maybe bc I'm still in the hospital and have nurses to wait on me hand and foot?)

So, I will start from the beginning (as best as I can remember and may edit for details later). My sister joined Lily and I at my appointment on Monday afternoon. I had an ultrasound and there was just no fluid surrounding Colin at all. We saw the doctor on call (my doctor was out of town, of course) and she told us to head on over to the hospital to induce. One worry was that without fluid, the baby may not tolerate contractions (fluid acts as kind of a cushion), but the doctor felt good about my chances at an easy delivery. I was already at 4 cm and 50% effaced in the office, so my body had done a good deal of work. Instead of going straight to the hospital, Melissa and I made a pit stop by my house, so I could gather all my things and grab a quick shower. Lily even fell asleep on the way home, so she got to nap while I showered. We met Devin at the house and then all caravanned to the hospital, with a bunch of suitcases in tow.

We walked up to the L&D floor and I went to the check in desk to let them know I was there. I was so nervous and frazzled that when the nurse asked what brought me here, I answered "um, the baby." to which she politely asked if my water had broken or if my doctor had sent me. Oops. Anyway, we got settled in, let my doula Meliea know the room number and unpacked. I think we started pitocin around 6 and I texted my friend Beth that she was welcome to come (she also owns the same camera as I do, so I put her in charge of picture taking). The pitocin did its job and started working fairly early, although the contractions didn't hurt at all at that time. Dr Gordon came in and decided to scrape my membranes -- which, after a brief explanation, I'm still not sure what it means -- I'm pretty sure she said since I don't have enough water to break, this was the next best thing. So, once she did that, the fun really started. It was at that point, I sent my sister, mother and Lily home because pain does not make me a friendly person. Beth showed up just in time to see the real contractions start, so I handed her my camera and she was kind enough to sit unobtrusively in the corner and photograph the event.

My goal for this labor was to make it as low-key and low-stress as possible, which is exactly how it ended up. My doula, Meliea, really took good care in guiding us and keeping me calm through the pain. Devin was so amazing. When a painful contraction would come, he would brace himself against me and we put a warm blanket under my belly and he would lift it just a bit, since that is where the pain seemed to radiate from. He was infinately patient and having him closeby was so comforting. Having that experience was why I wanted to initially avoid having an epidural -- I wanted to be able to move and feel and labor with his help. Because of the pitocin, I had to wear the monitors and wasn't allowed in the bathtub, but being able to move around the room and sit on the birthing ball was just as helpful. The pitocin made the contractions come short and sharp and they got beyond painful. I asked for IV pain relief and while it helped for a few minutes, couldn't dull the contractions. At that point, I think I was around 5 cm and went ahead and asked for the epidural. The epi, just like last time, didn't take on one side. I had a "hot spot" on the right side of my stomach and my lower back, that caused me to feel every contraction in those spots. It was really painful! For each one, Devin would hold my hand and Meliea would rub my back and push on my lower back where the pain was the worst. Eventually, we had the anestesiologist come back in and wiggle the catheter and up the dose and at that point, the epi finally worked. I couldn't feel anything from my hips down, which was slightly disturbing, but still better than the pain.

After that, we checked and I was completely dilated and effaced and could've begun to push, but because I couldn't feel anything at all and Colin's head was still kind of high, we decided to stick with my original plan of "laboring down" which basically is when the contractions themselves move the baby lower and lower. Colin's heartrate at that point was a bit lower than it had been, so they gave me an oxygen mask, dimmed the lights in the room and I rested for about an hour before it was time to push. It was so calm and unrushed and I got a chance to really rest my body and prepare my mind for pushing and for meeting my son.

I had asked the nurses to allow extra people in the delivery, but was told no because they had an ICN (intensive care) team who needed to be on hand because of the low amniotic fluid. So, Beth and my Mom (mom and melissa had taken lily home and come back when I texted that it was safe to return) went to the waiting room, my sister armed herself with my camera and Devin and Meliea each took their posts to help me push. They had me do some practice pushing, since I couldn't really feel anything, and then stopped me to wait on the doctor. Dr Gordon came in, along with a gaggle of nurses, but the lights stayed dim and everyone stayed quiet.

My big request for pushing was no counting or yelling. At some point, the doctor or someone had to ask a nurse to refrain from counting and after that, it was smooth sailing. They told me when to push and off I went, doing what I hoped was my best and not really feeling it. I could feel intense pressure and the contractions in the top of my tummy, which helped me to direct my pushing. It was incredible and best of all, it was peaceful. Even though he was a big baby and I couldn't feel much, I was able to push him out effectively and it only took about 20-30 minutes.

Colin Patrick Thompson was born at 12:02 am, weighing in at 8 lbs 15 ounces, and measuring 21.5 inches

They put him on my chest when he came out, but quickly pulled him away because he wasn't perking up very fast. The nurses took him and worked on him for a few minutes, trying to clean out his lungs and get him to cry. It took some doing, but eventually he pinked up and was ready to be handed back to me. That part was a little scary, but everyone remained calm and my doula got some great video of him being stimulated, which she took out to show my mom and Beth in the waiting room. Because of his size, I managed to tear "down there" again, so it took a while for me to be able to really hold him, due to all the stitches. I could see other people holding him and him rooting helplessly on whoever had him, he was so darn hungry!

It was so amazing to hold him and love on him for the first time! He's definately a big boy and I love his little smooshed face and funny little features. He is so darn sweet too! Watching Lily interact with him has been amazing. She says things like "I love you, Baby Col" and always wants to touch him and is so proud to show off the rattle she bought him. She is so amazing to watch and I am really impressed with her. My siblings and my Mom, but mostly my sister, have been taking care of her since we've been at the hospital. I can't imagine thats been easy and I've heard that Lily is very confused as to why she can't stay with her parents and brother. Tonight, on my last night in the hospital, we decided that Devin should sleep at home with Lily, as well as Devin's mother, who just came into town.

We had a slew of visitors the first day and today, has been a lot quieter. Its been so wonderful to introduce my son to our friends and I can't wait for him to meet more. I will say, I'm sort of scared to go home. I am in pain this time, but definately not as bad as last time. I am a lot more mobile and motivated than I was post-Lily, so that gives me lots of hope that we will manage okay once I'm home. Devin has been so amazing, entertaining Lily and helping out in every way -- well, not diapers yet, but I don't blame him -- that meconium poo is a force to be reckoned with.

I will be updating this post with pictures shortly :)