Then, I thought I could do some blogging after we got back, but had to get right into getting Z's party finished. I guess I need to work on time management a little.
Sooo, here it is. A little later than promised, yes, but still just as good.
At about 11:30 PM on October 18th, I started to feel my first real contractions. Some would say (and by some, I most mean Colin) labor was brought on by me doing a little construction work. I know you're just dying to know what construction work I would be doing just days away from my due date, so I'll take a little side trip for you. So, our bonus room was being finished for our office (which had previously been in the new nursery) and I decided I needed to get rid of the ugly gold threshold outside the door (since the room was unfinished when we bought it, it was considered 'outside' which is why there was a threshold there). Anyway, I grabbed the crowbar and hammer and got to work! I remember feeling awesome and not at all like I was hours from going into labor, so Colin could be onto something there, but I guess we'll never know. ;o)
So, back to those contractions... They were still pretty far apart, so I decided to take a nice long shower (I wanted to make sure I was smelling good for the doctors and nurses, after all!). After my shower, Colin suggested we try to get some sleep and told me to wake him up when the contractions were about 10 minutes apart, so he could start getting everything ready. Of course, he fell asleep right away but tried as I might, I just couldn't sleep. It was the excitement, and the contractions too, of course (plus, I had to use the potty with every contraction!)! I wasn't really timing the contractions, because it seemed they started so far apart, but then I began to realize they were much closer than before! I started timing and realized they were coming about five to sic minutes apart...oops! I woke up Colin and he was a little freaked out that I waited so long to tell him, but then immediately went into Super-Hubby mode, and got us out the door in no time. As we headed out though, he told me we needed to stop to get gas. What?? Who doesn't have a full tank of gas just days away from the delivery date of their first child?? Well, that would be Colin. So, after a quick trip through the gas station (which I had to videotape because of the absurdity of it all!), we were headed to the hospital.
Once we got there, we had to get checked in (the procrastinators that we both are never pre-registered). At this point, the contractions were on top of each other, and I thought we might even have a baby soon. The person who checked us in kept looking at me funny, than finally asked, “Are you even in active labor now?” I was like, “Uh, yea” and she said she wasn't sure because I looked so calm and didn't look like I was in any pain. Haha! I guess my high threshold for pain and poker face really came into play there.
After checking in, it was off to triage to be evaluated. The nurse checked my contractions, and was a little startled that they were only about two minutes apart. She then checked me and was even more surprised that I was only 1 1/2cm dilated. At that point it was about 6AM, and I had been in labor about six and a half hours. The nurse got me hooked up, so she could monitor my contractions then left the room. After awhile she came back in, and seemed very concerned. She asked if I was okay, like something had happened. Well, obviously I was in labor so not entirely “ok” but it didn't seem like anything unusual. She then showed us a readout of the contractions I had been having and about every third contraction was, as she put it, “off the chart.” She seemed convinced that I would much more dilated now, so checked again but there was no change. She left the room to consult with someone, and we assumed we would be sent home. But, when she came back, she said they had a room ready and would be moving me soon.
We were officially checked in at about 8AM. The nurses asked about pain management, and I told them I wasn't opposed to an epidural (had been about nine hours in labor, at that point)! We agreed that the epidural would be ordered, but they wouldn't rush it. However, about a half hour later the anesthesiologist came in to administer it. He was getting ready to do a c-section, and if he didn't get the epidural to me then I would have to wait a couple more hours!
Meanwhile, Colin was calling all of our family and friends and within a half hour our room was full. We had all four of our parents, my brother and sister, grandma and my best friend. It was definitely a nice distraction having everyone there to hang out with (we even put in a movie)! After hours of not much progress though, I was definitely starting to get impatient.
Once my doctor arrived, she started me on pitocin and seemed confident that might get things moving faster. She casually mentioned a c-section as a possibility, but indicated she didn't think it would come to that. After another couple hours though, I still hadn't progressed. My blood pressure kept dropping and then the baby's heart rate dropped a little. It had been almost 20 hours in labor at that point, when my doctor brought in the head of surgery. She checked me and said I was even less dilated then the nurses had thought and ordered an emergency c-section. She and my doctor were both very calm, but not me! I was frustrated, disappointed and just utterly exhausted. My doctor assured me everything would be fine and that the c-section was so fast that we would be meeting our baby in no time. Our family came in so we could tell them what was happening, then I had to say goodbye to Colin who couldn't come in while they were prepping me for surgery.
Besides being nervous, emotional and anxious to meet our little guy I was also extremely loopy from the medicine they game me. I kept telling Colin he was not to let me fall asleep because I was not going to miss my little Zavion being born. So, he had to keep patting my face to keep me awake during the surgery. It seemed like both an eternity and then not, all at the same time! My doctor and the surgeon were narrating what was going on, then suddenly they stopped talking. Then the next thing we heard was Zavion crying and they held up this tiny, squirmy beautiful baby boy! Colin and I were so overwhelmed with happiness and we just kept saying we couldn't believe he was finally here! They brought him over and handed him to Colin and I got to stroke his tiny face with my finger and give him long awaited kiss.
Then, they whisked he and Colin off to the recovery room, where I would join them after they finished the surgery. It felt like an eternity waiting to go be with them and I remember I kept looking behind me at the clock to see how long it was taking. The anesthesiologist kept asking me if I was okay!
After what seemed like forever, they told me I was done and wheeled me into recovery. I looked all around and didn't see Colin or Zavion anywhere and actually started to panic a little. Then, they opened up the curtain and there sat Colin holding Z. It was one of those images that will stay with me forever, and I still get emotional just remembering.
The next few days were a whirlwind of learning, attempting to sleep, lots of crying (mostly the baby) lots of visitors and some really special moments with just the three of us.
Later, my doctor told me the reason for the c-section; Zavion was in a breech position, face up, and his chin was actually hooked over my pubic bone. She told me with the way that he was positioned, there was no way he would have progressed down the birth canal.
I am definitely thankful for modern medicine and after I saw Zavion, I quickly let go of any disappointment I with not having a 'regular' birth experience.
So, that's the story of our our little guy made his entrance into the world. He made the delivery interesting for sure, and has been making our lives just as exciting ever since!
So, it turns out all of the baby photos of Z are stuck on some CDs that can't be opened on my computer. So, here is one of my favorite baby pics of Z, and hopefully I can add more later. :)
