Friday, October 25, 2013

Kai's Birth Story

I knew going into pregnancy that I'd want to document all of it with photos, blogs, notes, everything I could. I wrote down a lot of details about our pregnancy and I want to be able to tell Kai about his time in his baby palace if he wants to know about it. I kept this blog because I didn't want to forget anything. If we only have two kids (which is our plan currently) then I want to cherish every little thing! Kai is such a miracle and so was his birth.

It was Thursday, August 22, 2013 and I was at work playing with Miss B. It was my last planned day with her so I was really trying to enjoy it. I had some cramping the night before, but hadn't thought much of it because I didn't want to be disappointed again if it wasn't actual labor. At 2:15pm I had my first “contraction”. I would call the “contraction” a cramp, nothing more than menstrual cramps that didn't stop when I changed positions. They lasted a minute on average. For some reason I started keeping track of them but they weren't regular. I ended up having eight in the last two hours I was at work. Lindsay came home and I left, called John on my way home just to let him know what was going on. I didn't want to tell anyone else because I really wasn't sure I was in true labor. I got gas in the CRV on the way home, just in case :) Between the time I left work and the time John got home I only have a few “contractions”, but nothing regular or painful.

When John got home I told him everything that had been happening. We decided to treat the day like any other. I knew I didn't want to be sitting at home wondering if this was actually happening.  I wanted to relax as much as possible and enjoy the evening with John and Comet (possibly our last). We decided to go for a walk at Normandale, our two mile path. It was maybe too much, but my body was used to doing it during pregnancy, so I thought it would be fine. When we got there and I got out of the car I had my first real surge, more than a simple cramp. I leaned on the seat in our car and swayed.  After it was finished I remember just getting going on our walk. John was so calm through the whole process as it happened. We talked while we walked and I had six more contractions before we were done. With each one I leaned over and swayed.  I'm sure John will say this, but I was still not ready to acknowledge that I was in true labor. I remember telling John that it was so neat how my body was working. The “contraction” started, built, lasted for a little while and went away and I felt back to my normal self. It was so awesome to me. God made my body to go through labor. I loved it. On our way home we picked up some supper, I got Chipotle and John got Noodles. I had another one while we were on our way home, but they slowed when we got home and ate.

After we ate they returned very regularly, about every 10 minutes, lasting a minute each. We watched tv for an hour or two and I tried to relax. Around 9:30pm I took a bath and decided to get in bed to try and sleep. My contractions started to come every 6.5 minutes and still were lasting one minute. John called the hospital to say that we would be coming at some point. He also called both of our mommas to let them know what was up. I think John and I both anticipated being at home for a while. I knew that I wanted to labor at home as long as possible. John was so wonderful at this point and after he made his phone calls he packed up the can in preparation. I was snuggled up in my pregnancy pillow and poof my water broke at 10:40pm. I wasn't anticipating it happening at home because my mom's didn't with any of us. I heard a “pop” and it was a huge gush of water.  I won't ever forget it, so weird. Right after my water broke my contractions went from 6.5 minutes apart to averaging 4 minutes apart. Some were even closer and happening back to back. The intensity was crazy! They went from tolerable to incredibly intense.  At this point John took over as I couldn't really focus on anything but what was happening within me. He told me to get ready and get into the car. I got dressed and said goodbye to Comet. I was sad to leave Comet because he looked scared. He didn't know what was going on. Poor little guy!  With that we were on our way to the hospital!

John's driving amazed me at this point. He was so focused on getting us to the hospital. As we were driving he called the hospital to tell them we were coming and they tried to tell us they were on divert and we'd have to go to another hospital. He was very adamant, even a bit aggressive with whoever he was talking to. I was touched by how protective he was of me. He was getting me into Methodist. Turns out they had saved us a spot because we'd called earlier, but we were the last couple to be admitted that night.  We walked in and made our way to the elevator. I had a few contractions on the way which caused me to pause and bend over. We ended up in a crowded elevator which was so uncomfortable. I couldn't wait to get to the 3rd floor. They checked us into a triage room at about 11:45pm. I felt like we waited forever in that room. My contractions were so intense. I believe this was when I started to utilize my voice. I always thought it was a little funny when we made noise during yoga but I was a noisy lady during labor! After Kai was born a visitor told me that laboring women have a “song” they sing and that was exactly how John described it.

In the triage room we first saw a nurse.  She took my vitals and hooked me up to a baby monitor because we intended on having a water birth. They needed a continuous read of the baby for twenty minutes in order for us to deliver in the water. We then saw the midwife. I was excited to see a midwife I'd had for appointments. She checked my progress and boy did that hurt! I was entirely unaware how painful it would be. I remember that I started sobbing at that point. I was already 5cm and 100% effaced. I didn't know whether to feel good about that or scared that it might take me a lot longer to get to 10cm. I certainly didn't feel bad about it because I knew my body was doing something. After that we finally got moved to our room. I had two contractions on the way and I remember not even trying to be quiet in the hallway. Amy (our midwife) did such a great job putting pressure on my low back and hips and John whispered to me to tell me I could do it.

