Just pictures of our little man! He is becoming more and more awake every day and growing out of his clothes very quickly!
 |
| One month old! |
 |
| The Grandparents |
 |
| We love Maddie in this...clearly feeling left out as the second child... |
Monday, December 22, 2014
Baby Pictures
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Oh Baby!
There is so much to write, and where to begin!
First, and most importantly, we have been blessed with a beautiful healthy baby boy. Caleb was born on November 21st at 1:10am. He was 6 lbs, 15 oz and 19.3 inches. Life has changed so much from the second we entered the hospital on Wednesday Nov. 19th and we couldn't be happier. The exhaustion is so worth this little miracle.
He made quite an unexpected entrance. We knew within the last month, he could really come at anytime, but we were not expecting him to come quite at quickly as he did.
At my 37 week appointment on Tuesday preceding the birth, my blood pressure was high. This was abnormal for me since all through pregnancy it had been completely normal and this was a sudden spike. They took it once when I arrived and again when I left. Before I left it was still high but not enough to send me to have any tests done. The midwife told me to watch for certain signs of preeclampsia, a very serious pregnancy complication that can cause seizures in the mother and a lack of oxygen to the baby. Surprisingly, I wasn't worried. I didn't have any symptoms and figured the high blood pressure was a fluke.
On Wednesday after getting home from work I went out to get groceries and decided to test my BP again at one of the machines in store. It was high again...still odd. I wasn't stressed, work was fine, but I decided to call my midwife. She told me to come in for testing and luckily I was on the phone when Danny arrived home and we were able to leave right away. We decided to bring the hospital bags just in case but had little worry and assumed we would be home late the same night.
When we got to the hospital, they monitored Caleb's heartbeat, my contractions, and my BP every 10 minutes. Apparently I was having very consistent contractions but not feeling them at all. My BP was high but stable, and Caleb was doing just fine. The midwife came and talked to us and told us we are not leaving the hospital without a baby! It was too high of a risk to continue pregnancy and because I was 37 weeks there was little if any risk to the baby. I was 3 cm dilated and 75 percent effaced, and at 0 position so there was little concern that inducing me wouldn't work. Tuesday I had been at 2 cm, and 60 percent effaced so I was progressing fast.
I was given an IV and a pitocin drip, and about 8:30 or 9pm, I entered active labor. We all assumed I would have this baby in no time...ha. The next morning around 9am, there was little change and the midwife thought it would be best to break my water in hopes it would bring on stronger contractions. It did. Contractions picked up on intensity and time but at about 5pm I was still only 6 cm dilated, but 100 percent effaced. By this point, after 22 hours of labor, I was exhausted. I had no idea how much longer this road was, and I had little strength left for pushing. As much as I didn't want it, I talked with the midwife and she said "there is a time and a place for an epidural, and I think you are there". I needed the epidural to get enough rest to have strength for pushing. Two hours later (and after a nap for both Danny and I) the midwife informed me I was 10 cm dilated and it was time to push this baby out!
Four hours of pushing later...no baby. I was SO close...and so so so exhausted. We could see Caleb's head but he was stuck. It was too late for a c-section and I didn't have any strength. The epidural had been wearing off, and they had cut back on the pitocin. My last option was a vacuum birth...something else I had not planned but I knew had to be done. Thankfully Caleb was still doing great. The OB on call came in and with no issue at all, Caleb was suctioned right out with very little pulling. He was born with his hand by his head and the umbilical cord around his neck. We were told that essentially my placenta was done and had stopped doing its job long ago most likely due to the long labor. There was also a high risk of me hemorrhaging because I had been in labor so long and the placenta had stopped, but thankfully no hemorrhaging and I (surprisingly) didn't tear.
I immediately burst into tears at the site of this little guy. Such an amazing miracle and after the 28 hours of labor, he was worth every second. I could not have done any of this without Danny by my side. He never left me and I needed him the entire time. We are so thankful and blessed that despite so many unplanned events during labor, everything went very well. A huge thank you as well to my mid-wife, Heather, who helped us the entire way and offered support for both myself and Danny. The staff at Evergreen Hospital were amazing in providing constant care and support and having incredibly informed nurses. Lactation consultants visited us multiple times and all the nurses were well trained in breastfeeding support as well. We had nonstop attention which was exhausting but good.There is no doubt I will choose the midwifery care at Evergreen for baby number two!
