He is here! He was born about 4:30 PM on Wednesday, September 5th after an induction.
They started her induction late the night before with Certivil (or however you spell that) and then got the Petocin going on Wednesday morning. She progressed very quickly. All day I got text and phone call updates. When I would ask how she was doing, it was always that she was sleeping or very groggy. It seems that she got an epidural about 2 CM and they just kept pumping it up more and more. She also was given oral pain medication which made her very drowsy the entire time.
I was coping alright most of the day, but when I got the text that she was 10 CM I burst into tears. Really, I am not sure why. Maybe because I wasn’t ready to deal with him actually arriving? Maybe because I was unable to dilate and had a C-section after three tough days of induction? Even processing my emotions for several days now I still don’t know why I started crying.
After I got the 10 CM text I expected his arrival very soon. But it took 2-3 hours more. She just couldn’t push him out. They had to use the vacuum 3 times to pull him out since she could not push him out. And she tore all the way back (ouch!). Apparently, after she gave birth she did not even want to hold him – neither she nor J held him until later in the evening. Everyone said she couldn’t push him out because he is so big (8 lbs 11 oz), but I think she was just too drugged up to actively push. But then again…what do I know…It’s not like I’ve given birth vaginally before.
We went to the hospital that night to meet him. He looks like a cabbage patch doll to me – and I mean that in an endearing way. I brought H a “gift bag” with items like sanitary pads, tucks, nursing pads, etc. All the things that I figured would make her more comfortable, but that I was sure she hadn’t thought to buy or pack. Maybe not the cutest new baby gift bag, but practical none the less.
When we first arrived at the hospital the doctor still stitching H’s massive tear, so we got to watch our nephew’s first bath through the nursery window. This was special since Leland had his first bath on the same exact table in that very nursery fourteen months ago. While we were watching the bath we actually bumped into my Labor & Delivery nurse (who was in on my c-section). It was nice to see her and get to tell her just how wonderful she was to us. A short time later, they rolled H down the hall. She looked shell-shocked, like she had just witnessed (or experienced) something very traumatic.
Oh…and of course there had to be some drama. Thankfully, I was only attached to a small part of it. The major drama came when H was pushing and wanted everyone but J out of the room. My in-laws left, but J’s mother stuck around….TAKING PICTURES! Needless to say…there was lots of drama.
The minor drama followed my holding my nephew for the first time. He had been passed between several family members before I held him. When I got him he was barely wrapped in the blanket – really the blanket was just under him. His hands we cold and he just seems uneasy. So I laid him in the crib a second and swaddled him tightly before continuing to rock him. Later, when my mother-in-law asked, I showed her how I had wrapped him, using just a blanket and no baby. Apparently, I upset them and comments were made that they don’t have to do everything just exactly like Robert and I. I mean…really? Are we 5 years old? No…I guess you don’t have to have a warm baby like us…he can be cold if he wants to be?!?
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