Andrew's Birth Story

OK, I've got to start writing this down before the New Mom Fatigue and Fuzziness make me forget the details.

Because my fetal non-stress test on Tuesday morning (11/27) showed some "variables," and since I was already a day overdue, my OB decided to induce me. At 6:30 that night, I was given a misoprostol suppository, which was supposed to prepare my cervix (which at the time was not dilated at all, but was 50% effaced). I spent the night relatively comfortably, with increasing contractions, which we handled with Stadol, a lovely drug that makes you feel just a little drunk. I could still tell that I was having pains, but I was just one step removed from the pain (and a little bit silly at times). At this point I still wanted to try and go through labor without the epidural (heck, this Stadol stuff is pretty good, right?).

On Wednesday morning, my OB checked my cervix, which was about 80 percent effaced but still not dilated at all, despite the fact that my pains were getting worse. I had another dose of Stadol and kept working until around 1 p.m., when my OB told me I was 4 centimeters dilated; she then broke my waters. About an hour later is when I finally asked for the epidural. I honestly can't imagine how women go through labor without pain medication. The epidural block is probably the single most merciful medical advancement in history.

I labored pain-free (and even slept a little) between 2 p.m. and about 6 p.m., when my OB informed me that I was 10 centimeters and could start pushing. Daddy was great -- despite the fact that we hadn't planned on having him view everything happening "down there," he ended up holding my left leg back for each push, saw Andrew's head progress down the birth canal, gave me ice chips and cold compresses, and of course cut the umbilical cord. The look on his face as Andrew emerged was priceless: sheer joy and other overwhelming emotions. I'll never forget it.

I ended up with a small midline episiotomy, which is not hurting much at all. What actually has hurt the most has been the huge, horrible hemorrhoids that just multiplied in number and severity with each push. I haven't really been able to walk or move around well since Andrew was born, which has been really annoying when trying to take care of him. The uber-nice nurses gave me a donut pillow, a sitz bath, hemorrhoid cream, and Tucks pads, though. Today I've noticed an improvement.

Andrew weighed in at 8 lbs, 10 oz at birth. His head presented asynclitically, which means it tried to come out sideways. That just doesn't work, and explains why I was pushing for almost 2.5 hours but just couldn't get him that last few millimeters and had to have the episiotomy. Poor Andrew had a big purple bruise on that part of his head, since it had been banging against my pubic bone as he tried to descend. It's fading now, though.

Some other stats: He measured in at 19 inches, and his 1- and 5- minuted Apgar scores were 8 and 9, respectively.

Andrew's a champion nurser -- in fact, a bit too much of a champ. MDad's mom, who's a nurse, gave us some good tips; seems he might be using me as a human pacifier, and I should try and take him off the breast after 25-30 minutes (he's been falling asleep on the breast and taking up to an hour to feed). My mom has also been helping us not suck at being new parents; she gave us some helpful advice on swaddling this morning that allowed MDad to get some casserole- and cookie-making done in the kitchen while I got 3 hours of much needed rest upstairs.

About halfway through the pregnancy I blogged about the Slingezee sling and how I wanted to give babywearing a try. I've got to say, this is a great device. Andrew's been sleeping in it for almost 90 minutes! And a peaceful sleep it is. I just hope that tonight, when he can't be physically strapped to me, he sleeps as well in his bassinet. That didn't really happen last night. But hey, it's all a learning process, right?

I'll post more about the emotional aspects of becoming a mother when I have more time; he's looking like he might wake up right now. In the meantime, I will say that it's the most amazing experience I've ever had. I didn't know it was possible to love someone this much. And the scary thing is that it gets stronger every day.