Samuel's arrival
Well we've been 'home' for a couple of days now and I still can't believe everything that has happened up until now. That the precious little baby boy I hold in my arms is mine and that now Roberto and I are parents, wow. It truly is the most humbling experience, I am in such awe. We are very, very happy.
So I'm sure you want details as to how Samuel was born so here it goes.
On Thursday, Dec. 16 which is the exact due date I was given, at 5:30ish in the morning I wake up to find that I have "bloody show", which I kept on having throughout the day. I also started feeling some mild contractions that come maybe every 20 to 30 minutes that feel like menstrual cramps. So Roberto, my mom and I decide to go to the mall to walk. The day passes on and the contractions kept coming, slowly getting stronger and closer together. Since I didn't want to go to the hospital early and be sent home, I figured I would go when the contractions were about 3-5 mins apart for more than an hour. So around 10:30 p.m. that night we decide to go to the hospital to see how I'm progressing.
I get to the hospital and get checked and not to my surprise I was only dilated 1 and a half cm and 80% effaced. So they give me an hour to progress and check again. No change. So they call my doctor to see what she says. To my surprise the nurse comes in and tells me that because my blood pressure was high when I got to the hospital my doctor wanted me to stay and have the baby. They were going to give me oxytocin to help me progress and we were going to have the baby that day.
So considering how slow I was progressing and how much stronger the contractions were coming, I asked for the epidural. So they prep me for the epidural, I got it, then they put me on oxytocin and then the time came to wait. This was the hardest part about my labor, it took until 1:30 p.m. (about 13 hours) for me to get to an 8. Around this time I also felt a strong urge to push and pain since I didn't notice that the pain meds were wearing off. So after I got more pain meds to feel better and wait some more I get checked again at 3:20 p.m. and I was still at an 8.
So my doctor tells me that since it had been about 2 hours with no progress I had to start thinking about a C-Section. My Father comes and he and Roberto give me a blessing, praying that I would keep progressing and have a natural birth. Something inside of me already told me that it wasn't going to happen, all I thought to myself was, thy will be done, this wasn't something in my control.
The doctor was very considerate and gave me even another hour to see if the cervix would change and open up more but to no avail, it just wasn't changing. Of course this is where I felt very frustrated. Its so different saying something and then actually going through it. Of course I knew that a C-section was a possibility but when the time came for me to accept that it was going to happen to me, I felt kind of cheated. After all that time of waiting and hoping to have the birth I thought could happened, it came down to this.
So of course this is where I think really hard about what is going to happen and I accept it. I look at Roberto and say "We're going to have our baby." And that's when I realized that that's all that really mattered. I did my part already and now I was submitting myself to what was happening. I signed the papers and I was sent to have the C-section.
I was so drugged up that I wasn't really there when they were operating on me. All I remember is hearing Samuel cry and then turning to Roberto and crying and giving him a kiss. Then they showed Samuel to me and the rest is history.
I am so grateful that I have been given this precious gift of being a Mother. My baby is all I could have ever imagined. He is perfect just the way he came to us. I love you Samuel.
So I'm sure you want details as to how Samuel was born so here it goes.
On Thursday, Dec. 16 which is the exact due date I was given, at 5:30ish in the morning I wake up to find that I have "bloody show", which I kept on having throughout the day. I also started feeling some mild contractions that come maybe every 20 to 30 minutes that feel like menstrual cramps. So Roberto, my mom and I decide to go to the mall to walk. The day passes on and the contractions kept coming, slowly getting stronger and closer together. Since I didn't want to go to the hospital early and be sent home, I figured I would go when the contractions were about 3-5 mins apart for more than an hour. So around 10:30 p.m. that night we decide to go to the hospital to see how I'm progressing.
I get to the hospital and get checked and not to my surprise I was only dilated 1 and a half cm and 80% effaced. So they give me an hour to progress and check again. No change. So they call my doctor to see what she says. To my surprise the nurse comes in and tells me that because my blood pressure was high when I got to the hospital my doctor wanted me to stay and have the baby. They were going to give me oxytocin to help me progress and we were going to have the baby that day.
So considering how slow I was progressing and how much stronger the contractions were coming, I asked for the epidural. So they prep me for the epidural, I got it, then they put me on oxytocin and then the time came to wait. This was the hardest part about my labor, it took until 1:30 p.m. (about 13 hours) for me to get to an 8. Around this time I also felt a strong urge to push and pain since I didn't notice that the pain meds were wearing off. So after I got more pain meds to feel better and wait some more I get checked again at 3:20 p.m. and I was still at an 8.
So my doctor tells me that since it had been about 2 hours with no progress I had to start thinking about a C-Section. My Father comes and he and Roberto give me a blessing, praying that I would keep progressing and have a natural birth. Something inside of me already told me that it wasn't going to happen, all I thought to myself was, thy will be done, this wasn't something in my control.
The doctor was very considerate and gave me even another hour to see if the cervix would change and open up more but to no avail, it just wasn't changing. Of course this is where I felt very frustrated. Its so different saying something and then actually going through it. Of course I knew that a C-section was a possibility but when the time came for me to accept that it was going to happen to me, I felt kind of cheated. After all that time of waiting and hoping to have the birth I thought could happened, it came down to this.
So of course this is where I think really hard about what is going to happen and I accept it. I look at Roberto and say "We're going to have our baby." And that's when I realized that that's all that really mattered. I did my part already and now I was submitting myself to what was happening. I signed the papers and I was sent to have the C-section.
I was so drugged up that I wasn't really there when they were operating on me. All I remember is hearing Samuel cry and then turning to Roberto and crying and giving him a kiss. Then they showed Samuel to me and the rest is history.
I am so grateful that I have been given this precious gift of being a Mother. My baby is all I could have ever imagined. He is perfect just the way he came to us. I love you Samuel.
I am glad to hear that everything turned out okay. I think your perspective is so good. Just do what you can and let the Lord have control of the rest. I love it!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the next few weeks. You're probably pretty busy with a new baby {not to mention sleep deprived!} and getting ready to move. Let me know if I can help you with anything once you're back in town.
At first I felt cheated to, but in perspective, the baby is what is important and there were reasons why the Lord saw fit for him to be delivered that way. I'm so excited to see you and you new little one! Where is it that you live?
ReplyDeleteCongrats again Jessica. I'm sorry it wasn't the experience that you hoped for, but I'm sure you found things to treasure and remember anyways. Enjoy being a mommy!
ReplyDelete