BIRTH STORIES!!!!

Mon Dec 24, 2012 1:46 pm

Its that time ladies!! Looks like the first baby of the board is on its way just in time for Christmas Congrats to all of you ladies for making it to the end! And may we ALL have perfect healthy little ones!!

*PLEASE NO COMMENTS ON THIS THREAD*


Mommies feel free to post your own topic along with posting your stories here.

Your Name/Screenname:
Baby's Name:
Gender:
Date of Birth:
Original Due Date:
Weeks Pregnant:
Baby's Weight:
Baby's Height:
Story:
Pictures you'd like to share:

Tue Jan 08, 2013 1:27 pm

Here is bamamomma's birth story - first baby born in our DDC!! She gave me permission to post it here. There are pictures of her beautiful girl down below in the non stickies.

Your Name/Screenname: bamamomma
Baby's Name: Brooke Lynn
Gender: Girl
Date of Birth: December 25
Original Due Date: Feb 26
Weeks Pregnant: 31
Baby's Weight: 2lb 9oz
Baby's Height: 15 3/4
Story:
My birth story started days before I actually had Brooke. On Saturday Dec. 22 I woke and was sick, throwing up and just felt crappy. I went on to work and then to my mom's that night for Christmas with my family since I was suppose to be working late every day up to Christmas including Christmas day. Came home that night and felt better, cleaned up and did laundry and then went to bed. Now, the funny/bad part is that DF had gone to the hunting club that weekend. Sunday morning the 23rd I wake up and any time I try and move my back starts killing me and I was getting pains on the upper part of my stomach to the right side. I got a little scared thinking I might be going into labor so I called my mom. We determined that wasn't the issue since it didn't continue when I was laying down but she thought I needed to go to L&D. So she decides she's coming to get me and I call into work. I decided that I was gonna get a shower before going up there (very thankful I did). Once there, at first the nurse and us as well figure I probably have a kidney infection. However, once they took my first BP reading EVERYTHING changed. They drew blood and then the on call Dr came in and told me I was being admitted but didn't know for how long. By that evening my blood work wasn't getting any better and DF (who got a hysterical phone call from me to go home get a shower and come to L&D because I was being admitted) and I were told I would be having the baby soon. Monday rolls around and I'm still no better, I'm on complete bedrest and have been on magneseum. I'm to be delivered the next day, Christmas day. They start me on Pitocin but every contraction I would panic and my BP would be high. After 8hrs and a long chat with my favorite nurse who got the Dr. for me we decided it would be best to just stop the pitocin and I would be having a C-Section that next morning. The next day I was prepped and my family gathered around to help us welcome our little Brooke into the world. The NICU nurse had tried to prepare me and David for how things would go. My mom went into the O.R. with me because David didn't think he could handle being in there but waited just outside the door so he could go with Brooke to the NICU. At 8:34am my baby girl entered the world and cried. All I really remember is trying not to cry and saying over and over again, "Cry baby girl, cry, cry, cry" She was doing well enough that they were able to clean her up and swaddle her and let me see her. I just kept staring at her in amazement and trying to memorize every little feature because I didn't know when I would get to see her again. Luckily they got me in a wheel chair because I was still stuck in the bed until the next day on the meds for my BP and let me go see her that evening. All I could do was cry and poor David didn't know what to do. The first few times I went to see her all I could do was cry. I've dealt with guilt and I've worried. I'm slowly getting better and I don't cry anymore when I go see her. It's still hard, especially when I see other moms in there holding their babies but I at least get to touch her. She's doing fantastic! Breathing on her own, no more jaundice and they upped her feedings today as well from 3cc every 3 hrs to now it's 5cc. I'm so in love with my daughter (wow that sounds weird) that everything I went through last week doesn't even matter.

BZCL: February DDC
email: annacbzcl@gmail.com

Angel baby 11w5d 9/30/11
Angel baby 5w 4/30/12

Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:48 pm

On 12/26/12 I went to my regular Dr's appt for the baby that I would
attend every 2 weeks. During that visit the doctor noticed that my
blood pressure was through the roof high and sent me directly to the
hospital. I've never had a problem with blood pressure during my
pregnancy prior to this or in life in general so this was alarming.
While at the hospital on the 26th my blood pressure went up to 212/113
and they thought I was going to have a stroke. It took them 2hrs but
I was finally stabilized and 7 days in the hospital with the beginning
phases of pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension. I was in the
hospital for a week because it took them that long to find the right
combination of medication to stabilize my blood pressure levels. I
was finally released on the 1st of January with strict Dr's orders to
be on bed rest until I gave birth.
The first night home I was SO happy to just be back in my own bed and
house with my family. Unfortunately I was woken up in the middle of
the night with a stabbing pain in my upper left abdomen that didn't
allow me to sleep that night. When I called the emergecny services
for my obgyn I was told to take a Tylenol and hot shower and see if
the pain goes away. I was told it was normal and a part of pregnancy.
Luckily the pain went away that night after the shower/Tylenol combo.
As the week went on this upper left abdomen pain would come back and
would be more frequent and more intense. I tried following the
shower/Tylenol routine that I was given and stayed on bed rest. I
lived with the intense pain for 12 days until on the night of 1/13/13
I couldn't take it any longer and literally could not move from being
in so much pain. My husband took me to the hospital where my Doctor,
Sharon Mass was currently on duty in Morristown at around 11pm. I was
seen in labor and delivery and told that I am just progressing in the
stages of pre-eclampsia and that although I was in severe pain,
swelling and not able to really eat/drink anything at this point that
I was going to be discharged. The doctor and nurses were sure of
their analysis and just waiting on my blood work labs to confirm their
hypothesis. At 33 weeks and 3 days pregnant I didn't know how I was
going to make it day in and day out in this pain that I'm being told
is "normal". As I was packing up my belongings to get ready to go
home my OBGYN rushed in with tears in her eyes and told me "You have
H.E.L.L.P. syndrome and aren't going anywhere, you are having this
baby within the hour" Luckily I am familiar with HELLP syndrome
because I have a cousin who has experienced it. Unluckily I was
familiar enough with the condition to know that myself or the baby may
not make it. HELLP is the a severe form of pre-eclampsia and based on
my lab results I had the most severe level of HELLP. A normal
platelet blood count should be between 150,000-400,00 and mine were
down to 32,000. They didn't know if I would make it through the
emergency C section or if I would bleed out on the table. With this
knowledge and the rushing around of Dr's, nurses, etc I had to "say
goodbye" to my husband and have a conversation about what I'd want our
son to know about me, what I'd want to say to him just in case. It
was a conversation I NEVER thought I would have to have, especially
under these circumstances and I'll never forget it. I didn't have
much time to take in the enormity of the situation because it was all
very reactionary and there was no time to process it all (which was
probably a good thing). All I knew was that I would not be awake for
his birth and my husband wasn't allowed in the operating room to
observe his birth either. I was then rushed to the Operating Room,
since my limbs were swelling very badly with HELLP they could not find
a vein in my arms and had to use an ultrasound machine to locate one.
I had a catheter shoved into me without any numbing, strapped down to
the table, a complete blur of nurses and doctors running around me
trying to prep as quickly as possible for this procedure. It was very
overwhelming, yet I was eerily calm. I had asked the anesthesiologist
to let me know right before she was going to put me under and was then
informed that they were going to have to collapse my esophagus JUST
prior to putting me under to make sure that I did not have anything
come from my stomach into my lungs while I was under. Normally this
wouldn't be the case but since I had drank liquids during the day they
did not want to take any chances. The last words I heard were a nurse
apologizing for collapsing my esophagus and "the next time you wake up
you'll be a mom" then a warm feeling and I was out.