First, and most importantly, we have been blessed with a beautiful healthy baby boy. Caleb was born on November 21st at 1:10am. He was 6 lbs, 15 oz and 19.3 inches. Life has changed so much from the second we entered the hospital on Wednesday Nov. 19th and we couldn't be happier. The exhaustion is so worth this little miracle.
He made quite an unexpected entrance. We knew within the last month, he could really come at anytime, but we were not expecting him to come quite at quickly as he did.
At my 37 week appointment on Tuesday preceding the birth, my blood pressure was high. This was abnormal for me since all through pregnancy it had been completely normal and this was a sudden spike. They took it once when I arrived and again when I left. Before I left it was still high but not enough to send me to have any tests done. The midwife told me to watch for certain signs of preeclampsia, a very serious pregnancy complication that can cause seizures in the mother and a lack of oxygen to the baby. Surprisingly, I wasn't worried. I didn't have any symptoms and figured the high blood pressure was a fluke.
 | |||||||||||
| Our last pregnancy update |
On Wednesday after getting home from work I went out to get groceries and decided to test my BP again at one of the machines in store. It was high again...still odd. I wasn't stressed, work was fine, but I decided to call my midwife. She told me to come in for testing and luckily I was on the phone when Danny arrived home and we were able to leave right away. We decided to bring the hospital bags just in case but had little worry and assumed we would be home late the same night.
When we got to the hospital, they monitored Caleb's heartbeat, my contractions, and my BP every 10 minutes. Apparently I was having very consistent contractions but not feeling them at all. My BP was high but stable, and Caleb was doing just fine. The midwife came and talked to us and told us we are not leaving the hospital without a baby! It was too high of a risk to continue pregnancy and because I was 37 weeks there was little if any risk to the baby. I was 3 cm dilated and 75 percent effaced, and at 0 position so there was little concern that inducing me wouldn't work. Tuesday I had been at 2 cm, and 60 percent effaced so I was progressing fast.
I was given an IV and a pitocin drip, and about 8:30 or 9pm, I entered active labor. We all assumed I would have this baby in no time...ha. The next morning around 9am, there was little change and the midwife thought it would be best to break my water in hopes it would bring on stronger contractions. It did. Contractions picked up on intensity and time but at about 5pm I was still only 6 cm dilated, but 100 percent effaced. By this point, after 22 hours of labor, I was exhausted. I had no idea how much longer this road was, and I had little strength left for pushing. As much as I didn't want it, I talked with the midwife and she said "there is a time and a place for an epidural, and I think you are there". I needed the epidural to get enough rest to have strength for pushing. Two hours later (and after a nap for both Danny and I) the midwife informed me I was 10 cm dilated and it was time to push this baby out!
Four hours of pushing later...no baby. I was SO close...and so so so exhausted. We could see Caleb's head but he was stuck. It was too late for a c-section and I didn't have any strength. The epidural had been wearing off, and they had cut back on the pitocin. My last option was a vacuum birth...something else I had not planned but I knew had to be done. Thankfully Caleb was still doing great. The OB on call came in and with no issue at all, Caleb was suctioned right out with very little pulling. He was born with his hand by his head and the umbilical cord around his neck. We were told that essentially my placenta was done and had stopped doing its job long ago most likely due to the long labor. There was also a high risk of me hemorrhaging because I had been in labor so long and the placenta had stopped, but thankfully no hemorrhaging and I (surprisingly) didn't tear.
I immediately burst into tears at the site of this little guy. Such an amazing miracle and after the 28 hours of labor, he was worth every second. I could not have done any of this without Danny by my side. He never left me and I needed him the entire time. We are so thankful and blessed that despite so many unplanned events during labor, everything went very well. A huge thank you as well to my mid-wife, Heather, who helped us the entire way and offered support for both myself and Danny. The staff at Evergreen Hospital were amazing in providing constant care and support and having incredibly informed nurses. Lactation consultants visited us multiple times and all the nurses were well trained in breastfeeding support as well. We had nonstop attention which was exhausting but good.There is no doubt I will choose the midwifery care at Evergreen for baby number two!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)