Consider yourself warned - this is the LONGEST post ever. I couldn't leave out any details of Wells' birth. His birth is an experience that I really do want to remember forever...
I had no idea that little Wells
would grace us with his presence any earlier than his due date. I was prepared
to go past my due date for a few reasons – I was born two weeks past my due
date; it is very common for first-time moms to go past their estimated due
date; and I had not shown any progress at my 37 and 38 week appointments as far
as effacement and dilation were concerned. Enter my 39th week of
pregnancy. I went to work as normal on Monday and Tuesday and did not really
feel much different on those days – with the exception of a couple of aches and
pains that seemed a little out of the ordinary but nothing to necessarily put
any stock in. On Wednesday morning, I woke up with a little bit of spotting. I
was not concerned and just assumed that my cervix was changing. It was exciting
to know that my body was starting to prepare itself for labor, even though I
had no idea how far off labor may be. However, my mom was in Texas this week
for a family emergency and was not due to arrive back in Savannah until
Thursday around midnight. So, I decided that it may be best to head in to the
doctor just to see if my body was showing any indication of a nearby labor,
just in case we needed to find my mom a quicker flight. The doctor was not in
the office that day, so I was advised to go to Memorial to get an evaluation.
Eric and I headed to the hospital Wednesday around 10am, loading the hospital
bags in the car JUST IN CASE. My cervical examination revealed that I was not
dilated but that I was about 25% effaced. The doctor of course was not really
able to tell us when labor might start – that it could be hours or it could be
days. While I was hooked up to the monitors, we were able to see that I was
having contractions. They ranged anywhere from 2-7 minutes apart and were not
very painful. I had been crampy all morning, and it turns out that those cramps
were contractions. The doctor discharged us, and I felt pretty good that my mom
would be fine to hold off on finding an earlier flight.
Eric and I stopped to grab lunch
downtown, and while we were out and about for that short time, I could feel
that the contractions were getting more intense. They were not bad, but they
were definitely more noticeable than they had been that morning. When we got
home, I rested for the rest of the afternoon and night so as to not speed
anything up and risk my mom missing my labor. I fell asleep early that night
and woke up around 1am. The contractions were strong enough that I could not
sleep through them, and it was at that point that I started to wonder if labor
may be coming sooner that we thought. I called my mom and we decided that it
was probably best for her to book an earlier flight in case this was the real
deal. We booked a flight for her to get in on Thursday afternoon – a few hours
earlier than her original flight. By the time I had found and booked the
flight, it was around 3am. I tried to go back to sleep but it was no use. Eric
called his mom to update her, as she had planned to drive down early Thursday
morning if things continued to progress. I stayed up the rest of the night,
timing my contractions – which mostly ranged from 5-7 minutes apart. I finally
got up and took a warm bath, which helped to ease the pain. Then I got ready
for my doctor’s appointment that was scheduled for that morning at 9:15.
Eric and I headed to the
appointment, me still timing the contractions on the way and while we were in
the office. Dr. Crenshaw performed the cervical exam and told us that I was
still not dilated but that I was effaced about 50%. She basically echoed what
the doctor at the hospital had told me – that I could go into labor that night
or it could even be a week away. She did say that if the contractions continued
and I could not take it anymore that I could schedule an induction for Sunday.
She told me to go to the hospital if the contractions got worse, and we left
the doctor. When we got in the car, I had a meltdown. I had been contracting
for hours at regular intervals and was frustrated to hear that my body was
still not making progress the way it needed to for labor to really get
underway.