Sat Jan 26, 2013 7:55 pm

I tested positive for preeclampsia so I was schedueld for an induction on 1/22. We got to the hospital at 7 to register and were in a room by 7:30 getting hooked up to the monitors. Dr came in at 8 to check me and make a plan and I was 3 cm dilated and 60% effaced. I had contractions all day Monday so I was glad they had were doing something since I wasn't dilated at all on Thursday at my 36 week appointment. She decided it should be enough to just break my water so she broke it at 8:08. Jackson looked great all morning on the monitors. The contractions started to get stronger but I could handle them for a while. About 10:00 they were getting really strong. The nurse checked me at 11 and I was still 3 cm but was at 80%. The Dr was coming in at lunch but I needed something to take the edge off the pain until she came in. They gave me stadol. They put one dose in my IV and another as a shot in my arm. I immediately started feeling dizzy and it just got worse. I was hoping it would just take the edge off so I could get a nap in before the Dr came in. It felt like I passed out in between contractions and it made it seem like the contractions were just one after another. The Dr came in around 12-12:30 and I was 4-5 so the stadol was allowing my body to relax enough to progress some more. She told me I could have my epidural and I was so relieved since the stadol wasn't helping at all. That's when things started moving fast. It seemed to take forever for the anesthesiologist to get there. I could barely sign my consent form at that point. DH was sitting in a chair in front of me while they started the epidural. The contractions were awful at that point and I had to curl up in a ball over a pillow and put my feet on DH's knees. I could barely do that. I had to ask the anesthesiologist to stop twice because I couldn't sit still through the contractions. Then all of the sudden it felt like he was coming...and he was. It felt like I had to push and he didn't even have the catheter in yet to get the drugs in. I had to push, there was no stopping it. My mom, dad and father-in-law were in the hall waiting to come in after they had me settled and they heard everything. I remember my eyes opening as wide as they would go and then I let out the worst scream I've ever heard in my life! That is not like me at all. I was so embarrassed but I couldn't control anything that was going on at that point. So the anesthesiologist took out what was started of the epi and they laid me down. I pushed 2-3 times (without really trying to) and Jackson was here! The Dr was down the hall eating lunch and she didn't even have a chance to get in the room. The nurse delivered Jackson...barely. Jackson was born at 1:01 pm. I didn't have any pain meds. That was so not in my plan but it all worked out in the end. If we have another baby, I will not allow them to give me stadol! I felt like a drunk person on that crap. I was saying things before I could think about how they were coming out of my mouth and apologizing after almost every statement. My poor husband was in the direct line of fire! Once I felt better later in the evening I apologized to him one more time. I told him to remember it was the drugs talking and I was so sorry for everything I put him through and said. That is just not in my character to act like that.

Mon Jan 28, 2013 2:32 pm

Your Name/Screenname: MTB Mami Brittany FTM
Baby's Name: Mikela de la Luz Salazar Daniels
Gender: Girl
Date of Birth: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 11:23 pm
Original Due Date: February 1, 2013
Weeks Pregnant: 38w 5d
Baby's Weight: 7lbs
Baby's Height: 19"

Well, I had been experiencing contractions off and on (especially in the evenings and nightime) for about two weeks prior and my mucus plug had begun to fall out the 6th day before Mikela's arrival. I'm still not sure if I had a slow leaking waterbag or it was the mucus plug, but i had been having watery discharge consistently for the last 6 days,but still I was feeling great and comfy. I really didnt believe anything was going to happen too soon. Well, two days before the birth i started to have stronger contractions in the evening that would wake me up every half hour or so. The day of the birth, I woke up and still felt crampy on and off thoughout the morning,but was feeling great so I worked on the handmade Thank You cards for baby shower gifts and delved into my typical nesting/cleaning routine. I got a call from my gf Kait inviting me to lunch at 1, so I walked the mile and a half to lunch where we chit chatted and another friend swung by to hang out. I was still having cramps/contractions but nothing that caught my attention deeply. After lunch we went to speak to an OB friend of ours who was to be on call for the homebirth. he was so amazing and answered last minute questions/doubts we had and put me at such ease.. I really believe our visit with him was a big factor in labor starting because of the peace of mind it gave me! Well, afterwards i headed home and decided to take it easy after the big day... so around 6pm i went upstairs to rest in bed and i noticed my contractions really picking up so i decided to time them.. 9 min, 9 minutes,7 , 7,6, 7.... i thought wow! that is crazy! so I went downstairs and told DH that i think something is probably happening ..that was around 715pm. We had a houseguest, so DH told him to go out for a bit and check back in a few hours to see if he would be staying with us that night or getting a hotel! As soon as our guest left, I really felt intense activity and contractions and very close together. At 730, I told DH to start inflating/filling the pool. At that exact moment, my friend Nicole called. My friends Nicole and Kait would be joining DH and I for the birth. Neither are certified midwives, but needless to say both were prepared for the big event and i trusted them with our lives! I told nicole we were filling the pool and she freaked out and was reasdy to head over, but I told her no please wait that i was not ready for people to come over yet! The contractions were so intense and on top of eachother at this point and i was just pacing the house and getting in whatever position i thought would give some relief. the majority of the time i was on the toilet due to the overwhelming pressure down there... other times i sat on the yoga ball, but that was REALLY intense and at one time broke my water entirely (water was clear!). DH and i were pretty much on separate planets for the next few hours, he was completely consumed in the pool job and i was busy wokring thru contractions on my own... except sometimes when the lower back pain was so bad i would have DH press really hard on my lower hips which helped...but in general i would tell he was a bit nervous/stressed (understandably) so i stayed in my part of the house as much as possible and tried every trick in the book for getting through these monster contractions. I made low noises, i chanted OUTTTT BABYYY or DOWNNNN BABY, i tried meditating, i mostly talked to Mikela and told her how great she was doing and i was so proud of her and that i would see her soon. I really did know that it was coming soon since the contractions were coming so hard/fast... but ijust couldnt believe that i would have such a fast labor..it was a lot to digest. Well, Nicole and Kait had been calling asking to come and help but i still couldnt imagine anyone else being present yet, so I continued declining! Fianlly around 1030 i put the pressure on DH to start adding the cold water to the pool (he had just been putting hot water in and it was taking forever!) because it was getting reallllly hard. So i got in FINALLY! and i must admit the warm water felt amazing.....i could rest a bit in between contractions,but about 20 minutes into the pool session i felt the urge to push!! no it couldnt be, i told myself to slow down and take it easy but it was all thesigns of transition. Rogelio asked me if he should call the girls and i said yes! So my friends arrived in about 10 minutes. I was in the zone and making such noises i never htought i was capable of. it truly was getting primal. at one point i felt myslef below and htought i felt the head and hair,but just still couldnt believe it. Neither could nicole, she told me it was still probably an hour

Brittany

Mon Jan 28, 2013 5:40 pm

PART DEUX!