Once we made it to our room I got into the tub. It was too hot and it made me sweat. I couldn't find a way to hold myself in place when I had contractions. I felt like the tub was too big for me. I knew I couldn't utilize the tub, so I got out and moved to the bed. I labored on my side for a lot of this time period because it was easiest for me to relax in that position during breaks. I remember wanting to tell John and the midwife to be quiet because they were making small talk. The nurse continually moved the monitor that was placed on the baby and it was so uncomfortable. I wanted to tell her to quit because she always moved it during my break between contractions, so she was causing more pain than necessary I thought. As my contractions continued to increase in intensity I continued to “sing”. I remember being incredibly loud and John said he'll vouch for that :) There was a turning point that scared me sometime around 3am. (During labor I had no concept of time, but I'm pretty sure this is a close estimate after talking to John) The midwife had checked me a half hour earlier and I was already 9cm dilated. I remember that being encouraging! Not long after that check my “singing” turned into low moaning. The first time it happened I was shocked because my body did it instinctively. I honestly don't recall having any control over my tonal change. After Kai came John said at this point the nurse paged our midwife urgently telling her to come back asap.

Amy came back and checked me again and I was 9.5cm, so she pushed back my cervix so I could start pushing. This was at 3:30am, which I also found out later on. At this point I started to push. They were great about helping me switch positions to push, but moving for me was very difficult. My body was trying to conserve every bit of energy I had and I did my best to rest between contractions. The surges were coming very close together and sometimes they came right after each other. I pushed on my sides, my back, hands and knees and squatting. John said that almost right after I started pushing he could see Kai's head and all his dark hair :) I pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed. During this time I was completely within myself. I rarely answered anyone's questions and the only word I uttered regularly was, “Water,” so John would give me a drink. I was nauseous a lot of the time and thought I'd throw up, kept tasting my Chipotle (won't eat that next time!). At 6:30am (still pushing) I rolled over and looked out the window and it was light out. I said, “Holy shit, it's light outside!” Everyone laughed.  As I pushed I remember the nurse and Amy continually telling me that I was so close. I don't remember when but there seemed to be events happening that made me feel close, but Kai still didn't come. Amy put her delivery scrubs on, a cart with extra medical supplies was rolled in, a different nurse said she was going to sit at the end of the bed while Amy rushed out for sometime in case the baby came. I remember being so frustrated because I was pushing with all I had and didn't know how much I had left. At 7am the shift change happened and we got two new nurses and a whole load of new energy. They were so energetic and I really feel it was a great change for me! Each nurse took one leg to help me push, while John continued to be a rock for me up by my head telling me it was going to be okay. It only took forty more minutes to push him out after that. I got to pull him up onto my chest. Turns out he was sunny side up, the wrong way, which is why it took me so long to push him out. Poor little man came out with a bit of a conehead and a huge bruise from continually hitting my pelvic bone. John said the first thing I uttered was, “Little peanut, my sweet little man."  

He is my sweet, perfect, handsome, wonderful little man.

Two Months.

Dear Boo Boo Bear,

You are two months old!  Holy buckets!  I can't believe how big you've gotten and how much you've learned.  Keep growing big and strong and learning new things every day!  I love you so much!  I'm challenged by you every day and night, but this is by far the most rewarding experience of my life.  I look forward to many more days smiling and talking to each other, teaching you and snuggling you.  Just so you know I'd be thankful if you slept a little more at night :) 


Height & Weight:  At your 2-month appointment yesterday weighed 11 lbs 1 oz (20th%) and were 22 inches long (11th%).  The doctor said you're doing perfect :)

Health: You are a healthy, growing boy.  At your appointment you had to get two shots and an oral medicine.  It was so hard to see you cry, but you got through it like a champ!

Sleep:  Nothing consistant.  You are still pretty good at sleeping in your crib at night, but you are struggling to sleep there during the day.  Sometimes I let you nap in your swing so you at least sleep.  You've gotten better though, so I'm sure you're moving in the right direction. 

Diet:  You love milk.

Clothes:  You are wearing 0-3 month clothing.  I finally packed away all your newborn clothes.  It was sad to put them away, but you might have a baby brother or baby boy cousin someday, so they'll get more use.  You're 3 month clothing looks like the newborn clothing did on you when you were brand new, super big :)

Baby Gear Love:  You still love your play gym.  Recently you've starting loving being rolled around on mommy's exercise ball, helps you with tummy pains.  We've started using our other cloth diapers and I'm very happy with them.  We have some Fuzzibunz Perfect Size Small, some BumGenius 4.0, some Flip Covers and Inserts and a few from a WAHM.  You love looking at the Sheep Mobile that Grandma Sue made for you while you're hanging out in your crib.  We were able to borrow this swing from friends and Kai loves it!

Likes:  Taking Baths, Tummy Time, Kisses from Comet, Smiling at Mommy and Daddy and using your swing. 

Dislikes:  Napping in your crib and diaper changes at night.

Social:  You are cooing and smiling at us!  You rub your eyes just like your daddy when you're tired.          

Milestones:  Your neck is getting very strong and you can hold your head up for a little while when you're laying on your tummy.

Nicknames: Boomer and Boo Boo Bear have been the favorites recently.