When we got home, Eric and I went
on a walk to the pool in an effort to induce labor. I also climbed up and down
the stairs in our foyer to try to get things going. All throughout the afternoon,
I bounced on my birth ball, too. Mrs. Hankin and Crystal (my mother-in-law and
sister-in-law) showed up, and we all just kind of waited, not sure when things
would get underway. I spoke to my mom that afternoon and the worst thing I
could imagine had happened. Bad weather in El Paso had caused flight delays,
leading everyone to miss their flights from Dallas. My mom tried and tried to
get on any other flight out of the city – to Savannah, Atlanta, Jacksonville,
Charleston, anywhere! My stress level was through the roof. I could not imagine
going through labor without my mom there; and even though I felt sorry for
myself, I felt even worse for her. She was stuck in an airport all alone,
knowing that she might miss the delivery of her grandson. All I could do was
cry. My contractions were still very regular and painful, and I didn’t know how
long my body would hold out. My mom finally told me that she was able to book a
flight to get in to Savannah at 2pm Friday. We both cried, and I told her that
there was no way I was letting this baby come without her being there! After
hanging up with my mom, and knowing that all chances of her getting into town
that night were over, it was like my body finally gave into the contractions
even more –almost like I had subconsciously been waiting for her to get in
town. My contractions started coming every four minutes. We decided that it was
time to head to the hospital. We loaded the rest of our things into the car and
headed to Memorial. I called our friends Tiffany and Randa, who were taking
pictures and video of the birth. I called my dad to let him know and that I
would tell him if we were admitted so that he and the kids could make it. And
lastly, I called my mom. I tried to sound upbeat and did not want her to know
that I honestly thought I was going to have the baby that night or early the
next morning.
Eric sped to the hospital, and I
kept having to remind him that it would be better for us to arrive at the
hospital in one piece. He was in a big rush and would not let up on that gas
pedal! By the time we got to the hospital, my contractions were 2 minutes
apart. I thought for sure the baby was not far off. When we got to the
hospital, I was informed that I was almost 1cm dilated. I could not believe it!
1cm? That had to be incorrect! My contractions were registering on the machine
and were INTENSE. After a little while, Tiffany came in to sit with me for a
bit while Eric went with his family to the waiting room. My contractions were
coming at less than a minute apart and were registering at the top of the graph
on the chart that was printing off of the machine. The nurse said that the
doctor would come check me, and it seemed like it took FOREVER. When the doctor
did check me, I was at 1cm. She said that they would keep me to monitor any
cervical changes, but I was not admitted yet. I was moved to a labor and
delivery room, where Eric joined Tiffany and me.
I was so tired, and I had been
laboring with steady contractions for 24 hours now. All I wanted to do was
sleep because I worried that with my body dilating so slowly that it would be a
while before the baby was born. I didn’t know how much longer I could keep up
the strength to deal with the contractions. The nurse gave me some Phenergan so
that I could sleep. I was knocked out immediately but woke up all throughout
the early morning with the contractions still so painful that I couldn’t sleep
through them. I think that the Phenergan did more harm than good in that it put
me in such a fog that when I would wake up with a contraction, it seemed even
longer and more intense than it did when not on any medicine. Once it was
daylight outside, I felt like I couldn’t take it anymore. Once again, the
groggy, incoherent state that I was in due to the Phenergan had me so confused
that the pain felt unbearable. I would wake up with such pain and confusion
that I didn’t know what to do. I was making audible groans (you really do lose
all inhibitions in labor!) that must have been heard outside the room because,
finally, my saving grace came in in the form of a nurse named Amber. The nurse
that I had had throughout the night was nice enough, but she did not seem very
attentive or particularly helpful at times. When shift change came around, I
got Nurse Amber. She did not make it into the room until probably around 7:45am
but when she did, she immediately recognized the pain I was in and said “This
is crazy. I am checking you.” She did, and I was at 4cm. Then I was admitted,
and she called the anesthesiologist to set up the epidural.
I had planned for months to have a
non-medicated birth, and I really was conflicted about getting the epidural. I
honestly feel like if my body had done what I expected it to do – which was for
my cervix to be dilated and effaced (or at least making progress in that
direction) before the contractions came or during the contractions or whatever
– that I could have made it without medication. However, at the time that I got
the epidural, I was so worn out from a combination of 30 hours of painful,
steady contractions and the Phenergan that I didn’t know if I could make it. I
had no idea how much longer I would labor, and I knew that I needed a little
bit of rest in order to be able to make it through. I was nervous about the
epidural, but it was no big deal. Not near as bad as I thought it would be.