Nicole told me it was still probaby an hour out.... and i had to insist otherwise! Sure enough, two contractions later the head is OUT! I tell nicole, she has a headlamp to see into the water and she confirms. I had been on my hands and knees in the pool, and at this point I switch onto my butt for the final push. The next contraction came and nicole told me the head was corlscrewing and the shoulders were coming! With that push, she was out... I reached down and grabbed her little body. I could hear ROgelio asking about the cord through his sobs of joy, I checked and there wasnt one wrapped around her neck. I just looked at her for those few seconds while she was suspended inthe water there inbetween worlds, she was perfect. I pulled her out and was so shocked and relieved to see the pinkest baby.. she had her eyes wide open and made the smallest little shouts.. no cries, just three little waahs. Rogelio was crying more! He just kept repeating "She is so beautiful" over and over. Nicole and Kait were there but quiet, and I too just took it all in and felt the most natural urge to hold her close and to my breast. It was a beautiful moment and its true when they say that the hardowrk and pain of labor is instantly forgotten in those first moments of meeting your baby. I felt 100% calm and serene. I didnt cry or get overly excited, i just stared at my daugher with so much love in my heart and pride, I was truly proud of her and could not have felt more love than at that moment.
I put her to nurse, but she wasnt too keen in the beginning, so i just alternated holding her close and letting her float in the water. Finally, it was time to cut the cord and stand up. Kait did the honors, and we made our way to the futon (our bedroom is up a set of steep spiral stairs so we would sleep downstairs for the next two nights). Kait and Nicole had brought food and drink and seriously took such great care of our new family. i am so grateful to them!! After eating as much as i could, we all three settled into the bed and spent the first night as a family.. it was fantastic!!!


Just a side note: my placenta came out in the shower 45 minutes after Mikela was born. Two doctors came to visit us the next day to check me, mikela, and the placenta. Baby and placenta were perfect. I had a huge tear...totally internal.. which is apparently a good thing as opposed to one that heads out towards the anus... because the vagina will heal itself.. so iam optimistic.....sore but optimistic!! Other than the painful tear, I am doing great and Mikela is just perfect. I couldnot wait to say that, and I am so greateful that I can. Thank you all for your support during this journey. THis board has been such a blessing, I cannot thank you enough. I wish nothing but the best for all of you on your upcoming bundles of joy. LOVE TO YOU ALL!

Brittany

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Tue Jan 29, 2013 12:28 am

Your Name/Screenname: Babycakes101
Baby's Name: Aiden Matthew and Everett Theodore
Gender: boy, boy
Date of Birth: Jan. 23, 2013
Original Due Date: Jan. 27 (38 week twin gestation)
Weeks Pregnant: 37.3
Baby's Weight: 5lbs. 10.5oz and 6lbs. 13oz.
Baby's Height: 19.5 and 18.5

Story: So, went in for my induction at 7:30am the 23rd of Jan.. We got the IV in, Pitocin started and around 11:00am doctor broke baby A's water. It was such a cool feeling!!! I was about 2.5cm dilated then. By 2pm I was 4cm dilated and by 7pm I was 8cm dilated! We were right on track with where we needed to be. Contractions were getting closer together and stronger right around 4cm, so we opted for getting the epidural then (we were going to get one placed anyway but I didn't want to do it too late). I watched the monitor for babies HBs and contractions for hours that day! I did take a nap right after the epidural, which was good. I woke up around 6pm and they checked my cervix (8cm). They told me that they would come in and check on me around 10pm. Well, funny thing was I called the nurse in to fix my BP cord because it detached from the arm band. I couldn't find it. She asked how my contractions were (if I could feel them) and I told her only on my left side. This is where baby A was and the had me laying on my right side to try to bring his head down into the canal... so my epi. was wearing off on my left side. Anyway, they asked me if they wanted to check my cervix this was 9:10pm and I said YES! The nurse said, "I can see the head! You are ready to push! You are at 10cm. I was thinking OMG!!! My DH ran to the house to get our dog fed for the night and now he isn't here. Before he left I told him he had ONE HOUR to get back or I'm going to kill him. haha... Well, we were trying to call him and BAM! Right on time, one hour later he was there to see me and help me push!
We went right into the OR room to be delivered. It was so bright in there!! I couldn't feel hardly any contractions because I was laying on my back and the meds. were going to my left side again. I laid on the table at 9:30pm and I did my thing! DH held my left leg and counted to 10 3 times. He was out in 9 pushes, (11mins!) Baby Everett Theodore was born into this world at 9:45pm weighing 6lbs. 13oz. and 18.5 in long.

They did an U/S to check on baby B after they broke my water again. He flipped transverse after being breech for a long time. I had 3 nurses pushing on my tummy to try to turn him and my docs. arm up there to try to grab his legs. It was crazy. He did NOT want to come down, head down. His hands were by his head and made it impossible to deliver vaginally. My doc. was trying to grab his legs to deliver the way I wanted, but wasn't happening. They needed to deliver C-section. Which felt like the end of the world because I had been at the hospital since 7:30am. They checked my abdomen to see if I could feel for the c-section and I could. I could feel my left side again and I kept telling them, "no no no, I need to be put under. I can feel that." So we decided it was best to put me under. It was sad that I didn't get to see my baby B born. I cried before it all happened. Baby Aiden Matthew was born at 10:03pm weighing 5lbs. 11oz. and was 19.5 inches long.

I woke up to my DH and my doc telling me they had to wisk Aiden down to the NICU. He was born not breathing.. but he had a heartbeat. I didn't understand because I was trying to wake up. They told me that my placenta tore from the uterine wall before it was supposed to. This caused extreme danger to myself and my baby. My doc. delivered and cut through my placenta before she could get to my baby. He was born pale as a ghost because he lost a lot of blood due to the placenta being pulled. This was a freak incident and the answer is really unknown why it happened. He had to have a blood transfusion during the first hour of his life. My DH was there for an hour in the NICU after he was born while I laid to recover from my section. I was so scared for everything. All I wanted was to see my little man. When I first set eyes on him, they wheeled me on the stretcher to see him in the NICU. I couldn't hold him and I could barely see him from the angle I was laying. He had so many monitors on him and I was scared for him. He was able to breathe on his own after a little oxygen. He is still in the NICU being monitored for feeding. He is doing great though. All the monitors are off of him! We pray and hope to see him home everyday! It was a crazy birth story because my pregnancy was perfect. I realize I'm even stronger than I've ever been having to give vaginal and c-section birth. We love our family so much.
Pictures you'd like to share:

Baby Everett (4 days old)

100_2804.JPG (90.22 KiB)

Baby Aiden (4 days old)

100_2820.JPG (44.01 KiB)

Thu Jan 31, 2013 7:04 pm

Your Name/Screenname: AMN2137 Angela Nestico
Baby's Name: Alexia Marie
Gender: Girl
Date of Birth: 1/28/2013 2:23pm
Original Due Date: 2/2/2013
Weeks Pregnant: 39w2d
Baby's Weight: 6lbs 1oz
Baby's Height: 18.5 inches

