Holy crap, we had a baby!!!

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.