*Update* We decided on a name! It's Ronan Jon.
Jon is also DH's middle name, I thought it would be kinda cool since he played such a vital role in his birth
(Forewarning..this is very long!)
My EDD was Dec 12th, but I had a very strong feeling that I would be having this babe before then.
There was a wool/yarn dyeing class at our local craft/sewing/knitting store (I go there every tuesday night for knitting night) on Sun. the 7th that I really wanted to go to. I told DH that I could go into labor anytime after about 5:00 on Sunday, but no earlier!
Well, I started having some very mild contrax at around 5:00; the dye class was taking a little longer than we thought, and there were 4 of us still hanging out waiting for our dyes to be set.
Just chit-chatting and having a good time
I figured that I was just having some strong braxton-hicks from not drinking enough water, and when I got home around 6 I started drinking a bunch.
Well, the contrax didn't go away, they started getting a little painful, I was having to focus a bit through them but they weren't very long, and were about 20 minutes apart.
DH and I got the kids to bed (they were really wound up that night!), and I puttered around the house, getting laundry done in case I had to send the kids to Grandma's house that night/the next day, and just some general cleaning up waiting for the contrax to go away.
I finally gave up and headed to bed around midnight, desperately hoping that I could get some sleep as I was pretty exhausted by then.
I drifted off and had a couple of contractions while I was laying down. I thought that maybe the baby was in a bad position, so I ended up on my hands and knees in bed doing pelvic tilts to try to get him to turn where he needed to be (I thought he was probably a bit posterior).
The contractions were getting a bit more painful, I had one that I just layed on my side for that got pretty bad, but if I stayed on my hands and knees they were better.
I think DH came to bed around 1:00. I had told him earlier that I was having spaced out little contractions, so he told me to wake him if I needed anything, then started to go to sleep.
About 110-15 minutes, and 3 contractions later, I decided to call the Midwife and just let her know what was going on.
Once I got up my contractions changed pattern, I started having them just a few minutes apart, but they were shorter (just about 15-20 seconds each).
I was on the phone with the MW for about 7 minutes and had 3 or 4 little contrax that I had to breathe through.
I remember thinking that the baby must be butt out and high, because my belly looked like a melon when I had a contraction
After much indecision about what I wanted her to do, we figured that I would call my MIL to come get the kids (I still wasn't convinced that this was really labor), and then call the MW again to come and check me.
So, right after I got off the phone with her I called my IL's house, FIL answered the phone and said that they would be there in about 20 minutes; that sounded like a long time to me (they live about 7 minutes away)!
MIL showed up about 10 minutes later, and I woke DH up so he could help her get the kids into the car.
She hung out for a good 20 minutes or so, started the car to warm it up and I called the MW again at 2:02; she was already dressed and was just going to swing by her office to grab my charts before she headed over.
The kids were so cute, they were all groggy because it was the middle of the night, but were very excited to be going with Grandma. DD came down the hall and was just beaming up at me "Mama! I didn't know you were going to have the baby TONIGHT!", "Yeah honey, neither did I!"
I started having to moan through the contrax as they were getting their shoes on. I went first in the kitchen, so I wouldn't scare them, then as they were headed out the door I had 2 contrax in the bathroom.
The window was open, and I was vocalizing quite loudly by then (man those suckers came on suddenly!) and remember hoping that nobody was awake nearby as it sounded like we were *ahem* 'getting it on' rather loudly!
I went out to the living room and leaned against the wall, telling DH that I didn't think we were going to have time to do the pool (he had the compressor in and was just starting to blow it up), walked back to the bathroom and had another contraction.
They were so close together, that by the time I walked the few feet back down the hall to grab onto DH I was having another one. MIL had come in again to grab her keys so she could move her car into our driveway (we switched cars so she wouldn't have to move car seats), and as she was getting them I was clutching DH's sleeve thinking that I was making this kind of noise when I was almost fully dilated with DS2!
But it couldn't possibly be happening that fast, I was only just breathing through them 5 minutes ago!
The contraction passed and I went back to DD's room, got the birth kit box out of her closet and tossed it on our bed, had another contraction...was I feeling the urge to push at the end of that one?!?
I turned around to plug in the white christmas lights, they were nice soft light around our little bedroom. I had just enough time to plug them in and turn around and another contraction was on top of me.
I couldn't help it, I started pushing full strength, standing at the end of the bed.
DH rushed in from the living room asking me what I wanted him to do. I was thinking clearly in my head, but couldn't say anything coherent to him. Still in the contraction, and having felt the baby come down I think I yelled something like "I'm having the baby right now!!", he pulled my pants down, DS had already crowned and I pushed his head out with the next push.