Story:
I was scheduled for a repeat c/s for Jan 28th. Around 2:30-3am I started feeling very uncomfortable and couldn't sleep. I didn't think anything of it because they didn't feel like contractions and I didn't feel my uterus getting tight. I basically tossed and turned from then till 5:30am when I was suppose to call the hospital to find out what time to show up for my c/s. They told me 7:30 so We slowly started to get ready. By this time my cramping and back pain had begun to get regular and on the way I decided to start timing them. They were every 4-5 minutes and lasting 45 secs. When I arrived at the hospital they took me to my room and told me to put my gown on. When I went to the bathroom I noticed that I had started to spot pretty good. The nurses came in and then the Dr and I told them what was going on. They checked me and I was 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced. So we talked about it and decided to give it 2 hours and see how I progressed and then go from there on whether I wanted to continue with the c/s or try for my VBAC. After a short time the Dr. came back in and asked me how I felt about doing the follie ballon to help speed along the dilation process. I agreed and by around 9:30-10am they inserted the balloon. She said they would check me in 2 hours and see where we were (it comes out around 4-5cm). Around 11 or so my contractions were so painful I asked the nurses for some medicine to hold me over before my epidural. They decided to check the ballon to see if it was ready to come out and it came right out. Once they pulled it out the contractions didn't hurt so bad and I was going to change my mind about the Stadol shot due to what I heard about it but I was too late and she already put it though my IV. Yep, I felt drunk. I was 5cm at this point. They did the epidural not long after that. Then we were just chilling in the room relaxing and waiting with my sil and bil when the nurses and my Dr and another Dr came into the room, this was around noon or so. There was a problem with the baby's heart rate and it was droping. They inserted the internal monitors to her head, broke my water, checked me (still 5cm) gave me oxygen and had me on my left side. Everything was fine and we went back to relaxing. Around 1:30p they started the pitocin and said they would be back in 30 minutes to check my contractions and see if I needed to up the pitocin. Well before she could come back my contractions started to get so pianful I couldn't take it and they were getting so close together. I called the nurses in because I couldn't understand how I could feel so much pain with the epidural. The nurses kicked out my guests and said she was going to check me. She explained to me that the epidural was done at only 5 cm so they don't put that much though it at that point. So she said she would check me and then have them come and adjust the medication. Well when she went to check me she got this look on her face and said to the other nurse "there's the head". I was like "WHAT???" She told my family to go to the waiting room because it was time for me to start pushing. I started freaking out asking for my Dr. I started pushing and after 5 pushes my Dr came in. I pushed for like 10-15 minutes (12-15 pushes) and she was here (2:23pm). I started crying and couldn't believe she was here. They had to call NICU in because she had a bowl movement inside but she was ok. I only had one small superficial tear and only needed 2 small stitches.I still can't believe how well things went and how fast.

Fri Feb 01, 2013 4:40 pm

Your Name/Screenname: Ashley/ash_bunn
Baby's Name: Corey Lamar
Gender: boy
Date of Birth: 1/30
Original Due Date: 2/10
Weeks Pregnant: 38 weeks and 3 days
Baby's Weight: 8 lbs 10oz
Baby's Height: 21 in

Story: My water broke Wednesday morning about 3 am. We go to the hospital about 3:45 while on the way the contractions started picking up but weren't that close together. By the time I got undressed and into the gown the contractions were really close and I was already at 8 cm. Keep in mind I was only 2 cm at my previous appointment the week before. Well about 5 min later I had a ton of pressure and had to push. 2 pushes later at 4:31 Corey was born. He came so fast the nurses had to deliver him and I did it all natural. He is so cute and I'm so excited to have a little boy but got to get use to changing boy diapers. The girls are in love with him. Mackenzie doesn't realzie that the baby is staying yet but she loves him.

Fri Feb 08, 2013 2:53 pm

Your Name/Screenname: Laura/ Photolaura
Baby's Name: Maxwell Christopher
Gender: Male
Date of Birth:2-4
Original Due Date: 2-22
Weeks Pregnant: 37 w 2d
Baby's Weight: 7lbs 4 oz
Baby's Height: 19 in
Story: I had been warned that I had high blood pressure at my regular appointment on Thursday and that if we didn't get it under control induction was possible. Then on Sunday, out of the blue, I get a call from my Dr saying she hopes I don't have Super Bowl plans because she wants to induce me right away and that pre-eclamspia was progressing towards HELLP symdrome. So we frantically pack a bag and look around at all of the "do before baby comes" projects covering my house and head out the door! We were admitted right away at about 2:45pm On Sunday and hooked up to monitors- almost instantly we saw that 1- I was already having regular contractions that I didn't feel an 2- Baby's heart rate would drop like crazy when a contraction hit or I moved. So emergency c-section consent forms were brought out and the staff frantically got me onto my left side, which helped baby's heart rate stay steady. I was hooked up to a magnesium drip (which let me tell ya, is not a fun thing!) and was confined to my left side indefinitely. They proceeded cautiously and inserted a balloon to force me to dilate in addition to a pill to thin my cervix. The entire time my platelets were dropping so they put in the epidural but didn't turn on the pump with the drugs yet because they wouldn't be able to later if my levels dropped more, meaning a c-section would have been scarier if we ended up there.

Moving along, we got lucky and were able to proceed vaginally. The balloon worked and I went from 1 cm to 6-7cm quickly. They broke my water and slowly started pictocin to move along my contractions. All this time, I barely felt my tummy tightening but they insisted on turning on the pump for the epidural but on super low. By like 12:30 on Monday afternoon things were finally moving along and the contractions were getting intense. The Dr said that when I felt "great pressure" we could push" and the nurse it could be hours but I felt "great pressure" really quickly and told the nurse so. She said "Well the baby isnt going to fall out" thinking I had hours to go still but turns out it was time to start pushing! By 1:25, Maxwell Christopher had arrived! I love hearing my husband tell the birth story because apparently I was cracking jokes and being really feisty and sarcastic with people. He was texting my mom play by plays of the entire process so she could be involved from the waiting room where we made her and my sister stay! We didnt' even call his family until after it was over! I had to stay on the magnesium drip for 24 hours after the birth, complete with a catheter and leg brace things for circulation so I didn't get clots. The magnesium gave me a migraine which was scary with pre-eclampsia but as soon as the drip was off, I felt a million times better! So now, we are finally home after 3 nights in the hospital.

Maxwell is perfect. Hubby makes me fall deeper in love every day watching them together and seeing how much he is supporting me with Max. He isn't a touchy feely, lovey dovey type but he has helped with breast feeding daily, getting as excited as I do when Max latches on properly, laughing with me the first time I shot milk across the room, holding Max so I could rest, calming me down when I was a mess. My heart is so full and this journey has only just begun. *sigh* Who knew that being sleep deprived, dirty and flabby would bring us so close together! Ha!
Pictures you'd like to share:

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Sat Feb 09, 2013 3:13 pm

Your Name/Screenname: Serenity/NDaisy
Baby's Name: Nehemiah Forrest
Gender: Boy
Date of Birth: February 5th
Original Due Date: February 3rd
Weeks Pregnant: 40wks 2 days
Baby's Weight: 9lbs
Baby's Height: 21 1/4 inches
Story:
My water broke at 3:20am on Monday the 4th, contractions followed about 30 minutes later. I showered and called my sister to come get DS, then called our midwife and photographer. Contractions were about 6-7 minutes apart pretty consistent but my amniotic fluid was greenish brownish so we went in to the hospital. I labored in the bed for awhile when the contractions were mild, then they let me eat a bit of breakfast before letting me walk the halls. Walking the halls really increased the contractions and I went from 4cm 80% effaced to 8cm in an hour. Then the contractions started getting really painful. We tried doing some squats with the squat bar and the contractions were a bit easier. My midwife suggested now would be a good time to try the tub and lavender oil so we did that for a bit until I felt like I needed to start bearing down and pushing. When they checked again I was at 9.5cm so we walked some more until I couldn’t handle it. Then we got back up in the bed with the squat bar and kept going that way. I remember seeing the clock at 1pm and the midwife saying I was so close. Breathing through the contractions started getting really difficult and I started to feel whoozy. They gave me some oxygen and after an hour also pushed a very small dose of pitocin to even out the contractions a bit more. After about 4 contractions with the pitocin my midwife said baby wasn’t doing well with the stronger contractions. His heart rate was dropping a lot with each one. I was stuck at 9.5cm still and my cervix wouldn’t budge that last bit. I was also extremely tired and in so much pain. At 3pm my midwife brought in the anesthesiologist and said she thought our best option was to have an epidural to help relax my pelvis the rest of the way and get baby out. By this time I did not care, I was all for it and the sooner the better. However, my midwife told me to stop pushing or I could rip my cervix. The next contraction came and I couldn’t stop pushing, so she had me flip to my back and checked again. The anesthesiologist had just walked in the room and she said never mind go prep someone else, she’s pushing him out now. Four very agonizing, screaming at the top of my lungs pushes later and he came right out. He was blue, but he cried on his own and they put him right up on me. I couldn’t breathe from pushing so hard but was finally able to regain my breath and see my babe. Time of birth was 3:42pm. That night and the day after were pretty painful too while recovering. I had a minor tear but no stitches necessary. The day after I felt like I had been hit by a car and I thought the hospital bed was to blame. Then I remembered that I used every fiber of my being to push through the contractions and bring my beautiful baby boy into this world. Having him here finally brings a feeling of completeness to our little family.

