Here it is, folks! The hotly anticipated entry with the birth story! This post is soooo long overdue!! Get ready to read a lot.
:) First off, I think it's about time to update the name of this blog, now that
"we're having" has changed to "we had!" I can't
believe it's been 12 weeks since our little Parker Michael came into our
lives!! Some days I still can't believe we even had a baby, let alone
that he's already almost three months old.
I don't know where to start with this entry! Start with
what's currently going on and backtrack? Or start way back at week 36 and
move forward? I think I'll do the latter, because those last few weeks of
the pregnancy and the early weeks with the baby are already becoming a distant
memory. And based on my blog track record, there's a good chance I'll
only get to week 1 or 2 and then get distracted and not post about weeks 3-12 for another month. I
know most of you out there will only skim through the final updates on the end of the pregnancy, but
since I'm also writing this blog for me and my new little family, I'm going to
go into exceedingly boring detail, just like I always have! This is going
to be a long one. :)
In my last pregnancy post (the start of week 36), I was feeling
great and was quite optimistic for the last few weeks of pregnancy. Well,
we hit a bit of a snag in the pregnancy right after that post. We showed
up to a slew of bad news at our normal checkup appointment on February 25.
First, we found out I was Strep B positive. Not horrible news, but
it did mean we were going to have to stray from our birth plan, since I'd be
hooked up to an IV right away so they could run the penicillin and fluids.
Next up, the nurse ran the normal blood pressure test...only the results
were not so normal. My blood pressure had skyrocketed up to 150/95. Not
good! In fact, so not good that I was sent immediately to the lab for
blood work and then to the Labor & Delivery floor at the hospital for a
non-stress test. In that moment, I was so nervous and panicky.
Nervous for the baby, nervous for me, nervous that my body was freaking
out and I'd be delivering much sooner than expected. The Dr. told us that
if my pressure continued to stay that high and baby seemed to be at risk at
all, they'd induce labor around week 37. Week 37?! As in, the very
next week?! Scary stuff. But by the time I got to the hospital, my
blood pressure had lowered a bit and stayed that way (around 140/80 for most of
the checks during the NST), the lab results showed I didn't have protein in my
urine, and baby's heartbeat was steady and strong, so no dire action was
needed, like inducing labor that day. My blood work did show other high
markers for pre-eclampsia, so I was told to continue the non-stress tests twice
a week. For the next few days I felt pretty dejected. Everything
was going so amazing in the pregnancy and then all of a sudden, I was hit with
near pre-eclampsia and high blood pressure in the final stretch. It could
have been much worse - I could have been dealing with those things for a
majority of the pregnancy, as some women do. But it was still pretty
disheartening.
The one good thing about heading to the hospital that day was that
I got to do a dry run for the big day! Aron and I had actually attended a
"Meet the Maternity Team" presentation the night before and I had joked
that the next time we'd be driving to the hospital would be when Parker was on
his way. Little did I know it would actually be just the very next day.
The nurses on the floor were great that day, and I got to meet the
hospitalist. I felt a little bit more prepared about what to expect on
the big day.
Per doctor's orders, I went to my NSTs on February 28 and March 4.
My blood pressure continued to be high, but not worrisome high.
Baby's heartbeat was great and he was super active. On one of those
days, or maybe both (I already can't remember!) I was having contractions.
Which I didn't even know until the nurse pointed it out to me. I
had thought it was just pressure from baby pushing out, but she explained to me
that babies are not coordinated enough to push out on both sides with equal
pressure. Der, oh, right. So that was cool, and from then on I was
finally able to identify when I was having Braxton Hicks contractions. It
was actually pretty cool to go to the extra testing and get to hear baby's
heartbeat and see him on the ultrasound a few more times. Which reminds
me, we also had a fluid level scare at the NST on February 28, but it was back
up by the next NST. So much happened to freak me out in those last few
weeks!
