Well my Little Man is here and I am finally able to sit down and write his birth story. What a story it is! In case you haven't seen it before, Boova is Pennsylvania Dutch for little brother.
We start out with Saturday (8/24) night. I had a headache all day long Saturday and my husband made me call the doctor. One of the symptoms of Pre-Eclampsia is a persistent headache so he wanted me to call. The doctor sent me to the OB Triage at our local hospital to get checked out.
We were only there for about an hour. They took some blood and checked everything out and it all looked fine. No signs of Pre-E or any other issues. The nurse on duty checked my progress which was at 3.5 cm. It wasn't anything to get excited about but I told my husband on the way home that she may have jump started my labor by checking me.
I felt fine all day Sunday. I was having some contractions throughout the day but nothing major and nothing regular. It was pretty much the same as it had been for the past few weeks. We took Baby Girl for a walk and relaxed a bit.
I was working in our home office while Baby Girl napped and my husband happened to fall asleep as well. It was around 1pm and I was only down there for about an hour but the contractions were coming a little more regularly. When the little one woke up, I went and laid down and started to time the contractions, which, of course, stopped
I started dinner as usual around 4:30 and took Baby Girl outside. I noticed while I was out there with her that the contractions had started again. This time, I tried walking around to get them to stop but they didn't. I went in the house and started to time the contractions.
2 1/2 minutes apart.
Um........ok!
I told my husband that I didn't think dinner was going to happen. I jumped in the shower while he sat and timed the contractions. I said we needed to time them for at least a half hour to make sure this wasn't a fluke. It wasn't!!! We called the doctor and headed to the hospital.
We reached the hospital around 6:30 pm. By the time we got there, my contractions were 2 minutes apart. We went to the OB Triage again and when they checked me, I was 5 cm dilated. My Mom came and picked up Baby Girl just before 7 as we were headed to labor and delivery. She didn't really know what was going on so she was happy to see her Nana!
When they checked me again at Labor and Delivery, I was 6 cm dilated and my contractions were 1 1/2 minutes apart. This was moving very quickly. I literally felt like someone was stabbing me in the stomach. When I was induced with Ashlyn, I got my epidural long before the contractions were that close so I had no idea what I was in for. I made sure to apologize to the nurses and doctors for all of the swearing I did. It was rough.
But by 7:30 I had my epidural and I was good to go. I don't know how women do this without medication but kudos to them. There is no way I would have been able to do it. The doctor even offered to break my water so we could get the baby out faster but I just couldn't do it. So good for you ladies who do all of that without medication!
So the epidural was doing its job and we were just waiting. I'm not sure what time I was checked next but I was at 8 cm dilated. This was right around the time we started noticing the room filling up with doctors and nurses. They were all speaking quietly and kind of in code and they asked me to put an oxygen mask on my face so we knew something was going on. They were having a hard time keeping track of the baby's heart beat with the external monitor so they took it off and used and internal monitor instead.
The doctor started watching the contraction monitor because the baby's heart rate was dropping too much with each contraction. The next thing we knew, the doctor was suited up and was telling us the baby had to come out. The problem was that I was still only 8 cm dilated and the baby was too high.
I started pushing around 8:40pm. It was hard because the epidural was still fresh so I was having a hard time feeling how I was pushing. I could feel the contractions coming (barely) but that was about it. The doctor just kept saying that he was still too high and that we might have to go in for an emergency C-section. The gave me the consent form and called to get a room prepared for me.
After about a half hour of pushing, she told me that she could get the vacuum on him and that we might be able to get him out that way. That's what we did. That's how Baby Girl was born too so I knew what they were doing.
2 contractions later, there he was!
I thought for sure he would be the same size or bigger than his big sister but he was smaller! He was only a few ounces smaller than her but he seemed so tiny compared to her! Ashlyn is on the left and Bryan is on the right...
He was quite pale and it took him a bit to cry but he was ok. They only had him on my chest for a few seconds when they grabbed him up and rushed him off. We were a little worried that something was wrong but everything was just fine.
They don't know why it happened. They thought the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck or that the placenta was separating but that wasn't the case. I guess my kids just have to cause problems from the start! I had to stay in the labor and delivery room a little longer than normal to make sure there was no post birth hemorrhaging like I had last time. Everything was fine this time around. We were in our over night room and resting comfortably by 11.
When I was pregnant with Ashlyn, I predicted that she would be born December 7th even though I was due December 21st. She was born on December 9th. With this one, I predicted he would be born August 23rd. He was born August 25th. I was two days off with both. Mother's intuition?
I was so worried about how I was going to be able to love this little guy the way I did when we had the first but wow...your heart just opens right up. He is the sweetest little guy and he is so much like his sister. They look a lot alike and they have some of the same habits.
I will post some more updates over the next few days. We had a few doctor's appointments already because he wasn't getting enough to eat and lost quite a bit of weight. We have had some struggles with breastfeeding. We have a two week check up next week. And we have the big sister who is adjusting to her new little brother.
Keep watch for more posts on my new Little Man!
We start out with Saturday (8/24) night. I had a headache all day long Saturday and my husband made me call the doctor. One of the symptoms of Pre-Eclampsia is a persistent headache so he wanted me to call. The doctor sent me to the OB Triage at our local hospital to get checked out.
We were only there for about an hour. They took some blood and checked everything out and it all looked fine. No signs of Pre-E or any other issues. The nurse on duty checked my progress which was at 3.5 cm. It wasn't anything to get excited about but I told my husband on the way home that she may have jump started my labor by checking me.