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Nemo

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Sun Feb 10, 2013 3:39 am

Your Name/Screenname: krystald
Baby's Name:Alexander Wyatt Autrey
Gender:Male
Date of Birth: February 5th, 2013
Original Due Date: February 2nd, 2013
Weeks Pregnant: 40
Baby's Weight: 9 pounds 10 ounces
Baby's Height: 20 and 1/2 inches
Story: My doctor decided to go ahead and gave me a c-section. I am still hurting from the staples.

Tue Feb 12, 2013 11:20 pm

Your Name/Screenname: Pam/Graybaby
Baby's Name: Ryder Christian
Gender: boy
Date of Birth: 2/8/13
Original Due Date: 2/6/13
Weeks Pregnant: 40 weeks 2 days
Baby's Weight: 8 pounds 6 ounces
Baby's Height: 20.5 inches
Story: We went in for a scheduled induction at 6am. I was already 2.5 cm dialated and 70% effaced when first checked. We started pitocin around 7:30 and the doctor broke my water around 8:30. I began really feeling painful contractions right away that continued getting worse. These contractions were very different than in previous deliveries, probably because of the pitocin. They were very sharp pains very low and an extreme ache in my lower back and tail bone. They were horrible! I had to endure them until around 10am when I finally got my epidural, which was quick After that I was able to nap with my husband in between them checking me. My labor was pretty quick, I got to 10 cm by around 1:45pm. The doctor checked me and said the baby was still pretty high, so he wanted my contractions to try and bring the baby down some on their own so that the pushing would be easier. So they told me to let them know when I was getting the pressure and urge to push. I started pushing with just the nurse around 3:40pm. I was pushing great they told me to stop as they called the doctor to hurry up in. As soon as he got in, one contraction and 2 pushes later Ryder was born at 3:55pm. He did have the cord around his neck twice! I knew he was moving around too much in there. Even though he had the cord issues and there was some meconium in my fluid, his apgars scores were still 9/9! He cried right away and was so pink and perfect. I love him so much, it was so emotional finally seeing him

Pam
Mommy to Kaylee (age 3, June 2009), Allison (age 2, July 2010) and Baby Gray (due February 2013)

Wed Feb 13, 2013 8:43 pm

Your Name/Screenname:lissamay
Baby's Name:London Joyce
Gender:Female
Date of Birth:Feb. 2, 2013
Original Due Date:Feb 13, 2013
Weeks Pregnant:38
Baby's Weight:6lbs 15oz
Baby's Height:19in
Story:
My husband was out on Friday night as DD with some of his friends so my son and I rented a movie and had a snuggle night. I fell asleep around 845 that night but woke up around 9:15 to pee. I fell right back to sleep, but woke up again at 9:45ish feeling weird down there. I felt like London (who was being super active all night) was head butting my cervix. All of a sudden I felt a small gush. I jumped up and ran to the bathroom not knowing if it was my water or if I just peed myself. I did see blood so I was pretty sure it was my water and called my husband to come home. I then called Labor and Delivery and they told me to come in right away (I wanted to wait a while so I could shower and wait for contractions to start). On the way to the hospital I started getting irregular contractions. Once we got there I had to wait in triage for forever so they could verify that my water actually broke. It was pretty obvious at that point though because it was gushing out of me. Finally at around midnight I was admitted. The midwife gave me the option of starting pitocin right away to get things started, but I wanted to be able to walk around a little to see if the contractions would get more regular. After about an hour I decided to go ahead with the pitocin. At 1am I was 3cm and 80% effaced. They started the pitocin and after that things went very quick. I started to have horrible back labor but didn't want to ask for epidural too soon. Finally I asked for it and the anesthesiologist came in almost right away. While I was sitting up for the epidural the contractions became horrible and I started feeling like I needed to push. As soon as the epidural was in place, the nurse checked me and I was at 8cm. I swear it wasn't 5 minutes later when I told the nurse that I REALLY needed to push. She checked me again and I was at 10! The epidural still hadn't really taken effect yet so I was FREAKING out (in my mind anyway). I was not mentally prepared for that kind of pain. As soon as the midwife came in the room, I pushed about 12 times and London was out at 3:06am. She did have some breathing issues at first and her apgar scores were 7/8 but she recovered quickly. She is so perfect and was worth every minute of the pregnancy and labor! I am so in love.

Wed Feb 13, 2013 9:00 pm

Your Name/Screenname: Aquesha/Bella09
Baby's Name: A'mariyah
Gender: Girl
Date of Birth: Feb. 9, 2013
Original Due Date: Feb 13, 2013
Weeks Pregnant: 39 weeks 2 days
Baby's Weight:6lbs 6oz
Baby's Height:19in
Story:
i went in for an induction dr checked me at 9am i hadnt not dailated any then she orderd the cervidil by 11.30 she was inserting that into my cervix and i had dailated 1cm. told me not to get out of bed for 2 hrs and that i had to keep it in for 12hrs unless labor progressed really fast which was very rare. i stayed in bed all day finally around 5pm i got up started walkin soon as i did i was having contractions got on the birthin ball till about 7pm then i layed back in bed got hooked up to the machine so they could see that i was really having contractions. then around 10pm they started to get stronger and i asked for pain meds a couple of drops and i was sleep didnt feel anything woke up to keep using the bathroom and i would hear my mom in the room dont push while u are on the toilet. finally i started feelin the contractions again and asked for more pain meds while i was waiting i told the nurse i had to use the bathroom and she said well we have to check u b4 i can let u go she checked and said i think u are. had another nurse come check to make sure and they let me know it was time to push i said no i have to use the bathroom she said no u cant thats jst the baby pushing down. so i pushed for a little while falling to sleep in between contractions the last one i remember pushing really hard and my mother pushed my head down (chin to my chest) and my baby was born at 5.56 am. they told me newborns are usually alert the first hour then they will go to sleep...my baby stayed up to 8.30 (maybe 9) i sent her to the nursery at 8.30 cuz i was so tired and drained when she came back a couple hrs later the nurse said jst so u know we held her and she sucked on her thumb and went staight to sleep, but i love motherhood the pain i went threw was worth it cuz i love that lil girl so much