At our next check-up on March 5, I got some more surprising news:
our OB told us that I needed to stop working asap. Apparently, I was
supposed to have stopped the week before - I guess she just assumed I knew that
after all the scary news at that appointment. I was planning to work
until the following Friday (March 14) so this unexpected directive threw me for
a loop. And like I do with all things, I had procrastinated a lot of
hand-off type work things so I had to get my butt in gear that afternoon to tie
up loose ends. The doctor actually had told me to go straight home from the
appointment, but I couldn't leave my team in the lurch. I was pretty
emotional that last afternoon. Even though I had chosen to quit my job
and I had thought I was ready to leave, the unexpectedness of my departure that
day had me feeling pretty down. I ended up working until 8 or 9 pm,
spending my final hours at the office alone. Which was a good thing; it
helped to have time to truly absorb the fact that I wasn't coming back to work
and my new job was going to be "mommy" most of the time.
The day after my no-more-work sentence, I spent a lot of time
doing more work. :) Trying to make sure my team and the other support
staff at the office had everything they needed. Yes, it was a bit hard to
let go! By Friday though, work was more or less out of my mind. It
felt like I was going into vacation mode. And apparently being more
relaxed made my body want to do something, as I started feeling more active
contractions mid Friday morning. Aron had that Friday off so I made us go
into high gear getting last minute items ready, just in case something was
happening. Errands at Target, Babies R Us, and Vons. I got a
pedicure. We went out to lunch. And then we headed to our NST
appointment...at which I had NO contractions the entire time we were there!
And baby was very quiet, so I had to stay extra time to get the required
amount of heartbeat spikes in. Wth?! I was bummed that my
contractions had slowed/stopped. And they stayed that way all day
Saturday. Saturday night we out to Buffalo Wild Wings for some hot, spicy chicken wings to see if that would get baby boy moving again. And apparently it worked, because I went
into labor on Sunday morning!
And so begins our BIRTH STORY...
I started feeling contractions around 3:00 am on Sunday morning, March 9.
They were strong enough that they woke me up. For about an hour I
lied peacefully in bed, trying to determine if the contractions were increasing
in frequency or strength. They started coming a lot closer together by
4:00 am, but weren't increasing in strength. But I knew something was definitely
starting to happen, so around that time I woke Aron up so he could be on alert.
For another hour or so, we stayed in bed, timing my contractions.
We chatted a bit, but mostly just kept saying things like "wow, is
this really happening?" and alternating between awe and nervousness.
We spent 8 months preparing for a baby, but in those early morning hours
I felt very unprepared for the huge life change that was possibly going to
occur that day. Sometime in that hour I called the hospital to ask if I
needed to head in earlier than we had originally planned based on contraction
frequency/strength due to the Strep B stuff. I hadn't thought to ask my
OB the week before. Hospital confirmed we could come in at the normal
time, which was good. One less thing to think about.
By 5 am, I was
too antsy to sleep and I couldn't figure out what my contractions were doing
anymore (they were staying close together, but still not increasing in
strength) so we woke up and started getting ready for a hospital trip. We took
a nice long shower, packed the final items in our hospital bag, and got the
pets ready. At 7 am, we decided to head in. Worse case scenario,
they send us back home to labor more at the house. Best case scenario,
baby was really on the way!! I texted Joelle to pick up our dogs in a few
hours to take to daycare, we called all our family (and of all the people I
called, the person I least expected to be awake was the only one who answered -
Randi!), and I called the hospital letting them know we were on our way.
Oh, and we snapped a few quick belly photos since we realized we never
took any week 37 pics! It was Week 38, Day 1 when we headed into the
hospital.
After a pit stop at McDonalds (who knew when we'd get real food
next?! Yes, we consider McDonalds real food!), we headed to UCSD Hillcrest. It was 8:30 by the time we were all checked
in. My vitals were taken, and my blood pressure was pretty high. No
surprise there. Finally, the first check to see how far along I was.
2 centimeters and 70% effaced! I was pretty pleased that at least
something had happened and I wasn't imagining all of those morning
contractions. Not a ton of progress, but enough to satisfy me. For about an hour or so, they monitored my contractions and
came to the same conclusion we had - that they were coming close together but
weren't really increasing in strength yet. I was told to go walk around
the hospital and get some food, and come back in 2 hours for another check.
I felt very lead-in-a-pregnancy-movie-scene, pacing the hallways in my
hospital gown. :-)
At 11:30, I was checked again and had made no
progress. Aww man! If anything, my contractions seemed to be
slowing. What the hell, body?! After resting for a bit, they took
my blood pressure again and it was still high. After some consultations,
the doctor decided she wanted to induce (this wasn't our OB/GYN, but another
one on shift at the hospital). We weren't too surprised by this
recommendation because of the blood pressure issues and pre-eclampsia concerns.
