He is Here!!

Baby Artie has arrived! He was born on Sunday, May 29 at 9:52 AM. He weighed in at 8 pounds 10 ounces and is 20 1/2 inches long! Big boy!

I woke up Sunday morning around 2 or 3 AM and had a few painful contractions but I was able to fall back asleep. Then, I noted a time of 4:09 when I had a very painful contraction....it was definitely different than the Braxton-Hicks contractions. I got up to use the bathroom and try and walk off the pain. Arthur woke up a little bit later and I told him I'd had 3 at irregular times. I went downstairs because I couldn't go back to sleep, and they just started getting more consistent and more painful. I knew this was it, so I hopped in the shower at 5AM and then called my doctor. She delivered Addy and knew of my quick labors, so she said to go on in to the hospital....even though the contractions were not regular times apart (it was like 8 minutes, then 12 minutes, then 5 minutes, etc). She said she trusted my judgment.

We called Arthur's parents to come stay with the girls and then got to the hospital around 6AM. When they checked I was only 2 cm dilated. SOOOOO frustrating, but then I remembered I wasn't much further along with Addy but that I progressed very quickly. They ended up talking with my doctor by phone and decided I should stay. So began the wait. No pain meds. I got all hooked up to the monitors and they got the IV thing set up for the "just in case" moments. Then, I was able to walk around to help with the contraction pain. I am so thankful for that....I don't think I could've done the labor if I had to stay in bed!

Around 7:40 they checked again and I was at 6 cm! My water had not yet broken, so my doctor came in and broke it, thinking I would go even quicker at that point. Not so. I kind of plateaued for a bit at 7 cm. The doctor and nurse said they'd be down the hall and for Arthur to just let them know when I thought I was ready to push (my doctor REALLY trusted my judgment on this...based on my labor with Addy; I love that doctor...she's great!). So, I did have to stay in bed at this point because my water had broken and I was leaking, but I found a comfortable upright position that allowed me to rest on my hands when I needed to rock the pain away. Around 9:15, the pain became very intense. I started doing my third stage lamaze breathing but it was making me dizzy, so I just stuck with my slow, deep breaths from earlier in labor. Closing my eyes made me dizzy as well, so I really had to focus to do all my relaxation and focal stuff. I'm soooo glad I stuck with it - it really helped me to remember to breath and think through the pain. I used the wave and tunnel focal things - picturing the contraction as a wave and knowing it would crest at some point or thinking of a tunnel and that I could see the other end, but I had to keep walking to get there. I also used the thoughts of what was actually happening inside my body and how each contraction was moving the baby further and further down the birth canal and that every second of pain was a second closer to seeing him (that one helped the most!).

I had Arthur run out to get the nurse and doctor around 9:30, I think (didn't really note the time, just a guess). I told them I felt as though I was sitting on the baby's head, which is exactly what I felt with Addy right before I pushed. They came in (the room was already all set up) and the doctor said I measured 9cm but that I could probably push through and deliver at that point.

Two pushes and Artie's head was out. They had a mirror set up, so I could see him be born. It was amazing! Two more pushes and he was out. It hurt very bad....I won't lie. I felt like I was going to pass out briefly, just like with Addy. You never really get used to that pain. LOL. He had his right hand up by his face, so that kind of made the pain worse. Then, my doctor said "wow, this is a big baby for you." They weighed him and sure enough - 8 lbs and 10 oz! I was amazed. My belly never looked big enough for that size baby!! But, he was perfect and crying and I was elated. I held him right away and he latched on to nurse immediately! It was awesome!

After they took him to the nursery, they noticed his blood sugar was a little low (common in bigger babies, I guess), so they did give him formula to help with that. He was fine after that and with all the other sugar checks.

We came home the following day in the afternoon...I hate being in the hospital. It's boring, and I don't sleep well and I feel like I'm in more pain because I'm just sitting on that bed all day, unable to sit comfortably.

Today, I took him for his 3 day weight check. He is at 8lbs 4.5 oz, so he lost a little but is doing well. Slightly jaundice looking today, but the doctor isn't worried and didn't check his blood. I take him back on Saturday just to follow up on that. Otherwise, he is doing great.

The whole circumcision thing is different. I worry about getting peed on during diaper changes and about being extra careful when putting on the medicated ointment for the circumcision incision. It looks like it would be so painful, and I feel like I'm hurting him to apply it. :( But, he tolerates it and is doing great the doctor said.

The first night home, we had to wake him to eat after 4 hrs. Last night he wasn't as easy and fussed every other hour it seemed. So, I nursed him a lot more last night. Hoping that tonight goes smoothly, but he's been napping for 3 hours now (worn out from the dr's office, I think), so we'll see how tired he is tonight.

I am so happy he is here and that we are home now. He is absolutely perfect and gorgeous! I couldn't have asked for a better pregnancy and delivery. I am pretty sore and in pain most of the day, but I expected that. I don't remember this much pain with Addy afterward, but with her I took a prescription pain medication to help with that. I declined it this time because the cramps weren't too bad at the hospital and I figured there was no need to have that in my system while I'm nursing. I'm kind of thinking those meds would be nice at night for the cramps and pressure, but oh well. I'll tough it out. I made it through the delivery, so I'm pretty sure I can handle a few cramps. :)

I will put a picture up at some point. And, I will be taking a break from blogging until next week. We are trying to get a routine down and just stay awake during the day :), so I'll put off doing anything extra for the week.

Thanks for all the well wishes on Facebook and elsewhere. We are very blessed to be a family of 6 now!