Well, it finally happened. I had a baby! Our little man (yes, we thought he was going to be a girl) was born Saturday 1/30 at 6:46pm. He was 9lb 12oz and 22.5" long. He's a monster.
This is my first pass at a comprehensive, all-put-together birth story so bear with me.
It went very quickly once I actually was convinced this was "real" labor. I had been having contractions every evening for almost a week so I was worried about being "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" since I thought I was in labor a couple times before. I woke up Saturday morning and started having ctx as soon as I got up. In the past week they had only been in the evening so I thought this may be a little different. I had lost some of my mucus plug on Thursday and Friday so that was encouraging. I continued to have contractions spread apart, around 1pm they were still 15 minutes apart so I wasn't sure if this was "it". We went to my parents' house to use my brother's CAC card reader (it's a military thing) to figure some stuff out with our insurance. We left there around 5pm and made a stop at the grocery store. I stayed in the car with the sleeping kids while dh ran in to pick up dinner and a few odds and ends. We got home around 5:45, he carried the still sleeping children inside where they stayed asleep and I came in to start timing my contractions before I called my midwife as I knew she'd want to know their frequency and duration. My husband called my mom around 5:50 and told her she should probably come. Mom texted my sister and she decided to come right away too.
I called my midwife at 6:13pm. She was at a movie and left immediately to run home, grab her oxygen, and head over. I wasn't sure if she needed to come yet but my last births have been very hectic at the end and I thought it would be nice to have them there before we *really* needed them for once. My sister arrived, got the camera out, and set to getting the bed made and ready. She rubbed my back through a couple contractions. I was in my bedroom and told her that dh would be angry if my water broke on the carpet.
I had a big contraction where I felt the baby move down and felt some pressure. I grabbed the phone and handed it to dh who was just finishing mopping the floor in the bathroom. I was trying to communicate to him that I wanted him to call the midwife and tell her what I felt. I walked into the "birth room", squatted down for another contraction, and explained again, "I need you to call Emme and tell her... my water just broke." I made sure we got the time (6:30) and went into the bathroom. Dh called the midwife who decided she shouldn't go home but come straight here. My mom arrived and I was in the bathroom through a few contractions. I wasn't sure if I felt pushy or not but told them I thought I might have to push. Dh ran downstairs to get the other midwife's phone number since she was closer and I walked into the birth room. I decided that I was indeed pushing. The midwife was only a few minutes away. They put her on speakerphone and dh got down to business.
My sister grabbed some towels for him and he got behind me, I was standing bending over leaning on the birth tub. Dh jumped into "business" mode and calmly waited to see baby emerge. After a few pushes the head came partially out, he checked for a cord but couldn't find anything, provided counterpressure, and then out came our little... boy?! He said that it was a boy and I thought he was joking for a minute. He wasn't. Dh handed the baby to my sister and he suctioned his mouth and nose and our little man started to cry. I stood there and laughed in complete disbelief at what had just happened. My in-laws were about to leave to come get the kids (so we could labor alone for awhile) when dh called and said the baby was here. Meanwhile the midwives arrived to take over and dh got dd who had woken up and brought her in.
I decided to try to sit down and hold the baby and get him skin-to-skin. Ds woke up and came in, thrilled to see his new baby brother.
I hadn't delivered the placenta yet, but we determined that the cord was no longer pulsing and decided to clamp and cut it. Dh cut the cord, figuring he'd finish the job he started.
We handed the baby to my mom and I stood up and delivered the placenta. I got cleaned off and headed into the bedroom. We got settled in, made sure my bleeding was under control, and let my in-laws come up to meet him. They hung out awhile and we called the midwives back up to do the newborn exam and see how big our little guy was. I was thoroughly shocked when she measured his length at 22.5". My mom said, "No wonder you were feeling him in your ribs all the time!"
His head measured 15-1/8" around - many newborns have 13-14" heads. 15" is huge. They did the rest of the measurements and then weighed him... 9lb 12oz.
And then my chin officially hit the floor. I gave birth to a monster. He doesn't look huge, probably because he is so long, but his stats continue to amaze me.
So here we are, our new family, all 5 of us. Our new baby has surprised us in just about every fashion, and he's only 2 days old. Honestly I couldn't be happier with how it all worked out. I'm pleased as punch and have 3 perfect kids. I am truly blessed.
