Our baby is SIX MONTHS OLD! His half birthday was actually last Wednesday, but sadly, I have not had a chance to post about it. I have been wanting to share his birth story, but until our blog went private I felt like I should keep things on the surface-y side. As we celebrate the first 6 months of his life, now is the perfect time to remember the events of the day he was born. Six month pictures to come!
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We decided to stay in since I wasn't feeling great, and now I'm glad we did. We went through our normal routine of eating dinner together (with the girls) around the ottoman, watching our shows, and relaxing. I had been having contractions for a few days and that night they were getting stronger and closer together (about 7 minutes apart). I timed them for about two hours before calling the doctor. Doctor Sharp was the doctor on-call. He told me to wait until they were about 3-4 minutes apart, for about 3-4 hours – he said that if they got to that point to not bother with calling and to just check-in to Labor & Delivery.
Around 3 o'clock a.m. I woke up with terrible contractions that were about five minutes apart. I laid in bed for about an hour thinking about them. At 4 a.m. I decided to take a bath to see if they would subside or if we needed to go. When I went to the bathroom before getting in the tub I noticed I was wet and a little bloody. No bath for me. Instead I hopped in the shower and woke Brian up to tell him I thought my water had broken. After calling Doctor Sharp back for confirmation we packed the car, I vacuumed, and we told the huskies we loved them – then we were off to Labor & Delivery.
By the time we got checked in and taken to our room, my contractions were really hurting & I didn't feel well at all. I can't really explain the pain, but what I can say is that I never expected it to hurt so badly, so early on (at 1 and 2 centimeters). The pain medicine they gave me did not help at all! The nurse hooked me up to the monitors & we waited for me to progress some.
Once I got to 3 centimeters the nurse told me I could have an epidural (yay!) The Anesthesiologist came in and I sat on the edge of the bed, with Brian holding me still. He put the needle in (I never felt it) and I started feeling better – on my right side. There was a hot spot along the entire left side of my body, so I still felt every contraction. They told me to lay on my left side to see if that would help, but it didn't. They gave me another dose. Still no luck. The Anesthesiologist then came back, took out the needle and put a new one in. Finally, the hot spot was gone on the left side – even though my right side was completely numb.
At this point in the day I was feeling great! Brian's mom, my parents, and Amanda had all arrived. (Amanda drove up from the beach early in the morning so she could be there). Brian & I were both in good spirits at this point and just kept touching my belly, as to soak it in one last time.
Doctor Sharp came in periodically to check on things. It didn't take long for me to get to six, then eight and finally nine – or ten as Doctor Sharp decided to call it. It was time to say goodbye to family and prepare to push – it was 2 o'clock. The pushing lasted about 2 hours and 15 minutes. It wasn't bad at all – just long. I had developed a fever, so the nurses had me pushing on every other contraction to keep Owen's heart rate stable. Brian held one foot and nurse Jessica held the other – they both did great. Each time Doctor Sharp came in to check on me he joked that we should name the baby after him – after all, Doctor Stone wasn't there and he was (on the holiday).
At 4 o'clock or so Doctor Sharp came in, checked me, and announced, "we've got to get this baby out one way or another." At this point, hearing that, I feared that he meant a c-section was needed – or worse! Instead, he said our choice was either forceps or a vacuum to pull the baby out. Forceps would be harder on my body, so he suggested a vacuum. Brian made the call. I trusted them. Next thing I know, after a few more pushes, Owen was here – it was 4:15 pm. Brian cut his umbilical cord and the doctor plopped him down on my chest – 7.13 pounds of perfection.
I am positive I will never forget that moment.
We asked for a few minutes alone with each other & with him. We tried to soak it all it, if that was possible. Our first child had arrived – safe & sound! Thank you, Lord!
The first thing that the nurses (and later, family & friends) noticed about him was his lips. Right away it was clear that he looked just like his daddy. "Daddy" – that was weird to say! In that moment my heart expanded in a way I can't explain. My love for Brian grew exponentially. And even though I had just "met" this child, I loved him more than I could have ever imagined.
The hours after Owen's birth were filled with visitors – Nanny & Poppy, Lou, Aunt Beth, Aunt Kelly & Cousin Caleb, Granddad, the Pairs, Fran, Brooke, the Tingles, Jessica & John, and Chesley. We were surrounded by love!
Praise Jesus for our perfect gift – Owen Thomas Bailey.
1 comment:
Aww. That almost made me cry! I love y'all and am so thankful we were able to be there!
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