Labor & Delivery

WARNING: If you are sensitive to words like dilated, contractions, and umbilical cord, you should probably just skip this post.

After the drama of Sunday day, we rushed to the hospital to be induced. Of course the nurses and doctors do this every day so this is run of the mill for them. We were a touch more hasty. Things started smoothly though. I was dilated 2 cm. The doctor tried to break my water but it was too painful, so they started the pitocin instead to get the contractions moving along. Quinn and I watched a few episodes of Pawn Stars and tried to be patient. The contractions started getting pretty strong around 11:00 pm so the nurse called in the anesthesiologist for the epidural. About an hour and a dozen needle sticks later (not kidding - ouch!) I finally had the good stuff coursing through my veins. The nurse said my spine is oddly shaped and that's why it took so long to get the needle in.

The next couple hours are very blurry. I know the nurses came in often to check on us and do minor procedures, but Quinn and I slept through most of it. The contractions were coming fast and I was progressing very quickly. I dilated four centimeters in about 30 minutes. It was a little disorienting for things to progress so quickly. When Nora was born, she was in such distress that the nurses kept turning the pitocin up and down, and I labored for more than twelve hours. Not this time.

Around 2:30 am I started to feel like I really needed to push. Like really. An epidural is a weird thing because you can feel the pressure, but not the pain. And I really had no experience with it since the epidural for my first pregnancy worked during labor, but not delivery. Quinn worked really hard to distract me as I tried not to push, but finally I told the nurse that I had to. She checked me again and told me I was fully dilated - go time. I pushed about a dozen times, with my doctor there for the last three, and our boy was here!

We were all surprised by how big he was: 9 lbs 8 oz and 21 inches. More than a pound bigger than Nora! I got to hold him right away for a few minutes, but then medical personnel whisked him away to do their things.

As you can see in the pictures his nose and skull are a little smashed, but he's a pretty good-looking baby. All thanks to my wide birthing hips!

I don't really think anyone looks good in these hospital gowns...

Texting everyone a play by play.

He was pretty mad... It must be very disorienting.

He's a little smashed up, but a very handsome boy! And look at his round belly!

I think that's where all the weight is from because he is so skinny otherwise.