I have always been super nervous about giving birth. It terrified me. Throughout the pregnancy, I simply pushed the thought from my mind. Literally, I didn't think about having to actually give birth. That is how I coped. So here I am, in the hospital, hours from having to give birth, and I was totally fine with it. I was so excited to not be pregnant {& meet baby} that I had no fear.
Before I left my doctors office that morning he checked where I was at and I was 50% effaced and dilated to a 1+. So to get things started, at 4:30 p.m. they gave me a dose of Cytotec to help soften my cervix. Then we had to wait 4 hours for that to do its thing before they could start me on Pitocin. At 8:30 p.m. I was put on a very small amount of Pitocin. I was very comfortable throughout all of this. It wasn't until my doctor came in at 11 p.m. to break my water that things started to get uncomfortable. At that time I was only dilated to a 2, but I was 90% effaced. He told us, he was going home and going to bed...I think he thought he would be getting more sleep than he ended up getting. :) After being miserable for a few hours, I had enough, but was not ready for the epidural. Instead they gave me some pain medication and I immediately felt relaxed and much better. At this point I was only dilated to a 3. The pain medication didn't keep me comfortable for very long and at 3:30 a.m. I got the epidural. After settling back into the hospital bed, I realized I was still feeling intense contractions on the right side of my abdomen. The nurse called the anesthesiologist to come and fix the problem, but things quickly got hectic and I never saw the anesthesiologist again. While waiting for the anesthesiologist, the nurse checked where I was at, and excitedly reported I was dilated to an 8 or 9. Jordan went out into the hallway to report the good news to my parents. Just as he stepped out the door, I saw the look on the nurses face. She started fiddling with the monitor on my belly that monitored the baby's heartbeat. Having no luck on her own, 5 more nurses quickly rushed to my bedside. They put an oxygen mask over my face and another nurse checked what I was dilated to while another searched for a heartbeat. I was now dilated to a 9 and I heard the nurses saying to "get a table ready" (meaning C-Section). Tears streamed down my face and I saw Jordan peek his head into the room. Him and my parents were confused as to why nurses started flooding into my room. He lipped the words, "Are you okay?" And I quickly shook my head, "NO!" They did find the baby's heartbeat eventually and they called my doctor. He got there at 4 a.m. Thankfully, they did not rush me into a C-Section and after 30 minutes of labor at 4:36 a.m., our
sweet, perfect Oliver was laid across my chest.
They told me because I had progressed so quickly from being dilated at a 3 to a 9, Oliver kind of spasmed {something called Coning} and that was what happened with his heartbeat.
We both got a clean bill of health {well, sort of, my blood pressure was still way high, but I guess my doctor wasn't concerned about it...hopefully it has gone down since}, and we were both released to go home the next day.
Our entourage...
Dad, Uncle Gary, Aunt Kathy, Mom, Megan, and
Oliver.
The {New} Rogers Family
Uncle Chris (not pictured, or was pictured, but I didn't get sent the picture) & Uncle Tim drove up from Dallas to meet their new nephew.
Jordan's parents came to see Ollie too! He is very popular!
Check out my feet in the upper right corner of this next picture. Also check out the long, skinny, string-bean, cutie pie named
Oliver.
In one week the water weight, and then some, melted off of me. I lost 40 pounds in one week and have lost 5 more since. This picture really puts it in perspective.
From the second that cute boy was out of me, I have been feeling absolutely fabulous! Being pregnant was horrible & I do not miss it for one minute!
Plus, I absolutely adore my boy!
He has been an absolute pleasure! He is such a pleasant baby. He sleeps a lot and only cries if he is naked or hungry. He is growing big and I can just stare at that cute face all day long. In fact, I do stare at it all day!
Cadbury has done wonderfully with the new babe. Only a couple times has he snuck a lick or two on those long baby feet. Other than that, he goes on about his own business. I don't think he is a huge fan of the interruptions to his sleep at night though. Jordan snapped this pic after one of the longer nights...
and on another morning, we found him hiding {mostly} under the bed.
We feel overwhelmed with the countless blessings this new baby has brought into our lives.
Life is good!