I was already at peace with the new birth plan so we gave them the go
ahead. Since they considered me in active labor but things weren't
progressing, I was scheduled for a hit of pitocin fairly soon, around 1:00 pm.
Aron and I had another moment of "this is really happening!"
This baby was really on the way today!!! I was getting my wish
after all - for Parker to come early. I was all smiles knowing our baby boy was
really, truly, actually on his way to join us!!!
Since we had an hour until the pitocin, Aron headed home to take
the dogs to daycare. I can't remember what I did for that hour alone in
the hospital room. I'm pretty sure I had a magazine propped up on my
belly but I was mostly zoned out, just breathing with my contractions and
watching them come and go on the monitor. We had a really fun time
watching the monitor the entire day. Even though I wanted to have a more
natural birth, I thought it was pretty neat seeing science and technology at
work. Watching my contraction and baby's heartbeat chart go up and down
was really cool.
Right before Aron got back, I got the pitocin in my IV and the
first round of penicillin. I opted not to do any pain medication at that
time because I wanted to feel how the pitocin would work and I wanted to know what the increasing contractions would truly feel like. And dang...that
stuff really works! I probably had 30 mins of more mellow contractions
after Aron got back before they really started increasing in strength.
For 3 hours, I labored without pain drugs. I spent most of that
time on the birthing ball because it was the only way I could get semi
comfortable in between contractions. Even though Parker was facing the
right direction, I ended up more or less having back labor. Aron had to
press on my lower back with all his might during the contractions. (Side
note: about a week after Parker's birth, I asked Aron to show me how hard he was
pushing on my back. Before he even got to full strength, I yelled
"ow!" But during labor, that pushing felt like nothing!!
Incredible how everyday pain becomes just a blip compared with the pain
of having a baby. I still can't get over how powerful the female
body is!). Here's a picture Aron took of me on the ball. Check out
my sweet socks!
Around 4:00 pm, I started (TMI alert) bleeding and dripping fluid
and we thought my water had finally broken. At that point, I was already
tired from 3 intense labor hours and decided I wanted an epidural. We decided to have my progress checked again before making the final pain med decision. The doctor
came in to see how far along I was and turns out,
my water hadn't actually broken. And, I was only 4 centimeters along.
Noooo! I told the team I definitely wanted the epidural. Forget feeling what increasing contractions felt like!! :-) They
warned us it could take awhile for the anesthesiologist to arrive, but she
ended up coming right away. I got the epidural around 4:30 pm. One
of the hardest parts of the whole labor was having to sit still for the
epidural to go in while contraction wave after wave crashed through me.
That was one of the moments where I remember looking at Aron and he
looked just a little bit terrified about what was happening. Luckily,
they got the epidural in on the first shot and pain relief was fairly
immediate. I got a pretty low dose so I could still feel every
contraction, but it was more of a soft ripple going through me, followed by
heavy downward pressure each time.
I actually really enjoyed this part of the labor. I could
feel my contractions but I was so relaxed. During the next few hours, I
chilled in bed and at some point Aron got dinner and took a nap. We were
both dozing when the shift change happened at 7:30 pm. Because a new
doctor had arrived, I was getting checked again. Earlier, we were told that the
epidural may slow down my labor and that the baby might not arrive until much
later or even the next morning, so with this in mind, we were both very shocked
when I was checked and I was 10 centimeters, 100% effaced, and Parker's head
was RIGHT THERE!!! The first few times I had been checked, the whole
process was fairly uncomfortable. But man, when I was at 10 centimeters
the doctor's hand slipped right up there no problem! Yes, TMI, but it was
one of the funnier moments of the whole thing. Anyhoo - The doctor told
me to get ready because they were breaking my water right then (it never broke
naturally) and I was going to start pushing in 30 mins. I was only on the epidural drugs for 3 hours! WHAT THE HELL?!?!
