As for his birth day...if you had asked me 2 months ago how I envisioned Brendan's birth, it would have been totally opposite of what really happened (well, except the epidural. God bless that epidural!). My due date was June 19, and from the start, I was totally convinced that he was going to come early. At every ultrasound, he measured ahead of schedule, and I just had that gut feeling. He also always showed to be in the perfect position for a natural birth and everything looked perfect.
Boy, was I off.
In early June, my doctor's office scheduled an induction date of June 23rd, just in case he did not arrive by the 19th. I didn't think much of it since I assumed he'd be here early (the 11th specifically stood out in my mind for some reason). On Sunday June 8th, I started feeling extreme back pain with some cramping. Finally, around 11:00 that night, I called my doctor's office and the doctor on call told me to go in to the hospital. Being the planner I am, our bags had been packed and ready to go for weeks, so Mike loaded up the car just in case, and off we went. We spent 3 hours in the hospital as I was hooked up to a monitor to watch my contractions and the baby's heart rate. Since I wasn't dilated far enough, they sent us home. However, I was convinced that it was going to happen for real any day at that point. For the next 2 weeks, I did everything possible to help get this kid out. I took Penny on 2 mile walks every morning, ate the spiciest food I could find, sat on a yoga ball...you name it, I did it. June 19th rolled around and nothing had happened. Any contractions I'd had were irregular, and my water hadn't broken. On Friday, June 20th, I went to see my doctor so that they could do a pre-delivery checkup on me and everything looked perfect. My doctor was even convinced that I would deliver on my own over the weekend, and not make it to Monday since Brendan was ready to come out.
Wrong again.
I know this sounds crazy, but I was really looking forward to that moment where the contractions were strong enough or my water broke, so that I could run and tell Mike "it's time!" They had scheduled us to arrive at the hospital at 4:30 a.m. on Monday morning. Naturally, I barely slept on Sunday night. I was excited to meet Brendan, but a little nervous that they were going to induce. They had us check in and once I was all settled in the delivery room, my doctor came in around 5:30 a.m. and broke my water and said I was 3 cm. dilated. Then they started to issue the petocin and that's when the sh*t hit the fan...those contractions were WAY different than the ones I'd been getting on my own. I admire all the women who don't get an epidural because that's not easy. Definitely one of the worst pains OF MY LIFE! A little while later, they gave me the epidural and it was like euphoria. My doctor came in and said they had actually turned off the petocin since I had started contracting on my own, and had just needed a little kick start. Around 12:00, she came back in and said I was fully dilated and ready to go soon! Around 1:30, I began to push. For some reason, Brendan's heart rate kept dropping every time I pushed, and he didn't wanna come out. Just before 3:00, the doctor came back in and said that she wasn't comfortable with me pushing any more because of his heart rate, and wanted to deliver via C-section. I was crushed since I was so close and I knew it meant a lot for Mike to cut the umbillical cord. However, I wanted what was best for the baby, and I knew that a C-section was my safest bet for him. That happened so fast. They wheeled me into the O.R., issued the additional epidural and medications, and by 3:19, he was out. It turns out, his umbilical cord was wrapped around his mid-section, which was preventing him from coming out, hence the heart rate dropping. They didn't know that until they did the C-section, so looking back, I'm glad they did what they did for the safety and health of Brendan.
I was scared and nervous. I was a little loopy from being on additional meds, but I will never, ever forget that first time I heard him cry. It was the best sound I've ever heard in my life. Mike peeked over the curtain and told me how cute he was and a few minutes later, they brought him over and showed him to me. It was so surreal. I couldn't believe our little man was finally here. After they cleaned him up and weighed him, they brought him over to me and I remember saying "I love you so much" to him. It's amazing how you can say that and mean it to someone you just met.
The recovery was tough. I was sick to my stomach and out of it for most of the day, and the days after that in the hospital were rough from the surgery. We were blessed to have such wonderful doctors and nurses there to take care of us, and what's most important is that Brendan was in perfect health. I'm feeling much better now and my doctor did a great job with the c-section. Yes, it was tough, but I would do it all over again since it brought me the greatest gift in the world. I've driven by the hospital a few times since his birth, and get nostalgic every time. In a strange way, I wish I was back there to do it all over again, aches, pains and all. Today, Brendan is one month old and I can't believe it! Time flies very fast, and I'm cherishing every minute with him. Mike has been a wonderful daddy and Penny has been great too - she always wants to be wherever we are and runs to his side when he cries.
Welcome to the world, Brendan Richard! You were so worth the wait :)
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