The last few weeks of my pregnancy were long and uncomfortable. I was going to the doctor once a week and everytime I went, the doctor was so surprised to see me because we thought for sure he wouldn't make it past 36 weeks. Well, at my 37 week appointment they decided to go ahead and schedule me for induction on March 25, due to his expected size. They told me to be at the hospital at 5 am and they would get me started. So the day before I ate a ton since I couldn't eat or drink after midnight; and as anxious as Wes and I both were, we tried to go to bed early to get a few hours of sleep. We woke up at 3:30 the next morning, got ready and headed out to Katy. On our way there, it was storming and we noticed the freeway was shut down at 4 am due to two 18 wheelers that had collided overnight. So as we were detouring, we get a call from the hospital saying that all of the beds were full, so we needed to go home and call back in a few hours to see if one of the women had delivered. I was already nervous and anxious and extremely hungry, so I was not a happy camper. We tried to sleep a bit, and after two failed attempts of calling back for beds, my doctor cancelled the induction around 9:30 that morning. However, they promised me a bed would be available the next day, 100% guarantee. Thus began another full day of eating and trying to pass the time. That evening, we get another call from the hospital saying that one or two of the women who were there the night before had still not delivered, so I needed to call before coming in the morning, just in case (so much for 100% guarantee). So, we did it all over again, went to bed, I got up at 3:30, called the hospital, and luckily there was a bed available. We packed up and headed out to Katy once again.
We arrived at the hospital around 5:15 the morning of the 26th (I was about 38.5 weeks pregnant) and they got us our room. The first thing the docs did was tried to get my IV going. After a few trips to the hospital for pre-term labor, I knew this wasn't gonig to be easy and was not looking forward to it. After two nurses and 4 attempts, they finally got it going (something to do with my valves not opening and closing properly). Anyway, I was not too happy about it, but just glad after 30-45 minutes, we would finally be able to get this show on the road. Afterwards, we took care of paperwork and questions and then went ahead and placed the order for my epidural. Since I was already 4cm, they let me get it before breaking my water. Around 7 am, the anesthesiologist came and got my epidural started. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt or bother me at all, especially after all the pricks and pokes from the failed IV attempts. Immediately, my whole right side went numb which was definitely an odd feeling. Then, we just had to wait for the doctor to arrive. Dr. Schmidt got in a little beofre 8 am, broke my water and started me on pitocin. All we had to do now was wait for nature to take its course. The next four hours were pretty uneventful except for the time when my blood pressure dropped to 68/48 and I thought I was going to pass out. I've never seen a doctor work so fast to bring back up my blood pressure (apparently it is a side effect of the epidural). Other than that, we just watched TV and played cards with my parents and Wes' mom to pass the time.
At noon, my doc came back in to check me and said I was only at 6 cm and that Ryan was "Sunny Side Up" which just meant his head was facing forward instead of to the back. Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal, but since he was expected to be pretty large, it could be a problem because she didn't want to risk manually turning him during delivery for fear of breaking his shoulders. So, she basically said I had two more hours to get to 8 cm and didn't really say what the "or else" was except I knew she was implying C-section. For the next two hours, the nurses were turning me from side to side and all sorts of positions to try and get his head to turn. My only complaint was all the turning seemed to not let the epidural do its magic completely, so I was feeling my contractions on half of my body, which was not too pleasant. Well, at 2 pm his head had turned half way and I was between 8-9 cm, thank goodness! We continued to the same routnine for the next two hours, and sure enough by 4 pm, he had completely turned and I was at 10 cm. The doctor called in for "delivery" which just meant all the nurses and tables of equipment came rolling in. By 4:30 we were ready to go, so I started pushing. It really wasn't all that bad and all seems like a blur now. But at 4:56 pm, our little angel was born at 9 lbs 9 oz and 22 inches long, screaming the second he entered the world. We were so thankful he was healthy and I was able to have him naturally. I think our first few minutes with him, I was in a daze and can hardly remember. One thing I won't forget was just how heavy he was! Here are a few pics of his first days. I will post again later today with a 2 week update!
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