Henry's Birth Story--Part 2
We got maybe a couple more interrupted hours of sleep, and then around 6:00 my nurse came in to check my cervix and to let me know that her shift would be ending soon. I was still at 5 cm dilated, but she told me (and this is kinda gross), that she could feel the amniotic sac "bulging", and that it was very close to breaking. She came back an hour later to say goodbye and to introduce my new nurses, Carmen and Ashley. All 3 of these women were precious, and I felt so bonded to them after just a few hours.
We contacted our families to let them know what was going on, and they began arriving at the hospital shortly after. I knew I wanted Amanda in the room and so she got to the hospital pretty early. Dr Aulds (who, by the way, delivered me and my 2 siblings, as well as Amanda's kids), came in around 9:00 I believe, and when he checked me, he pricked the sac and broke my water. Things started speeding up from there, and are honestly a bit of a blur. I dilated the last 5 cm within the next few hours, but it was just a lot of waiting around. My parents and in laws took turns coming in to visit and keep us company, and I snuck some crackers cause I was starving and knew I needed to keep my energy up. The nurses came in around noon and said that I was fully dilated, but that they wanted to let the contractions work the baby down into the birth canal a bit further before I started pushing.
There's no way to say this nicely; I wasn't in any pain because of the epidural, but I had the most intense pressure in my bottom (again, gross), and it was highly uncomfortable. I knew when a contraction was coming because the pressure would start building. Around 1:45, Carmen and Ashley came in and Ashley said "Are you ready to have a baby?!" It was SO SURREAL. I had lived in dread of this moment for as long as I can remember, yet when the time came, I was calm and excited. I got a little worried because at this point I was able to lift my left leg and put it in the stirrup myself. I was so scared that the epidural was just going to quite working right in the middle of pushing, but luckily it didn't! They told me that 3 times during each contraction, I was going to take a big breath and push as hard as I could for 10 seconds. They could see when the contractions were coming because of the monitors, but I could feel them before the machines detected them because of the horrible pressure in my bottom.
Every time I would push, Carmen would help hold my legs back and Ashley would use her fingers to try to work Henry's head out. After maybe 20-30 minutes of this, they called Dr. Aulds to come deliver the baby. All I remember is that he told me that there was a piece of cervical membrane that was keeping the baby from coming. He was afraid that if the tissue broke, Henry would come out very quickly and that I would have a bad tear. He said he was going to have to do a small episiotomy and I flipped out! I was absolutely panicked. The thought of him cutting me "down there" was worse than the thought of pushing out a baby, but it was done while I was pushing and I couldn't feel a thing. All of a sudden, Henry slid out so fast that I screamed a little. It felt like my guts had just been ripped out and it was a little startling. Those moments were such a blur that I don't even remember what his cry first sounded like. Dr. Aulds said "This is a big baby." and I said "He is????" Everyone acted shocked at his size, and when they weighed and measured him, he was 9 lbs 12 oz and 21.5" long. Quite a big boy!
I ended up with a second degree tear because of Henry's size, and Dr. Aulds stitched me up while they bathed Henry. I remember thinking how unfair that I was laying in bed getting stitches in my crotch while Caleb was bathing Henry. 😂 They cleaned him up (I had requested that they clean him before giving him to me, and now I feel like a total jerk!) and handed him to me, and it was love at first sight. There is no way to prepare for the emotions you feel when handed your baby for the first time. There aren't words to describe it. I didn't cry, which surprised me. I was just kind of in shock. It was just so surreal.
That was the happiest day of my life, and I don't ever want to forget any of it. Becoming a mom was a dream come true, and I thank God every single day for our precious blessing! As promised, here are lots of pictures. My one regret from this day was wearing my glasses and looking like a huge nerd! 😂 I truly cannot believe that this was one year ago today.
If you missed part 1 of Henry's birth story, you can read that here.
We contacted our families to let them know what was going on, and they began arriving at the hospital shortly after. I knew I wanted Amanda in the room and so she got to the hospital pretty early. Dr Aulds (who, by the way, delivered me and my 2 siblings, as well as Amanda's kids), came in around 9:00 I believe, and when he checked me, he pricked the sac and broke my water. Things started speeding up from there, and are honestly a bit of a blur. I dilated the last 5 cm within the next few hours, but it was just a lot of waiting around. My parents and in laws took turns coming in to visit and keep us company, and I snuck some crackers cause I was starving and knew I needed to keep my energy up. The nurses came in around noon and said that I was fully dilated, but that they wanted to let the contractions work the baby down into the birth canal a bit further before I started pushing.
There's no way to say this nicely; I wasn't in any pain because of the epidural, but I had the most intense pressure in my bottom (again, gross), and it was highly uncomfortable. I knew when a contraction was coming because the pressure would start building. Around 1:45, Carmen and Ashley came in and Ashley said "Are you ready to have a baby?!" It was SO SURREAL. I had lived in dread of this moment for as long as I can remember, yet when the time came, I was calm and excited. I got a little worried because at this point I was able to lift my left leg and put it in the stirrup myself. I was so scared that the epidural was just going to quite working right in the middle of pushing, but luckily it didn't! They told me that 3 times during each contraction, I was going to take a big breath and push as hard as I could for 10 seconds. They could see when the contractions were coming because of the monitors, but I could feel them before the machines detected them because of the horrible pressure in my bottom.
Every time I would push, Carmen would help hold my legs back and Ashley would use her fingers to try to work Henry's head out. After maybe 20-30 minutes of this, they called Dr. Aulds to come deliver the baby. All I remember is that he told me that there was a piece of cervical membrane that was keeping the baby from coming. He was afraid that if the tissue broke, Henry would come out very quickly and that I would have a bad tear. He said he was going to have to do a small episiotomy and I flipped out! I was absolutely panicked. The thought of him cutting me "down there" was worse than the thought of pushing out a baby, but it was done while I was pushing and I couldn't feel a thing. All of a sudden, Henry slid out so fast that I screamed a little. It felt like my guts had just been ripped out and it was a little startling. Those moments were such a blur that I don't even remember what his cry first sounded like. Dr. Aulds said "This is a big baby." and I said "He is????" Everyone acted shocked at his size, and when they weighed and measured him, he was 9 lbs 12 oz and 21.5" long. Quite a big boy!
I ended up with a second degree tear because of Henry's size, and Dr. Aulds stitched me up while they bathed Henry. I remember thinking how unfair that I was laying in bed getting stitches in my crotch while Caleb was bathing Henry. 😂 They cleaned him up (I had requested that they clean him before giving him to me, and now I feel like a total jerk!) and handed him to me, and it was love at first sight. There is no way to prepare for the emotions you feel when handed your baby for the first time. There aren't words to describe it. I didn't cry, which surprised me. I was just kind of in shock. It was just so surreal.
That was the happiest day of my life, and I don't ever want to forget any of it. Becoming a mom was a dream come true, and I thank God every single day for our precious blessing! As promised, here are lots of pictures. My one regret from this day was wearing my glasses and looking like a huge nerd! 😂 I truly cannot believe that this was one year ago today.
If you missed part 1 of Henry's birth story, you can read that here.
Happy first birthday to my sweet, precious Henry!
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