Fri Feb 15, 2013 10:53 am

Your Name/Screenname: Natasha/ NatashaL
Baby's Name: Nora Layne
Gender: Girl
Date of Birth: Feb. 6, 2013
Original Due Date: Feb 16, 2013
Weeks Pregnant: 38 weeks 4 days
Baby's Weight:6lbs 2oz
Baby's Height:19 3/4 in
Story: Well... I went in Tuesday morning to L&D because I thought my water broke. False alarm! I was so upset, b/c I just wanted to meet my little girl. Fast Forward to 1:15 am Wednesday morning... I woke up and went to the bathroom and when I came back to lay back down I felt a pop and my water really had broke that time My husband and I went into L&D, where I was checked, 90% effaced, she was 0 station (I think?) and but I was only 1cm dilated. I was having contractions every 2 1/2 minutes... I originally wanted to have a natural childbirth, but when those contractions hit I wanted an epideral immediately lol I labored for 4 hours until I was dilated enough to get an epideral... Once the epideral was in I was checked and was 6 cm, then an hour later 9cm... I started to push around 9:30am... WELL... after the epideral my contractions spread out to one every 5 minutes... So they started me on pitocin, which didn't help at all. I pushed for 3 hours and she wouldn't move down the birth canal (past my pelvis bones), her heart rate started to drop and I had to be turned a couple times and put on oxygen. It was so scary. At that point they decided that it would be best to have an emergency c-section. Her head was swelling some and they didn't want her to go into distress any more than she had. By that time I was exhausted too and just wanted her to be safe and with us. My husband was so scared... Within a half an hour I had my beautiful baby girl. Nora Layne. She is amazing and we are so in love. Every bit of pain is worth it. We love her so so much.

Fri Feb 15, 2013 10:43 pm

Your Name/Screenname: SLAKief4
Baby's Name: Jackson Logan Kiefer
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: Wed, February 6, 2013
Original Due Date: February 14, 2013
Weeks Pregnant: 38w 6days
Baby's Weight: 8lbs 10oz
Baby's Height: 20.5 in

Story:

I woke up at 7:45am and when I went to get out of bed my water broke. I called my parents to let them know that Alex would need to be with them while we head to the hospital. Brian had been sick the night before and was sleeping in the guest bedroom, so I went into to wake him up and tell him that my water broke.Thankfully he was feeling much better than the day before.

Then I showered and got ready and woke up big-sister-to-be Alex. Alex was confused and kept saying "but it's not Saturday, we have 3 more days". (I was to be induced on Feb 9th).

We called the drs. office at 8:15am to let them know my water broke and they said to head straight to the hospital. They paged my doctor to let her know we were heading in, but said they weren't sure if she'd make it or not.

My parents followed us to the hospital, we got there around 9:30am. Once there, I was checked into the triage room in Labor & Delivery so they could verify that my water had actually broken...it had, so they moved us into a regular L&D room around 10:30am.

Things were progressing slowly, I wasn't feeling the contractions yet, even though they were registering on the monitors. Eventually the dr. on call came in to check how things were going. He talked about options on how to proceed and we opted for a low-dose of pitocin. The pictocin was started at 1:10pm.

Once the pitocin was started the contractions started coming more regularly and eventually became more painful. The painful contractions started at 3:25pm. At that point, I asked for the birthing ball and had a seat. The rest of the water then broke/emptied and things started to really get moving. After cleaning up, I had a big contraction and thought the baby was close to coming. At that point the nurse had me get back in bed to be checked, and at 3:45 we started pushing!

The baby was moving down and getting closer, but not very quickly. The nurse (and dr.) were worried he was really big. They opted to use the vaccuum and it took one more push for the baby to come out... at 4:26 Jackson arrived!!

Pictures: 1: We're home, 2: Big sister Alex & Jackson, 3: In the hospital

We're home!

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Big Sister Alex and Jackson

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In the hospital

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Thu Feb 21, 2013 2:21 pm

Your Name/Screenname: MamaCas
Baby's Name: Violet Ann
Gender: Girl
Date of Birth: 2-18-13
Original Due Date: 2-20-13
Weeks Pregnant: 39w5d
Baby's Weight: 8lbs 1oz
Baby's Height: 18 inches
Story: Went in for induction at 6. They didn't get me hooked up to everything until 6:45 because of a mix up with antibiotics. Nurse said I was already having contractions I couldn't feel about 6 mins apart. Once meds got going I could tell things were gonna move quickly. I sat on a birthing ball and rocked for about an hour and a half. Moved to the bed since the doc was going to come by and break my water. About 10 mins before she arrived my water broke on its own. When she checked me I was 5.5 cm and she could feel her hair already. I knew from past 3 deliveries from 5 cm to 10 is very quick for me so I ask for epidural asap. I was so worried I wouldn't get one. I had to wait for quite a while for the epi. Once in place it didn't work but on the left side of my body on the right I could still feel everything. They checked me and I was a 7 and I told them to not go far. In 10 mins I told nurse I was ready to push. She check and sure enough I was complete she ran out of the room to call doc. Came back and made me lay on my side and cross my legs and told me whatever I did do not push. Doc showed up quickly and in 3 big pushes Violet was out. I did have to have a small episiotomy and I did feel most of it all because of the epidural and didn't take on one side but it really wasn't that bad. Doc was amazed because Violet decided try to rotate and face upward while I was pushing she kept saying to nurses to look at her spin! Thought that was funny. They immediately put her on my chest and when my hubby decided not to cut the cord they ask if I wanted too. So I got to cut her cord! I had never got to do that before so it was special for me. Then they left her on my bare chest until she nursed for about on hour before cleaning her up and weighing her. It was my last delivery and my favorite by far. She came quick easy and I felt great! Next day I went in for my tubal. Man I was completely oblivious to how bad it would hurt. I am now super sore and have a few stiches in my belly button. I would be great if it wasn't for the surgery but I don't regret it. Recovery will suck since I can't lift anything over 10lbs for the next 4 weeks. I am so overjoyed to be home with all my kids. I am so blessed! Couldn't have asked for a better ending to my journey of being a mom of 4!
Pictures you'd like to share: My pics aren't wanting to upload since they are so large. I will have to resize and add them at a later date.

Fri Feb 22, 2013 1:00 pm

Your Name/Screenname: R&R Rachel M
Baby's Name: Liam Isaac
Gender: Boy
Date of Birth: 02/11/2013 3.15am
Original Due Date: 2/09/2013
Weeks Pregnant: 40 weeks
Baby's Weight: 9lb 06oz
Baby's Height: 21.5 inches

Story:

Sunday night I went to bed around 930pm. I remember when I rolled over to get comfortable I felt a weird popping feeling. I know now that was probably my water breaking.

At about 1030 I got up as I was having some Braxton Hicks and went to go pee. When I stood up a trickle of water ran down my leg. I knew it wasn't pee and figured it was my water. I woke my husband and we called my Midwife. She told us to wait it out and see how things went.

I stared to have contractions that were more stonger but were not regular. Then at about 12am I tried to lay down in bed and well I was adjusting my water broke fully.

After that my contractions became even more strong but were still not regular. By 1 am I was having contractions one on top of the other. We called the midwife at about 2am and she told us to meet her at the hospital. We had to wait for my in-laws to get to our house to watch my son. There was a bad storm so we had to wait for them to get there.

At 245 we were leaving for the hospital. I was in so much pain and discovered if I pushed that it felt so much better. I was pushing all the way to the hospital as my husband screamed to not push!

When we got to the hospital and I got out of the van I had a contraction and I pushed. The baby crowned and I barley made it into the lobby.

