On Wednesday, May 25 we welcomed the newest member of our family...baby Nicholas. It was quite the day. I cannot really say eventful since most of it was just sitting around waiting for his arrival...but interesting it was...at least for me.
I was huge. For months I was asked if I was having multiples or if the doctor thought we were really having such a big baby. I was so frustrated. When the doctor mentioned induction, I jumped at the chance to have this boy a week or even a day early. A day it ended up being. Finally, I was going to evict Nicholas on May 25, exactly one day prior to his long awaited due date. Ironically, Nora was also born one day before her due date...I must have a thing for that.
May 25th arrived and we headed off to the hospital early in the morning. I was quickly having contractions thanks to the pitocin cocktail they gave me. Well, the adventure starts. This kid was not liking the idea of being forced to come out. During each contraction his heart rate would drop significantly. The concern was that he was laying on his umbilical cord and breaking his bag of water was putting too much pressure on him. So we slow things down and re-pumped my body full of saline. This worked. He started tolerating the contractions much better, although still not perfectly. We moved forward. I quickly responded to the medicine at this point and dilated to a 9 somewhere around 1pm. Here we go, not too bad of a day, I can do this.
What I did not know is that he refused to drop. So my body was ready but Nicholas was playing by his rules. So once again, they slowed my labor with the hopes the contractions I was having would naturally push him down. So there I sat...again...for hours.
Somewhere in between the "9" and starting to push, his heart rate continued to drop here and there. Although they tried to hide it, there were a couple times the nurses and residents would rush into the room only to play the old "something must have been up with the computer" trick.
Still I wanted to try this the "old fashion way" and push this kid through my vagina. The doctor showed up and agreed to let me push. This was about 6pm. I was already exhausted from laying in bed since the wee early hours of the morning and Nicholas had refused to do any of this on his own (is this foreshadowing anything).
30-45 minutes of pushing...fail. Baby turned from "sunny side up" position 3 times...fail. Baby predicted to be the size of a small whale (this is true, my last sonogram averaged him at 9lbs, 12oz)...fail. Doc said it was time to consider a c-section...fail.
Honestly, I was all that upset about the c-section...I was tired and ready for this production to be over. I was; however, completely freaking out about the thought of surgery...this was a first for me. And of all the times to have a first, this would result in the work of taking care of a small person and being cut open. YIKES.
Okay...my first experience in the operating room was a trip. Did you know they actually do a "roll call"? I kind of felt like I was on candid camera. The room was bright and white and buzzing with people. With all the drugs it was a little like an out of body experience...my eyes were wide open but my mind and body were somewhere else completely. I tried my best to focus on why I was there (baby Nicholas) but sometimes all I could focus on was why I was there (cutting me from one side of my uterus to the next). After some tugging and pulling, Nicholas entered the world at 7:32pm...I know this only for the picture of the clock I forced George to take. I start hearing conversations about something like layers of stitches and staple guns. I was out...fade to black.
Next thing I remember is being asked if I wanted to feed my new baby while in the recovery room. Well, scared I would miss out on something I agreed to it. Needless to say I could not keep my eyes open and was not really sure I could even hold a feather in my hand much less a squirmy hungry baby, but I nursed that baby for the first time. Thank you God for not letting me drop my precious baby onto the floor within minutes of his birth.
The best part of the whole evening finally came at about 9:30pm. The first meeting of Nora and her little brother, Nicholas. Needless to say it was love at first sight!!!!
What a day. I am sure I am missing details but as they say...this is a long story short (well it is really a long story long...but I digress).
