David was due on January 7th, 2014. I worked up until I ended up being induced. When I went in for my last appointment my doctor set the induction for January 14th at 5a.
On the way to the hospital we stopped to get a biscuit (in hindsight... I should have eaten a BIG breakfast). DL and I arrived at the hospital early, we were both excited and nervous! After getting settled in, it was time to wait. I received an IV (which was probably the worst part of the whole process) and it was go time! They started the Pitocin around 7a. Things progressed slowly since they started me on the lowest dose possible. My water was broken around 10a. I decided to go ahead and get an epidural around noon. I was asked quite a few times if I was sure I didn't want to go ahead and get one early on. I think it was only fair that I experience some painful contractions before giving in. I was expecting not to be able to feel my legs at all, but surprisingly I could feel them and I liked that I was not completely numb. I could not feel any contractions. I was making progress, but my contractions stayed very stead and did not peak a lot as expected. My doctor was a little puzzled about that, but since I was progressing she was not too worried about it.
My Mom and John arrived to the hospital around 10a (I think they were excited) and DLs parents arrived around 1p. They all hung out with us the rest of the day until David arrived. We enjoyed having the company with us. I think I was pretty low on the priority list in the hospital because there ended up being around three emergency C-sections that day. I dozed off and on a little bit, but things didn't start to get serious until later that night. Finally around 11p it was time for me to start pushing! The room cleared out and it was just me, DL, and the nurse. She was great and encouraging! I think her name was Amber, which is funny thinking about that now because that is one of my best friend's name! I was pretty much exhausted at this point from not eating. If you know me, you know I NEED to eat (okay, don't we all). I attempted a popsicle a few hours earlier and threw it up (so glamorous). I did love the pellet ice though! I am pretty sure the birthing process would have gone a lot faster if I hadn't been so weak from not eating. 4:15a that morning was too long to go without eating!
I ended up pushing around two and a half hours. Thinking back that seems like a long time, but in the moment it went SO quick! I am sure my family would beg to differ since they were waiting in the waiting room. (haha) My doctor came in and out to check on me. She was going on a 24 hour shift, so I know she was probably exhausted as well. Finally, around 12:30a she came in and encouraged me to push David out! I definitely needed the little boost of energy she provided. It was intense, but so worth it. At one point she was asking me what hurt... and I responded with "everything." To this day, DL still picks on me about that! Anyway, at 12:58a my beautiful baby boy was born with a head full of hair! He was immediately placed on my chest and I was in awe/love! He was the sweetest, most beautiful thing I have ever laid on eyes. Okay, maybe that's a tie with his daddy!
After a while, they measured David and weighed him. I remember asking the nurse how much he weighed. I will never forget her saying "8lbs 14oz, 21 inches long!" I was pretty much in shock and was wondering if I heard her correctly. My whole pregnancy I was measuring small and was pretty confident I would have a 7.5 pound baby or less!
My epidural had all but worn off by the time labor was over. I was feeling everything by that point, but thankfully the doctor was able to numb me with some medicine. I ended up losing a lot of blood so was pretty weak for the remainder of the night. At one point I remember them telling me "Hannah we are going to give you a shot in your leg to help stop the bleeding." Thankfully, they were able to get me taken care of. I attempted to eat a snack soon after, but that was not a good idea at that point. I ended up throwing it up. My recovery really wasn't that bad after I was able to get some rest.
The grandparents were finally able to come meet David around 2-3a after he nursed etc. They were so excited. David was wide eyed and soaking it all in.
My mom took this picture of David when everyone came in to meet him. The room was dark and she used her iPhone. He was so perfect!
Moments after having David. I told DL to take our picture. He snapped this and one of the grandparents ended up putting it on social media. :0 This is what pure exhaustion and happiness look like. :) I'm embracing it!
As soon as everyone left, we were moved to another room. This was probably the only thing we did not like about our hospital! I was wheeled down and carried David in my arms. When we got to our room a nurse started asking us a million questions (or so it felt) which most of had already been asked to us. Note to nurse... do NOT ask a mom if she wants the hospital photographer to take pictures in the next few days after she has just labored for over 24 hours. I am not a rude person, but I am pretty sure with all of the medicine in me and pure exhaustion I looked at her like she had two heads wondering why in the world she would be asking me that at that exact moment. I finally figured out the nausea medicine they were giving me was making me lethargic. As soon as I stopped taking that I felt SO much better! After more questions and asking me why I was not feeling well, I finally told her I just needed some rest. David was a dream and slept so great that first day. I was able to get some rest and felt so much better than before.
1 day old
Pure sweetness
Me, Sara, and David 01/15/2014
As you can see, we DID end up having his pictures made. ;) We were released to go home on Friday the 17th. We were so excited and thus began our journey of parenthood!
Spring 2014
