On Saturday December 20th I worked out and took pictures of my giant belly. We went to dinner and binge watched TV shows all night. I had accepted that the baby might not come before Christmas as I had hoped and that we might even still be waiting on New Years Eve. The due date was December 30th.
I woke up at 5am on Sunday December 21st to feel my water had broken. I was pretty sure and yelled to Dan from the bathroom the good news. We called the doctor who said to take our time, but to head to the hospital. From some of my friend's experiences I knew we had a little time. We both showered, got ready, ate breakfast and finished packing. We headed to the hospital around 6:30 am.
We spent some time in triage to confirm my water had broken. I was not, however dilated. Once confirmed, we were admitted to the hospital and my contractions started. I labored for a few hours, but was still only dilated at 1. We began Pitocin to speed up the process after several hours of not dilating past 2. I continued to labor all day and finally made the decision around 5pm to get an epidural. I thought I was only dilated at 2, but I was actually at 5. The Pitocin had worked! Once I had the epidural, I felt SO much better! Seriously I don't know why people (and myself) force ourselves to wait. Contractions are awful!
I continued to labor, but felt nothing! Woohoo! Around this time the baby's heart rate was dropping as we continued with the Pitocin. Things got a little blurry for me during this time. They stopped giving me Pitocin and I had to wear an oxygen mask. Once things were settled we had to decide how to proceed. The nurses helped me lay in different positions to get the baby to drop and dilate more. Since backing off the Pitocin things were not progressing. We started the Pitocin again and monitored the baby's heart rate with an internal monitor. Again, the heart rate would drop.
During this time the doctor spoke to us about the possibility of having a C-section. We discussed our options and decided to continue to try some things to get the labor to progress. After a few hours we realized it wasn't working and the C-section was the best option. Admittedly, I did not want a C-section but knew it was the healthiest option for both the baby and I. After 20 hours of labor, I put aside my fears and went confidently into surgery.
I can't speak highly enough of our surgical team. From the nurses, to the anesthesiologist, and the doctor. It all went so well! I couldn't feel a thing, but was aware of everything going on. Everyone was so nice and so excited and happy for us. It was such a great experience!
During the surgery the nurses got all excited and started commenting on all the hair the baby had as they pulled him out. In my head I thought, here it comes they are going to say "it's a girl" but instead the doctor announced "it's a boy". I have never been so shocked and thrilled in my life. Dan and I were ecstatic! Our baby boy was born Monday December 22nd at 1:04am! He weighed 8 pounds and measured 21 inches.
Dan happily announced to our waiting families the good news and returned to me and the baby. I spent the night recovering from the C-Section. By morning we decided to name him Roman Oliver. Over the next few days our parents visited and the nurses took great care of us. We asked to leave early on Christmas Eve and made our way home as a family of 3.
Laboring
3 Generations
Since being home we have had so many wonderful visitors! We celebrated Christmas with both of our families at our house and then had the quietest New Years Eve we have ever had.
We are certainly exhausted, sometimes frustrated but overall thrilled with our new son! We take a million pictures and comment "awwww" all day long at his every movement. What a miracle and blessing we have!
Roman is 1 month old today! He weighs 10 pounds and 2 oz.
