He's here! He's here!
I can't believe my precious baby is finally here! I honestly couldn't wrap my mind around giving birth or being a mom, but here I am! I decided to go ahead and share his birth story for those of you who want to know! I think it went pretty smooth!
Let me share a bit of the background first, my sister has flown here from Washington to help me with the baby, but obviously leaving all her little ones means she couldn't stay very long and she has to leave July 3rd. I desperately wanted her to be there for the birth and was praying I wouldn't go over my due date. At my 38 week appointment I was only dilated to a one (almost a two) and starting to thin out. It wasn't too bad of news but I really wanted to be progressed more. At my 39 week appointment (Monday, June 25th) I was only dilated to a two (almost a three) and still not thinned out a whole lot. We started talking about my options if I wanted my sister to be there for the birth, and we decided to come get checked on Wednesday (June 27th) and if I still wasn't progressed than we would talk about being induced on Thursday (June 28th). I was really conflicted, I really wanted my sister to be there but I did not want to be induced, so Shaun and I turned to prayer about what we should do.
On Monday, after my doctors appointment, I was starting to feel crampy more and more, I figured it was just from being checked and such and didn't really pay much attention to it. Monday night Shaun and I prayed tons that he would come and we wouldn't have to be induced, because it wasn't what either of us wanted. While I was sleeping Monday night I kept waking up with pretty uncomfortable cramps throughout the night. I still thought it was from getting checked and didn't think too much about it, they weren't horribly consistent. Waking up Tuesday morning I was still cramping, except I was cramping harder and more frequently. I still didn't think I was in labor though, but I did think maybe I was progressing. So we spent Tuesday counting contractions and I was convinced that I was not in enough pain to be in labor.
Tuesday evening they started to become more consistent, about 5 minutes apart. I STILL was convinced that I wasn't in enough pain to be in labor and thought that this was the pre-labor pains. Around 6 I decided to go to the bathroom. After using the restroom I stood up and felt a little gush of fluid, I thought it was weird but counted it as probably peeing myself or something. I got Shaun and told him what happened, and he came in to help me change, as soon as I bent down to start changing another gush of water hit the ground. The look on Shaun's face was priceless, I couldn't believe my water was breaking! Shaun called my AMAZING midwife and she told me to relax, take a shower, eat a snack, and then make my way over to the hospital. So, I hoped in the shower and tried to clean up but my water just kept leaking so I figured I might as well just stop trying to clean up. I'm glad I did because then another huge gush of water came out. Luckily, everyone who I wanted in the room with me was in the house so everyone grabbed our stuff, including some grapes for me to snack on. I was terrified on the way to the the hospital, I was convinced they were going to tell me that I wasn't in enough pain and send me home. Then we got there, and I got changed and got in the bed. It was finally going to happen!
We got the hospital around 6:30. When my midwife came in to check me I was dilated to a five (almost a six). I was already halfway there! Obviously the contractions started to get worse, and I began to feel it a lot. I sat on the labor ball for a few minutes and couldn't stand it, when I stood up though my water broke the rest of the way! I was in quite a bit of pain, but I really did not want an epidural so I went with some medication in the IV. After I got the medication, I was out! I slept pretty much through most of my labor, waking up for pretty hard contractions. Apparently I was also making some hilarious conversation with my family. Eventually the contractions got harder and I was ready for more medicine. They did end up giving me more, but I also got a small dose of Pitocin because my cervix wasn't thinning out all the way. So pretty much the pain medication was no help, and the pain got a bit worse. Before I knew it, it was 3am and time to push. Once I started pushing I honestly believed that there was no way he was coming out, but after pushing a few times I got the hang of it and kept telling myself "the more you do it, the faster he will come". At 3:20am, June 27th he was born! I remember the relief that fell over me when I felt him come out, and they set him on my chest. He was so blue! The poor guy had the cord wrapped around his neck, but after a few seconds we got to hear his beautiful voice! I just remember looking at him and wondering how everything just happened.
I just want to say that my husband was so amazing this whole time. Everyone in the room with me was a huge help, but Shaun was so supportive and helpful, I felt so comforted by him just standing there. They took him to get weighed, he weighed out at 8lbs 7.4oz and 20 inches long. After they cleaned him up and gave him back I gave him to Shaun. Watching him hold his baby for the first time was amazing! Then Grandma got to hold him next, then Auntie Heather and then Aunt Nini! They were all so amazing with so much support! I loved it!
It was a wonderful and amazing experience. I honestly still can't believe that I did it! We've had so much help and support that I just feel so blessed. I am so amazed and proud of Shaun, it's like he just popped into father mode. He's great with him! Of course we suffer from lack of sleep, but I find myself not caring. I just feel so lucky to have him here, healthy and everything. He really is a good baby, and we are still trying to sort it all out but he's been amazing, and all the help we get has been so amazing! So that's it! I'm a mommy, Shaun's a daddy and Emery Joseph Keth is finally here with us! Thank God for all his wonderful blessings, Shaun and I are blessed beyond understanding! We are so thankful and in love with our little one!