My husband dropped all the bags and pushed me on a wheel chair to the Labor and Delivery floor. I was screaming "he is coming out" and you should have seen the people in the waiting room. LOL

Anyways, I got to my midwife... I got into the bed and 15 minutes later my son was born!

It was perfect and VERY painful......but the wonderful all at the same time.

Make a pregnancy ticker

Sun Feb 24, 2013 7:43 pm

Your Name/Screenname:Courtney
Baby's Name:Caroline
Gender: sweet baby girl
Date of Birth: 2/18/13
Original Due Date:2/16/13
Weeks Pregnant:40 weeks 2 days
Baby's Weight:7 pounds 11.7 ounces
Baby's Height:20 1/2 inches
Story:
I woke up Sunday morning feeling completely normal, showered and as I was getting ready for church felt a small trickle of water run down my leg. I wiped it with tp and decided it was probably just water from my shower still (since I was still in my towel). Well about 45 minutes later I felt a small gush and noticed bright red blood in my panty liner--- now I was pretty sure it was my water. Not wanting to be the girl who went to l&d thinking her water broke when really she had just peed herself, we went to church and then to lunch with friends, while at lunch I started having contractions about 7-8 minutes apart, but super wimpy... I had to pay attention to feel them at all. So then my husband went shooting with his friend and I went shopping with mine to try and get my contractions closer together. We ended up having dinner with the same friends before heading to l&d to get checked out... This was at about 8pm. The nurse checked and confirmed that my water was broken and I was contracting every 3-4 minutes but they were making absolutely no cervical change, I was still at a 3 since my appointment the monday before. They decided to push pitocin to get my contractions going since I needed to deliver Caroline fairly quickly since my water had been leaking all day. As soon as I got to the labor room my contractions picked up enough to where I had to rock and breathe through them. They started the pitocin and then things really started getting intense for me. The on call ob recommended I get the epidural since they were thinking I would have a 9 pound baby and they were concerned about shoulder dystocia. Once she explained what would happen if baby got stuck I quickly asked for the epi... I was in an intense amount of pain, and although I definitely could have handled it for a while longer, thinking of feeling the episiotomy scared the crap out of me. I got the epidural around 2 am and then napped until 10am... glorious I tell ya! At 10am I was fully dilated, but Caroline was still pretty high, so they wanted me to labor down a bit before we started pushing. Caroline had other plans though, around then she started having steep heart decelerations with every other contraction no matter how they adjusted my position- so at 10:45am they decision was made to get started getting her out of there. Luckily my epidural had worn off quite a bit so I was able to feel each contraction and feel where to push, which made things go a lot quicker according the the nurses. I pushed about an hour and 45 minutes and Caroline was born! It was a wonderful experience and if it wasn't for the painful recovery I am having (second degree tear... stitches suck) I would be ready to do it all again already
Pictures you'd like to share:

Fri Mar 01, 2013 1:07 pm

I think I've finally got time to write this!

Your Name/Screenname: Sarah/SassyBo
Baby's Name: Zachary Scott
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: 2/17/2013
Original Due Date: 2/16/2013
Weeks Pregnant: 40
Baby's Weight: 8lbs 14oz
Baby's Height: 21in
Story: We went out to dinner with friends on Friday night. Around 2am on the 16th, I woke up with cramping. I thought at first that the dinner upset my stomach. By 7am, I couldn't sleep anymore. I told DH about the cramping, and called my Mom. She came over because Adam was at work. We cleaned the house all day, while I had some irregular contractions. I took a break from whatever shore I was doing and squatted until they passed. Eventually the became more regular and gradually closer together. More intense as well. Several people were telling me to call the doctor, but I refused. I was waiting until the contractions hit the 5-1-1 rule. This didn't happen until about 2am on what was now the 17th. We called the doctor and headed to the hospital. By the time we got in the car, my contractions were about 3 minutes apart. We got to the hospital, and I was so glad I waited so long because it SUCKED being stuck in that stupid bed! It made the pain so much worse. We were admitted, and I was dialated 4cm. An hour later, I was at 6cm, but the nurse said she could stretch me to 7. I was trying not to have an epidural, but I did want some pain relievers. The nurses could not get the IV in my viens. The first IV infiltrated my vein and my arm swelled up like a balloon. Another nurse tried to give me an IV. At this time my contractions were about 2 minutes apart. So, they ended up bursting 5 veins in my right arm. Finally, they got the IV port in on my left hand. The nurses kept asking me if I was sure I didn't want an epidural. My husband didn't really care, and thought I was crazy for not wanting one. The nurse came in with Staydol and injected me. She told me I was going to have to my decision about the epidural soon, because the doc was coming to the floor for another woman. I was hoping to see if the Staydol was enough to keep me grounded. As soon as the Staydol was injected, the epidural doctor rolled in my room with a cart, and said, "So, you're getting an epidural?" I just dropped my head and said yes. After the mess with the IVs, I was just ready to be done and relax. I guess that was about 5am. The nurse told us to call our Moms because they were going to be in the room helping with labor. The doctor came in and broke my water at about 8am. They were surprised it hadn't broken on its own, and I believe I was fully dilated. Around 9, they came in and said it was time to start pushing. I could still feel my contractions, but the Nurses didn't really believe me at first. I was so glad to have my hubby, Mom, and MIL there, because at one point the RN walked away. I looked at my husband with big eyes and said "I'm having a contraction!" He said, "We know how to do this now. We don't need the nurse or doctor. Let's do it. Ready?" From that point on, we basically were in control of my labor. He was in the birth canal for some time. Finally the Nurse told me I was almost there and to picture a "Backward J slide." I live by the Jersey shore, and we have a water park with this water slide called the "Shotgun." So, I turned that shotgun slide into a backward J water slide and pictured shooting the baby out! It worked and he was born at 11:30am withing in at 8lbs 14oz and 21in. The moment was pure joy and love. When they placed him on my belly the entire world disappeared and it was just him and me. Apparently, my husband yelled "Look at the size of those balls!" I didn't hear it and he couldn't believe that. Like I said, the world melted away. He was absolutely perfect, and scored 9/9 on his Apgar. So, that's that! A great labor that resulted in a beautiful baby boy!


Pictures you'd like to share:

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Sat Mar 02, 2013 11:58 am

FINALLY!!

Your Name/Screenname: Monica/Phynix
Baby's Name: Silas Walker
Gender: Boy
Date of Birth: 3-1-13
Original Due Date: 2-26-13
Weeks Pregnant: 40 weeks 3 days
Baby's Weight: 7lbs 10oz
Baby's Height: 21in
Story:

Between around 6-7pm the night of March 1st i had gotten about 3-4 strong, slightly painful contractions while up cleaning. I sat down around 7pm and ate a bunch of pizza and breadsticks for dinner and around 7:30pm the contractions really started to kick in. I started keeping an eye on the clock and they were coming about every 5-8 minutes. Dh insisted I call my dad to come over and watch the kids so we could head to the hospital right then. I finally called my dad around 8pm and he came over shortly after-we packed up and headed to the hospital around 8:20pm.

I got to the hospital around 9pm, got into a gown and bed and the nurse checked me. I was making a guess that I thought I was only going to be about 3cm when she checked me, looked up funny, then said she was going to get the other nurse to double check. I thought something was wrong. The other nurse came in and checked me and said I was 7cm! They called the doc to come into the hospital.

