Here it goes -
So, when I was pregnant with Isaac, I had an appointment with the doctor two days before my due date - she said I wasn't dilated. Mild contractions started on my due date, and after going through an entire day of painful contractions, we had him two days after his due date. Such a long labor.
Fast forward to Luke - I decided, with the help of Nate and my Doctor, to get induced on my due date. I got to the hospital at 7am, and didn't have Luke until 9pm! Another long labor. And I really did not enjoy being induced.
This time around, I knew I didn't want to be induced again, I wanted things to happen on their own, even if I was late again. My due date was June 15th, and I had an appointment with my doctor a week and a half before my due date, and she told me I was dilated to a 1! I was pretty excited about that, since I really hadn't been dilated much before either of the boys were born. Then I had another appointment three days before my due date - she checked me again and I was dilated to a 4! No wonder I was so uncomfortable :) She asked if I wanted my membranes stripped. I didn't know what she was talking about, but since it might put me into labor, SURE! So I picked up the boys, went to the grocery store and got home the same time as Nate that evening. I had a feeling I should get a few things done around the house, so I mopped and did some other cleaning. Around 7:30pm I got my first painful contraction. I had been having braxton hicks a lot for weeks previous to this, but they were not painful. Five minutes after that first painful contraction, I got another one! I kept getting contractions about five minutes apart, so Nate started writing them down. By 8pm we knew we were in labor, since I'd been having them consistently for half an hour. We called Nate's parents, who live close by, after putting the boys to bed. We were frantically packing a bag for the hospital, so we didn't leave the house till about 9pm. All the way to the hospital, which is a 20 minute drive, I didn't get a contraction! I was starting to think maybe I was crazy, and somehow not in labor. But we got into triage, they checked me and told me I was dilated to a 7! And my contractions were consistent and very strong again. After an hour in triage, they wheeled my bed to the birthing room, around 10:30pm. They asked me if I wanted an epidural, I said YES! But I asked them to check me again to see how much I'd progressed, so they did and I was at 8.5 cm. I loved the nurse I had in triage, and she was still my nurse, so I asked her how fast she thought I would be, and she thought 45 minutes or less if my doctor broke my water. So they asked if they could break my water - I said yes, and then I would get the epidural. Until this point, my pain was pretty manageable. My contractions were very painful, but it wasn't out of control. As soon as my doctor broke my water, which was around 10:40pm, the pain was out of control. I'm embarrassed to say that I actually started screaming in pain. She told me to start pushing to get the rest of the cervix out of the way, so I tried, but I thought I was going. to. die. The contractions were much worse and I only had a 20 second breather in between them! But after about 5 contractions, June was out! No epidural. The cord was wrapped twice around her neck, but luckily it wasn't tight. She was born on June 12th at 10:50pm, 6lbs 13oz, 18 inches long.
It was crazy fast! I was not prepared for a fast baby, but it was the best experience yet, faster is better.
There's more, but here's your warning, it gets gross. Hours later, I kept bleeding and bleeding, so one of the nurses had to come and push hard on my stomach to get all the blood out, and there was a lot. Too much I guess, because I almost passed out and they started putting medicine in my IV and gave me a shot to stop the bleeding. It finally stopped and everything was fine, but I had a postpartum hemorrhage. I guess this happens with about 6% of births. Recovery has been great, I didn't tear at all and so I felt better in a few days time after having June. My milk coming in is a different story - It's what I dread the most after having a baby. But she is a good little nurser and we are done with the rough part.
Anyway, I feel like the adjustment as a family has been a little bit easier this time around. With Isaac, I went from being in school and working, super busy, to being a stay at home mom and I had to adjust a lot to the change. Then when Luke came, I felt super guilty because it was a big change to go from one to two kids, and having to split my attention between the two of them. This time, it really has not been crazy, and we've enjoyed spending time together as a family while Nate was off work. I know the storm is still coming, and she will wake up from her slumber, but I'm trying to just relax and let the little things go. It has made all the difference!
Here she is after they got her stats
My four favorite people :)
Some gas smiles
My REALLY nice friend took some newborn photos for us, there are more to come!
