Day and Evening
Wednesday, as you can see in 2 posts before this, I was having several signs of labor. I called my doctor's nurse, Carrie, and told her about some of my symptoms. She said the "menstrual cramps" I was feeling were contractions. So, I began timing them at 2:38 p.m. yesterday. I had 2 or 3 contractions per hour, from then until 8 p.m. At that time, Blake and I decided to go walking and we ended up at our neighbors' condo, Cassy and Seth Child. They fed us and we were playing games. Then, suddenly the contractions started coming every 5 minutes or so... 9:00, 9:04, 9:09, 9:14, and so on. Cassy got so excited! It was great. She is great. I laughed a lot, which may have helped labor along! The contractions were highly bearable at that point.
Midnight
About 45 minutes later, we walked Cozmo back home and kept timing the contractions. By 11:30 p.m., Blake felt that we should definitely go to the hospital because the contractions were still regular and lasting a little longer... 11:27, 11:35, 11:43, 11:48, 11:59. So, I made sure my french braids were tightly done and Cozmo was happy, while Blake got the car ready. Then, we headed to the hospital!
We checked in at the hospital (same lady checked us in as during our false alarm) and they rolled me down the hall to the elevator and up to labor and delivery. I got in another beautiful hospital apron and laid down. The best nurse of all time, Susan, put the microphone on my belly and the thing that measures contractions. I was dialated to 2.5 cm. At this point, my contractions suddenly got more intense, painful, and nearly unbearable. I began to panic because the nurse said, "Well, we're going to watch you for a while to make sure you're in labor." When she left the room I started to cry. I had no IV and no sign of an epidural coming anytime soon. With my emotions like this, the pain was even less bearable. Blake and I said a prayer. I also prayed that Heavenly Father would help me to have some change in dialating. When she came back in to check me less than an hour later, I was already at 3.5 cm. I was having contractions practically on top of each other, and they were intensely painful. She walked out for a minute and came back in with a few glorious things - a new hospital bracelet and an IV thingy. I was being admitted. I almost cried with joy.
I was scared of the IV part. So, I had my eyes closed and she poked a long needle in me, it was not fun to feel, but then I felt my hand and arm get really wet and warm. Apparently I have great veins, and that one gushed blood out like a hose at full power (that's how Blake put it, atleast. I wouldn't look at it!). Once they had everything set in place, there was no pain and the blood was wiped away. My second fear, behind contractions, had been conquered! Then, she said that once I got a big bag of fluid pumped into me, I could have my epidural.
The contractions became crazily intense. Everytime I had one, I needed Blake there rubbing my arm, holding my hand, playing with my hair, anything. He was a great distraction and coach.
4:00 a.m.
Finally, at about 4:30 a.m., I had been sufficiently pumped with fluid and the beloved anesthesiologist came in with her beautiful cart of epidural equipment! Praise heaven! But then I got really scared... Big needle in my back, and they said the whole process would take a few contractions. I was very nervous I would mess it up. So, my favorite nurse, Susan #1 (there were 3 of them), helped me sit up and told me I would do well. I fought through a contraction or two and then I said a silent prayer for help. I prayed that I could stay still for the process. Somehow, I did stay still. All things are possible through prayer. To top it off, it did not hurt. It just felt like the stabs of the numbing stuff they put in your gums at the dentist, which I've had done to me dozens of times. After that, all I felt was pressure. The anesthesiologist was very kind and helpful. When I laid down, I felt a few more contractions but they slowly faded to less pain and then no pain, just pressure. My left leg was completely dead but my right leg was only tingly. I could tell when I had contractions from then on because I would feel pressure in my right hip. It didnt hurt though. To get the numbness to even out, I laid on my back toward my right side a little for the rest of the morning.
Then, a nursery nurse rolled in the baby warmer! As she was talking to me, my water broke on its own! I was thrilled. This meant that labor was really going to progress. The nurse came in and I had also dialated to 6 cm! My mom and dad got there after I had the epidural and my dad set up his communication station with his laptop and camera, prepared to tell the world about his grandson.
From then on, I relaxed and watched Gilmore Girls and we all just kind of hung out. I was very protective of my epidural and did not want anyone to go near it, in fear that it would get tampered with. :)
Next time they checked me, I was dialated to an "almost 8 cm!" Woo! Then, the next time, I was a "definite 9.5 cm!" It was so encouraging to make progress everytime I was checked.
7:00 a.m.
One of my friends said that when it was time to push, she felt like she had to have a bowel movement - but really it was just that the baby was down low. I began to understand what she felt around 7:30 a.m. and I felt a LOT of uncomfortable pressure in my pelvis. It became hard to resist the urge to push, so I asked someone to go get the nurse. She came in and I was dialated to 10 cm but I still was not 100% thinned out. She told me to resist pushing because I needed to be thinned more. Then, I heard a lovely voice... Doctor Nims! She had me lay on my left side all the way (since I had been tilted to the right for so long, the baby's bum was tilted that way). She said that should help me thin out.
7:45 a.m.
The pressure became so insanely intense, and the urge to push so strong, that I was in a lot of pain. I was shaking uncontrollably and pretty much screaming. My mom and Blake held my hand, and my dad rubbed my head. The nurse was confused and so she turned up my epidural (which I never felt a change in numbness after). Finally, I could not take it anymore, and the nurse said that I should try to push to relieve the pressure. The first set of pushes really helped relieve that pressure. It was of course very strenuous and a new kind of pain, but I'd take it over the pain I was feeling from not pushing! From then on, the pain and pressure never subsided. I nearly was in another world because I felt I had partly blacked out. People were all around and Blake was feeding me ice every now and then. My eyes were sealed shut because I was terrified of what I was doing to my body by pushing! Every time, I would think, "use your abs, you're strong Dani." Doctor Nims was so encouraging. She told me my pushing was making really great progress. I needed to hear that every time she said it.
