Liam's Birth Story {Part 2}

{for part 1, click here}

Shortly after we got situated in our room, the doctor came in to say hi and see how things were going {my regular doctor didn't deliver me, but all the doctors in the practice are great, so I was okay with that}. He gave me the option of going ahead and starting pitocin right away to keep things moving along, but I told him that I'd rather wait till the next check to see if I made any more progress on my own. I continued to painfully contract over the next two hours, then he checked me again at 9:30 where we found out that I hadn't changed at all...still at 3 cm. So I gave in, and we went ahead and started pitocin, and I braced myself for stronger contractions. Sure enough, it wasn't long before they picked up in intensity and frequency, and I began feeling really nauseated with each one. A dose of Zofran helped for a bit, but it wore off pretty quickly.

I can't remember what time I asked for the epidural...I kind of felt like a wuss for asking for it when I was only 3 cm, but I knew that it would take a little while for the liter of fluids to go in prior to the anesthesiologist coming in to place it. Let's just say, I'm very glad I asked for it when I did because it was a very busy day in labor and delivery, and I had to wait a little for it anyways. I was miserable and didn't even want to talk to my mom or TJ...I just kept asking when the anesthesiologist would be there.

Getting the epidural was not bad at all. The injection of lidocaine to numb the area was the worst part, and that just felt like a bad bee sting in my back. I got a really good epidural...for a little while I still had control of both legs, but then it really took on my left side and my left leg felt like dead weight. My right leg was a little numb throughout the rest of my delivery but I was able to move it. Within minutes of getting my epidural, I was back to my normal self and chatting away with my mom, TJ, and my nurses.

At 11:30, my doc came in to check me again, and, thankfully, I was now 4 cm. He was able to break my water, which felt really weird. It was like I kept peeing myself. After that, my mom, TJ, and I chatted some more, we watched a little TV, and I tried to get some rest. At some point between 11:30 and 1:30, TJ's mom and grandma got there. They all went down to the cafeteria to get something to eat, but when my doc checked me again at 1:30, TJ texted them frantically to tell them to come back up to the room right away. In two hours, I had gone from 4 cm to only an anterior lip of cervix {i.e. the closest you can get to being fully dilated without actually being fully dilated. I had noticed that I was feeling a lot more pressure down there, but I wasn't too hopeful for anything more than 6 cm. Needless to say, I was very happy, but at the same time, I was like, holy cow, this is it. We are getting so close to meeting our little boy.

not my best look...

Liam had one of the best fetal heart rate strips...trust me, I was looking at this frequently! He was one happy boy in there!

Once I had fully dilated, we started pushing around 2:20 pm. Let me just say, pushing is hard. And I pushed for a long time. For a while, I wasn't sure if I was pushing correctly and making any progress, but my nurse assured me that I was doing a great job. My doctor came in periodically to see how I was doing, and he echoed the fact that I kept making progress. I kept thinking that we had to be getting close to the point where he would have to stay in my room and gown up for delivery, but it took awhile to get to that point. Towards the end, I just kept feeling the overwhelming urge to push because there was so much pressure. After about 2 hours and 20 minutes {at 4:43 pm}, Liam made his entrance into the world, they placed him on my chest, we heard his wonderful cry, and he even peed before being handed off to the nurses. The NICU team was present for delivery because there was meconium {we didn't see it when he broke my water...it happened sometime later in the labor process}. They checked him out, and thankfully, everything was fine. The nurses took care of getting his footprints, doing the Hepatitis B vaccine, and all their other stuff while the doctor delivered the placenta and did the laceration repair.

In those few minutes right after Liam's birth, I felt a big rush of relief and a whole lot of love. I couldn't believe that I had done it and our sweet boy was here. I looked over at TJ and was speechless. We did it. It was so surreal seeing Liam in the warmer. He looked so cute, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on him.

first family photo

After what seemed like a really long time, they brought Liam over, and I started showering him with hugs and kisses. I nursed him for the first time, and he did a great job. Once he finished, I knew that we had kept our family waiting long enough and they came in to meet Liam. Everyone was so happy and excited, and I think we were all still in slight disbelief that Liam was finally here with us.

 It was then time for Liam's first bath and his first outfit. :)

one of our favorite pictures of our little guy

washing that head full of hair :)

we call this his meditation pose

and here he has some jazz hands going on

perfect little lips

As we waited to move to our postpartum room, I savored those precious moments with my son. I just couldn't believe he was here, in my arms, and one hundred percent perfect.

Not to mention, pretty darn cute.

God is good.