As I have mentioned in previous posts, I was getting very anxious for Zander to come and was basically to the point of deciding that Mom would miss seeing my new born boy. Of course, right as I was on the brink of losing hope, everything came through. Isn't that how it always works? I started having contractions again on Tuesday night (the 16th) and we talked about having us all stay up all night since sleep seemed to stop the contractions. But, I said I'd rather try and get as many good night sleeps as I could before he came. It was just another night of restless, uncomfortable pregnancy sleep and when I woke up at about 8 because I could hear Brayden waking, I decided to stay in bed because I was still pretty tired. My dad was up with Brayden anyway. So, I stayed in bed until 9 when I started feeling sore in my stomach. Thinking that it was because I had just been laying on my back and the baby was pressuring my insides, I sat up and began reading my scriptures so I could finish our Young Women challenge of reading the whole Book of Mormon during summer break (which I did!). Preston got in the shower and I planned on doing the same as soon as he was done. But, as I was reading, I realized that my stomach pain wasn't going away. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but I knew that if it was real labor pain then I needed to hurry or else I may have a baby at home because I deliver so quickly. So, I took a quick shower and mentioned casually to Preston that he should make sure everything was in the hospital bag and that I was having some pain. I asked him to let my mom know so she could be ready just in case it continued. By the time I was dressed and ready to go, I knew it was probably real, but I had to start my mind game of acting like there was no pain so that I somehow wouldn't feel anything. It's weird, but that's my way of coping I guess. So, how do you act like there's no pain and yet tell everyone that I need to go to the hospital? Again, I used the casual tone of "Well, I still feel some pain. It's about every 5 minutes now so I guess maybe we should go." The next 45 minutes or so were spent gathering last minute things, eating breakfast (which Preston convinced me was a good idea even though it didn't sound good to my crampy stomach), waking my Mom up because she didn't hear the text that Preston sent her and saying goodbye to our Brayden.
When we all said goodbye to Brayden, he walked to the garage door and tried to open it. He wanted to come with us and had to be distracted by my Dad so that we could slip out the door. At that point, Brayden was my little baby. He still seemed like a baby to me and I really couldn't comprehend the change that a new little guy would have on that perspective.
As we were driving out of the neighborhood and entering Monroe, we had a conversation that went like this:
Preston: how far apart are your contractions now?
Me: 3-4 minutes
Preston: I've always wanted to do this...
VRRROOOOMMM. He put the pedal to the metal and started weaving through cars. He ended up having to slow down for traffic, but assured me that if I was even further along then he would be running red lights and driving in the turn lanes to pass people.
We got to the hospital at about 11:00 am (2 hours after contractions started). Even though I had already filled out the pre-registration forms as directed by one of the midwives, they said that they didn't have them because I filled them out in the main building. They took me 20 minutes to fill out!! Super lame. Luckily, Preston worked on them while I signed all the consent forms, etc. He finished them much faster than I did the first time, so that was good. We sat down to wait to be taken back to triage where they'd make sure I was in real labor before getting us a delivery room. After waiting for at least 10 minutes, Preston went to the desk and explained that I have very quick labors and that my contractions were down to every 3 minutes. I'm sure they get that a lot, so they weren't very convinced. Especially because I work so hard to hide my pain, so it doesn't look like much to anyone else. Anyway, 5 minutes later they finally came and took me back, gave me a gown to wear and then gave us a bed (closed off by a curtain. . . not so private). I could only have 1 visitor with me in triage, so my Mom was left out in the waiting room. between me changing and them making us wait for another 10-15 minutes before having anyone come check me, my Mom was getting concerned and kept asking how she'd know if I was going to a delivery room. They weren't exactly sure because we hadn't worked out to contact her. So, she was getting a little worried.
Meanwhile, I was getting some pretty intense labor pain waiting for them to come tell me how dilated I was. The nurse that came in had questions first about if I was dilated at my last appointment, etc. I told her that the previous Friday I was at a 3-3.5. She was very nonchalant and said that she'd check to see if I was in real labor because "real labor will be doing something" aka, making me more dilated. I didn't particularly appreciate the lack of belief that I was at an 8 in pain and quit sure it was real. But, again, I'm sure they get that a lot. Anyway, my "told you so" moment came when she checked me and changed tones to say "oh, you're at an 8 with a very bulging sac (meaning the baby was very low)." Ha. Thank you. Can I get a room now? Please?