Delivery
Finally, she said just what I needed to hear, what I had been holding out to hear, "Well, Danielle, if you give me one more good push, I think we can get him out of there!" I took her words of comfort, and when the next contraction came, I gave it my ALL. Then, I felt his head come out. But something was still there - his football player shoulders, I found out later - and so I gave it my all again and felt him come out. It was incredible to feel that! I was so relieved. Blake and I were bawling and holding each others hands and smiling. He was born at 8:26 a.m. Doctor Nims said I pushed through only 15 contractions, totalling 30 minutes of pushing, and I only had 1 tiny episiotomy. How wonderful.
NICU
The rest was a breeze, but something very important went a very wrong. Caleb did not scream out when he was first born. He gave a weak, sweet little cry and that was it. They put him on my tummy, which was so comforting for me. Then, they took him away. I was so concerned and asked over and over, "How is he??" Finally, the nurse said, "Well, not breathing very well." Blake took pics, they bundled Caleb and let me hold him for 10 seconds or so, then they swept him out of the room. What happened was his cry was not strong enough to get the fluid out of his lungs, so he could not get a clear breath. He was grunting and struggling.
Later, after everything was cleaned up and I had been very intrigued by my suddenly smaller, squishier tummy, something horrible happened. A NICU (newborn intensive care unit) nurse came in with a forlorn face and she shut the door. This lady should not be allowed to ever deliver news to anyone. I was terrified for what she'd say!! But, it wasnt so bad, because she just explained all the tests they were going to do and that they'd need to keep him atleast 72 hours (a day longer than Blake and I would be staying. But we found out later that we can "room in" with Caleb the last night.). So, when she left I started crying.
Blessings
My dad, with Blake's help, gave me a father's blessing. Heavenly Father let me know that Caleb will be completely healthy and everything will turn out perfect. It was the most straightforward and comforting blessing I've ever had. Heavenly Father knew how worried I was and how I needed that as a new mom.
Then, Blake with my dad's help gave Caleb a blessing in the NICU. They went in together. Dad annointed and Blake did the blessing. Caleb was blessed that he would recover completely, that his lungs would push the fluids out, he would still be able to gain a connection with his parents, and that Heavenly Father loves him. He was blessed that his body will be strong enough to get through any of the illnesses that he may face.
Recovery
The NICU then did some x-rays and tests to check him to make sure it was nothing more than just fluid from a weak cry, and found out everything was fine. They will still keep him til Sunday morning, in the best case. I cant get any solid answers out of them, so we'll see.
We know he will be great. It has been difficult having him down the hall in the NICU with a bunch of wires in him, but we know all things have a purpose. It is so hard because Blake has not gotten to hold Caleb yet, but he is so patient because he says he knows he will be able to hold him all he wants the rest of his life. I feel that we are being blessed with a period of transition into parenthood. I am also so grateful that Caleb is being taken care of and he continues to make progress. They are merely giving him antibiotics now and slowly turning down the oxygen that is in his nose, so that they can take him off of it soon. I have been preparing to nurse him when we will be able to, and have been able to pump some colostrum for him, which was a great success!
Blake's Story
Right before the pushing began, Doctor Nims came in and had Danielle lay on her left side to get the baby in position, since his bum was toward her right. At that point, the monitor showed that the contractions let up a little bit for 5 to 10 minutes. Then, Danielle said, "I feel like my body is telling me to push!" and she kept telling herself not to push and did a really good job at controlling herself. The contractions were small, but then they started to spike and she really had to push. I was holding her leg and rubbing her leg, but I didnt know what to do because so much was going on at once and I felt like I was getting in the way. I moved to the other side of the bed. Danielle was pushing and the nurse started counting to 10 each push, so I decided to start counting with her to have some way to help. The nurse said, "Yeah you count, keep counting." I kept going and blowing my nose because I was all emotional seeing Danielle go through all that pain, and at the same time she was doing so well and I felt happy for her and happy the baby was going to be out soon. Then, the baby started crowning and Doctor Nims told me to look. It was so cool. Then, I got to see the baby come out. At first he came out and I looked for his face. I saw his little nose as he was facing the ground. I was scared because he wasnt moving, but then we he came out all the way he moved a bit and let out a little cry, and I was like "he's okay!" I was so happy he came out and that Danielle did so well. Then, Doctor Nims gave me the scissors and held the cord and I got to cut it. Seeing Danielle look at him when he was first put on her belly was so tender.
Miracle
Blake and I really had an incredible experience. We have been so sad not to be able to take care of Caleb ourselves, but we are praying for patience and know that this is a great recovery time. We've rested and relaxed (and blogged obviously), and will be even more prepared for when he is placed in our hands. We cannot wait to take care of him, serve him, and show him all our love!
Caleb loves sitting up!
Grandpa time!
He has been such a joy to us!
Caleb's Grandaddy Watson gave him this cute monkey.
Yum!... Blake doesnt think so. It was so strong smelling that Blake sat across the room. He hates chocolate!
That is a sweet sight.
We cannot feel guilty about holding Caleb all day long. He sleeps in a bassinet next to us at night but during the day he is in our arms constantly! You cannot spoil a newborn, they deserve this.
Anyway, we were there a couple hours so they could check up on everything. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat the whole time, it was great. But, in the end, they sent us home and said, "See you in the next week!"