Looking back, I wonder if I would have decided to get the epidural if my mind
had been clear enough to make the decision with 100% certainty. Either way, I
think it was what I needed at the time. I was immediately able to rest and even
got a couple of hours of sleep. Tiffany and Randa showed up, and Crystal and
Mrs. Hankin, too. We all just sat in the room and waited. My mom would call and
update us as to her flight statuses, and that was the silver lining of the whole
ordeal. Even though my body had acted so insane, and seemingly backward in
regard to the order of dilation, effacement, and contractions, it bought me
enough time that I was certain that my mom would make it for the birth. The
doctor came in at one point in the late morning and told me that she was going
to break my water. I knew that that would speed everything up and asked if we
could wait to do that so that my mom would have a chance to make it. She agreed
that we could wait a little while –and I will always be grateful that she
respected my wishes and did not break my water then.
When I was checked a little later,
I was at 7cm. The doctor did come in to finally break my water – I think I was
around 8cm at the time. I started to feel the contractions again, which is what
I wanted. I wanted to be able to feel what was happening so that when the time
came, I would be able to push more effectively. We spoke to my mom and she had
finally landed in Savannah! My dad was picking her up and they were headed straight
to the hospital. When she got there, a huge weight was lifted off of both of
us. I will forever be grateful that she made it to the birth of Baby Wells.
When my mom arrived, I was 9.5cm dilated. I had the urge to push, but the nurse
told me that I could not push yet, that we had to wait for the other .5cm to
dilate.
I had never understood when people
said that fighting the urge to push is so difficult – but, boy, do I understand
now! All I wanted to do was push! I was given a dose of some medicine that
would curb the urge while we waited for my cervix to continue to dilate. It
took a total of 2+ hours to dilate that last .5cm. The nurse told me that if I
really wanted to dilate the rest of the way very quickly and have the baby
descend so that I could push, that I could get on all fours and let gravity
take its course. Ummmm, no thank you. We all laughed at the thought of me
rocking back and forth on all fours, and I couldn’t imagine a more humiliating
scenario – which is exactly what I told the nurse. Nurse Amber really was the
best. She laughed right along with us but still maintained that she knew it
would only take 30 minutes for things to pick up if I would just rock back and
forth on all fours on the hospital bed. So, I did it. And it was awful and
hilarious all at the same time. Of course, Randa and Tiffany documented it all.
Everyone took turns pushing on my lower back while I rocked back and forth. It
was soooooo tiring. I was exhausted by the end of those thirty minutes. I kept
asking for more ice chips, since that was all I could have to stay hydrated.
When I was checked again, the baby had descended and I was completely dilated.
What do you know? It worked. We were finally ready to deliver a baby!
Things moved pretty quickly after
that, with all the equipment being brought in, the room being set up, and
nurses coming in to the room. Finally it was time to push. I was directed on
how to push, and things got underway. My mom was on one side of me, and Eric
was on the other, both of them encouraging me and helping me the whole way. It
seemed like no time at all that the doctor was called in to deliver the baby –
so I knew that he must be very close. After about 35 minutes of pushing, I felt
the instant relief that I was told comes after delivering the head and
shoulders. And in an instant, it was all over, and I was staring at a slimy,
beautiful baby boy. They placed him immediately on my stomach, and we all just
stared at him while he was toweled off. We noticed that Baby Wells definitely
had my nose and lips and Eric’s feet. The nurses then took him to the warming
table where they did all of his exams. They called out his weight of 7lbs 15oz.
I couldn’t believe he was under 8lbs. The ultrasound has predicted that he
would be a very big baby. His length was 19 and ¾in, shorter than I thought he
would be. He was born at 5:55pm. They brought him back over to me and laid him
on my chest. Eric and I were immediately in love with the little guy. It was so
adorable to see Eric take to a baby immediately (as he had never really been a “baby
person”). I could tell how amazed he was at what he had just witnessed and that
he now had a son. Wells nursed right away, another thing I am so grateful for.
He never had a problem latching or eating (he definitely got his daddy’s
appetite!). We were then moved to our recovery room, where I got to eat for the
first time in over a day. Wendy’s never tasted so good!
When Eric and I were alone in our
hospital room with Wells that night, my heart was so full of love and joy. I
looked over from my hospital bed to see Eric holding and admiring his son. It
was such a sweet moment. Before we went to sleep, Eric prayed over Wells, too.
These two moments, some of our first as a family, are ones that I will cherish
forever. Eric and I are so beyond thankful for such a healthy delivery and a
healthy baby. We love our little Wellsie Bug, who has already brought us so
much happiness!