Well around 3:30 am on March 14th, I was woken up by strong contractions and started timing them. Soon they became so painful that I woke up David to time them with me and keep me calm! We figured that the big ones were about ten minutes apart with sporadic smaller ones in between, so David made the decision to go ahead and call his mom to come get the girls so we could go to the hospital. I went in and woke up the girls and told them that the baby was coming! They were both so excited. My to-go bag was mostly ready so we packed up the last few things and as soon as Vicki arrived, we were off to the hospital!
Once we pulled into the parking lot, we were so glad we had decided to come when we did because the contractions were getting stronger and closer together. I have to admit that I was the most nervous this time than with the other three. I think the biggest reason was that I knew what I'd be facing if I didn't get the epidural on time and I wasn't prepared to birth naturally again!
They brought me into an evaluation area where I changed into my gown and waited to be taken into a room. The nurse was taking her time and I mentioned a few times to her that I'd prefer to get an
epidural. Did I mention that I wanted the
epidural? Will there be time for that? Finally they moved us into our room where I got "comfortable" and situated on the bed and tried to relax a bit. Within ten or fifteen minutes, the anesthesiologist arrived.
This anesthesiologist was amazing. I've had two epidurals before this one and this was the first where I could still move my legs but only feel enough of the pain to know when my contractions were coming. It was exactly what I'd hoped for so that I could still follow my body's lead throughout the labor, but not have the incredible pain that I had with Eloise during the transition period.
We chatted for a while with the anesthesiologist about natural births and pushing vs. non-pushing because I was really wanting to still incorporate a lot of what I'd learned in hypno-birthing and allow my body to do what it already knew how to do and not tense up and push too early. It was fun to talk to him and listen to his experiences, especially to those he had in the medical field fifty years ago.
And another wonderful thing was that my nurse was the woman who had personally funded the natural birthing room where I delivered Eloise. She was so considerate of all my wishes and helped me to have the delivery I was hoping for.
The pain continued to increase and I felt like my body was starting to push, but it seemed to take such a long time for my body to fully dilate. As the contractions grew stronger and close together, I was tensing up more and more from the pain. I finally asked for a second dose of the anesthesia and my pain went back down to a bearable and even comfortable level. Then it was time to have a baby! Everything seemed so cheerful and exciting as the final minutes came. Dr. Seale came in with a smile and pulled over the mirror (per my request) and showed me how the baby had crowned. I was so excited! Two pushes later, Edison David Phipps was born at 8:41 am.
They placed my sweet baby boy in my stomach where he peed on me (this
has become a trend since then). They were suctioning his mouth but he
still wasn't crying so they took him over to the table next to me and
started rubbing him all over. As the doctor finished with me, I watched
as they worked to help my baby breathe. David was standing next to the
nurse and I kept looking at his face to see if he was worried. Everyone
in the room was calm, but those seven minutes stretched out for eternity
to me. I was praying so hard that he would breathe and be okay. Those
are the moments where you feel so helpless.
After minute two of
not breathing well (they said that he was kind of holding his breath),
they brought in a second nurse with an oxygen machine. Then finally,
after seven minutes, he started to breathe and his purple hue turned to a
healthy red. I'm so grateful for prayer as I'm sure Heavenly Father
heard our silent pleas in that room that our baby would breathe and be
okay. I'm grateful for trained doctors and nurses who acted promptly and
intelligently for the benefit of my baby.
Edison nursed wonderfully and longer than any of my babies. One look at those dimples and that cleft chin and I was
sold. We had written the names "Edison" and "Franklin"
on the whiteboard in the room and as soon as he was born, Dr. Seale and
the nurses started calling him Edison. We all agreed that he just looked
like an Edison, and thus it was (I had imagined a Franklin with lots of
dark hair like Eloise.)
Edison weighed 8 lbs and .3 oz.
David held him for a while after he was breathing well. It was so fun to see my husband with his first baby boy!
We had called my mom as soon as we found out that I was dilated to a six when I arrived at the hospital. She arrived just minutes after Edison was born. We love having her there with us.
First picture with his parents. He looks like a little baby bird.
Look at that red fuzzy hair!
Can you see the cleft chin?? I love it!
There's that nice pink color. He slept through his bath, obviously okay with it all. The nurse said that most babies love it. I still hadn't heard him cry at all.
Gram and Papa Kevin came to meet him once my mom went home to stay with the girls.
Our good friends and neighbors, the Muellers, brought us a pie since
Edison was born on National Pie Day!
I love him, I love him.
We ended up staying the full two nights and three days in the hospital because his Billy Rueben (sp?) test level was too high. I usually enjoy the time away from home and alone with my baby, but the first night I didn't sleep a wink because of the constant interruptions. The second day, I mentioned this to a nurse and they did a good job of leaving me alone during the night. I sent Edison to the nursery and had them bring him to me when he was hungry. So nice!
Well we finally heard his little cry after the dreaded circumcision. This is obviously new to us and we felt so bad for him! He just kept wiggling like he was terribly uncomfortable. I'm so grateful that I can nurse him and help him feel a little better.
