Saturday, October 26, 2013

Evan's Birth Story

I am so happy to be home with our little Evan now that he's born :). I really wasn't expecting the birth story to go as it did. In fact, I was not mentally prepared for the birth on Thursday at all.

A few weeks ago I started having a lot of contractions. Most of them were real contractions too. But they always stopped. No contractions were ever consistent. At my 38 week appointment I was dilated to a whopping 1.5, 75% effaced, and a -3 station. I was so bummed about the -3 station. I was told I was low, but I really wasn't! Then on Monday I had my 39 week appointment. I was dilated to 5, 90% effaced, and still a -3 station. I was told not to worry about that because my body was experienced with giving birth. I was also told I'd probably deliver in the next day or two. Well, I didn't deliver in the next day or 2. Instead, I continued to have lots of annoying symptoms that said it could be happening soon. Monday I was up all night with contractions, but they stopped on Tuesday morning. From that point on I was only having about 2 contractions an hour that always just stopped.

On Thursday morning I woke up around 5 AM. I had this feeling that I should go get checked. I just felt like I better make sure I wasn't dilated to a 7 or something. I went in that morning and I was still a 5. But, I was 90% effaced and low! My midwife asked me to come back that afternoon to get a NST again. So I did. They put me on the monitor for about an hour. I had a whopping 3 contractions. And honestly, they weren't bad. My midwife was concerned though because the heart rate kept dropping during those contractions. She asked me to go to the hospital to be monitored just to make sure everything was okay with the placenta. I have to be honest, I was pretty scared at that point. I didn't want a c-section. I called Matt as I drove to the hospital. He got the kids settled with Grammy and met me there.

While I was being monitored everything looked fantastic. But the midwife and I agreed that since I was already a 5 that morning and I was hooked up to all the monitors, I should just be induced. When she went to check me we were all shocked with what I was dilated to. I was an 8!!! I no longer needed induced, I was in labor. Except I didn't feel that way at all :). They broke my water at 7:32. I updated my status on FB at 7:33. And at 7:35 my first REALLY BAD contraction hit. I had been hoping to use the tub so I could avoid an epidural for weeks. Well, I started screaming during the first contraction after they broke my water. I screamed for my epidural, but it was too late. I was already getting close to a 9. I couldn't even get in the really nice tub!

At this point, I'll spare you the gross details. I delivered my baby at 8:19. Yes, I delivered my baby in 45 minutes after walking into the hospital having hardly any contractions. Had I not gone to the hospital for monitoring, I would have delivered the baby in the car or even at home. There was no way I would have made it to the hospital. I am so thankful for the Mommy Intuition that I had on Thursday morning to go get checked just to be sure. :) I really didn't mind the natural delivery either. Once I knew how to push, it wasn't that bad. In fact, I liked it much better than the epidural. But, I had a very fast delivery. I'm also so thankful for my midwives. I got the midwife that I really wanted, a midwife in training that used to be a doula, and an awesome nurse. Oh, and I was able to deliver my baby on my side. I was so thankful for that! I really couldn't be happier with the care that I was given, or how fast the birth was. And, I got a pretty cute baby out of it too :).

Here are the stats on our sweet boy.

Evan Joseph Slocum
October 24, 2013
7 lbs 2 oz
20 inches long

Monday, October 7, 2013

FULL TERM

We made it! The 37 week mark has FINALLY arrived. I said "we" made it because I feel like we really have done this together. My husband has lived through many many different hormones for quite a long time. First, we survived 25 weeks of hormones with Ezekiel's pregnancy. Then we lost him and he helped me through the grief. Two months later we found out we were pregnant again. That brought on an entire new set of emotional ups and downs. We have now lived through months and months of emotional roller coasters. And I have to say, I'm so glad it's almost over :). I couldn't have survived this without my husband (he's my rock). So yes, WE MADE IT!

I have to say, I am so ready to have this baby. I know they look even cuter the longer they wait to be born. But seriously, I'm so ready to have this baby! I am ready to find out whether it's a girl or a boy. I am ready to pull out all the cute boy or girl clothes! I'm ready to smell that precious newborn head :). I am ready to hold him or her in my arms for the first time. And I can't WAIT to hear that first cry.

As of right now, everything looks fantastic with this pregnancy. I've had 7 ultrasounds this time around due to our previous stillbirth. I have non-stress tests done at each weekly appointment as well. At our last ultrasound (at 35 weeks) the baby weighed about 5 lbs 9 oz. I'm guessing we will have about 7 and a half lb baby. I do plan to try to not be induced this time around. Although I did tell Matt I'm not going to go 2 days over my due date. It's quite emotional to be pregnant again after burying a child you were never given the privilege to truly meet. So that's my cutoff. I really do want to try and have a natural delivery as well. Epidurals make me shake for hours and hours. They make me feel like an invalid. I can't feel myself push, and then I can't even get up after the baby is born to help take care of my baby! I have a few other reasons why I'd prefer to not have an epidural this time around, but those are the main points that most people would understand.

If you think of it, please pray that we deliver a healthy baby. The birth process will be emotional for me as last time I never did get to hear a cry from my baby. I am sure many emotions will arise during this delivery. Yet I'm super excited to know that it could be any day now! God is good, ALL THE TIME!! I'm so thankful for that.

37 Weeks