I kept pushing a few more times, but he was still in there. My contraction faded, and then returned a few seconds later. Me: "Get it out!!" DH: "Honey, what do you want me to do?!" Me:"...pull it!" then as I pushed again DS was born!
DH: (incredulously)"We have a baby!!"
I looked back and saw his little body, my eyes caught his parts and I said "He's a boy!" I was surprised, I kind of thought he was going to be a girl, but had had so many dreams that he was a boy that I wasn't totally shocked.
Me: "Ok, we have a baby! Ok, wow, ok!"
DH: "We have a little baby boy!"
DH asked what I wanted him to do again, and I told him to hand the baby through my legs and up to me.
He slipped and almost dropped him
I pulled DS up to me, and DH got me a towel to put over him. I just stood there and rubbed him, he was pretty dusky in the face still. I kept rubbing his back, telling him that he should start breathing soon, but not worrying as he was still connected to the placenta for oxygen.
He was a bit gurgley, so I asked DH to get me the bulb syringe that was somewhere in the birth box; he was so cute, he started throwing things out so fast onto the bed trying to find it!
I suctioned DS out a little, trying to be very gentle. I don't think I really got anything, but he was starting to breathe a little better.
I found out later that he had been born with the cord wrapped around his neck, and a hand up by his head/neck. We think that's why he was so dark faced. DH was actually worried that he was going to be stillborn.
I don't remember it, but DH went and got the camera and took 2 pictures. I do remember him going down the hall a few minutes after DS was born and realizing that we didn't have a birth time! I called out to him that we needed to know what time it was. He said 2:23, and we figured that DS had been born around 2:18.
Right after that I heard a knock on the door and the MW came in. I called down the hall for her to come in, we had a surprise for her!
She was pretty surprised, considering we had been on the phone just about 15-20 minutes earlier and I didn't sound like I was that close!
She helped me get up on to the bed, and cleaned and covered up. The placenta came with no problem about 10-15 minutes later.
He still has no name, but was 8lbs 4oz, 20 inches long, and had a 14 inch head.
His brothers and sister are completely in love with him, as are DH and I
First pic, minutes old.
Our sweet baby
Big sister holding the baby
DS1 holding the baby
DS2 had to have a turn too!
And Daddy with the baby
Jon is also DH's middle name, I thought it would be kinda cool since he played such a vital role in his birth
(Forewarning..this is very long!)
My EDD was Dec 12th, but I had a very strong feeling that I would be having this babe before then.
There was a wool/yarn dyeing class at our local craft/sewing/knitting store (I go there every tuesday night for knitting night) on Sun. the 7th that I really wanted to go to. I told DH that I could go into labor anytime after about 5:00 on Sunday, but no earlier!
Well, I started having some very mild contrax at around 5:00; the dye class was taking a little longer than we thought, and there were 4 of us still hanging out waiting for our dyes to be set.
Just chit-chatting and having a good time
I figured that I was just having some strong braxton-hicks from not drinking enough water, and when I got home around 6 I started drinking a bunch.
Well, the contrax didn't go away, they started getting a little painful, I was having to focus a bit through them but they weren't very long, and were about 20 minutes apart.
DH and I got the kids to bed (they were really wound up that night!), and I puttered around the house, getting laundry done in case I had to send the kids to Grandma's house that night/the next day, and just some general cleaning up waiting for the contrax to go away.
I finally gave up and headed to bed around midnight, desperately hoping that I could get some sleep as I was pretty exhausted by then.
I drifted off and had a couple of contractions while I was laying down. I thought that maybe the baby was in a bad position, so I ended up on my hands and knees in bed doing pelvic tilts to try to get him to turn where he needed to be (I thought he was probably a bit posterior).
The contractions were getting a bit more painful, I had one that I just layed on my side for that got pretty bad, but if I stayed on my hands and knees they were better.
I think DH came to bed around 1:00. I had told him earlier that I was having spaced out little contractions, so he told me to wake him if I needed anything, then started to go to sleep.
About 110-15 minutes, and 3 contractions later, I decided to call the Midwife and just let her know what was going on.
Once I got up my contractions changed pattern, I started having them just a few minutes apart, but they were shorter (just about 15-20 seconds each).
I was on the phone with the MW for about 7 minutes and had 3 or 4 little contrax that I had to breathe through.
I remember thinking that the baby must be butt out and high, because my belly looked like a melon when I had a contraction
After much indecision about what I wanted her to do, we figured that I would call my MIL to come get the kids (I still wasn't convinced that this was really labor), and then call the MW again to come and check me.