Doc got there around 9:45pm and checked me and I was 8cm. My water hadn't broke and we decided to just let it be until I was ready to push. My contractions were very spaced still, only 5-8 minutes apart and in between I felt hardly any pain, just some crampiness and lower back pain. I was talking with the nurses and joking, they couldn't believe i was 8cm, with no meds and carrying conversation like I wasn't even in labor. Because the contractions were so spaced it took awhile for Silas's head to move down more and get in a good spot to start pushing.

I started feeling some pressure around 11:30pm so the doc checked me and I was 10cm. He broke my water and I gave a good push to move the baby down. Then I had a nice long 5min wait until my next contraction-all the while taking to the nurse and joking with the doc about -how can he do this for a living and not find vaginas gross now- LOL. Next contraction finally came and out came his little head- then one more push and he was here. I couldn't believe how small he was-he just looked so tiny. He let out a few good cries then calmed right down. He looks like his daddy!

1 hour old

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David & Monica 8-28-00

Tue Mar 05, 2013 4:44 pm

Your Name/Screenname: Julia Tovar
Baby's Name: Isabelle Lilly
Gender: Girl
Date of Birth: 2-4-13
Original Due Date: 2-17-13
Weeks Pregnant: 38 weeks 1 days
Baby's Weight: 6lbs 6oz
Baby's Height: 17 1/2in
Story:

Sorry this is so late, I've been meaning to type this out.

I started having contractions at work on 1/31/13, they were pretty close together and where starting to get a little uncomfortable, I called the doc and went in, I was in active labor and already 3cm, however I was still 60% efaced so he told me to go home, walk, try to bring on the contractions and if things got painful to head to the hospital. Well that night nothing much more happened, we went to bed and around 7:30am I was starting to have them every 2-3 minutes, woke up my bf and told him we should start getting dressed because we may have to leave soon. I use the restroom and before I flushed I noticed my plug, I called my mom and thought for sure the baby was coming soon. She got on the next flight to Las Vegas. We took a couple hours to get to the hospital, the contractions were starting to slow down....sure enough they pretty much turned into a Braxton Hicks, no pain at all. The doctor said to go home again and bring them on, so of course everyone was happy to give us ideas on what to do to bring on the labor, sex was the constant. My dad ended up driving from Tucson to Vegas to meet my mom, as we waited and waited and waited, my doctor called to check on me and he was blown away that I still didnt have the baby. My mom had limited amount of time off and she didnt want to burn too many days so they decided to drive back home on Super Bowl Sunday, she said it was fast and easy to get on a flight so just keep her informed. Super Bowl Sunday I just didnt feel right, I was really tired all day and just felt slugish, I never did rest because we were so busy that day, we were at a friends house watching the game and by 6:30pm I couldnt keep my eyes open anymore so we headed home. I had fallen asleep on the couch and around 11:30pm I woke up and told my bf that I just wasnt comfortable and wanted to go to the bed (I always sleep on the couch so I kind of knew something was happening). At 12:35am I woke up to a wet feeling, my water broke....I rushed to the restroom, cleaned up and went back downstairs to let my bf know what happened. He was half asleep and kept asking me to lay down with him, I finally had to shake him and tell him it was time to go. The contractions started pretty fast after the water broke, we got to the hosptial around 1:45am, I wasnt in a lot of pain from them and was talking and joking with the nurses, so when she checked my she asked if I planned on being a rockstar, I was 7cm already. I called my mom, and of course being in the middle of thenight and no flights she begin to sob, she wasnt able to be there for the birth things moved pretty quick to get me checked in and in a labor room, they had asked if I planned on getting an epidural, and I didnt, being my first and didnt know what to expect....everything happened really fast and as the doc came in to do the epidural I still wasnt in a lot of pain and already 8cm, I started second guessing if I wanted it or not, well....worst mistake I could have ever made, I have a bad back already and the first time he went in something happened and I could feel everything he was doing, it was so painful, he pulled out the needle, gave me more numbing medication and tried again, still extremely painful but I cried thru it, this was the only thing I wish I could take back, the pain was not worth it to me. Shortly after I was at 10cm and my cervix was finally ready so we started pushing. It did end up taking an hour to push her out, she was having trouble getting passed my pelvis and the doctor was ready to use the vacuum and I said oh hell no and pushed as hard as I could to get her out. Isabelle was born at 6:51am, my bf is a little weirded out by blood so I cut her cord, there was something quite amazing by doing that, it made me feel like a strong women, we made her, I carried her, I birthed her and cutting that cord was so impowering. She is now a month old and doing just amazing. It was a pleasure being on this board and now reading everyone's stories. Congratulations ladies!!

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Wed Mar 06, 2013 12:18 am

Im so late for this update... sorry ladies... let me get to it....

Your Name/Screenname: Niki/nikithemommie
Baby's Name: Jakia Nyere Williamson Jr. (Jaxx)
Gender: Boy
Date of Birth: 2/16/2013
Original Due Date: 2/23/2013
Weeks Pregnant: 39 weeks
Baby's Weight: 8lbs 1oz
Baby's Height: 21 inches

Story:
Long story short (if thats possible)... I left a day of shopping at Target and around 7pm as I waited for the bus I decided to call boyfriend to check in because he had been trying to call me. Unfortunately, my reception wasnt great in Target. Anyway, he told me "You need to get home, you dont need to be out there 9mos pregnant." Well, I told him, "Oh I'll be ok... I know not to overdo it..." Next thing I know I felt 2 trickles of watery substance run. I told him I thought my water broke... but in denial, I said well i havent been contracting so I wont jump to any conclusions. I got home and boyfriend came over to visit. I started to prepare for a baby/hospital bag for labor and delivery since he was due a week later, but as I bent over in my chair i heard a pop.... and a rush of water came streaming out like a river! ... I then told boyfriend my water broke... fa real this time... he checked me and called my mother to let her know we needed to go to the hospital. Immediately after my water broke came the contractions, and whoever said that contractions felt like period cramps straight LIED!!! They are a billion times worse and I thought my period cramps were out of control... I now have a new love for them.
Anywho, me and boyfriend got to the hospital around 9pm and the nurse asked me about my birth plan. I told her I wanted a natural delivery (why did I EVER do that?) and she checked me ... I was 4cms. The pain was worse hour after hour... and I tried to hold out, but by 3ish I needed some type of pain relief... The nurse came in and asked me around 4am if I was sure that I wanted to continue naturally because I was now 7cms and soon it would be too late... I think before she was able to get that out I said GIVE ME THE EPI!!!!! I was ashamed, scared and felt defeated that I was gonna get it, but without it, I knew I wouldnt be able to enjoy the birth of my son, and thats all I wanted at that time. As the doctor began the epidural, I was stuck about 3 times before he could find the right spot. All I could do was pray through this experience which also helped me through not moving in the painful contractions I had. After it was over all I remember was the nurse telling me I was gonna be sleep for a while... and I told her I didnt want to be put to sleep... and cried out to the boyfriend like I was about to go under the knife...lol... needless to say when I woke it was 8am.
I woke because I was starting to feel my contractions full force again, and asked for another shot of the epi... I was informed that It was too late for that and I was at 9-10cms and will start pushing soon. At 9am I started to push, it was harder than I thought it would be. As much as they told me to push in my bottom I couldve sworn I was doin that and more. I ended up tearing from pushing for nearly 3 hours, at 11:57am Jaxx was born the most handsomest lil thing Id ever seen! Here are some pics...
Pictures you'd like to share:

First night home

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Daddy and Jaxx watching basketball game

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Talking to Jaxx

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