They wheeled me to a delivery room and my Mom met us there. She explained that she was getting worried because it had been so long and then she heard nurses saying "we've got an 8 that needs a room!" and knew that must be me. My sweet mother had also taken it on herself to call the doctor's office to make sure they knew I was here and would need a midwife soon, but they gave her the typical responses we'd been getting that "the hospital will call when she needs to come."
I was waiting for the midwife for several minutes wondering why she wasn't here yet. Unfortunately it was my least favorite midwife (Jane) on call that day, but I still like her alright. Anyway, by the time she got there it was about 11:40. I felt like I was going to explode every time a contraction came on. But, I hadn't planned on an epidural this time because it goes so fast. I was kind of wishing I had, but I knew it wouldn't be long and I could do it. I still wasn't hardly showing any pain and I remember them commenting several times about how I didn't look like I was to a 9 because I was still smiling. Anyway, the midwife said that she could break my water or I could wait it out and my mom said that it would probably break on it's own. But, after 2 or 3 more intense contractions I finally just asked her to break it. I expected the pushing sensation to occur immediately, but it didn't . Jane told me that I could start pushing with contractions any time now, but I said I would wait for the urge to push because it was so easy with Brayden when I did that. Jane left the room (still can't remember why, but I was really wishing she'd come back because I changed my mind and wanted to push!). She came back after what seemed like 30 minutes (probably only 5) and I told her I was going to push. With each contraction, I started pushing just wanting it to be over. On the third contraction I pushed the hardest I could and knew that it was working because of all the pressure I could feel. I expected that once the head made it out, she'd pull the rest of him out because that's how it was with Brayden. But, when I thought I was done pushing I was in a lot of pain still and could feel a baby stuck down there. At this point I was so ready to be done that I remember saying "isn't he out yet??" without even deciding to say anything. It was like I could hear my voice, but I didn't even know I was saying anything. It was a weird feeling. Anyway, they answered my question with a no so I gave one last painful push as hard as I could and then I heard it. Crying. The most wonderful sound at that point in time. It was seriously like the movies. I remember seeing him and soaking in how handsome he was and knowing that he was mine. They let me hold him for a really long time. I don't think that Preston held him until he was about 1-2 hours old. Then they weighed and measured him. He was a big boy! Well, comparatively at least :)
He was 8 pounds 1 ounce and measured 20 and a half inches. His head was 13.5 cm.
I have loved that little boy so much since the first second I held him! He has been a huge blessing to our family and is a sweet little angel.
Brayden loved him from the first time he saw him too! By the time we checked out of the hospital, Brayden knew which elevator buttons to push and just where to go for our room. As soon as he'd get there, he'd look in the bassinet thing and if Zander wasn't there he'd find him with either me or Preston and get a huge grin! When he wants to hold him, he sticks his little hands out with his palms up :) He hasn't had a hard time with sharing Mommy yet either! I'm so proud of my two boys!
The only part of this delivery that I wasn't completely prepared for (even though my mom warned me) was the after birth contractions. Apparently you don't get them with your first child, but they get worse with every following child. Something to look forward to :) Every time I would nurse my little angel, my stomach would ache with contractions. I finally swallowed my pride and asked for pain killers on the second day there. I couldn't fall asleep without them! But, they wore off after a few days, thank goodness.
My last thoughts about the birth of our new boy are concerning Brayden and how he really has become a big brother all the sudden. Besides the fact that I now feel like he weighs a ton and looks huge to me, he has started acting grown up too. He always enjoyed being a helper whenever I would ask, but now he seems to know that there's someone else that needs attention. He's become more cuddly at times and very patient. He really is a sweetheart. He loves his Baby Zander and often gives him big hugs whether he's in my arms or the car seat. It's pretty cute.
I feel incredibly blessed to have the best and cutest little boys in the world. It's amazing how similar and yet how very different they are in looks and personality. I am so in love with all my boys!!
I'm still back in the hospital, so I only have the pictures I happened to load onto the laptop, but here they are!