So, right after I got off the phone with her I called my IL's house, FIL answered the phone and said that they would be there in about 20 minutes; that sounded like a long time to me (they live about 7 minutes away)!
MIL showed up about 10 minutes later, and I woke DH up so he could help her get the kids into the car.
She hung out for a good 20 minutes or so, started the car to warm it up and I called the MW again at 2:02; she was already dressed and was just going to swing by her office to grab my charts before she headed over.
The kids were so cute, they were all groggy because it was the middle of the night, but were very excited to be going with Grandma. DD came down the hall and was just beaming up at me "Mama! I didn't know you were going to have the baby TONIGHT!", "Yeah honey, neither did I!"
I started having to moan through the contrax as they were getting their shoes on. I went first in the kitchen, so I wouldn't scare them, then as they were headed out the door I had 2 contrax in the bathroom.
The window was open, and I was vocalizing quite loudly by then (man those suckers came on suddenly!) and remember hoping that nobody was awake nearby as it sounded like we were *ahem* 'getting it on' rather loudly!
I went out to the living room and leaned against the wall, telling DH that I didn't think we were going to have time to do the pool (he had the compressor in and was just starting to blow it up), walked back to the bathroom and had another contraction.
They were so close together, that by the time I walked the few feet back down the hall to grab onto DH I was having another one. MIL had come in again to grab her keys so she could move her car into our driveway (we switched cars so she wouldn't have to move car seats), and as she was getting them I was clutching DH's sleeve thinking that I was making this kind of noise when I was almost fully dilated with DS2!
But it couldn't possibly be happening that fast, I was only just breathing through them 5 minutes ago!
The contraction passed and I went back to DD's room, got the birth kit box out of her closet and tossed it on our bed, had another contraction...was I feeling the urge to push at the end of that one?!?
I turned around to plug in the white christmas lights, they were nice soft light around our little bedroom. I had just enough time to plug them in and turn around and another contraction was on top of me.
I couldn't help it, I started pushing full strength, standing at the end of the bed.
DH rushed in from the living room asking me what I wanted him to do. I was thinking clearly in my head, but couldn't say anything coherent to him. Still in the contraction, and having felt the baby come down I think I yelled something like "I'm having the baby right now!!", he pulled my pants down, DS had already crowned and I pushed his head out with the next push.
I kept pushing a few more times, but he was still in there. My contraction faded, and then returned a few seconds later. Me: "Get it out!!" DH: "Honey, what do you want me to do?!" Me:"...pull it!" then as I pushed again DS was born!
DH: (incredulously)"We have a baby!!"
I looked back and saw his little body, my eyes caught his parts and I said "He's a boy!" I was surprised, I kind of thought he was going to be a girl, but had had so many dreams that he was a boy that I wasn't totally shocked.
Me: "Ok, we have a baby! Ok, wow, ok!"
DH: "We have a little baby boy!"
DH asked what I wanted him to do again, and I told him to hand the baby through my legs and up to me.
He slipped and almost dropped him
I pulled DS up to me, and DH got me a towel to put over him. I just stood there and rubbed him, he was pretty dusky in the face still. I kept rubbing his back, telling him that he should start breathing soon, but not worrying as he was still connected to the placenta for oxygen.
He was a bit gurgley, so I asked DH to get me the bulb syringe that was somewhere in the birth box; he was so cute, he started throwing things out so fast onto the bed trying to find it!
I suctioned DS out a little, trying to be very gentle. I don't think I really got anything, but he was starting to breathe a little better.
I found out later that he had been born with the cord wrapped around his neck, and a hand up by his head/neck. We think that's why he was so dark faced. DH was actually worried that he was going to be stillborn.
I don't remember it, but DH went and got the camera and took 2 pictures. I do remember him going down the hall a few minutes after DS was born and realizing that we didn't have a birth time! I called out to him that we needed to know what time it was. He said 2:23, and we figured that DS had been born around 2:18.
Right after that I heard a knock on the door and the MW came in. I called down the hall for her to come in, we had a surprise for her!
She was pretty surprised, considering we had been on the phone just about 15-20 minutes earlier and I didn't sound like I was that close!
She helped me get up on to the bed, and cleaned and covered up. The placenta came with no problem about 10-15 minutes later.
He still has no name, but was 8lbs 4oz, 20 inches long, and had a 14 inch head.
His brothers and sister are completely in love with him, as are DH and I
First pic, minutes old.
Our sweet baby
Big sister holding the baby
DS1 holding the baby
DS2 had to have a turn too!
And Daddy with the baby
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