We were prepared to just wait out the night and then all of a sudden we
were told we were HAVING A BABY NOW!!! You'd think by this point we'd be
prepared, but yet again, we had another moment of "this is really
happening!!! holy crap!!!!" We called our families again to let them
know that Parker was finally on his way and then I took a few minutes to work on
my breathing and pushing counts with Aron. He was SUCH an amazing husband
and partner throughout the whole day, and absolutely incredible during the
final hour of labor. Loving, supportive, encouraging and telling me
exactly what I needed to hear at exactly the right times.
At 8:05, Parker's heartbeat started to slow way down during
contractions, so they put me on oxygen just to be safe. And of course, to
make me look even sexier while giving birth. Hehe. In a neat turn
of events, we found out our OB/GYN, Dr. Macaulay, was on shift for the night so she came in to
deliver our baby! We were so lucky she wasn't already in with another
patient! At 8:15 pm, I started pushing. Aron was holding one of my
feet and doing my counts for my breathing and pushing and he ended up watching
the entire birth (I knew he'd never be able to stay up by my head anyways, he's
too curious!). At one point I remember yelling at him to count faster.
This part of the labor is already so very hazy. I remember the deep
breaths, and groaning at the end of every push. I remember when I paused
between contractions when Parker's head was already almost through and the pain
shooting through my body was horrific. I so badly wanted to keep pushing in that moment but had to wait until the next wave. Which of course was just like a 30 second wait but felt like eternity. I was very
fortunate because even with the epidural, I could feel every contraction, which
made pushing at the right times very easy. I never had to be told when to push because I could feel everything (just a milder version of everything, thank God!) Because I had greater feeling, and probably
because Parker was so ready to go, I only pushed for 15 minutes. The moment when they told me to stop pushing so they could rotate his head and pull him out I started crying and laughing uncontrollably. What a beautifully overwhelming moment that was. Our baby was here!!! Parker Michael Lum was born at 8:33 pm, March 9, 2014.
Those first moments with Parker were truly
indescribable. One of the best moments of my life, and I have no
appropriate words to describe the incredible joy I felt, along with a million
other emotions. Although, I wish I had written down at least some of what
I felt right away, because the moment is already blurry in my mind. I
remember a slippery baby, me shaking uncontrollably, Aron kissing me, both of
us crying (all 3 of us!), Parker looking so much like his daddy, and feeling so
naked and alone when they took Parker away for just a few minutes to get his
stats. Aron got to cut the umbilical cord but I was so intent on holding
Parker that I didn't see it happen. It sort of worked out that now Aron has
a labor/birth memory all his own to cherish. :-) Official stats - our
beautiful baby was 6 lbs, 13 oz, and 19.5 inches long. He was so
handsome!!!
The next few hours were kind of a blur. I texted my family
that Parker had arrived, and then it was a blur of getting stitched up (yes, I
tore during labor), learning how to breastfeed, learning how to hold and cuddle
our little miracle, passing Parker back and forth between us, and watching him
take his first nap on my chest. As soon as the drugs wore off and my IV
fluids were done, I walked around the room a bit, and then they moved us up to
the postpartum floor. We got to pull the cord that plays a lullaby on the way up so the entire hospital would know our precious baby had arrived in the world. That was so fun!! Another moment when my heart swelled up so big with love. A baby was born and it was OUR baby. It definitely took a few hours for reality to sink in that we all had survived the pregnancy and our baby boy was here and healthy.
Up on the recovery floor, baby and I had another round of vitals done, we met
our new nursing team for the night, and got settled in. I was finally
able to call my parents around 11:30 pm (and they were sleeping! Their first
grandchild and they were sleeping!) and Aron called his mom. After
leaving joyous messages all around, we settled into our first night as parents.
And I think that's where I'll end this blog entry. It's already
soooo very long and I'm emotionally drained after reliving Parker's birthday. I've been crying off and on writing this entry. Happy tears and bittersweet tears, because the pregnancy and labor may have been a once in a lifetime thing for us. :-) All things considered, I think I had an excellent labor (I say that because I had drugs. Ha!). We'll call
it 9 hours of easy-ish labor, with 7 hours of intense labor. 12 hours in
the hospital before Parker was born, and only 15 minutes of pushing. Not
too shabby of a birth story!! I'll leave you with a few more pictures of
Parker's first night out of the womb. What a little cutie!!! I miss
that little 6 pound baby!!! Stay tuned for the next entry about our first few weeks with this precious boy.