I felt fine all day Sunday. I was having some contractions throughout the day but nothing major and nothing regular. It was pretty much the same as it had been for the past few weeks. We took Baby Girl for a walk and relaxed a bit.
I was working in our home office while Baby Girl napped and my husband happened to fall asleep as well. It was around 1pm and I was only down there for about an hour but the contractions were coming a little more regularly. When the little one woke up, I went and laid down and started to time the contractions, which, of course, stopped
I started dinner as usual around 4:30 and took Baby Girl outside. I noticed while I was out there with her that the contractions had started again. This time, I tried walking around to get them to stop but they didn't. I went in the house and started to time the contractions.
2 1/2 minutes apart.
Um........ok!
I told my husband that I didn't think dinner was going to happen. I jumped in the shower while he sat and timed the contractions. I said we needed to time them for at least a half hour to make sure this wasn't a fluke. It wasn't!!! We called the doctor and headed to the hospital.
We reached the hospital around 6:30 pm. By the time we got there, my contractions were 2 minutes apart. We went to the OB Triage again and when they checked me, I was 5 cm dilated. My Mom came and picked up Baby Girl just before 7 as we were headed to labor and delivery. She didn't really know what was going on so she was happy to see her Nana!
When they checked me again at Labor and Delivery, I was 6 cm dilated and my contractions were 1 1/2 minutes apart. This was moving very quickly. I literally felt like someone was stabbing me in the stomach. When I was induced with Ashlyn, I got my epidural long before the contractions were that close so I had no idea what I was in for. I made sure to apologize to the nurses and doctors for all of the swearing I did. It was rough.
But by 7:30 I had my epidural and I was good to go. I don't know how women do this without medication but kudos to them. There is no way I would have been able to do it. The doctor even offered to break my water so we could get the baby out faster but I just couldn't do it. So good for you ladies who do all of that without medication!
So the epidural was doing its job and we were just waiting. I'm not sure what time I was checked next but I was at 8 cm dilated. This was right around the time we started noticing the room filling up with doctors and nurses. They were all speaking quietly and kind of in code and they asked me to put an oxygen mask on my face so we knew something was going on. They were having a hard time keeping track of the baby's heart beat with the external monitor so they took it off and used and internal monitor instead.
The doctor started watching the contraction monitor because the baby's heart rate was dropping too much with each contraction. The next thing we knew, the doctor was suited up and was telling us the baby had to come out. The problem was that I was still only 8 cm dilated and the baby was too high.
I started pushing around 8:40pm. It was hard because the epidural was still fresh so I was having a hard time feeling how I was pushing. I could feel the contractions coming (barely) but that was about it. The doctor just kept saying that he was still too high and that we might have to go in for an emergency C-section. The gave me the consent form and called to get a room prepared for me.
After about a half hour of pushing, she told me that she could get the vacuum on him and that we might be able to get him out that way. That's what we did. That's how Baby Girl was born too so I knew what they were doing.
2 contractions later, there he was!
My doctor this time around
Bryan Paul Miller II
August 25, 2013, 9:22 pm
7lbs 13 oz, 20 inches
I thought for sure he would be the same size or bigger than his big sister but he was smaller! He was only a few ounces smaller than her but he seemed so tiny compared to her! Ashlyn is on the left and Bryan is on the right...
Daddy wore the same shirt for both deliveries!
They don't know why it happened. They thought the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck or that the placenta was separating but that wasn't the case. I guess my kids just have to cause problems from the start! I had to stay in the labor and delivery room a little longer than normal to make sure there was no post birth hemorrhaging like I had last time. Everything was fine this time around. We were in our over night room and resting comfortably by 11.
When I was pregnant with Ashlyn, I predicted that she would be born December 7th even though I was due December 21st. She was born on December 9th. With this one, I predicted he would be born August 23rd. He was born August 25th. I was two days off with both. Mother's intuition?
I was so worried about how I was going to be able to love this little guy the way I did when we had the first but wow...your heart just opens right up. He is the sweetest little guy and he is so much like his sister. They look a lot alike and they have some of the same habits.
I will post some more updates over the next few days. We had a few doctor's appointments already because he wasn't getting enough to eat and lost quite a bit of weight. We have had some struggles with breastfeeding. We have a two week check up next week. And we have the big sister who is adjusting to her new little brother.
Keep watch for more posts on my new Little Man!
Awww, I just love birth stories!! Of course he had to make things a little interesting for you;-) Glad both he and you are doing well!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats my friend, he sure is a cutie, glad all is well with him.
ReplyDeleteaww! what a great story. Glad everything worked out, he's a cutie! Praying and wishing all the best for you all...
ReplyDeleteCongrats! He's perfect. I love how you have mother's intuition with due dates!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! He is adorable!
ReplyDeleteHe is so perfect!! I am loving all the instagram shots. Thanks for telling your story.
ReplyDeleteSo cute!! I don't know how women do it with no medication either! I had an epi and they actually had to re do it twice because it wasn't done correctly. I had no idea that I shouldn't be able to feel anything or if it was working. My nurse was like you shouldn't even be cursing and is the reason it was redone....thankfully!
ReplyDeleteSo glad every thing ended up being a ok with the little man!
Wow, crazy that labor started so suddenly for you! I'm glad you didn't have to have the c-section and that he was okay!
ReplyDelete